Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm
I just took a look at your stainless build (the last one on your list of white links). I'd have to say that looks completely doable! I'd assume a veteran laser pro could probably slap that together in half an hour...? (Whatever the time, I'm sure it'll be quadrupled for me.)
Now I am going to seriously consider picking up a kit!
Yes that is a nice one, and my most expensive so far. Yes if done the same way, a half hour is probably about right. I say go for it, you'll be glad you did, you will know exactly what your getting and know how it was put together if you ever need to fix it. No waiting for up to 6 weeks for something from China that once in awhile will never arrive at all. And
Survival Laser USA Home is one of several sites and people to buy from. To make it very easy you can buy some "no-diode host bundle", "JAD kit" (just add diode), or a Mrcrouse "plug n burn" host, and there are others, several stores and people and machinists here to buy from. Too many people screw up their first build so it's better to go the easy route until you feel confident, there are some members here that have screwed up a build several times!
To make it easy: don't handle a bare diode, to press your own diode in a module you need a special tool and a vice, and then you need to solder wires onto the diode or sometimes a driver directly to the diode. This is where it sometimes goes wrong if you haven't done that before. Just buy one already in a module with wires attached.
Another place people sometimes screw up is with a round driver or a battery contact board where you have to press it into the brass ring and solder it and then press it in the pill, sometimes they mangle the brass ring or sometimes solder will go around the edge of the board and cause a short. Keep in mind some hosts don't even use a pill and will just have a battery contact board on the back of the heat sink. There are also some cases where you will use a rectangular driver and heat sink it to the pill.
Also if you buy a driver that is adjustable and not preset then to set the current correctly you need to use a test load and a DMM and know how to use them. Somehow something sometimes goes wrong there and people fry a driver or a diode! You must own a DMM no matter what though so you can troubleshoot what's wrong when it's all put together and won't turn on.
Another thing people are always doing is inserting the batteries backwards. Most drivers don't have reverse polarity protection, or if they do it's only good for a few seconds and is designed in a way that it shorts though the driver instead of the diode and frys your driver. Most diodes are case neutral so the host can be wired host negative or host positive. Sometimes the host is electrically isolated from the module/diode. Sometimes the diode is case negative (I think only some red diodes), and sometimes the diode is case positive ( I think only DPSS modules and IR diodes), care must be taken that these are wired correctly.
The other mistake people make is when they screw the parts together in the wrong order and twist the wires breaking a pin off the diode. There have been members that did this multiple times! :crackup: there are some hosts though where this can't happen though so be aware of how the parts go together.
So for a first build I recommend doing it the easy way where you will only have to solder two pairs of wires and assemble some parts, then when your familiar with all the different parts and how lasers are put together then decide if you want something more DIY.
Alan
(Actually, I'm not really worried about hurting myself with a laser as much because I do a lot of amature work on firearms and I could immagine the "don't point the barrel at yourself" kind of rules apply to lasers as well.)