Some advice would help

[Aleksa]

Cant really do much at that price. But i would suggest that you find a complete module.
Or if you buy just a diode and the driver,you can try finding a dead laser printer. They have a nice heat sink and lens. Maybe you should be experimenting with RED lasers,like those found in DVD burners. You can find the burners for free! just ask a near computer repairs man,and they will give it to you. Get the diode out,buy the aixis housing,a simple LM317 driver,and your ready to burn stuff

 

[Mr Acurite]

I think I have a printer that is basically trash, and I think my mom's old desktop's disk drive is capable of writing, I think... would either of those work?

 

[Aleksa]

Well as long as its DVD RW (ReWritable) you can burn. Have in mind that DVD burning diodes ar RED and the CD burning ones are InfraRed. Both are dangerous! You cant see the IR spectrum(just a faint red light)! So when you open the CD/DVD burner,you will find that it has 2 diodes and a photo diode(it usually looks like a plastic square with a lot of wires). You need to power on both diode to know which is which. Be careful ! Those diodes work at 2.2V at max 450-500mA ! So you do need a multimeter to calibrate the driver. If you dont want to bother with that,just use 2 AA batteries and a resistor. The value of the resistor you will find by using Ohms law. If lets say you have the source voltage of 3v and your diode forward voltage is 2.2v,and you will be needing lets say 350mA(safe side) your resistor value is 2.7 ohms 1W. Do a bit of research,then play with blue stuff

 

[Mr Acurite]

I think, for my first few builds, that doing anything that complex or dangerous would be inadvisable... is there a particular diode or module that it's suggested I try starting with?

 

[Aleksa]

Cant help you there. In mu country,you cant find laser diodes to buy. I started with disc drive ones. For complete modules there is always the Aixiz module. Someone else should recommend you that cause i dont have experience with low power lasers. There is a lot of info on this forum,you just need to find it.

 

[Tmack]

eBay seller techhood has 300-400 red 650 diodes for $5.99 a pop. Grab a couple so you have a back up , contact lazeerer , a member here to make you a driver, or go to survival lasers and buy a preset driver at the current you need and connect to your batteries.
You could possible get away with a cheap host for it around $20 too.
Mrcrouse sells hosts ready for a module for $20

 

[Javalin]

Fasttech.Com Has purple ModulesWith The Driver For 5 Bucks.

 

[Javalin]

SorryForTheDoublePost, I'm On MyPhone And ThingsLikeThis Happens.

I'm Going To Look At My Purples To See If They Can Even Burn...

 

[Mr Acurite]

660nm 300 400mW CW Red Laser Diode ML101U29 25 1pcs Pak | eBay

Would that work well as the diode? If so, what would I need to attach to it in order to make it work?

 

[Tmack]

That's the one I recommended.
Go to survival lasers and get a driver set at (what do you think guys) 350ma .

 

[Mr Acurite]

Survival Laser Driver

Would this work for the driver?

 

[Aleksa]

Its fixed current,so you need to know your specs. If you are buying the mitsubishi,you need to contact the seller in order to find out the recommended voltage and current. And then find the driver.

 

[Tmack]

That driver is fine. I think it should be able to handle 220 or 445ma but I'm not sure. As stated above check with techhood. He always gets back to me. I'm surprise no one has chimed in at the recommended current for " us" lol. We tend to push diodes harder then their data sheets.

You can also search the name of the diode to find the data sheet. Just search the ml(62(7:2 jibberish on google and you should find the ' recommended " current.

Edit. Looks like LPF has had their way with them already! Search the name of the diode in the search bar at the bottom.
http://laserpointerforums.com/f46/10-ml101u29-25-25-a-85196.html

Better yet

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

350-450mA is about right for these diodes, depending on the size of your heatsink. Get a driver that has
leads already soldered on. I would also recommend an adjustable driver and one of the dummy loads
Jufran sells. That way you can play around with the output power and set the current yourself using a
voltmeter.

 

[Mr Acurite]

With that diode and that driver, what else would I need by way of parts to get it to work?

 

[Tmack]

Host ....... Batteries lol

Oh and a 5.6 aixiz module. To hold the diode.

http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/p...-add-module-w-driver-starting-20ea-83813.html
Host.

And livinloud had aixiz modules for $3 I think

http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/m...-copper-aluminum-black-parts-etc-87443-2.html