New Guy, few questions...

[Kbizzle]

I am very interested in a high powered laser. I am highly entertaining the idea of building the dvd diode inside a mag lite one. I already have all the parts aside from the diode, as i have been unable to find a dvd burner at a price I would pay. I am a 20 y/o college student with EXTREMELY limited funds... so a nice wicked laser or the like is kinda out of the question....

i did find these laser, but have no idea about quality, etc...

dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.911

any input, ideas, etc... greatly appreciated!

-Keegan

 

[Kbizzle]

update:

i picked up a laptop dvd burner for free today! im gettin the diode out now!

just waiting for my axiz module

 

[nes_ds]

Welcome!

If you don't have luck with that DVD burner, look at the Buy/Sale board, there is a thread there for a Group buy on some 650nm(red) diodes, it'll only cost ya' $14.50 per diode.

On that board you can also find a good bit of used 532nm(green) lasers, most used, but a few are new.

I personally wouldn't go with the DX lasers, I have never owned one, but I don't think it's great quality. If you want the best Quality/power for your buck, I would take a look at CNI lasers, i.e. NovaLasers.com, or StarPhaser.com.

If you have never owned a greenie, it wouldn't be a bad idea to buy a low powered laser (<5mW) i.e. a leadlight, or a WL Core - laserpoint.com

 

[Kbizzle]

ill be sure to check those out....

i saw the dvd diode group buy, but didn't really wanna wait, but might still get one...

anyways the burner i got was from a laptop, and i got it apart, but found 2 diodes, any way to tell which is the burner diode that i need?

 

[styropyro]

You can very carefully test each one, one is near IR and one is red. The near IR will be a deep reddish color, pretty dim and the color is really weird, it's hard to describe. The red one will put out a LOT of red light, and you will know that you have a good red diode. But whatever you do DON'T try testing out the diode by hooking up two AA's to the pins!

 

[nes_ds]

ill be sure to check those out....

i saw the dvd diode group buy, but didn't really wanna wait, but might still get one...

anyways the burner i got was from a laptop, and i got it apart, but found 2 diodes, any way to tell which is the burner diode that i need?

Well one of the diodes is an IR diode for CD reading/writing, and the other is a 650nm diode for DVD reading/writing. But as to how you tell them apart, you got me.

 

[Kbizzle]

You can very carefully test each one, one is near IR and one is red. The near IR will be a deep reddish color, pretty dim and the color is really weird, it's hard to describe. The red one will put out a LOT of red light, and you will know that you have a good red diode. But whatever you do DON'T try testing out the diode by hooking up two AA's to the pins!

so i should just wait till my aixiz module come in to test em?

one of them has 3 pins, and the other only two... ill try to get some pics of em in a minute.

 

[styropyro]

The best way to test them would be to use them in Daedal's circuit, that way you won't fry them. You could try hooking them up to a 100ohm pot at maxium resistance and slowly turn the resistance down until you can tell what color it is, they won't be very bright until you crank it down a lot though, but don't make them that bright if they aren't heatsinked very well.

 

[Kbizzle]

pics of them, i didn't completely take me out, one, cause im lazy, and the other cause it was pointed through a lense that i thought might be helpful in keeping the beam concentrated....

well, nvm, for some reason, im not allowed to post up pics... wtf?

 

[yew.sir-name]

there is a 20 post minimum for links and pictures