New Member, New Project

[Jeffrey]

Hello everyone!

I've been wanting to play around with lasers for a while now and finally have the time and money this summer. I'm an electrical engineering grad student, I have a decent bit of experience with hobby level projects such as this. I've built robots, rc airplanes/multicopters, custom aquariums, battery chargers, all sorts of fun things Very nice to meet you all, quit a nice community you've all developed here.

I'd like to start out here by building myself a temperature controlled test rig for various laser diodes. Which is the proper forum section for documenting and getting help on this project?

:thanks:

 

[IsaacT]

Hi, welcome to the forum!!! I am starting an Electrical Engineering undergraduate degree right now actually, would love to hear any advice regarding it.

As for sections, I would recommend starting with these:

• Drivers, Test-load, Power Supply, & Batteries
• Tutorials, Help, & Repairs
• Experiments & Modifications

You might talk to some of the people who make LPM's as well, as I imagine a TEC will be an integral part of your setup.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
-Isaac

 

[Jeffrey]

I'll be using at least one TEC in the rig. The cooling system is kind of it's own project, it just happens to combine well with this one =)

While your undergraduate experience will likely be different from mine, these are the things that stood out most to me: Don't listen to your advisors. Find out what courses you need to take yourself and make sure to know in advance when they are offered. Everytime I have asked someone what courses im supposed to be taking I get different answers, usually they are wrong. You should also go out of your way to find out what you like early. I didn't know until I was a couple years in, and it was tough to change focus. I now know that I prefer power electronics, and do not particularly enjoy rf :evil:

 

[Blaster]

Hi welcome to the forum im an electronic techincan and love playing around with my projectsas well as a job
And obviously lasers, make sure you get googles first in the list of things to get no
second chance in your eyes safety cheers from down under