A very sheepish hello!

[totallyfuse]

Hi everybody,

I will be honest from the off.....

Based in the UK

I am a complete novice with the topic of lasers and only have basic electronics knowledge however am looking to get involved and learn rapidly.

I am very hands on and love practical projects (as a competent professional pyrotechnician and amateur pyro, patience and quality of workmanship are nothing new)

To begin with i have ordered 2 kits;

1 x 100mw Red laser diode and driver
1 x 250mw BluRay laser diode and driver assemble yourself kit

I have salvaged from a PC a power supply and heat sinks etc where do i go next?

Regards

TF

 

[Garoq]

Welcome to the forum, TF!

You will want to acquire some decent soldering equipment, a voltmeter, a test ("dummy") load, drivers, hosts and other stuff. Read some of the basic information and stickies posted here and you will get a better idea of what you will need.

 

[totallyfuse]

Thanks Garoq.

This is the kit i ordered;

EBAY

perhaps i should post in one of the discussion forums......

 

[Garoq]

Thanks Garoq.

This is the kit i ordered;

EBAY

perhaps i should post in one of the discussion forums......

Yes, the "Blu-Ray..." and "Tutorial" forums would be a good place to start. I am not familiar with that particular kit.

Also, and VERY important, you will need to purchase laser safety goggles that are appropriate for the wavelength of the laser(s) you are building.

 

[totallyfuse]

Thankyou, bearing in mind I am based in the UK what would the best laser parts supplier be?

 

[Garoq]

Thankyou, bearing in mind I am based in the UK what would the best laser parts supplier be?

Jayrob, Daguin, DTR and Flaminpyro are a few of the most well known and trusted suppliers on this forum. Jayrob in particular supplies parts for a wide range of laser configurations. My business, Survival Laser, also supplies parts, assemblies and parts bundles specifically for high power 445nm laser builds.

 

[anselm]

... bearing in mind I am based in the UK what would the best laser parts supplier be?

Odicforce immediately springs to mind.
They have an online store and I think they're on ebay as well.
Read the 1st link in my signature to get acquainted with laser related lingo.

I have salvaged from a PC a power supply and heat sinks etc where do i go next?

2nd link in my signature shows what you can do with that stuff.
*shameless plug*

 

[JaiNobeZ]

Now that we've got that out of the way...


OMG! A professional pyrotechnician based in the UK!? PMing you!
This has the potential to be the start of a great friendship.


Uhh... heat is a nasty thing for lasers, and it's hard to convert heatsinks from PCs into heatsinks for laser modules unless you have significantly better machines than i do. Also, you're going to have to be very careful with soldering the diodes because they have a tendency to cook. I assume you're careful to avoid ESD and thermal damage, seeing as you work in pyrotechnics? Basically, until you're about to use them handle the diodes as little as possible.

 

[totallyfuse]

Love good forum spirit! Thanks anselm, some inspiration there although i was hoping to use the PSU as a power source as opposed to a casing.

Working my way through the terminology page

Jai..... PM sent! Probably be shunned for plugging, as for pyro i have this site totallyfuse.com Home Page cheapest UK supplier of fuse and for fuse and ignition supplies (mods feel free to remove if not allowed).

I have an ESD wrist strap that i tap on to copper pipe from the rads, i assume thats sufficient?

 

[Arshus]

Welcome to LPF!! :beer:

Regards,

Sal

 

[JaiNobeZ]

I have an ESD wrist strap that i tap on to copper pipe from the rads, i assume thats sufficient?

Tbh, i'm no expert on soldering. And everyone says different stuff here. Some folk say there's a big problem with ESD, others say there's barely a problem at all. You'll have to ask someone else and choose what to believe.

 

[Blord]

Welcome to the forum !


This picture is scary. Horns, red eyes.. that is a demon

 

[JaiNobeZ]

@Blord: Was in response to the title - "A very sheepish hello!" so i googled "sheep laser" so i could both upload a picture of a sheep and claim it was relevant.

I vote we post on the welcome threads of all new people that join the forum!!