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FrozenGate by Avery

Am I the only one who prefers red to 405nm?

brtaman

brtaman

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Jun 12, 2008
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Having just finished building a bastard SONAR II, took out a great long wavelength 6X diode doing 211mW@195mA! with acrylic lens (257mW with 405-g-1) and replaced it with an LOC@512mA now doing 350mW...

I couldn't be happier.

I have always found BR diode lasers to be too much like flashlights and with all the scattering at this high frequency they aren't much good for pointing.

On the other hand red diodes provide a very nice tight beam (1.5mmx1.5mm with CASIO projector lens...recommended!... the short FL also provides decent power boost 296mw to 350mW! in my case) and are great for distance pointing. Although the visibility of the beam is quite lower than with 405nm it feels like a "true" laser...TBH with the casio lens the beam is as tight as my CNI 532nm pen...stunning!

Any thoughts from you guys? :beer:



Best Regards,
brtaman
 





Sounds like another kick butt LOC build! Got any beam shots of the 350mws?!

Also, I curious to know how you implemented the Casio lens.. what did you modify?

I wonder why that lens lets so much red through!

-Tyler
 
Meatball said:
Sounds like another kick butt LOC build! Got any beam shots of the 350mws?!

Also, I curious to know how you implemented the Casio lens.. what did you modify?

I wonder why that lens lets so much red through!

-Tyler
Click to expand...

What I venture is that even though the coating is for the wrong wavelength, the very! short FL makes up for it. More photons are passing through the lens just due to its close proximity to the diode.

As for mounting...first I cut the plastic aixiz mounting nut to just above the "lens ridge", allowing me to screw the lens "deep" enough for it to be able to focus.

I found the stock aixiz is about 1mm wider than the CASIO lens, so I carefully wrapped it with a black tape (pretty stiff tape not electrical tape, don't know where I got it). Ensured it was flat and carefully applied a glue designed for wood (the white-ish kind which cures semi transparent). After waiting for it to dry I mounted it into the bastard sonar (405-g-1 gives even better beam specs but is being used on the 445 kryton).

Will take some beamshots, shortly.


Best Regards
brtaman
 
Red is a beautiful color. I find blu-rays quite dirty and ugly in color, like if they're not monochromatic.. they are only good for burning imho. Not very visible at all either.
 
very cool indeed. I like my violets simply for their burning power over my reds, other than that i tend to use my reds and greens for pointing
 
Brtaman ---
Those of us VEts remember the old days of red diodes. We were there and now we have BR and BLUE 445's. Everyone grows tired of the "old" stuff and embraces the new and exciting. RED still offers opportunities with c-mount 635 diodes and the like. These new projos may usher in a new family of high power reds.
I still like RED !!!

HMike

@Meatball --- did your car make it home OK ?? I had to drive 400 miles last night to rescue my wife when her car lost the coolant! Atlantic,IA is a long drive from here.
 
Hemlock_Mike: I do remember the old days when the forum was starting out with PS3 diodes and 16x diode were normal, was still lurking back then. I remember shortly after I joined the first time I fired up a PHR-803T...thought it was broken (snowflake pattern :D)...paid >55$ for it IIRC. :) I was indeed very excited...but even then in the back of my mind red was what I prefered...even if BR was the new "in" diode.

Personally the c-mount 635's don't do it for me, hundreds of dollars of optics and you still end up with an average/poor beam.

To be honest I have had an eye out for the 642nm diodes they were group buying over on PL. They seem quite expensive, though are about 3X (IIRC) brighter for the same power with great beamspecs.

Though now that these 445nm diodes are on the market there is no comparison in the diode world. :tinfoil: They make green seem "dull". :)

Grix: Indeed...almost wavelength is almost "dirty" unless you look down the beam when pointing. Red is a stealth distance pointer.

Well anyway promised beamshot of the bastard sonar II. :D

2835-redbeam.jpg



Best Regards,
brtaman
 
Last edited:
That's sweet. Did you say you use the casio projector lense to get the thin beam? How is the dot?

Also, it's not that kinda dirty i mean, i think "washed out" is a better description
 
Amazing beam shot, and I really like that host. I still like red much better than violet, but violet is much more unique. Nobody outside the hobby has really ever seen a violet laser.
 
Grix said:
That's sweet. Did you say you use the casio projector lense to get the thin beam? How is the dot?

Also, it's not that kinda dirty i mean, i think "washed out" is a better description
Click to expand...


The dot isn't great TBH, however I point at large distances and by then it doesn't really matter anymore. It is somewhat similar to the results jayrob got with it in the 445nm lens test, wings on the side. But it is somewhat expected since the short FL lens sucks up everything the diode pushes out.

I got the washed out part. :yh: Dirty pale perhaps? ;) Though I must admist 405nm is quite beautiful in fog or smoke.
 
I just wish I could see BR like everyone else tells me they see it! I can never focus on the dot no matter what distance. I know I can blame my eyes for this as I noticed a similar problem a few years ago at Christmas when blue LED lights started becoming available, (this was before I started playing with lasers so not the result of careless damage. ;) ). All are just fuzzy blobs to me!

I've seen those LED signs in blue, (you know, the ones that scroll a message across in shop windows), and I just can't read them a couple of feet away. I think the wavelength of blue LEDs is lengthening now though as they are becoming easier for me to see.

For this poor visibility reason I prefer reds, and am loving the new blues. I can see a dot!!! Hoorah!

M
:)
 
I like my reds and BRs for different reasons. Reds are much better for pointing, and back in the day were the only DIYable laser at a hobby level. Blu-rays were just the new thing and that's why they caught on. I remember my first 5mW blu-ray build, I was fascinated with the color and its effects.

Now that I think about it, I haven't built a red laser in a long time. Once my 445nm craze is over, I might make some red builds with some extra diodes I have sitting around.

OT but does anybody remember the GB diodes? I actually still have one of those running in one of my first DIY builds and it runs to this day.
 
I got to say I like the red too. I haven't built my 445gm yet but of my lasers the LOC is the use the most :D

I still have another LOC and a LCC which I plan on building after the 445nm. I'd like to put one of the reds in a small pocket sized host.
 
I know this is a serious necropost, but I'd like to ask if you ever measured the divergence on this with the projector lens? Thanks.
 
I don't like 650, or other reds. I think it's ugly and too common.
But 405 is so pretty! ;D
 
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