Noob here, asking for help

[Dibbit]

As the title says, im a noob here and need some help. Ive been reading up for almost a month because i want to learn to build my own laser. After searching and reading then more searching and reading, i feel like a kid by a pool with my floaties on and wanting to get in... i just cant find the steps to get in. is there anyone patient enough to help get me started in the right path? i understand the jist of the parts involve that i need, just get lost with what "type" of each part. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Alessandros]

Hey Dibbit, welcome to the forums!
I'm no expert myself, but I will go ahead saying what everyone else will tell you: don't forget goggles.

As for what "type" of part, give us some more details. Namely, what wavelength/colour do you want to build?

Knowing this, I can try to help a lot more.

 

[Dibbit]

deffinatly plan to get goggles, i enjoy my eye sight as far as wavelength/color, it doesnt really matter to me since this is just a learn process till i get the hang of it. so what ever is cheapest price wise since im sure i'll ruin a few parts and have to start over. From my understanding (correct me if im wrong) red or blue seem to be the cheapest/easiest... and of the two, i would preffer blue.

 

[Kookapeli]

Check out the links in my sig, that'd help you out a bit and welcome to LPF :beer:

 

[Alessandros]

There's the bulk of it!
To quickly answer your question on what "type" of part though, if you use a blue or purple laser, you'll need more voltage. This means either a boost driver, or more batteries in series and a linear driver. Hosts like the guidesman are good for this since they come with a 3xAAA adapter.

When less voltage is required, you can just go with a linear driver and when in doubt, ask the seller. If it's someone from LPF, they're sure to know the answer.

As for buck drivers, I have no experience so I won't say anything.

Once you know what batteries and how much heatsinking you'll need, you can look for a host. Plenty of great machinists here can make a heatsink for you, and you can also find host + heatsink kits.

Good luck with your first build, I'm looking forward to seeing beamshots!

 

[scumbagatheist]

Let me recommend a cheap LPC 826, 650nm (red) build for your first go round. All you need is the $10-$20 diode and module, a cheap linear driver, a cheap host with a heatsink, and some batteries. It's an easy-peasy build and wont cost you a fortune when you blow a diode or driver.

 

[Monkey D Luffy]

Hey everyone, I figured I'd try my luck here since I'm basically in the exact same boat. I'm new to LPF as well and am constantly searching for threads that will get me on the right path, but it's kind of hard getting started. I already picked up a few materials from my local RS I might/would need, like an LM317T, capacitor, 150 ohm resistor, etc. I have several old computers i can practice extracting diodes from and such before I put the 50mW 532nm/100mW 650nm diodes to use. If anyone would be willing to take the time to try and help me that'd be amazing and I'll go into more detail about my situation, Cheers!

 

[Kookapeli]

They're are loads of tutorials on here on how to do builds etc. If you read them, it will help you to understand how they are built and why we use different parts for different situations.

If you're still stuck p.m me and i'll try n help

 

[Monkey D Luffy]

Awesome, thanks. I'll look around the threads more for help on the build and I'll let you know if I hit a bump in the road