Minimag as housing?

[Abray]

hey, I have a minimag, and although I know that the normal mod IS NOT SAFE, I am still trying to find a way to turn it into a laser housing. I have completely figured out the circuitry inside of it, and was wondering if its possible to somehow install a small driver? the on/off switch might be tricky depending on if you still use the twisting top. has anybody else considered this? And if you have, how would it be possible?

 

[chido]

I'm holding one right now and I don't think you could fit a driver in there, but I think you might be able to fit a capacitor and a resistor.

 

[Abray]

yeah somebody else told me the exact same thing. they said to put a ~2.2 ohm resistor in series with the diode, and a 16v47uf capacitor in parallel. which would then make the diode run off of 3v?

well thats what they told me. would you suggest that too?

 

[m3-dude]

I bought converters from DX that convert AAA's to AA sizing. Since AAA's provide lower amps it is alot safer than using AA's. And it it also the same thing Wickeds pulsar uses, two AAA's wired up straight and they work with no problems. I've been running mine like this for months and had no problems.

 

[wooooooolazer]

i would just use aa's, they last longer. Just take a peice of card and cut it into a circle and put the spring from the bottom thru it, then take a resistor and wrap it around the spring and make it touch the bottom of the metel. If you do it right you can put the resistor in the bottom of it so you have more room in the head to put a capacitor. Its not realy as hard to do as i make it sound ;D

...lazer... ;D ;D ;D

 

[iohutom]

I made one from these mini mag housings. i didn't put any resistors or capcitors. i just pull out the light bulb from minimag, cut the PD pin of LD then insert the LD to the socket provided( check the polarity first). the LD is mounted in a aixiz housing without the bottom part which cant be fit in to the head of minimag. then drill a hole on the plastic plate, the hole should be big enought to let the laser pass throught but small enough to hold the aixiz housing while turning off the light. and that's pretty much it. I cant get more power from it without a adjustable driver though, sad.
have fun with your DIY!

 

[chido]

Dude, the driver is used to regulate and limit the current going to the diode so you don't kill it. You connected your diode directly to the AAAs and thus your diode might die quickly because it's getting all the power coming from the batteries, not to mention all those nasty spikes.

 

[wooooooolazer]

The driver will actualy give you less power, the one you have is proably drawing 400ma while the driver will regulate it to around 200ma depending on what you set it, so it will actualy live long.

..lazer... ;D ;D ;D

 

[spyrorocks]

I found a sweet pointer housing at the dollar store. Im going to see if i can making something cool out of it.

 

[iohutom]

The driver will actualy give you less power, the one you have is proably drawing 400ma while the driver will regulate it to around 200ma depending on what you set it, so it will actualy live long.

..lazer... ;D ;D ;D

you sure about that? because my laser really seems just like a 50mw... I thought I could get more power if i can add a driver to boost up the current!

 

[chido]

What do you mean by just like a 50mw, can you light a match with it?
And like I said before, a driver is used to regulate and limit the current going to the LD, not to boost it up.

 

[iohutom]

What do you mean by just like a 50mw, can you light a match with it?
And like I said before, a driver is used to regulate and limit the current going to the LD, not to boost it up.

i have to put a magnifying glass in front of the lens in order to light a match, even my DX true 30mw green can make the match smoke with a magnifying glass, so i guess that my DIY red is about 50mw power.

 

[wooooooolazer]

Um, you know the whole purpose of the aixis is to focus it..., unscrew the lens to where its almost falling out then the focal point will be about 1 or 2inch away, find that spot and put a match there it should light instantly, unless its white. THe reason it seems less then a 50mw is more than likely because your comparing a green laser to it, a green laser is more senstive to the eyes so it appears brighter then a red laser of the same power. For the matches, are you putting sharpie on them, it can be hard to light a match without sharpie seing as the match is probably red or white like normal.

And no a driver circuit will not increase the current, right now you are putting an almost dangerous amount of current into it it will not go higher. The driver will actualy lower the current so it wont die in a week like most mini-mag lasers will.

...lazer.. ;D ;D ;D

 

[Gazoo]

Abray,
Actually even a AAA minimag would work and an AMC7135 driver would fit with a bit of work. You could get the smaller housing for the diode but you would need to run it at low duty cycles.

If I were to mod my minimag, here is what I would need but keep in mind mine is a two AA minimag. I would need an AMC7135 driver, and an Aixiz type housing which I would order from DX. I would also need a 1/2 watt 33 ohm resistor, a capacitor, a AA li-ion battery and a AA dummy battery. Oh and a tail cap switch for the minimag.

You can view my thread on the AMC7135 regulator if you are interested:

http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1191898669/0

BTW, I am now using 10uf 16 volt capacitors. I am sure a tantalum capacitor in this range would work well and they are much smaller.

 

[ttrtilley]

[quote author=wooooooolazer link=1199063031/0#7 date=1199399129]The driver will actualy give you less power, the one you have is proably drawing 400ma while the driver will regulate it to around 200ma depending on what you set it, so it will actualy live long.

..lazer... ;D ;D ;D

you sure about that? because my laser really seems just like a 50mw... I thought I could get more power if i can add a driver to boost up the current![/quote]

The type of battery makes a big difference.
I've just tried connecting a Sony sld1236vl directly to a few batteries.
It's rated 80 mw cw at 130 ma 2.5 v. Threshold is less than 50 ma.
No way I want to push it to it's max 250 mw (pulsed mode)

A couple LR44 button cells get it above threshold for only a little while.
Will forget about getting the whole thing in the AixiZ housing
2 NiMH AAA's keep it at 72 ma. Not bad.
2 NiMH AA's keep it around 83 ma. Better.
2 "Heavy Duty" AA's went over 100 ma and still rising when I bailed.
A CR123 3 V went quickly to 121 ma and rising fast when I aborted.
I haven't tried alkaline's. Need to get a variable resistor in-line first.

The type of AA cell may determine whether one gets smoke or light from Kipkay's simple Minimag Instructible.

 

[Gazoo]

As you found out the current kept rising as the diode heated up...this is normal when not using a current regulator and is all the more reason to use one. Also as the diode heats up, the mw's drop...so good heatsinking helps a great deal.