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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Hi everyone ~ new member from NY

Joined
Oct 15, 2009
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Hey I'm from NY, I'm a high school student. I've been interested with lasers ever since my dad took me to this awesome pink floyd laser light show way back when...I work on a lot of electrical engineering stuff with microcontrollers and digital circuits. I've made a few robots, MIDI controller,...you know, the usual haha.

Anyways, I saw some of the posts on this forum, and I'm astounded. I can't believe it can be so cheap to make a laser! I've drooled at the lasers on websites like wickedlasers.com, but I simply don't have the money to burn (no pun intended!). I own a 5mw wickedlasers 'core' green laser that I got when they first came out, and it's pretty cool, but it doesn't burn stuff! I want a laser with 250-300+mW of power. I just popped open a cheap-o DVD-RW drive, and found a nice red laser with a very nice collimator lens assembly and heat sink! What do you think the potential power output of this one is? This tutorial here (where I first got the idea): Laser Flashlight Hack!!
says it can be ~245mW? What are my best options right now for building a good laser pointer that's capable of 250-300mW+? I have stuff I can use for heatsinking, and I can even arrange a circuit that uses PWM (pulse width modulation) along with power transistors to keep the diode from dying from extended use if necessary or if it even helps. But I want it to be reliable enough that it will last. :evil: And I don't want to spend much, really, I'm broke!

Thanks for any help!
 





Joined
May 21, 2009
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hello and welcome to the forum.

enjoy your stay here. Have a nice day..

:)
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2009
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Thanks for the warm welcomes lol. One question though:

What about my question RE: what I can do with the diode I've got? Can you guys read that second paragraph of my blurb and help me out? I've read around in the forums here, I promise! Thanks.
 
Joined
Feb 21, 2008
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We're needing the same info you do in order to know what the diode can do. What brand and speed was the DVD burner? That can tell us a lot about the diode.

Our stickies and faq's have lots of info on red laser building ... Or, you could, as TJ suggested, get the Dilda. It's a great little laser. Alternatively, you can get diodes, drivers, hosts, kits, etc. right here on LPF.
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2009
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Ok. It was a 'JustLink'/'Aopen' RW5120A DVD+RW (supposedly only 2.4x write speed...it does not say on the actual unit, but that's what a google search turned up...). That IS a good deal for that 'Dilda' laser...although I want to see what I can do with this diode I've got. I know I can build a driver with components I already have, and an LM317 adjustable voltage regulator. Thanks for your help :thanks:
 
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
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Hey there DIYMaster.

2.4 or 24 write speed? :thinking: Anyway... it will make a great diode to practice with. I guess the best way to learn is to build your driver and hook it up... see what happens.

Good luck!
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2009
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You'd think 24x, but all places I have seen on the 'net say 2.4. Is this driver adequate, and will it keep it from dying reliably?
FKRCK3QFLB4PPB7.gif
 
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
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Hello there DIYMaster fellow New Yorker :wave: welcome to the greatest forum ! :D

Have fun ! & remember safety 1st !

Sincere,
LaserHaze
 




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