Pen Build - Laser66 host - NDB7242E - 445nm, 60mW

[diachi]

Hey everyone!

Finished off my NDB7242E build at the weekend, been meaning to post it since. Used one of the Laser66 hosts for this one, they are much nicer than the cheap eBay ones I bought for the last build. Had this diode waiting for a build for over a year now I think (thanks to Lazerman121 for the LD :beer... Paired it with a Flexdrive set at ~90mA (Thanks DTR! Modules courtesy of him too! ).



Time for some pictures!


Driver with wires connected - ended up taking off the red wire later on in the build as I had a change of plans.

Nicely packaged diode.

Diode pressed into the module. Splashed on some nice copper modules for this build, it's overkill for this amount if power, but it can't hurt!

Soldered to the driver, heatshrinked. Used stranded core wire this time, much easier to work with...

I've glued the driver to the back of the module for this build too. Once again, this helps keep things rigid and reduces the chance of strain/damage to the LD pins.

Button board with LED (went for the hosts with the extra hole for an indicator light). Think I'll get smaller LEDs for the next one ... this one was a bit tight.

Soldered to the driver. Had planned on attaching the button board to the back of the module housing, but it ended up being too long/troublesome. Instead I've soldered the boards together with some copper shim. The way the pads are laid out made this easy.

Top side before gluing the boards together. LED + resistor moved a little due to lack of space. There's also some copper shim soldered to the ground lead of the LED that's pressed between the host and the plastic support for the button board.

All finished! Again I've used some copper shim between the host and module itself to ensure a tight fit. The module is pressed in to the host. A much tighter fit than with the cheap hosts. Happy with how that worked out.

LED indicator working. Not quite as bright as I set it, it's in the wrong position. I'll know to change that next time around.

Quick beamshots!

Happy with how this turned out, definitely going to need more of those Laser66 hosts! I highly recommend them to anyone planning a pen build. :beer:

Hope everyone enjoyed the pictures! Thanks for looking!

 

[BobMc]

Nice, I've wanted to try one of these builds but can't seem to find the hosts, will find a couple sooner or later though. Sweet little build ,hope mine turns out as nice. :gj:

 

[BowtieGuy]

Very nice, clean pen build diachi! Great workmanship and a nice LED for a touch of class!
:gj: +rep as soon as allowed.

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi D,
Great build gotta love the 66 pens and the way you secured all the components together is a nice touch that make a lot of sense and a huge difference.+Rep buddy

Rich

 

[CynicalBrad]

Seriously considering getting one of those Laser66 pens now and making a singlemode 635nm build in it. Seems to be a LOT of room in those.
I like how you got your ground connections. Beats pinching a wire between host and module. I cut the wire on my 520nm build getting a case connection and thought I fried a brand new diode before I even got to see it work. Looks like a good way to avoid that kind of panicking.

As for that LED, if you have spares or would be willing to risk that one they can be sanded down so long as you are careful not to get too close to the internals.

 

[diachi]

Nice, I've wanted to try one of these builds but can't seem to find the hosts, will find a couple sooner or later though. Sweet little build ,hope mine turns out as nice. :gj:

Thanks Bob! Good luck with yours.!

Very nice, clean pen build diachi! Great workmanship and a nice LED for a touch of class!
:gj: +rep as soon as allowed.

Hi D,
Great build gotta love the 66 pens and the way you secured all the components together is a nice touch that make a lot of sense and a huge difference.+Rep buddy

Rich

Thanks guys!

Seriously considering getting one of those Laser66 pens now and making a singlemode 635nm build in it. Seems to be a LOT of room in those.
I like how you got your ground connections. Beats pinching a wire between host and module. I cut the wire on my 520nm build getting a case connection and thought I fried a brand new diode before I even got to see it work. Looks like a good way to avoid that kind of panicking.

As for that LED, if you have spares or would be willing to risk that one they can be sanded down so long as you are careful not to get too close to the internals.

Yeah, definitely recommend them, they have a much nicer feel than the cheap! Having the option of a button board and matching support is nice!

I'm going to need to find some more of that copper shim, it's perfect for the job. Less issues like clipping wires, you've experienced the annoyance that can cause!

Considered sanding down the LED but decided it was too much effort and that I'd just deal with the tight fit. Got plenty of those though, so maybe next time. A 1/8W resistor instead of a 1/4W would make things easier too, I'll need to order some.

 

[ElectricPlasma]

Nice to see that you're getting back into pointer building, are those beam shots without any fog? Brighter than I would think for only 60mW of blue, very nice!

 

[diachi]

Nice to see that you're getting back into pointer building, are those beam shots without any fog? Brighter than I would think for only 60mW of blue, very nice!

Yeah, nice to be at it again! Figured I should put my new soldering station to use! Got another PL515 on the way, will need to do some more after that, maybe some high power pen builds. :beer:


Might have been some smoke in the air, can't remember if I'd had a smoke in there before I took those or not. Camera on the phone probably upped the exposure on those too though, only had light from the TV. That 60mW of 445 is surprisingly bright when you're in a dark room, although not uncomfortably so. It's a nice amount of power in a pointer IMO.

 

[Deleted member 16589]

Nice! I still have 2 I set aside for myself I need to get my butt in gear and build something with them.

 

[Alien Laser]

I have laser66 host brand new like 8 left chrome and black and spare parts i did a build also using the same diode nice color
i use very tiny led i got some from europe in all colors available if you need any PM
lazerman121 if you like to sell 1diode i take it

 

[RedCowboy]

Nice work :gj: I know that bright beam in that small package feels good, there's something trick about it. +rep when allowed.