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FrozenGate by Avery

DIY Homemade laser diode driver

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BlueFusion said:
this thread may be coming to an end... sorry DDL! ya i told daedal first... and he's cool.
but with my development of a driver for Kenom's barrels, I may be able to supply assembled drivers or kits for less than it costs to do it yerself.
Low dropout reg, so you can use only 5.5v for blurays or as little as 4.5v for reds...
and on a professionally printed PCB.
This is only a very vague maybe at the moment, i have to run it by kenom and drlava, the other members of the development team, and i have to see if its financially viable for me to sell them straight off or if it needs to take a GB format. But we're looking at $5 a pop, ISH. very vague like i said.
Click to expand...

WOAH WOAH WOAH WAIT A MIN

does this mean that you will delete this post?!?!?!
This post is the best thing to happen for mankind since the big bang!!!!!!

Kenoms barrels cost 30 bucks, and these things cost less than five bucks from radio shack....
No offence, kenoms barrels are AWESOME especially because they come with drivers, but I dont think this thread should go away....

Just my opinion, yet I doubt that my little opinion will have any effect whatsoever on the decision of people running this thing.

Please Excuse my Horrid spelling:

amk
 





Don't worry, I doubt this thread will be going anywhere..IMO it should stay.. 8-)
 
I don't know what to say... :-? :o

This thread is not going anywhere... if anything, I was thinking of adding a FAQ section in the beginning to help organize it a little more... ::)

Blue... I don't think that was worded very nicely, not to me and not to anyone else.

--DDL
 
Gazoo said:
woop,
I agree except I don't consider any question to be a stupid question. Many members are new to this forum and also new to electronics. I have noticed as members get seasoned and learn then they help others.

Every day I come here I learn something new. If members didn't ask questions I would not be learning anything. Sometimes I make mistakes with my answers and I will be corrected, as you know. Then I will go and verify and admit when I am wrong. I think we all need to be tolerant of each other. Tolerance and patience is one of the very many great things about this forum.. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you Gazoo, I agree completely. And yes it was me who asked the "stupid question" but give me a break. But when I get a lack of sleep my vision tends to get really bad (no joke). I have learned a lot already from this forum and I am gladly contributing what I know or have learned.
 
hey i am only saying a question is "stupid" if it was asked and answered on the previous page!
obviously everyone has different levels of ignorance on any given topic, and the only way to find out is to ask questions. it just sometimes annoys me when people ask a question which could be easily answered with a google search, or a search of this forum.
I really think that you shouldn't be making a laser driver if you don't know how resistors work! running lasers is a lot easier if you know what you are doing and how it is working, roughly.
maybe we should make a universal laser faq outlining basic electronics needed for running laser diodes. just stuff like voltage current resistance, the operation of the lm317, properties of lasers, ideal currents for common lasers and that kind of stuff which gets asked every day. basically just compressing a lot of the useful information on this thread and forum to one easy to find place.
that way we would get more challenging questions and interesting conversation.
this is a great place to ask questions but i hope you all get what i am trying to say

by the way i mean no offense to anyone, in my view we are all ignorant. no one can know everything and i understand that there are people who just want a laser that can burn stuff :P
 
BlueFusion said:
this thread may be coming to an end... sorry DDL! ya i told daedal first... and he's cool.
but with my development of a driver for Kenom's barrels, I may be able to supply assembled drivers or kits for less than it costs to do it yerself.
Low dropout reg, so you can use only 5.5v for blurays or as little as 4.5v for reds...
and on a professionally printed PCB.
This is only a very vague maybe at the moment, i have to run it by kenom and drlava, the other members of the development team, and i have to see if its financially viable for me to sell them straight off or if it needs to take a GB format. But we're looking at $5 a pop, ISH. very vague like i said.
Click to expand...

what chip will it use?
i am thinking of making a 1AA laser with one of those portable phone chargers.
also, what does anyone think of this http://www.edn.com/article/CA6325592.html
it could power a LD with 500mA (or less) from a single cell lithium with efficiencies of 97% and the part count is not much higher than an lm317 circuit. (coilcraft has free samples for inductors :) ) oh yea national has free samples for the lm2852 too (I love free samples)
 
ok, i know it looks pretty stupid to someone who knows about electronics when an unenlightend comes along and sees he can burn stuff with just a few old parts and make a cool laser... but wouldn't know a resistor from hole in the ground ;D

I swear i did at least glance over all 37 pages of this thread more than once, but it is a lot to take in and becomes overwhelming. But what better way is there to get involved in electronics than to start with a fun project? That is something of value here- think about it!

An electronics FAQ probably would be a good addition, considering the amount of people interested- then maybe you could ban the noobs from posting anything before proving they know what a resistor is :-X In any case, it would be better to be shorter than 37 pages...

And thanks for your kind words Gazoo :)
 
I totally agree, it is a fun first project. but it can also be an expensive one
i guess i take for granted how overwhelming that first schematic might seem to a newb :P
I honestly can't remember when i first started playing around with electronics, so i am not sure the best way to get educated on the subject. google is a great thing but playing around with electronics is the best way to get to know it.

actually i can point all newb's to this site
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/te_interactive_index.html
then do the basic electronics course or BEC course which is in the left column (scroll down a bit) under B
explains the operation of resistors, capacitors and led's for complete beginners. actually all of it is quite essential for running laser diodes :D
maybe that site should be in the sticky for useful things
 
For my first DIY laser project, I think I am gonna make a Blu-Ray pointer. My plan is to use this driver with four AAA batteries. My plan for setting the current is to remove the batteries, short the caps to drain them, and attach the LD in serial with my ammeter. Then put the batteries in, and dial up the current until the ammeter reads about 35 ma. Then take the batteries out, take the ammeter out, short the caps again, and reconnect the LD. As this is my first DIY Laser project, I am not sure if that will work. If anyone could tell me, that would be great.
 
I'm going to browse the maplins catalog later on, looking for an alternative to the LM317 that will remain stable at ~ 3v. 6v is too big for any decent case I can find.
(Aside from the tiny 6V Alkaline 4LR44 which lasted around 5 minutes :'()

Anyone know of something that might be of interest?
 
a_pyro_is said:
you'll need more input Voltage than 6V
Click to expand...


Looking at the schematic it said 6v. So a 9v then? Other than that, does everything else sound ok?
 
Please someone who has actually built a BR chime in.
I believe the prefered method is to slowly raise the current until you reach laseing threshold, and the about another 10mA. Each diode is VERY different and you'll have to adjust for the needs of your diode.
 
can I use a 47uF, 10volt capacitor? I was searching through my salvaged capacitor box, and I found a super mini 47uF, 10 volt electrolyctic capacitor (I think I got it from an old walkmen). Please say I can use it because if I can my whole circuit should be about half the size of a dime!

BTW the dimensions are 4mm in diameter by 8mm in length.

Just to show off my camera, here it is in comparison to a dime and a 1n4001. I'm also going to solder the 1n4001 verticle to save space since the cap is verticle too.
 
a_pyro_is said:
Please someone who has actually built a BR chime in.
I believe the prefered method is to slowly raise the current until you reach laseing threshold, and the about another 10mA. Each diode is VERY different and you'll have to adjust for the needs of your diode.
Click to expand...

That makes sense. I read that somewhere, but I forgot about it, thanks. So, 9v battery, turn it up till it starts lasing, then 10ma more. Do I have everything covered there?
 
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