My first 445 build!

[Cube777]

Hi LPF,

So this is my first successful 445nm build :bday: First of all I would like to say thank you to everyone who helped in this build with advice etc.! It is a M140 with a 3 element glass lens (From DTR), with a X-Boost set to approximately 1.2A (From Clif) with an estimated output of 1.15W. The host is a Guidesman host (also from Clif) with a Hydra focus adapter (from Flaminpyro, thanks! Excellent craftsmanship!) running on one of LarryDFW's 18650s (Great battery!). I've kept the current rather low so that my diode can have a long and happy life Enough, time for some pics! Sorry I have no build pics, I was to excited to get it up and running

Aaaaaaa the wonders of fog

Thanks for watching!

 

[FlutterPie]

That is really really nice man. Also Great pics +rep

 

[SerpantSlayer]

Looks really good man I love side switch hosts!

 

[Cube777]

Thanks guys for the positive replies! I built about a year on this guy, I had to save to buy a part each time and each time I needed to wait a month for the part to arrive :horse: (i just don't see the use of that emoticon )

 

[tomsk]

Great :evil:

 

[toutan]

cool!!

 

[Tmack]

Very nice. Love the focus knob.

 

[NightExplorer96]

Looks great! Keep up the good work

 

[HitShane]

Good Job Bro!

 

[leesuikei]

I love side switch hosts! +1

 

[Cube777]

Re: My first 445 build! UPDATED!

Thanks for all the positive replies guys! I recently thought of cranking up the current and when I tried to adjust the driver from 1.2A up, it just wouldn't increase the current. So, I decided to swap out the driver for a FMT 1.8A. I had lying around. I tested it, and it pumped about 1.4-1.7A (don't know why it only gave that and it was unstable when I changed the diodes on the the dummy load, but it's fine). The laser is now visibly stronger and burns better :eg: I also upgraded the heatsink on the driver (I think my previous one was inferior), I basically took a beefy TO-220 heatsink and put extra strips of the previous heatsink in the fins to increase the surface area. The pics kinda explain better what I mean:

Heatsink inside the pill with driver on top of it:

Connected to the diode:

Some beamshots with my new 50mW (measured) greenie bought in Afghanistan from the bagram stores. It has an amazingly good divergence and it does no mode hopping! It has an absolutely beautiful beam! I don't know if it has IR filtering but it seems to be of great quality:

 

[ReaperZ]

remember with lasers you generally need 4x the power to get 2x the brightness, so an increase of what you have done wont give much visually, but extra burning is fun !

good work man

 

[SerpantSlayer]

Nice upgrade man!

You have to get yourself an LPM soon, I used to hate not knowing how powerful my lasers were. It brings you peace of mind in a way, knowing that you've broken a barrier in power.

 

[Flaminpyro]

That's one CL looking laser :gj: