Hello everyone from the UK

[Andysparks]

I have been interested in lasers for years but I didn't know until recently that it was possible to build your own, so iv'e been reading this forum for a few weeks now and what a great source of information it is. Still finding my way around but iv'e learned quite a bit already and have just made my first laser.

 

[Ash]

Excellent.
Welcome to the forums.
Care to elaborate on your build?
Color, power setting vs. output power, driver, lens type, host, batteries, etc...?

 

[Morgan]

Welcome Andysparks! :wave:

You seem to be in the right place, on the right track, and in the UK! As Ash says, more details on your build. We'd love to see pics too... In fact we DEMAND pics or it didn't happen! (J/K, you'll read that one a lot! )

Keep on reading and I hope safety is top of your list of priorities.

Enjoy your new hobby and the help and info here.

M

 

[Andysparks]

Hi guys, ok so here's a few details about my first attempt. I got all the parts from OdicForce lasers, i set out to make a 250mW Red and bought an LPC 815 sled after watching a video of how to extract the LD.
I found it was harder and more fiddly than i expected and after cutting through the heatsink on both sides i trying to prise the diode out it landed up on the floor of my garage.
Anyway I was determined to carry on and got the diode out and went on to finish building, but with a current of 350mA all I got was a dim led. Reckon I was a bit to ambitious, so it has finished up as a 80-100 mW red which is now working Iv'e set the current at about 180-190mA it would'nt go any higher without jumping up to over 300mA for some reason. Not sure what make driver it is, acrylic lens and 2 CR2 Lithium batteries.
Now im going to attempt to upload some pics, quality is not great as iv'e only got my webcam to use.

 

[Nirmarea]

Hi guys, ok so here's a few details about my first attempt. I got all the parts from OdicForce lasers, i set out to make a 250mW Red and bought an LPC 815 sled after watching a video of how to extract the LD.
I found it was harder and more fiddly than i expected and after cutting through the heatsink on both sides i trying to prise the diode out it landed up on the floor of my garage.
Anyway I was determined to carry on and got the diode out and went on to finish building, but with a current of 350mA all I got was a dim led. Reckon I was a bit to ambitious, so it has finished up as a 80-100 mW red which is now working Iv'e set the current at about 180-190mA it would'nt go any higher without jumping up to over 300mA for some reason. Not sure what make driver it is, acrylic lens and 2 CR2 Lithium batteries.
Now im going to attempt to upload some pics, quality is not great as iv'e only got my webcam to use.

Sounds like a busted diode..... I think anyway. For ease of use I recommend Axiz housings and I tend to use rckster's drivers, they use about 7.5v for red but you can put anything up to 15v into them and still get a stable output!
As for red diodes, I just rip them out of old DVD burner drives, I live close to a recycling point and they don't mind me taking old parts so I get them free! With reds I tend to commit a cardinal sin though, I don't use drivers in most of my models, I either use half flat batteries or put a resistor across the diode to reduce the current, but then again, I have a free source of red diodes so it's easy for me to comment!
Also HighTechDealZ - High Tech DealZ does free shipping to the UK! so it might be the best place to get an axiz housing!

Oh, and again, Hi from a fellow UKer!
:beer:
Hope this helps!

 

[Morgan]

If you do need another LOC, I can install it in the heatsink of the kit you have there. I have built a couple of these so know the model.

Good job on the build though. I also suspect that dropping your diode did for it. It's good to practice extraction on the cheap or even free drives. The diode may not be the same and may not even be any useful output but your fingers start to learn how to deal with the tiny parts.

Good luck on your next one!

M

 

[Andysparks]

My first laser build

Hi guys, thanks for all your info. I reckon your right and my LOC was killed when it went on the floor, maybe I'll have another try with one sometime.
Wish i could find a source of old dvd drives like that to practice with.
I bought some 100mW red diodes ( cheap to practice with ) and a driver etc and i found an old led flashlight at work -the led's but it has a nice 4 x AAA battery holder and clicky switch so thought i would try turning it into a laser for my second build. Will let you know how it goes.
Thanks again
Andy