Cd burner question

[mikesnap99]

Hey guys. I feel pretty dumb asking this but Id rather know. I have a CD burner here that I want to harvest from but was wondering if it will be worth it. I don't remember If the good diodes are from a DVD burner or CD burner (or if both work). It's rather new but I'm curious. :thanks:

Mike

 

[Blord]

CD-burners has only a 780nm IR diode. You need a DVD burner for a REAL red laser.

 

[mikesnap99]

Thats what I thought. Thank you very much!

Mike

 

[Oceansoul]

The diode from CD burners are usable, but they aren't visible.

You're looking at, perhaps, 150mW or so of 780nm out of a 52x CD-RW drive.

They're great diodes for mucking around with (providing you take appropriate safety precautions beforehand, and are familiar with the dangers of non-visible IR lasers), and it doesn't really matter too much if you write them off.

A word of warning, though -- 780nm isn't particularly well-detected by some cameras. You don't always get the same purple/white 'flare' you get with 808nm lasers. Just because you can't see it (and neither can your camera) doesn't mean it's not emitting at potentially unsafe power levels.