GB diode in a green laser pointer body?

[thedaveman]

Hi everybody, first time posting here, or anywhere for that matter. I have a question that I hope isn't too dumb. I've searched and looked around as best I could and have not found the answer to this yet. I apologize if this has already been discussed somewhere and I missed it. I’ve seen a lot of talk about how to power the diodes from DVD burners. I’ve seen a lot of people using a Dorcy flashlight, which from what I’ve read still seems to need modification to safely power the diodes. I’ve seen people saying all you need is some batteries, a capacitor, and a potentiometer. But quite frankly I don’t like the looks of the Dorcy, and I don’t know where to put a pot on a Maglite. So after that long set up here’s my question:

If a cheap ($19 shipped) ebay green laser pointer is powering an IR diode producing 150-200mw of IR light and emitting a few mw of green light after all the diode pumped solid state stuff, then doesn’t it have to have some sort of circuitry to run this seemingly high powered IR diode? Could that be used to power a DVD burner diode? I know it’s obviously a different wavelength of light and all, but if it has an output similar to what we’re aiming for with the DVD burner diode maybe it has a similar power requirement. There ought to be lots of room after taking out the DPSS green stuff right. Assuming the housing will fit, the common Aixiz housing being 12mm and the green laser pointer being 14mm, though I have seen housings that were 9mm.

Anyway love to get any input or suggestions. If it’s obviously not going to work I’d rather not spend the $19 for the pointer and I’d rather not burn up my diode, I only got two from the GB. Thanks SenKat by the way.

 

[JECS]

you will be using 2-3 aa batteries max to power the thing most likely, so you can use whatever housing you want that will fit your power requirements. i dont think the circuit would be any different at all. i ran a diode fine straight off 2 aa batteries (if you care about your diode most people would not suggest this). the aixiz modules are said to work well as heatsinks for the diode as long as you dont only use a couple batteries or possibly 3 aaa. if you plan on using more power a larger heatsink would be a good idea to give the diode a longer life if you want to run it for extended amounts of time. thats just regular batteries though not nimh or anything. check ma specs. just dont try hooking it to a 9v. it fries pretty much instantly. basically there are no rules saying what you can or cant do. just remember more power = less life = requires more cooling. 3v seems to be a safe area using an aixiz module. of course you can always try to find a computer shop or something and see if they have any damaged dvd burners and just toy with the lasers and see how much is too much.

 

[Daedal]

Dave, to answer your question plainly... I think it can be done... a simply test of the circuit using a DMM and some 1N4001 diodes and maybe even a couple resistors will give you all the data you need.

The price seems good enough to justify trying to setup the circuit in there... and I would like to see what you can come up with from this setup

Be careful that the collimating optics in the green laser will be of no use to you once done... the 'green' part of the laser is pretty much useless... unless you decide to donate it...

An AixiZ housing (the chromed ones) should fit in snugly... and if they don't, a thin layer of aluminum foil should do the trick, or a short run with a metal file would make it thinner if needed as well.

GL;
DDL

 

[thedaveman]

Alright well thanks for the input. I went ahead and ordered a cheap green pointer today. I guess I'll have to dig up my old multimeter and do some testing when the pointer gets here. If the circuitry for the IR diode won't work maybe I can fit a capacitor and a pot down inside the body. Anyway I'll let ya'll know what I can figure out.

 

[Things]

Hi everybody, first time posting here, or anywhere for that matter. I have a question that I hope isn't too dumb. I've searched and looked around as best I could and have not found the answer to this yet. I apologize if this has already been discussed somewhere and I missed it. I’ve seen a lot of talk about how to power the diodes from DVD burners. I’ve seen a lot of people using a Dorcy flashlight, which from what I’ve read still seems to need modification to safely power the diodes. I’ve seen people saying all you need is some batteries, a capacitor, and a potentiometer. But quite frankly I don’t like the looks of the Dorcy, and I don’t know where to put a pot on a Maglite. So after that long set up here’s my question:

If a cheap ($19 shipped) ebay green laser pointer is powering an IR diode producing 150-200mw of IR light and emitting a few mw of green light after all the diode pumped solid state stuff, then doesn’t it have to have some sort of circuitry to run this seemingly high powered IR diode? Could that be used to power a DVD burner diode? I know it’s obviously a different wavelength of light and all, but if it has an output similar to what we’re aiming for with the DVD burner diode maybe it has a similar power requirement. There ought to be lots of room after taking out the DPSS green stuff right. Assuming the housing will fit, the common Aixiz housing being 12mm and the green laser pointer being 14mm, though I have seen housings that were 9mm.

Anyway love to get any input or suggestions. If it’s obviously not going to work I’d rather not spend the $19 for the pointer and I’d rather not burn up my diode, I only got two from the GB. Thanks SenKat by the way.

HEHEHE i asked exactly this same question a while ago! Simply put, no it won't.