My DIY 20-40mW VioletRay

[flogged]

I tore apart my malfunctioning LG burner and created a weak BluRay pointer with it. See this topic for build details -
http://laserpointerforums.com/f38/lg-be12-bluray-diode-pinout-88119.html

Here's a couple balloon pop videos. 10 feet appears to be the limit. Can't quite light a match, though out to 1 foot it will smoke. Not certain how powerful the pointer is. Guessing it's 20-40mW. Current draw is 75mA. No duty cycle at least.

Six feet


Ten feet -


Beam in dark room

 

[NightExplorer96]

Nice job!

 

[i73770k]

Nice job!
But that's not 20-40mw
Its has to be more like 175mw..:beer:

 

[KRNAZNBOY]

Nice job!
But that's not 20-40mw
Its has to be more like 175mw..:beer:

If its drawing 75ma, how on earth can it be putting out even 100mw?

40mw is a fine estimate.

:beer:
-Matt

 

[i73770k]

If its drawing 75ma, how on earth can it be putting out even 100mw?

40mw is a fine estimate.

:beer:
-Matt

I just don't see how a 20 to 40mw 405nm laser could pop a balloon at all..
Never mind at that distance..
My 75mw 532nm laser barely pop's a balloon..
Maby i'm missing something, but i still think it has to be around 150mw..
Let me know what i'm missing

 

[IsaacT]

I just don't see how a 20 to 40mw 405nm laser could pop a balloon at all..
Never mind at that distance..
My 75mw 532nm laser barely pop's a balloon..
Maby i'm missing something, but i still think it has to be around 150mw..
Let me know what i'm missing

Biggest thing is divergence. I have a PHR around here somewhere. If I get a chance I will make a little LM317 driver for it and run it at 75mA and LPM it. But you are likely getting 60-70mW out of that. Usually those little 405's don't lose too much and go roughly 1 mW/mA. And the popping is mostly due to the divergence and thermal properties of 405nm lasers. They are a much lower wavelength than 532, which means they have a much higher frequency. So photons are hitting the balloon(or what have you) much more frequently than a 532nm laser would. They are both roughly the speed of light, however the 405nm has a denser beam. Ergo, 405nm lasers burn better.

PS - with an external lens I can pop a balloon with a 50mW 532nm laser. Its all about dot size and power density.

 

[i73770k]

Ah ok, Thanks for that info wannaburnstuff!
Well i thing i need to build a 405nm at around 500mw..

 

[IsaacT]

Forget 500mW. We have 1W 405nm diodes on the scene now. They burn like crazy and the color is beautiful.

 

[bdgreenb]

If it is popping and not just puncturing and deflating it sounds like wbs is right. 70-80mw sounds about right , the smoking of the match' is more interesting... what color is the match? I learned proper laser set up by buying and making a bunch of wonky phr805 builds so I'm fairly experienced with low power 405s

@KAB
As someone who loves our running over spec sheets on all diodes, I thought you would understand the upside of running diodes at or under max( more efficient)
Ps I just realized it not krazin asian boy(it's short for Korean asian boy right?) lol