Benefit to recording laser specs

[Mattronium]

I just finished fixing one of my 475nm diode laser pens I built a few years ago. The internal battery contact spring broke, but in rebuilding it I ran into the issue of not being sure what the laser modules/diodes polarity was. Luckily I was able to determine it and fix it successfully, but I just wanted to take some time to remind people, especially those just starting out building their own lasers, the importance of recording some information about the lasers you build.

If in the future something breaks and needs to be fixed, having some records can prove invaluable.
The main things I would focus on recording would be, the battery polarity, battery types/input voltage range.
Less critical but nice to have would be things like drive current, driver, diode model, or what lens was used.
I have found it useful to print the laser's polarity and voltage range with a label maker and place it inside the laser on the inside casing, so I can reference it easily when installing batteries.

Just an idea that might help some others here.

 

[Mattronium]

Pictures to show some examples of what I've done.




(-) means case negative


Label for diode model.

 

[paul1598419]

Hi Matt. I was looking over my records of Sharp laser diodes I had binned by wavelength and found the GH04955A2G was 492nm to 495nm. I was wondering if your wavelength might be a typo. I do have a 477nm one that I built into a handheld, but didn't ever get the Sharp part number for that diode.

 

[Mattronium]

The last two pictures are of my 494nm GH04955A2G in a C6, host. I just got pictures of whatever laser was in reach for examples.

The 475nm laser was/is in a leadlight host, I actually had to destroy the original host to get it out safely as I really stuck in in well. I didn't want to do that, but the diode was more valuable than the host. I still need to print a label for the new host I put the 475nm diode in, so no point in taking pics of it yet.

 

[paul1598419]

The last two pictures are of my 494nm GH04955A2G in a C6, host. I just got pictures of whatever laser was in reach for examples.

The 475nm laser was/is in a leadlight host, I actually had to destroy the original host to get it out safely as I really stuck in in well. I didn't want to do that, but the diode was more valuable than the host. I still need to print a label for the new host I put the 475nm diode in, so no point in taking pics of it yet.

I'm looking forward to photos of your finished 475nm laser. Good luck.

 

[Mattronium]

I'll put them up here soon, oddly enough, the switch I just put in the 475nm just broke again, So I'll be doing a quick fix of that tonight. I think laser66 may have gotten a defective batch?

 

[Mattronium]

 

[paul1598419]

Nice Matt. What power is that putting out? My 477nm laser is over 120 mW. But, it is in a larger host.

 

[Mattronium]

I've estimated the power at ~10mW, but that is just a rough guess. I don't remember the drive current, I have it driven by a microboost. Because of the low power the heat build up is negligible, running it continuously for several minutes makes it only barely noticeably warm.

 

[paul1598419]

I've estimated the power at ~10mW, but that is just a rough guess. I don't remember the drive current, I have it driven by a microboost. Because of the low power the heat build up is negligible, running it continuously for several minutes makes it only barely noticeably warm.

Cool! Glad you are happy with your build. I didn't realize that the power output was so low. But, in such a small host that is understandable.