Boy, I've been lurking here for a while. I registered back when the original Wicked Lasers Arctic craze happened, when people were waiting for months to get their stuff. I decided it was in my best interests to not buy that, though, but it was my interest in building an Arduino-controlled CO2 laser cutter (that's on the back burner, but it hasn't been completely scrapped yet) that really got me to register.
I did eventually buy an Arctic, though, earlier this month (arrived about 2 weeks ago
; yes, I know all about their shady business practices going in, and have my credit card company's customer service line on speed dial for a reason - any sign of BS, and I'd pull the plug; suffice to say that while they won't be getting any more money from me they delivered the product I ordered in a timely manner (from ordering to my doorstep was just under 2 weeks)). Accidentally LED'd the diode while messing around (actually, more like smoked it), and started researching how to make it bigger and badder than ever (using mostly original parts, since I'm one of those strange people that actually likes the smartswitch feature, and since I read a thread here where someone had adjusted the pot on his Arctic to get it shooting right around the advertised specs). Currently it's lying on the work bench in about a million pieces, I've got a replacement multimeter on order (the ammeter on the old one bit the dust a long time ago), and I've even got a test load for 445nm built (thanks to information found elsewhere here).
Ordered an M140 diode from Cajunlasers on Friday, and I'm hoping it'll get here sometime next week so that I can install it and get back to the fun.
This is just one of my many hobbies (I mess around with electronics, shoot handguns - I have 2 9mm's and a 357SIG, PC gaming, paint models, and do a whole host of other entertaining stuff), but it's quickly climbing up there, especially as I become willing to spend cash on the stuff necessary to really get started.
I did eventually buy an Arctic, though, earlier this month (arrived about 2 weeks ago
; yes, I know all about their shady business practices going in, and have my credit card company's customer service line on speed dial for a reason - any sign of BS, and I'd pull the plug; suffice to say that while they won't be getting any more money from me they delivered the product I ordered in a timely manner (from ordering to my doorstep was just under 2 weeks)). Accidentally LED'd the diode while messing around (actually, more like smoked it), and started researching how to make it bigger and badder than ever (using mostly original parts, since I'm one of those strange people that actually likes the smartswitch feature, and since I read a thread here where someone had adjusted the pot on his Arctic to get it shooting right around the advertised specs). Currently it's lying on the work bench in about a million pieces, I've got a replacement multimeter on order (the ammeter on the old one bit the dust a long time ago), and I've even got a test load for 445nm built (thanks to information found elsewhere here).Ordered an M140 diode from Cajunlasers on Friday, and I'm hoping it'll get here sometime next week so that I can install it and get back to the fun.
This is just one of my many hobbies (I mess around with electronics, shoot handguns - I have 2 9mm's and a 357SIG, PC gaming, paint models, and do a whole host of other entertaining stuff), but it's quickly climbing up there, especially as I become willing to spend cash on the stuff necessary to really get started.
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