LD from 40x CD-ROM reader - worth the harvest?

[daveindelaware]

I acquired an old Dell server that I'm salvaging for parts.

The optical drive that came with it is a Samsung CD-Master 40E (Model SC-140) CD-ROM drive, manufactured in October 1999. I believe it's a 40x. Read only.

I know this is an IR diode. And I know about the IR dangers and proper eye protection....

My question is this:

Is this LD worth harvesting for anything?

I'm not worried about it burning stuff. But could it be used to make a DIY greenie (for the learning experience)? Or is there another useful purpose for an IR diode?

If it is worth harvesting, what sort of output could one get from a 40x, provided a proper driver is used?

Thanks for everyone's input on this. I just don't want to waste my time on a 10-year old diode if it isn't worth it.

 

[mfo]

It's worthless. You'd get like 1mW most if you made a green with that. Don't waste your time and trash it.

 

[roddenberry]

Definitely not powerful enough to be worth the hassle. CD rom drives and even CD burners have rather weak IR laser diodes that only output a few milliwatts, but be careful, they're still strong enough to blind you permanently!

If you really want to experiment with IR, I suggest you look up 1 watt IR diodes on eBay... you could find one in the $30/$40 range... and that puts out some serious stuff!

Another way is to disassemble a cheap green module from DX, and pop off the slug with the DPSS crystal, (my picture on the right) that will give you a 250 mW to 500 mW IR laser (unfocused, so you'll have to find some IR-compatible optics if you wan to turn it into a burner laser.

Robert

 

[daveindelaware]

OK guys, thanks for letting me know. It sounds like it's totally NOT worth anything, so I won't worry about it.

I was just curious if I could harvest it to put towards learning about crystals and greenies. But not with this particular drive's diode.

Thank you!