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FrozenGate by Avery
RadioShack Green Laser Pointer Mod
- Thread starter iguana
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2007
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- 2,007
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- 63
RA_pierce said:
The IT diode being multimode may make it less a "less good" beam, but if still focused, it's still putting Watts/cm^2 in power density. Out of a green laser, yes, the IR is uncollimated, but it will be uncollimated after the crystals no matter is the diode is single or multimode. How does multimode make it any more safe?
Do you collimate your bare pump diode? I assume you do since you burn stuff, but if you are, that's very dangerous even with "common sense", because my common sense says that you can't tell where the light is going once it leaves the diode. Unless you're using something else to view the light that you haven't mentioned? And it's still high enough power density to seriously screw up your eyes.
And really, I know that seasoned, experienced people may be able to safely use lasers without safety goggles and not have to worry about it. And seasoned hobbyists or professionals can read that and know what you're talking about, as far as being careful, because of their experience. But when answering a new laser user, who has admittedly very little experience with lasers, telling them that common sense is an appropriate substitute for safety equipment such as goggles that will protect your eyes from permanent damage is a very dangerous thing to do. When you bump/knock over your laser accidentally and take a direct hit to the face, is your common sense going to prevent the beam from burning a blind spot into your retina? I, and other experienced laserists, know that what you probably mean is that common sense, with proper experience, can be used effectively to keep yourself safe and is a good addition to all proper safety practices such as protective equipment. But to a new user, what you wrote is that "as long as you're careful, you don't need goggles, even for high-powered lasers", and that is very dangerous advice to a person who has never used lasers before.
No offense to you iguana, I am sure that you are very careful with lasers and the safety of your eyes and the eyes of those around you, I am just not willing to assume that you already know all the dangers associated with lasers, so I am stressing there is no substitute for laser safety equipment, in our case the most important piece of equipment being goggles. Accidents happen, and goggles can protect your eyes in a way that common sense never can.
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2007
- Messages
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If the driver is a proper one, it will give the diode the same amount of current no matter what the input is (as long as it meets the minimum requirement). The excess will be released as heat through the driver. So assuming it has a good driver, feeding it more current won't increase power output, but it will heat up the driver.
But I doubt the DX/Radioshack type lasers have a real efficient driver so adding an extra battery could kill the diode.
But that is interesting how much that little 5mW could take. The IR filter must have been connected to a photodiode. Removing the filter reduces obstruction to the beam, which lets more power out. If the photodiode was working, severing the connection could have led to an increase in power, because they are meant to monitor a fraction of the output power and adjust current to the diode if the power is too low or too high.
Unfortunately, the IR that your laser outputs is not enough to increase the burning power of you laser, so if you still want an IR filter for safety, installing one won't make the green light any less powerful (besides the <1mW that will be reflected/absorbed by the filter).
Putting more current through it will likely cook your diode. I think you have reached the maximum your little laser can handle.
Pullbangdead:
Yes that is reasonable, however I was only trying to illustrate that using IR goggles for 5mW of excess IR from his pointer is excessive.
It's just that the whole IR thing is blown out of proportion. Yes, it is dangerous, especially if you are very new to lasers or dealing with high powers, but it's not dangerous enough to require safety goggles for a 5mW green.
And yes, sometimes I use a video camera to view the IR, which I should have mentioned.
My pump diode example was just meant to say that even with something considered very dangerous, it can be used safely. Just like a gun, the most dangerous tools can be made safe to operate without a basic "safety"- given the proper level of maturity, precautionary measures and sense of responsible use.
To rephrase:
The IR output from a 5mW laser is not enough to cause damage.
Goggles are good for safety, but if you can't afford them, they are not completely necessary as long
as you take proper precautions and have some idea of what you are doing and take the proper steps to avoid accidental eye exposure.
Even though I never use them, I still recommend them for anyone who is unsure of the real dangers.
Hope that clears things up.
Oh- and the whole multimode diode thing; multimode diodes seem to diverge more than single mode diodes so I would assume they pose a smaller threat. There really is no significant difference, but there is a difference nonetheless.
But I doubt the DX/Radioshack type lasers have a real efficient driver so adding an extra battery could kill the diode.
But that is interesting how much that little 5mW could take. The IR filter must have been connected to a photodiode. Removing the filter reduces obstruction to the beam, which lets more power out. If the photodiode was working, severing the connection could have led to an increase in power, because they are meant to monitor a fraction of the output power and adjust current to the diode if the power is too low or too high.
Unfortunately, the IR that your laser outputs is not enough to increase the burning power of you laser, so if you still want an IR filter for safety, installing one won't make the green light any less powerful (besides the <1mW that will be reflected/absorbed by the filter).
Putting more current through it will likely cook your diode. I think you have reached the maximum your little laser can handle.
Pullbangdead:
Yes that is reasonable, however I was only trying to illustrate that using IR goggles for 5mW of excess IR from his pointer is excessive.
It's just that the whole IR thing is blown out of proportion. Yes, it is dangerous, especially if you are very new to lasers or dealing with high powers, but it's not dangerous enough to require safety goggles for a 5mW green.
And yes, sometimes I use a video camera to view the IR, which I should have mentioned.
My pump diode example was just meant to say that even with something considered very dangerous, it can be used safely. Just like a gun, the most dangerous tools can be made safe to operate without a basic "safety"- given the proper level of maturity, precautionary measures and sense of responsible use.
To rephrase:
The IR output from a 5mW laser is not enough to cause damage.
Goggles are good for safety, but if you can't afford them, they are not completely necessary as long
as you take proper precautions and have some idea of what you are doing and take the proper steps to avoid accidental eye exposure.
Even though I never use them, I still recommend them for anyone who is unsure of the real dangers.
Hope that clears things up.
Oh- and the whole multimode diode thing; multimode diodes seem to diverge more than single mode diodes so I would assume they pose a smaller threat. There really is no significant difference, but there is a difference nonetheless.
I didn't mention that I clipped the wired to the photodiode, but, again, no appreciable increase in brightness. No harm in reconnecting for the IR filtering to work properly (if I've read the above properly).
Mine is the Jaycar 10mw, so it might not have had quite the headroom of Iguana's RadioShack 5mw.
Yes, RA_pierce, I should have realised from my blu-ray stuff with rckstr drivers that increasing the voltage won't increase the current (as long as it is not too low initially). I just got excited when Iguana mentioned an increase in brightness by using the e2s which peak at 1.72v. Happy now with 3v and a great night time beam at something well over 10mw just by adjusting the pot.
Mine is the Jaycar 10mw, so it might not have had quite the headroom of Iguana's RadioShack 5mw.
Yes, RA_pierce, I should have realised from my blu-ray stuff with rckstr drivers that increasing the voltage won't increase the current (as long as it is not too low initially). I just got excited when Iguana mentioned an increase in brightness by using the e2s which peak at 1.72v. Happy now with 3v and a great night time beam at something well over 10mw just by adjusting the pot.
Just to make clear, I was only stating eye protection for use AFTER modifications. Stating 5mw protection doesn't mean much and to me really is unnecessary. One thing I don't have is equipment to measure output so I'm purely estimating. But, make no mistake, compared to stock, this thing is BRIGHT! The beam is visible in a lit room. When I've demonstrated it to people they are actually scared of it's brightness and often look away. I've been using lasers (red) for over 10 years and am very new to the green scene but I'm very aware and educated about how lasers work. Whether it's IR or just the green it seems very clear to me that protection is a good idea based on the shear intensity. I wish I could measure it's output power and offer that information but I simply cannot. Thanks so much for all the responses. All of your input is invaluable to me and I'm so happy to have come across this forum.
So I should basically be more concerned with the intensity of the green light. I'll get some red lenses then. I agree that I've more than likely reached the limit of this laser but it's far and away more than I ever thought it would go, so I'm very pleased with it. My next one will be ordered online and much more powerful. My goal is to get some lasers for stage effects. I'm a music producer and sound engineer and want to include some lasers to my audibles. Looking forward to experimenting with new and crazy original stage effects!
Meant to reply sooner but my power has been out at my home for the last 3 days. Ike came through Columbus, Ohio (yes, Ohio!) with an unexpected vengeance. 75Mph winds knocked out 1.9 million people in Ohio and over 300k here in Columbus. Our governor has declared a State of Emergency for the state. Very, VERY odd and extremely rare for something like this to happen here.
Meant to reply sooner but my power has been out at my home for the last 3 days. Ike came through Columbus, Ohio (yes, Ohio!) with an unexpected vengeance. 75Mph winds knocked out 1.9 million people in Ohio and over 300k here in Columbus. Our governor has declared a State of Emergency for the state. Very, VERY odd and extremely rare for something like this to happen here.
Forgot to ask but, can someone knowledgeable about quality vendors direct me to the best place to order a quality green pointer between 50 and 100mw? Under $100 if possible. I prefer one that's tweakable and not already over driven. I live in Ohio so shipping costs will be a factor as well. Thanks for everything! Once again, I really do appreciate all the responses here. You are all invaluable.
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2009
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iguana: " I just wish I knew who really manufactures it "
when i popped (more liked ripped) open my rs laser it had laserss.com written on the side of the brass case thing, i think thats the manufacturer. sadly the site is written in japanese, lol :
when i popped (more liked ripped) open my rs laser it had laserss.com written on the side of the brass case thing, i think thats the manufacturer. sadly the site is written in japanese, lol :