MonotonousDiode
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- Joined
- Jun 28, 2020
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First off, apologies if these questions are just plain stupid, this is my first build as I'm interested in starting out with the hobby.
I'm looking to make a green laser, operated by button, I'm planning on using this part: 10mW 532nm Green Laser Diode Dot Module.
have a 9V battery, a potentiometer and a button, using the potentiometer I can alter the 9V battery output to 5V (the diode's requirement) and simply run it through the button to the diode. I can deal with a case and heatsink later, as for now I'm just going with the utter, bare basics of a build. Essentially merely making a laser diode turn on.
The components when hooked up should run in this order: 9V Battery>Potentiometer>Button>Diode
However my main question is that I've heard about laser drivers, and wondered if I'd need one for this rather than just going from what is essentially a 5V battery straight to the diode, and if so what type, and where should I attach it?
As a final question, is a 10mW green laser dangerous, if viewed unprotected through a reflection, such as off glass or a mirror? I know the beam directly hitting your eye is dangerous above 5mW, and 10mW isn't enough for the "dot" itself to be dangerous, but what about a possible reflection? As this is my first build I planned to use something higher than most commercial laser pointers (the common £10 things on Ebay) but not dangerous enough to require eye protection, assuming the beam doesn't directly hit the eye.
Again, apologies if this is a rather stupid question to ask.
I'm looking to make a green laser, operated by button, I'm planning on using this part: 10mW 532nm Green Laser Diode Dot Module.
have a 9V battery, a potentiometer and a button, using the potentiometer I can alter the 9V battery output to 5V (the diode's requirement) and simply run it through the button to the diode. I can deal with a case and heatsink later, as for now I'm just going with the utter, bare basics of a build. Essentially merely making a laser diode turn on.
The components when hooked up should run in this order: 9V Battery>Potentiometer>Button>Diode
However my main question is that I've heard about laser drivers, and wondered if I'd need one for this rather than just going from what is essentially a 5V battery straight to the diode, and if so what type, and where should I attach it?
As a final question, is a 10mW green laser dangerous, if viewed unprotected through a reflection, such as off glass or a mirror? I know the beam directly hitting your eye is dangerous above 5mW, and 10mW isn't enough for the "dot" itself to be dangerous, but what about a possible reflection? As this is my first build I planned to use something higher than most commercial laser pointers (the common £10 things on Ebay) but not dangerous enough to require eye protection, assuming the beam doesn't directly hit the eye.
Again, apologies if this is a rather stupid question to ask.