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I've just committed it to memory. :P

18650 -> 18 - 65 - 0 18mm in diameter 65mm long Sometimes they're a little longer if they have a protective PCB (which you should absolutely make sure that they have). Protected PCBs will prevent the battery from charging past 4.2V. If you charge an unprotected battery past 4.2V, you could...

Lithium chemistry is very finicky. It's extremely popular because it offers some nice performance characteristics such as a high voltage and decent cost. However, the cells have very specific voltage ranges and if they ever go outside of that range, the results could be serious. To answer...

Not really. Colleges typically have regulations with regard to Class 3b and 4 lasers where they set specific standards that turnkey systems must have to be registered on their campus (I know that mine does). Prototype systems are typically given a little more leeway, but are usually required...

What kind of distances are you looking to transmit from? I remember seeing a thread where some guys used cheap 5mW red pointers to transmit data several feet in the KHz frequency. If you're doing one-way communication, your system will probably have four main components: the encoder, laser...

The SF-AW isn't quite the same as the GGW. People have found that it doesn't hold up as well. 10x was completely skipped by drive manufacturers. They went straight from 8x to 12x. Supposedly, the biggest improvement was to decrease disc vibration, which suggests that the diode may not be...

A while ago, I bought a 40A 5V Vicor PSU that has voltage trimming down to 2.5V. Sadly, I haven't had a chance to purchase a bar yet, but I was planning on using that with a current sensing resistor and some other crap. Obviously, 1mA accuracy isn't really needed when you're dealing with...

You did indeed get scammed. That site looks very amateurish, so I imagine that maybe those sellers don't know much better either. One thing you can try doing is getting a single 10440 battery and building a simple spacer with some wire and maybe a diode. Sometimes, the drivers on those...

So I've been planning to build a green labby for quite some time now. I bought some crystals from BlueFusion back in July (big, unbonded, and pre-rotationally-aligned) and I'm pretty excited to start working with them. The cool thing, at least in my mind, is that it's going to use a...

Regarding the "no lasers for minors law": What state do you live in? I have never heard of a rule like that before. One of the biggest problems concerning safety and lasers is the massive amount of rumors and made-up "laws." When I tell people that I am a laser hobbyist, they speak and act as...

BlueFusion showed me this the other day: Teensy USB Development Board It's cheap, fast, and easy. The USB plug is built into the board, so if space isn't too much of a concern (it's remarkably small anyways), you might want to consider trying it out. I'm planning on using it in my upcoming...

I really don't recommend a 1K pot. It's really too hard to control. I've blown out a diode because I've been unable to control the current finely.

I went years ago to the big island and then to Maui. On the big island, there isn't too much in the way of beaches and stuff, but if you're interested in geology, you should take a 12-hour bus tour around the entire island. I really enjoyed that. Otherwise, there isn't too much to do. There...

>5mW -- you should probably get glasses >50mW -- you'd be stupid not to

Yet another amazing job, HumanSymphony. I hope your friend feels better soon. Also, I think someone should commission you to write raps about all the e-drama here on LPF. :P

If you want a high quality 18650, get something from Tenergy. They cost more but actually live up to their rated capacity. As for the charger, you should get a WF-139 from DealExtreme. They're more expensive than the generic DSD chargers, but are far nicer to the batteries.

I keep my lasers packed away in cases with desiccant when I'm not using them and I try to make sure that they are free from oil. Unfortunately, two of my pointers have some small areas where the rubber paint has started to come off; the hosts are pretty cheap. If you want to reduce the effects...

The placeholder was hilarious, bryce007! :) Congrats on the meter. You have plenty of stuff to test! :D

Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you work with some interesting systems. Building a green laser in the manner you describe is perfectly possible, but it will take time (sounds like you're interested in it as a project, not just the end result, so that's not an issue) and some good...

I think I'll get one of these when they first come out. As much as I love my Tektronix 335, a pocket o-scope is a really nice thing to have.