IsaacT
0
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2010
- Messages
- 5,947
- Points
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Aranya, Soul of the Forest, Elf Blade
Meet Aranya, my new 520nm EDC laser. She puts out a beautiful 150mW of pure forest green goodness.
What follows is an account of the forging of this fine Laser, my impressions, and my firm recommendation
that you pick up one of these diodes for yourself.
The Forging
(Read: The Build)
As many of you have probably guessed, I am a bit of an Ehgemus Host fanatic. I cannot count
the number of hosts I have bought from him over the years, and he has confirmed that yes,
I am the only one who bothers him weekly for hosts. Which is perfect for me. And it also explains why
I snapped this host up off of the B/S/T forum VERY quickly. It is a beautiful work of art, an elegant
host with tasteful lines and a wonderfully accenting brass ring. I knew I would have to have a green
diode in it from the moment I saw it.
So, once I received it, I placed an order for a PL520-B1 diode from DTR. I wanted 520nm in it, and
I wanted to have a good amount for star gazing and general beam enjoyment.
Diode Order Placed: 3/13/2014
Diode Order Shipped: 3/14/2014
Diode Order Received: 3/18/2014
As usual very fast turnaround for DTR, and very slow progress from USPS. Those bastards. Oh well.
First things first. When getting ready to build a laser, you need to have everything on hand
and within arms reach. Running around like a chicken with its head cut off is an invitation for something
to happen. Be it a drop, a static buildup, anything. Just get what you need before you start soldering.
Components:
PL520-B1 Diode from DTR w/ Microboost set to 450mA
Single 18650 Host from Ehgemus
Solder
One of the things I love about buying Ehgemus hosts is the simplicity of it's design. It is highly functional,
excellently crafted, and you can know for a fact everything will be ready to go. I rarely have to mod
anything at all with his hosts.
The Host:
The Diodes:
1. First things first, Trim up the wires. They cannot be too long or you will have issues shoving it all in there.
2. Tin the wires. They won't bond on their own! Note: It is hard to see, but yes they were tinned between the last picture and this one
3. Tin the Case Pin, and then Solder the Negative Battery Input wire(from driver) to the Case Pin.
4. Add Heatshrink Tubing to the Positive Battery Input Wire. Pro-Tip: It will shrink if it is too close to
the joint, so put it on the wire coming from the host, since it is longer. Otherwise just do it twice like I did
5. Solder the Wire coming from the host to the Driver's Positive Input Wire. Then Shrink that Tubing!!!
6. Put module into host, and secure with Hex Screw. Fire Away!
Build Notes: This was a VERY easy build. One thing I did, was to put the module in the host with
the lens and focus adapter already attached. I then turned it on, found the best infinity setting I
could, and pushed the module in until the focus adapter was flush with the host. This means
that my module is
inset by about 5-6mm. I like it because focus is always there if I tighten the Focus Adapter and
I can burn stuff by loosening the focus adapter. I have no need of a highly divergent beam, thank
you very much.
BEAMSHOTS!
CONCLUSION:
I hope you all enjoyed my brief build thread here. I love writing these up, and it gives me a great reason
to take tons of pictures! I truly recommend this diode. DTR is correct when he brags about the beam specs.
This may be a multimode diode, but the dot is cleaner than my old single mode PL520. Which is ridiculous.
Thanks,
Isaac
Meet Aranya, my new 520nm EDC laser. She puts out a beautiful 150mW of pure forest green goodness.
What follows is an account of the forging of this fine Laser, my impressions, and my firm recommendation
that you pick up one of these diodes for yourself.
The Forging
(Read: The Build)
As many of you have probably guessed, I am a bit of an Ehgemus Host fanatic. I cannot count
the number of hosts I have bought from him over the years, and he has confirmed that yes,
I am the only one who bothers him weekly for hosts. Which is perfect for me. And it also explains why
I snapped this host up off of the B/S/T forum VERY quickly. It is a beautiful work of art, an elegant
host with tasteful lines and a wonderfully accenting brass ring. I knew I would have to have a green
diode in it from the moment I saw it.
So, once I received it, I placed an order for a PL520-B1 diode from DTR. I wanted 520nm in it, and
I wanted to have a good amount for star gazing and general beam enjoyment.
Diode Order Placed: 3/13/2014
Diode Order Shipped: 3/14/2014
Diode Order Received: 3/18/2014
As usual very fast turnaround for DTR, and very slow progress from USPS. Those bastards. Oh well.
First things first. When getting ready to build a laser, you need to have everything on hand
and within arms reach. Running around like a chicken with its head cut off is an invitation for something
to happen. Be it a drop, a static buildup, anything. Just get what you need before you start soldering.
Components:
PL520-B1 Diode from DTR w/ Microboost set to 450mA
Single 18650 Host from Ehgemus
Solder
One of the things I love about buying Ehgemus hosts is the simplicity of it's design. It is highly functional,
excellently crafted, and you can know for a fact everything will be ready to go. I rarely have to mod
anything at all with his hosts.
The Host:
The Diodes:
1. First things first, Trim up the wires. They cannot be too long or you will have issues shoving it all in there.
2. Tin the wires. They won't bond on their own! Note: It is hard to see, but yes they were tinned between the last picture and this one
3. Tin the Case Pin, and then Solder the Negative Battery Input wire(from driver) to the Case Pin.
4. Add Heatshrink Tubing to the Positive Battery Input Wire. Pro-Tip: It will shrink if it is too close to
the joint, so put it on the wire coming from the host, since it is longer. Otherwise just do it twice like I did
5. Solder the Wire coming from the host to the Driver's Positive Input Wire. Then Shrink that Tubing!!!
6. Put module into host, and secure with Hex Screw. Fire Away!
Build Notes: This was a VERY easy build. One thing I did, was to put the module in the host with
the lens and focus adapter already attached. I then turned it on, found the best infinity setting I
could, and pushed the module in until the focus adapter was flush with the host. This means
that my module is
inset by about 5-6mm. I like it because focus is always there if I tighten the Focus Adapter and
I can burn stuff by loosening the focus adapter. I have no need of a highly divergent beam, thank
you very much.
BEAMSHOTS!
CONCLUSION:
I hope you all enjoyed my brief build thread here. I love writing these up, and it gives me a great reason
to take tons of pictures! I truly recommend this diode. DTR is correct when he brags about the beam specs.
This may be a multimode diode, but the dot is cleaner than my old single mode PL520. Which is ridiculous.
Thanks,
Isaac
