kmm5117
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- Joined
- Mar 25, 2013
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So although I have done a few builds now, and have had this one completed for a bit, I decided to post a little review.
I decided I wanted a do a powerful blue build, since the only one I currently have is a 1W Spartan, and of course I didn't build myself. After choosing the host, which took a while the rest of the components came fairly easily. What I used for this build was:
Saik-305 Host with heatsink purchased from Jayrob
M140 Diode purchased from DTR
X-Drive 1.65A (fixed) purchased from CajunLasers
3x 14500 Li-Ions
So I ordered the host from Jayrob, who is very nice to do business with by the way, I basically ordered the bare kit, since I enjoy building from the ground up and like to secure and solder the driver myself. Once the kit arrived I was actually surprised by how large and solid the host is, and the heatsink that come with it is massive, very nice. As you can see in the picture, I chose to directly glue the driver on to the heatsink since there is plenty of room with a thin layer of thermal adhesive.
After I got the driver adhered to the heatsink, I placed the batteries in the included battery holder (made for AA sized), and tested the current with my test load, we rang in right around 1.65A. After that all that was left to solder the diode to the driver, and secure the module into the heatsink and we were good to go.
Once I got the build together, the first thing I had to do was make sure it worked, and bust out the LPM. (Note: the batteries seen in the picture are some very cheap radioshack 14500's, as the 14500's I wanted were delayed). When tested with the LPM, the laser gave me a steady reading of 1590mW, this is using a standard three element lens. After I received the batteries I wanted in the mail, I re-LPM'ed the laser and got a reading of around 1650mW (no pic at the current time).
Overall I am very happy with both the host and the complete product. The host is absolutely great if you are into big hosts, if you like something small this isn't for you, the picture just doesn't do it justice. After running for several minutes, the heatsink is warm, but nothing too hot whatsoever. My only complaint with the host would be that the battery holder can be a pain, if your like me and like to remove your batteries when your done using the laser, the batters can be tedious to remove from the holder. Overall I am very happy with this build, it was very easy (almost too easy), it is very solid and heavy, and a super bright beam. I would reccommend this build, and any of the retailers I mentioned above to anyone here, I use them a lot.
Enjoy the pics, and tips or comments appreciated !
Playing with a Uranium Marble
I decided I wanted a do a powerful blue build, since the only one I currently have is a 1W Spartan, and of course I didn't build myself. After choosing the host, which took a while the rest of the components came fairly easily. What I used for this build was:
Saik-305 Host with heatsink purchased from Jayrob
M140 Diode purchased from DTR
X-Drive 1.65A (fixed) purchased from CajunLasers
3x 14500 Li-Ions
So I ordered the host from Jayrob, who is very nice to do business with by the way, I basically ordered the bare kit, since I enjoy building from the ground up and like to secure and solder the driver myself. Once the kit arrived I was actually surprised by how large and solid the host is, and the heatsink that come with it is massive, very nice. As you can see in the picture, I chose to directly glue the driver on to the heatsink since there is plenty of room with a thin layer of thermal adhesive.
After I got the driver adhered to the heatsink, I placed the batteries in the included battery holder (made for AA sized), and tested the current with my test load, we rang in right around 1.65A. After that all that was left to solder the diode to the driver, and secure the module into the heatsink and we were good to go.
Once I got the build together, the first thing I had to do was make sure it worked, and bust out the LPM. (Note: the batteries seen in the picture are some very cheap radioshack 14500's, as the 14500's I wanted were delayed). When tested with the LPM, the laser gave me a steady reading of 1590mW, this is using a standard three element lens. After I received the batteries I wanted in the mail, I re-LPM'ed the laser and got a reading of around 1650mW (no pic at the current time).
Overall I am very happy with both the host and the complete product. The host is absolutely great if you are into big hosts, if you like something small this isn't for you, the picture just doesn't do it justice. After running for several minutes, the heatsink is warm, but nothing too hot whatsoever. My only complaint with the host would be that the battery holder can be a pain, if your like me and like to remove your batteries when your done using the laser, the batters can be tedious to remove from the holder. Overall I am very happy with this build, it was very easy (almost too easy), it is very solid and heavy, and a super bright beam. I would reccommend this build, and any of the retailers I mentioned above to anyone here, I use them a lot.
Enjoy the pics, and tips or comments appreciated !
Playing with a Uranium Marble
TBH I think the Saik is a medium sized laser as it really isnt that big, just a little fatter than an 18650 host. WRT the batteries why not leave them in the holder? I just unscrew the back slip out the holder and Im done, so I cant really see that as a drawback of the host?
