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Project for beginner

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VernoxVernax

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Mar 2, 2020
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Hello, I am very new to this websites and laserpointers in general. I have always been very interessted in strong powerfull lasers. Until yesterday I didnt even knew, building your own pointer is a thing.

To start it of I thought the best thing is to use a tutorial to build my own. Can anyone recommend me a tutorial for a beginner or tell me how I could start of?
 





trephanation said:
It's very easy, refer to this video
Good choice in deciding to build your own, it's way more satisfying than buying random cheap pens off of ebay like most people do
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Thank you very much. I am currently searching for the parts but I dont know what M140 Module to use. The link in the discription leads me to DTS's shop but there are too much different versions. Is the mW and nm important or should it just be a laser module from the link?

Oclaro HL63193MG 700mW 638nm Diodes. This is what I clicked on. Would it work? Should I buy it with "Leads" and if yes, wich one?

Second: when I buy a host, (C6 Host Assembly), can I directly choose a heat sink in the options panel or do I have to buy an extra one? The prices dont match. Can I leave the options by default in general, or is there anything I have to include, like "holster" and "driver pill".

Thank you very much for helping me, this is so exciting!
 
Snecho said:
I'd strongly advise against anything near 1W as a first laser. The first thing to buy here is goggles.
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I have some laserpointer at home, just not built by myself. There is not doubt that I would buy safety goggles with the parts together.
 
The M140 diodes are all 445nm blue diodes. I wouldn't get the Oclaro 638nm red. If you want a 1 watt red get the Mitsubishi. They are much hardier than the Oclaro's. At least in my experience. I lost two Oclaro's going for 1 watt, but my Mitsubishi's have all held up well.
 
paul1598419 said:
The M140 diodes are all 445nm blue diodes. I wouldn't get the Oclaro 638nm red. If you want a 1 watt red get the Mitsubishi. They are much hardier than the Oclaro's. At least in my experience. I lost two Oclaro's going for 1 watt, but my Mitsubishi's have all held up well.
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Thank you paul1598419 for your reply. This is very helpful. Can you please do me a last favour? Does the guy in the video use one with leads or are they seperatly bought. If yes, its probably a 12nm copper module, isnt it? And why is there such a huge price difference between the two 12nm ones? The names are the same, what happened?
 
Coonie said:
In the future please do not recommend a high power laser as someones first build. This is dangerous and we do not condone this.
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FYI, this build can be done with any diode. The video just shows the steps to assemble the parts. the diode and output power he chooses does not matter, the steps will be the same. I did not recommend him any specific diode. Thanks for your concern!
 
That video uses a very small host for any M140 of 1 watt 638nm build. I would use a larger flashlight host as you can get a larger heat sink in that and get much longer run times. You will end up using a 12 mm module no matter which diode you use. If you insist on using that host get a copper heat sink, not brass. Aluminum is what is normally seen used as a heat sink material.
 
trephanation said:
FYI, this build can be done with any diode. The video just shows the steps to assemble the parts. the diode and output power he chooses does not matter, the steps will be the same. I did not recommend him any specific diode. Thanks for your concern!
Click to expand...

FYI I am well aware the steps to creating a laser. I'm not asking you to explain yourself I'm just giving you a heads up. We are the only line of defense for new members safety so it's good to keep that in mind. At any rate I hope the build goes well and always be safe.
 
Hello, thank you all allot for helping me and caring for others health.

I am struggling with the options a little bit. (C6 Host Assembly from survival-laser).

1. In the description of the video, there are listed different parts for the build. My question is:
Can I use the Heat Sink option when buying the Host or is it different from the Heat Sink link he added? Is there an extreme difference in the material (copper, aluminum)?

2. I don't need the heat sink option "extended and tapered copper", do I?
It says something about room for other components. Could this be a problem when I use the "half Length Solid" back half option when buying the diode (Mitsubishi 500mW 638nm 12mm Copper Module W/Leads | DTR)?

3. The Driver Pill option is also a bit confusing. Do I have to add the drill option to make it as easy as possible? Is the driver pill in the video the standard one, or the drilled one?

I am really sorry if I am asking too much but I don't have the motivation to buy the host or diode 20 times, just because I am too dumb to understand this simple concept. The batteries and the charging device alone already cost 30€.

I wish you all a nice day. :)
 
I would look at the “Bargain Host Bundle,” it will have everything you need except the diode. You specify which operating current you want for the driver, and I would definitely get an extended copper heat sink, it will only increase your run times. You could also call Gary directly at SL, he answered my questions over the phone when I was building my S4. Make sure you have goggles as well.
 
In any event the route you are taking here is very treacherous. You didn't make an intro post and no one really knows what your experience is or if you have goggles or even if you know which ones to buy. As myself, Coonie, and others have said, Jumping straight into a build like this has a very high chance of failure, as I'm sure you already experienced trying to buy the parts. I'm not trying to be mean here, it's just doing these things really helps give genuine help and advise, which in turn helps you learn much quicker, saves you time and money, and lets you better enjoy this wonderful hobby :)

It looks like you really want a C6 build and that's a fine choice, but are you sure this is something you want to jump into?
 
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Snecho said:
In any event the route you are taking here is very treacherous. You didn't make an intro post and no one really knows what your experience is or if you have goggles or even if you know which ones to buy. As myself, Coonie, and others have said, Jumping straight into a build like this has a very high chance of failure, as I'm sure you already experienced trying to buy the parts. I'm not trying to be mean here, it's just doing these things really helps give genuine help and advise, which in turn helps you learn much quicker, saves you time and money, and lets you better enjoy this wonderful hobby :)

It looks like you really want a C6 build and that's a fine choice, but are you sure this is something you want to jump into?
Click to expand...
Thank you for your honest warning. I thought it was enough to tell that I am a beginner. sorry. To be clearer:

I have experience will lasers. But just prebuilt ones. I have already some safety goggles at home and there is currently another one in my basket for the one I am planning to build. And yes, I read about the red diode need special glasses and all that. I just didn’t know there were so many different parts based on the host alone. I do in fact know the risk I am taking and that I should definitely be very carefully. I just want to build my first laser pointer. Again, thank you all very much for caring so much. Have a wonderful evening. :)
 
VernoxVernax said:
Hello, thank you all allot for helping me and caring for others health.

I am struggling with the options a little bit. (C6 Host Assembly from survival-laser).

1. In the description of the video, there are listed different parts for the build. My question is:
Can I use the Heat Sink option when buying the Host or is it different from the Heat Sink link he added? Is there an extreme difference in the material (copper, aluminum)?

2. I don't need the heat sink option "extended and tapered copper", do I?
It says something about room for other components. Could this be a problem when I use the "half Length Solid" back half option when buying the diode (Mitsubishi 500mW 638nm 12mm Copper Module W/Leads | DTR)?

3. The Driver Pill option is also a bit confusing. Do I have to add the drill option to make it as easy as possible? Is the driver pill in the video the standard one, or the drilled one?

I am really sorry if I am asking too much but I don't have the motivation to buy the host or diode 20 times, just because I am too dumb to understand this simple concept. The batteries and the charging device alone already cost 30€.

I wish you all a nice day. :)
Click to expand...

1. Copper is better at absorbing heat but takes longer to cool down. Aluminum isn't as quick to absorb heat but cools off quicker. You basically use copper for higher heat applications and aluminum for lesser heat application.

2. It's up to you what you want. Aluminum is perfectly acceptable for 500mw of 638nm. The back half option is only if you want to use it. For the C6 host you really won't have much room for it anyway. It's just there if you want more copper for your higher power builds. It's not exactly necessary for your setup.

3. The pill of the C6 host is solid. If your driver is long you will need to choose the drilled option. Depends on what driver you go with. If you're going with a flex drive you don't need it as it's small enough to fit either on top of the pill or soldered directly to the diode.

Also I should note that only owning a prebuilt laser gives you no experience in actually building one. Do you have any experience in soldering?
 
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