Looking to buy lasers in Australia.

[Psyrex]

Does anyone in Australia have my lasers to sell please ?
We have rather draconian laws here and I didn’t wish to run afoul of the law by purchasing overpowered items from overseas.
Id like to do some optics experiments for parties and general nerdiness as well as look at setting up a laser perimeter around our property.

 

[Mosc007]

Actually our Laws are a lot better than most other countries.

Only Pointers are limited to 1mw. Lab style lasers are not restricted. Also, If you are a member of an approved astronomy club you can have any power laser pointer you like. If you want to buy pointers from OS you need to fill in the correct paperwork.

The easiest way is to by from Ebay. There are a few local sellers. There is an Aussie supplier in WA which sells high power lab style lasers. Hobby kind. Not expensive industrial stuff. His name on Ebay is "laserlandaustralia2016". He sells on Ebay and ships from WA.

Another way is to buy parts from OS. There are no restrictions on buying parts. I have bought MANY laser modules from DTR and never had any customs issues. https://sites.google.com/site/dtrlpf/

 

[Psyrex]

Thanks for that Mosc007, I’ll definately follow those leads.
Is there a desktop power supply that’s will cover lasers ? I didn’t want to buy the $19 version only to buy a more professional version 2 weeks later.
I’m testing from 1mW to 1000mW and is there a chart for what Amps for what mW and 12 V please ?

 

[Mosc007]

I don't run the diodes directly from the bench supply. All my Lab Style lasers have the driver inbuilt. Then the Lab power supply is not critical. Just set the Lab Supply at whatever the Driver requires. IE, 3v, 6v, 12v etc.

What amps are required for the Diode will be from the Diodes Data Sheet. Can be anywhere from 50ma to to 4.5 Amps.

The Lab Style from Laserlands all use 12v input. The Modules from DTR are made for battery operation so they generally are 3v or 6v.

I started off making my own drivers using an LM317. But now days I am lazy and buy off the shelf drivers.

You can make your own Pointers. Just be careful where you use them. Order the Module from DTR and a host from a different supplier. I think I ordered hosts from Dragon Lasers but not certain. Importing a host is perfectly legal. Its just a Case. No Diodes or anything inside them. They are usually declared as Torch Hosts on the customs declaration.

The only time I ever had a problem with Customs was ordering a Red LED torch for Astronomy. I got a letter from Customs saying they seized my laser. After Emails back and forth they eventually looked at it and found it was a torch. Not a laser and released it from customs.

 

[Psyrex]

Thank you, that s very generous information.
As a newbie it’s all completely new to me but I’m keen to learn and contact people.

 

[Psyrex]

And if I can’t find a diodes Data sheet ? Can I start with low A and move up ?
And is this adequate as a bench supply ?

 

[Anthony P]

Data sheets are widely available. I would always use a driver. For less than 1 amp, a simple LM 317 circuit works well. For Higher amperage, I always use a professionally made driver with test load to calibrate. Your bench supply is fine to power the driver.

 

[Psyrex]

Thanks for the information Anthony P.
Good to know it’s laser then driver then power.
its easy to pick up lasers but some are without a driver and the few I’ve bought with a driver have no paperwork with them so it’s a pure guess what Amps to use if I can’t find data sheets. These lasers have no company ID on them either.