DIY Homemade laser diode driver

[Gazoo]

Read up the thread a bit..your question was answered... 33ohms, but I did forget to mention a 1/4 watt resistor is plenty hefty enough. A 9 volt battery is fine since the diode will draw only 38ma's...using a 33 ohm resistor.

 

[Abray]

hey, I just received all the parts for this driver in the mail today!

I pretty much get the circuit and everything, but I don't know the polarity for almost anything. I bought a multimeter, and it works to check the polarity of diodes, but I don't know if it will work for resistors and capacitors. how can I check the polarity of the components?

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

Resistors have no polarity, Capacitors are marked .

Mike

 

[SteelRain]

Alright, i do not know much (Anything) about circuits or anything of the sort-it all confuses me, but i do want to try (eventually) to make a homemade red laser.

I understand the reasons why you use things like the capacitor and resistor and pot..... but i dont know how/in which way you use them. For instance, i have no clue how you would hook them up....When i start my project im sure ill be asking more Q's, but for now a simple explanation would work-thanks

 

[amkdeath]

bluray: 33ohm resistor
red: 2 10ohm resistors in parallel, or just 5 ohms

NO pot is needed.

use more than 4 nimh batts, as they sag, I learned that hard way.

for blu-ray, it is recommended u input at least 9v into the circuit

thats what I gather, correct me if im wrong

regards,

amk

 

[Gazoo]

You are correct. Use 6 nimh batteries for the reds, alkalines will work as well but they are not as hefty when it comes to high current draw. Using a 5 ohm resistor will supply 250ma's to the diode.

For the blu's a standard 9 volt alkaline battery will work since the diode only draws around 38 ma's using a 33 ohm resistor.

 

[jtbarclay]

Everything fits perfect in the 1"x2"x4" enclosure from RS. Just needs to be drilled for power and the aixis module. Crossing my fingers that my package from senkat arrives tomorrow. I ended up going back to RS to get a pcb so I picked up a 47uf electrolytic. No switch yet since it'll just be easier to undo the alligator clips from my lantern batteries. If I go with rechargeable later I'll include the switch in their separate box. I included two pins and a jumper from the back of an old harddrive so I can remove the jumper and easily test the current.

I have the 5 ohm resistor soldered in series so for burning I'll just turn the pot down all the way, but for cw use such as in a laser show, what is a good current to run through it to keep a good lifespan?

 

[amkdeath]

Everything fits perfect in the 1"x2"x4" enclosure from RS.  Just needs to be drilled for power and the aixis module.  Crossing my fingers that my package from senkat arrives tomorrow.  I ended up going back to RS to get a pcb so I picked up a 47uf electrolytic.  No switch yet since it'll just be easier to undo the alligator clips from my lantern batteries.  If I go with rechargeable later I'll include the switch in their separate box.  I included two pins and a jumper from the back of an old harddrive so I can remove the jumper and easily test the current.

I have the 5 ohm resistor soldered in series so for burning I'll just turn the pot down all the way, but for cw use such as in a laser show, what is a good current to run through it to keep a good lifespan?

nice dude!

back when I used the RS pots (the one ur using), I drilled a hole at the back of that same case (I am using that too) and the pots turning thingy stuck out the back, and freed up alot of space. That way I could adjust the pot anytime without opening it.

Nice job fitting that heatsink!

regards,

amk

 

[jtbarclay]

Question of the day: Why does radioshack put stand offs in the bottom of their project boxes, when none of their circuit boards have holes in the right places to fit?

The heatsink was ripped off an old motherboard. It still had a little bit of thermal tape on it and i wrapped some wire around it and twisted the ends with a pliers to tighten it. Better than nothing. Of the 3 heatsinks I pulled, 5 of the metal pins stayed in the MB except for one of the pins on that heatsink. I can't get it out at all. Sadly I left the 2 good heatsinks in my dorm over break.

I was thinking about doing that with the pot, I even have a spare nice aluminum knob from an abandoned audio project I could use, and mark on the box 100 ma, 200ma, full power, and etc. Better yet, put the pot in the lid so I could remove the lid and BURN my scale onto the lid.

 

[amkdeath]

Question of the day: Why does radioshack put stand offs in the bottom of their project boxes, when none of their circuit boards have holes in the right places to fit?

The heatsink was ripped off an old motherboard.  It still had a little bit of thermal tape on it and i wrapped some wire around it and twisted the ends with a pliers to tighten it.  Better than nothing.  Of the 3 heatsinks I pulled, 5 of the metal pins stayed in the MB except for one of the pins on that heatsink.  I can't get it out at all.  Sadly I left the 2 good heatsinks in my dorm over break.

I was thinking about doing that with the pot, I even have a spare nice aluminum knob from an abandoned audio project I could use, and mark on the box 100 ma, 200ma, full power, and etc.

Yes, the standoffs on the bottom of the cases are jsut more pains in my ass. On my own, self use, homemade one, I used a flame resistant barbecue lighter (like a blowtorch) and a hot screwdriver (heated on gas stove) to sorta chop those off. like a hot knife though frozen butter, if you knwo what I mean.

For the ones I sell to some of my close friends, I would never do that, because it makes the hting look very UN-tidy, and UN-professional. kinda messy too. If they made smaller aluminum boxes (the aluminum project enclosures at my local RS are HUGE, they may even be good for your lantern batt setup) Id buy one (aluminum ones have no standoffs)

the RS pcb's have loes on the corners, and if you chop one of the smaller boards in half, you can use 2 of the standoffs on the pcb, I wouldnt do that though, because it takes up a shitload of room.

I could sorta tell that the heatsink was from one of the chipsets on ur mobo. looks familiar. mine is HUGE tho, and would not do for a laser setup (Asus mobo with NForce 780i (I am using the dual 8800 ultra SLI, planning on upgrading to 3 way SLI)).

regards,

amk

regards,

amk

 

[jtbarclay]

The lantern batteries are just temporary until I can afford something better. I'm afraid my bank account is low ever since I purchased my macbook pro. I'm quite happy with the 8600m gt with 256mb. Plays any of the games I throw at it. A great improvement from my fx5200 with 128mb.

 

[amkdeath]

The lantern batteries are just temporary until I can afford something better.  I'm afraid my bank account is low ever since I purchased my macbook pro.  I'm quite happy with the 8600m gt with 256mb.  Plays any of the games I throw at it.  A great improvement from my fx5200 with 128mb.

the asus G1S-B2 is a better laptop in my opinion than the macbooks, (click here for link)

the graphics is a GeForce 8600M GT, 3 GB ram, 1 GB turbo memory, SXGA+ screen and a core 2 duo at 2.4Ghz. Heck it even has lightscribe! free backpack and gaming mouse, and a free N router, the laptop also has wireless N (802.11N i believe it is) which is like b and g, oly farther range and speed.

HDMI out, nice screen resolution, sleek design.

2 year warranty,

at

1,679.99 after 100.00 Mail in Rebate!!!

this beats any mac, and it has windows, so theres an advantage over ur macbook.

this is cheaper, and like wickedlasers, this has always been my slogan:
Mac rips ur ass off.

after lpf, its:

JUST LIKE WICKEDLASERS, MAC WILL RIP UR ASS OFF!!

regards,

amk

 

[jtbarclay]

Completely the wrong thread for this, but.

My MBP is 2/3 the thickness, nearly 2 lbs lighter. Has draft n wireless and windows. It also has bluetooth. It doesn't need turbo memory to boot fast, unless I'm booting into windows. Your laptop has no OS X no IEEE 1394b. I already own a backpack and a router. The mac came with a free ipod and a free printer. Plus I had a $200 discount without having to mail in a rebate.

oh and,

"I would never do that, because it makes the hting look very UN-tidy, and UN-professional. kinda messy too."

I guess sexiness does matter.

If I wanted an ugly dysfunctional computer I could have gotten a similar dell my university has a sort of "group buy" on for only $800. But I'd like to use this for more than 12 months.

 

[Gazoo]

Ok back on topic with a couple of added suggestions... ;D

jtbarclay,

You do not need the heatsink...it is just taking up space. Between removing it and mounting the pot as amkdeath suggested, you will have ample space in the box.

The other suggestion I have is to put a 1 ohm 1 watt resistor where you have the jumper. Then you simply measure the voltage across the 1 ohm resistor and this will give you your current reading. Not only is this much safer and accurate, it is also more convenient.

Lastly, but this is not a huge deal, you can easily get by with a 10mf 16 volt capacitor. This will also free up a bit of space.

When you do switch to nimh's, make sure you use six batteries. The regulator does start to drop out with less than 6 volts.

Good luck...I am looking forward to seeing another laser born..

 

[Abray]

ok I have the whole circuit set up, and the pot is turned to approximately 37 or 38. now the problem is. whats the polarity of the blu-ray diode. I've searched this forum, but can't find it. and I know its here. or was. does anybody know the polarity? or at least the thread its in?

 

[amkdeath]

ok I have the whole circuit set up, and the pot is turned to approximately 37 or 38. now the problem is. whats the polarity of the blu-ray diode. I've searched this forum, but can't find it. and I know its here. or was. does anybody know the polarity? or at least the thread its in?

by polarity do you mean pin out?

and the search feature wont bring it up. You gotta search on the threads by urself, I know it was somewhere in there...

oh and a question, sorry if it dont belong here, how do you mod a bluefusion driver (the ones in the kryton barrels) to work with blu-ray? last I saw, it didnt have a pot, and so im a bit confuzzled.

thanks,

amk