Hello I want to get into lasering and want a good laser

[Sir_Dumpling]

I really like lasers and want to get into it as a hobby.
where would be the best place to get a blue 1w laser?
and if it would be better how can I build a laser?

P.S I want to be a potential pilot one day so I know how dangerous it is to point a laser at a plane and your vision balls

 

[Wakrah]

Lots of places, Sanwu, of course. My favorite mass production seller is jetlasers.org for a quality pointer.

Build your own using parts from DTR LPF, find his store online searching under those. Members can also machine a host for you to put his plug and play parts into.

 

[RA_pierce]

If you're interested in lasers as a hobby, I suggest building one yourself.
If you have access to some basic tools including a soldering station and a multimeter, you can make anything you want.

My advice is to start with something safer than a high power blue. Speaking from experience, you will get much more enjoyment from something that 1) you built yourself and 2) won't pose a health hazard to any vision-dependent animals within a 1 mile radius.
A low power (5-50 mW) 485 nm diode (a nice cyan color) will surely impress you and your friends - even more so if you built it yourself.

Unfortunately, there aren't so many DIYers these days because there are so many places to buy pre-made pointers which has led to some atrophy on this forum.
Take a look at the tutorial I have linked in my signature below to get a sense of what is required to put your own simple laser together.

 

[Sir_Dumpling]

Hi I am going to build my own violet laser. I purchased a 900mw laser from DTR lasers with a G2 lens and a full body hollow module. I got a C6 host and a driver with a output of about 520mA from survival lasers. I hope I got everything and if I made any mistakes if you could tell me and how to fix them. Also what batteries should I use? Thank you if all goes well with this laser I will build a cyan laser.

 

[Encap]

BIg mistake so far, no laser safety glasses/goggles.
You said nothing about laser safety glasses/goggles which are a must have if you value your eyesight.
If you want to learn about laser safety and safe use see: https://www.laserpointersafety.com/

900mW of 405nm is very dangerous and not particualy visible.
445nm is about 10X brighter visually and 532nm green about 10X brighter than 445nm so...
405nm is only about 1% as bright visually a 532nm green.

Do yourself a favor ---before you take a chance of permanently damaging your eyes and/or blinding yourself during playtime with lasers buy an Eagle Pair of laser safety glasses/goggle from Survival laser https://www.survivallaserusa.com/Safety_Goggles/cat1667093_1527285.aspx

 

[Sir_Dumpling]

Yes I don't want to go blind and I will get some laser glasses from survival lasers. Thanks for letting me know. I promise I won't go using m to laser with out safety goggles.

 

[Commander J. Bloodmaker]

Best way to learn this hobby, I have found. Read, read some more, read a bunch more, then reread, read again, and read some more. Then start putting what you read into practice. get sad and frustrated you burnt your first few diodes up. Then realize, you forgot your esd collar. An get all happy that the next diode throws out beautiful coherent light. Then, switch to mad scientist mode and build a death star.

Ok, OK, the death star part was a joke. Really though, read and read, then build some. The fun part is building them. The exciting part is the day you fire them up. You are going to kill some diodes, I did a few on purpose, just to see what would kill 'em. Burnt up a few very expensive diodes, and then realized I have to stop forgetting my esd cables and collar. Not all diodes have esd protection, argghhh.

 

[Sowee7]

I really like lasers and want to get into it as a hobby.
where would be the best place to get a blue 1w laser?
and if it would be better how can I build a laser?

P.S I want to be a potential pilot one day so I know how dangerous it is to point a laser at a plane and your vision balls

well if you are tired of diode builds, you should move on to dpss builds, it can be tricky sometimes to align the crystals and optics for one but you can get LOADS of different colors, i usually get the crystals from companies or take them out of modules and lab lasers, sometimes you can get other output from a crystal meant to only do one color! but be careful, dpss laser cavities usually have a very high power IR pump diode that can blind you with out even knowing is IR is invisible/almost invisible. dont get fooled by the dim red light!

 

[hazerkitten]

Hi I am going to build my own violet laser. I purchased a 900mw laser from DTR lasers with a G2 lens and a full body hollow module. I got a C6 host and a driver with a output of about 520mA from survival lasers. I hope I got everything and if I made any mistakes if you could tell me and how to fix them. Also what batteries should I use? Thank you if all goes well with this laser I will build a cyan laser.

I'm sure you're already enjoying your laser and everything went fine, however, I would note that the particular driver you are using is the only one SL sells that utilizes only one battery. Don't throw two in it or you will most likely destroy it!