axziz laser flashlight hack on utube

[mikediv]

Hi guys I am brand new to lasers and I hope this has not been asked I tried to search for it but found nothing so here goes. I tried to build the laser hack on kipkay for the flashlight laser burner I bought the housings from axiz the 4.50 dollar ones I then bought the high powered lasers from them for the project the problem I have is it works fine but no heat will not pop ballon lite match just a very bright red light
here is what I did I took the laser body tube apart and soldered the new high powered laser diode onto the cricuit baord that had the original low power red diode on it ,, was I suppose to wire the new diode directly to the 3 volts? I figured I would use the exisiting driver board but like I said it works but its just a glorified red laser pointer ,, should I build a differant driver board? I saw one posted with the LM317 regulator?? Sorry for all the questions I just want this to work even for a few minutes so should I wire the diode directly to the dc 3 volts? thanks guys

 

[toked323]

thats your problem is that you using the old red driver, i have a driver group buy going on now check it out

 

[mikediv]

thnaks toked323 I had a feeling I dont know why they didnt tell me that when I ordered the stuff I bought the 50 dollars diodes I think they are 620ma but the guy was kind of vauge on how to install them so beside the laser body I also bought the new lenses they told me I needed so I have the lense diodes the housing but can I hook the diode directly to the 3 volt power supply or do I need to install the diode to a driver board thanks again
Oh sorry how do I get in on the driver board buy?

 

[pullbangdead]

Yes, that driver is not made to supply the power levels that make the DVD burning diode special. It will light it up, but not as a burner. For that, you need a driver capable of delivering more current to the diode in a controlled/limited fashion. The LM317 driver is a good solution, you'll find many threads about it here. There are also several driver options that can be bought fully assembled, such as what Toked mentioned. Hooking the diode directly to the 3V battery supply is NOT a good option, it most likely will not work, not even for a second as you need circuitry to prevent excess current from entering the diode from the batteries. The excess current from the batteries if they uncontrolled will likely yield a bright flash followed by a very dim glow and nothing more (a burned out laser diode is essentially just an LED, typically). Good luck, and enjoy your laser!

 

[mikediv]

Thanks again I am going to build the lm 317 board I cant thank you guys enough for the help I hate to ask but I have just one more question when I bought these parts from aixiz the woman told me I needed to buy the new lenses they screw into the laser housing body replacing the low power lense that comes with the laser ,, my question is how has anyone been able to build the kipkay video laser flashlight hack and get it to work they do not mention any of this stuff in the how-to I would never have known that I needed to buy new lenses and I would have hooked it up directly to the battery and fried it if I didn;t ask you guys??? seems like a bunch of BS from him but again thank you I am new to lasers but have many plans for projects using them I am building a heat tracking system using a basic stamp and some servos and wanted a burning laser to target stuff nothing crazy maybe some of my other robots or flies I have a bunch of very big lasers from a grocery store scanner system they are about a foot long the tubes and they emit red light are they any good for higher power???

 

[pullbangdead]

I don't know about the grocery store scanners. As far as an auto-targeting system, be VERY careful with the burning red on anything that can aim itself. If it aimed at you or someone else, or even got a reflection because it didn't have a safe background, it could easily blind you. Even just stray reflections can cause blindspots, temporary or permanent, so never put it in a place where it could hit a reflective surface and shine onto something you don't intend it to. And get some safety goggles for the 650nm light of the laser, the money is no object when it comes to your eyesight, and is nothing compared to the other monetary costs of this hobby anyway.

As far as the kipkay, people have done it and do sometimes get lucky. If the batteries are partially or half dead, it has a greater chance of success, but is still to risky. For just a couple extra bucks, a little bit of time, a lot of fun, and a great learning experience that you can even put on resumes and applications, you can be safe and almost guarantee that your laser will live a long and bright life. With the kipkay mod, there is no guarantee. You may get lucky, but you probably won't, and then you've lost more money for the diode than if you just buy or build a driver in the first place.

For the Aixiz lens, that may be a reference to a glass lens that Aixiz sells to replace the acrylic lens that comes with the module. The glass is not necessary, the acrylic will work just fine. It's a good idea to widen the hole on the back of the lens when you get it though. I've read from people who know that the acrylic achieves finer focus (and is therefore better for burning) and the Aixiz glass doesn't give you the power gain that other glass modules such as Meredith do.

Good luck, and good choice on going with the LM317 driver.

 

[chido]

[smiley=smiley_up.gif] [smiley=smiley_up.gif] [smiley=smiley_up.gif]
Learn from this guy. Post count doesn't matter, the QUALITY of your posts do.
I can tell you have a lot of experience, you've also been here a long time (longer than me) anyway I'm just happy to see somebody who doesn't care about post count and who doesn't post "crap posts" (unlike me :-[) Thank you for helping people out and for taking the time to type all those long @$$ posts. ;D [smiley=tekst-toppie.gif]

Regards

chido

 

[wooooooolazer]

Also do not hesitate to widen the whole at the back of the aixis, it is a must and if you do not the black plastic will melt dripping right onto the precious laser diode thus ruining it. Good choice waiting and going for the lm317, it will provide a good long life to it as long as you dont push it, which in your case would be hard to tell because few people have bought the aixiz diode since it is a rip-off... i would say around 180ma would be the safe spot for it, a good level for long life and burning.

About the grocery store laser, it is a he-ne, ie an old gas laser (good find by the way) It is not good for burning, at most it will put out about 5mw.

...lazer.... ;D ;D ;D

 

[mikediv]

Hey guys thanks for all the help this site is awesome I am a BSEE but while lasers are not new to me I have never had much hands on mostly just theory so I am reading everything I can on this site very happy I found you guys. Yes I agree I would never endanger anyone or myself well not on purpose anyway lol, my tracking system is thermal I just want to get it to work before I ever put the laser on it ,, Guys I built the LM317 driver I wire wrapped it, it came out pretty good and works fine on my meter I just bought a few diodes from aixiz and at 50 bucks a pop I have not wired it to the lm317 board yet ,, I have another question before I proceed with this driver and the diodes I bought (by the way they told me they will burn a match and pop a ballon with no problem) will the lm driver board inhibit the power output? Man I hope you guys don't mind a bunch of questions becuase I love this stuff and plan on building lots of stuff. Thanks again Oh yes these old gorcery store laser actually work I got the power supplies with them and 3 out of 8 work just fine the red dot it makes is pretty sharp even at 100 feet you cant focus them at least I cant see how to do it and the tubes are huge 14 inches long five of them are dead but the power supplies work fine is there anyway I can test the bad ones to see if they can be saved? pullbangdead,,,, woooolaser,,, if you want one of them you can have it for free with the power supply oh the supplies plug into 110V house outlet as long as you share anything you find usefull for them ,,, email me mikediv@comcast.net I live in CT and only have a few to hand out so sorry if anyone else wants one its first serve first come and pullbang and wooo have first picks

 

[pullbangdead]

Awesome! I don't know how to thank you, it's amazing the nice people you find on here. I, like most others, just answer because I love the hobby and got help from people in the past, so it's the least I can do to give back. But your generosity is much appreciated, and makes me feel really good to know my advice is appreciated.

I'm sure I can find something useful to do with it, I've never actually used or "played" with a HeNe gas laser before, just semiconductors/diode lasers (as my interest in lasers came through materials science). So in other words, sounds great. Just let me know how you'd like to handle shipping or whatever. You're being very generous, so you just tell me what I need to do .

And good luck, keep us updated on your projects!