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- Aug 28, 2012
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Greetings laser enthusiasts!
I completed this build a few weeks ago and I'm finally getting around to posting it today...
The host came from JayRob, the 2D MagLite, with an optional voltage indicator light. Here is more info about this kit:
FS: Large Maglite Monster Kits! FlexModP3, Side Button Forward Clicky!
I got the 9mm 445nm diode from DTR. This is a great place to find most of your laser needs, and I really appreciate that DTR links to other vendors so that you can find everything you need easily.
Finally, I got the the xdrive from Lazeerer. He can be found easily on this forum, or you can just get the diode and drive together from DTR which is what I'll do next time!
Let me start by saying the host is awesome! It feels very substantial in my hand and the batteries last forever. I totally love it.
Here is how the kit came prior to assembly:
Next, some basic soldering. I had to connect the diode leads provided by DTR to the output of the driver, and then attach 2 more leads to the input of the driver, which were later attached to the 2 leads provided by JayRob from the laser host. All in all 6 solder connections. Like I said, next time I'll just get the driver from DTR already connected to the diode. The driver output was set to 2A by Lazeerer. I was originally going to mount the driver on the back of that massive heat sink, however, I had some spare copper heat sinks laying around from CajunLasers so I just attached one of those to the driver. There is plenty of room inside that big host, even with JayRob's custom voltage indicator light setup. I even left the back side of the module on there as well, because what the heck, it fits and its more metal to disperse heat.
And so, putting all that together, we have ourselves a laser! :evil:
Here is another beam shot, in which you might notice that the beam is a little off at an angle. I never did figure out how to correct that...
In the pic below, you can see that voltage indicator light. It really is a nice touch, and it matches the laser color (at least when the voltage output of the batteries is full). The beam and the indicator light are actually both blue, but on camera they both come out looking more purple.
For comparison's sake, the pic below is my M140 445 nm build in the Elite host (CajunLasers) with a 1.8A driver from Lazeerer. Interestingly enough, although I expected the 9mm diode to be a lot brighter, they are about the same, or the M140 at times looks brighter by a hair.
Here is a closeup. Just lovely, don't ya think?!:yh:
Here is a shot (below) of the beam from behind. From this perspective you can tell the beam goes off center to the left and upwards. Like I said, I haven't found a solution to this. I did try different G-2 lenses, and rotating the module in the heat sink, but to no avail on that one...
Below are three more M140 vs 9mm shots:
One thing I noticed is that the M140 build does not maintain full power for very long. It even got dimmer during some of these shots, in which I didn't have it on for too long. The draw must be too much for the batteries to handle for any real length of time. I blame the 18350's. Not so with the 2D host, however, especially with the batteries I ordered from JayRob. The Feilong batteries seem to last a good while.
Thanks for reading this far. I really appreciate all our vendors for making the parts available as well as their tech support!
:beer:
I completed this build a few weeks ago and I'm finally getting around to posting it today...
The host came from JayRob, the 2D MagLite, with an optional voltage indicator light. Here is more info about this kit:
FS: Large Maglite Monster Kits! FlexModP3, Side Button Forward Clicky!
I got the 9mm 445nm diode from DTR. This is a great place to find most of your laser needs, and I really appreciate that DTR links to other vendors so that you can find everything you need easily.
Finally, I got the the xdrive from Lazeerer. He can be found easily on this forum, or you can just get the diode and drive together from DTR which is what I'll do next time!
Let me start by saying the host is awesome! It feels very substantial in my hand and the batteries last forever. I totally love it.
Here is how the kit came prior to assembly:
Next, some basic soldering. I had to connect the diode leads provided by DTR to the output of the driver, and then attach 2 more leads to the input of the driver, which were later attached to the 2 leads provided by JayRob from the laser host. All in all 6 solder connections. Like I said, next time I'll just get the driver from DTR already connected to the diode. The driver output was set to 2A by Lazeerer. I was originally going to mount the driver on the back of that massive heat sink, however, I had some spare copper heat sinks laying around from CajunLasers so I just attached one of those to the driver. There is plenty of room inside that big host, even with JayRob's custom voltage indicator light setup. I even left the back side of the module on there as well, because what the heck, it fits and its more metal to disperse heat.
And so, putting all that together, we have ourselves a laser! :evil:
Here is another beam shot, in which you might notice that the beam is a little off at an angle. I never did figure out how to correct that...
In the pic below, you can see that voltage indicator light. It really is a nice touch, and it matches the laser color (at least when the voltage output of the batteries is full). The beam and the indicator light are actually both blue, but on camera they both come out looking more purple.
For comparison's sake, the pic below is my M140 445 nm build in the Elite host (CajunLasers) with a 1.8A driver from Lazeerer. Interestingly enough, although I expected the 9mm diode to be a lot brighter, they are about the same, or the M140 at times looks brighter by a hair.
Here is a closeup. Just lovely, don't ya think?!:yh:
Here is a shot (below) of the beam from behind. From this perspective you can tell the beam goes off center to the left and upwards. Like I said, I haven't found a solution to this. I did try different G-2 lenses, and rotating the module in the heat sink, but to no avail on that one...
Below are three more M140 vs 9mm shots:
One thing I noticed is that the M140 build does not maintain full power for very long. It even got dimmer during some of these shots, in which I didn't have it on for too long. The draw must be too much for the batteries to handle for any real length of time. I blame the 18350's. Not so with the 2D host, however, especially with the batteries I ordered from JayRob. The Feilong batteries seem to last a good while.
Thanks for reading this far. I really appreciate all our vendors for making the parts available as well as their tech support!
:beer:
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