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Sorry, but when I build lasers I like to build them dual power. The Green in low power mode is 50mW, but in full power mode is 100mW. I use low power to focus the laser and set it up. Full Power is for popping balloons and lighting matches... All my lasers are what I like to call bench top...

So I'm building a power supply for my red laser project and because this is the design that some of my students will build, I have to have everything just right. My first build was OK, but the PCB was a bit too small. The photo below shows the build without the heatsink on the LM317. EDIT...

Bob Diaz California, 90501 Home made lasers: Green 100/50mW Red 600/150mW Blue 1.8W/300mW

I would love to have a laser Pot luck party, where each person brings their favorite laser or lasers and one by one each person shows it off to the group. I know everyone is all over the place, but I'm in to Los Angeles, California, so maybe there a group in the area.

Welcome aboard, you'll find tons of useful information here and lots of users that are well versed in different areas.

Thanks for the link, I just ordered several of them for testing. However, it will be a while before I get them and can test them.

I agree the $6.99 heatsink struck me as something that I should attach to a larger heatsink. The flat surface should have a good heat transfer. The $11.99 heatsink is the winner, BUT I can't wait to put it up against the one from Aixiz. I'm not sure which will win here...

Thanks for the link, I just put in an order and it will be fun to test it against the best of the three heatsinks I've tried so far. NOTE: To avoid a double posting, I moved the text from the lower thread up to this one. My Red Laser Build in turning into one of the most interesting and fun...

Sorry, I'm a little slow in getting back to people. I was going for the Keep it simple approach, so no fans are used. However, past tests with heatsinks always shows that fans always help to coll things. In the case of the biggest $11.99 (for 2) heatsinks, it won't matter too much, but the...

Sorry, I didn't think to add it to another thread, BUT then people might be mad that I added a test to their thread.

This is really just a test to see if I can upload photos before I try and put them into other messages. The photo looks like it's very bright outside, but it was really very dark.

My students are always impressed with my laser demos in class and some students want to build their own. After considering all sorts of options, I decided that the Mitsubishi 500mW 638 Diode (ML501P73-02) from DTR's Laser Shop was an ideal choice. This offered enough power to have fun, but...

I assume the list of acceptable sellers hasn't changed. In reading several messages, the Laser Pointer Store is OK, correct?

I just wanted to jump in and say "THANK YOU" for this thread. In general I build my own lasers, but I’ve considered getting a few pre-build lasers for fun. Nice to know who to avoid.

There are a number of rules we created to keep everyone safe. First I lock the classroom door so no one could walk in without their safety glasses. Second my tool-room attendant must be present to double check that everyone is wearing safety glasses. We now have fire bricks so that the laser...

Thanks everyone. I have had 2 students build their own high powered laser from my design plans. Because there are many options and choices, I sit down with he student who plans on building a laser. The first and most important thing is the safety glasses. I'm currently working on another...

I haven't posted for a long while, but I've still been playing with lasers. I teach Electronics classes at the local Jr. College. For the last few years it's been frustrating because I couldn't show my lasers to anyone because I didn't have enough safety glasses. Well, that all changed when...

It's called "efficiency" while it would be nice if 100% of the input power made it to the output power, that doesn't happen in the real world. In this case, 300mW / 800mW x 100 = 37.5% of the input energy goes to the light output. Bob Diaz

Many years back I brought a very powerful photo flash unit within a few inches of a fly and fired it. The light was so bright, it blinded the fly. I assume because it was from so many directions and so powerful, it knocked out the fly's vision. That sure made swatting the fly easier, the...

So we've had hot weather in Southern California lately and my wife likes to leave the front door open so that the afternoon sea breezes cool down the house. That works, but flies come in too. Yesterday I considered blinding them with my 25mW green laser. Interesting that the flies don't react...