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Sanwu Lightsaber

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Hey guys, after recently reading a thread made by "Brewdiver82" reviewing his new Sanwu Spiker 7W w/accessories, I felt the need to try out one of Sanwu's "Lightsaber" attachments.
I've always thought they looked pretty darn cool, but I just never got around to ordering one; hell how can you go wrong for $18. :yh:

I ordered the Lightsaber $18, and the 9.0 x 0.5mm adaptor $5. I don't own any Sanwu lasers yet, so I only bought the generic 9mm adapter that fits any 12mm module.
I figure I'll make any other laser specific adaptors that I'll need.

This is my first time ordering from Sanwu, and I found the ordering straightforward, the shipping was quick, and the Lightsaber arrived in perfect condition.
I was a little worried when I saw that it was shipped in only a brown padded envelope with some extra bubble wrap at the ends, and it was stuffed in my mailbox with not quite enough room to get the door closed properly. :eek:

When I first received my new toy, I naturally had to take the knurled 9.0 x 0.5mm adaptor off, and when I did, I noticed that the threads that were cut on the plastic Lightsaber itself were a larger diameter (12mm x 0.5mm) IIRC.
Seeing this gave me an idea to try to fit the Lightsaber directly to my J/L pen series laser, which has an internal thread cut into the front of it; it looks like it was literally made for it, a perfect fit! :cool:

All in all, I'm very happy with my first experience with Sanwu, even though it was only a small purchase. I would, and probably will buy from them again. 10/10! :beer:

This version of their Lightsaber seems to be different (better) than some of the previous versions that I've seen; these have some very good looking vertical grooves on the inside of the bore which give it a much classier look than the plain tube.

One suggestion that I have would be to make a "Big Brother" version of this fine product.
The current Lightsabers are approx. 40cm (16") long, which seems to be a perfect size for the small to medium laser hosts.
I think something a few mm larger in diameter, and maybe 15~20cm (6"-8") longer would be perfect for those extra large lasers such as the PL-E Pro's.

Below are a few photos of my Lightsaber. :yh:










Here you can see the internal grooves, they really improve the look over the original.


Made for each other!


On my J/L 465nm PL-E Mini.

The laser beam changed shape.

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Hello friends. I'm new to the forum. I bought a 15w blue laser diode 1 week ago. When the laser came in, it worked fine. But I took out the lens of the laser module and ran it. In the meantime, the laser beam emerging as a rectangle began to form a line. When the laser module lens was reinstalled, the laser power was reduced. This is the picture of the last ray of the laser beam.(When the laser module first came in, the laser beam was in the shape of a rectangle.) I'm very happy if you help. Good forums.

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In need of itty bitty driver

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I've been thinking of building a very slim pen. Something to run on 2 AAAAs. Of course this will require a narrow driver. I saved a driver from a cheap 5mw-ish Alpec pen. But I have higher power ambition. I'd love to use something green like a PL520.

Here's a few pics of this miniature at around 7mm. Could this PCB be turned into something to drive a PL520?

Thanks folks!!!

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7 Maglight housings new SOLD

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I bought these on eBay a while back planning on doing some maglight builds this was before I bought my lathe, they make awesome lasers and I have 1 I'm working on but I don't need these 7! A bag of springs and clicky barrels also
The lot is 180us. Not including shipping I paid just a tad more!

They are not complete I think the bulb reflectors and bulbs are missing but springs, switch housings, bag of coloured lenses are all included,

If they were complete working maglights I'm sure they would carry a higher selling price, I bought one a while back on eBay for $60 and I think that was the cheapest I could find, And looking for a specific colour maglight can set you back more!

Here is an example of what can be done with these all is needed is a heatsink!
Purple host bottom!

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Hello from Croatia

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Recently i started working as VJ in club in my town, I needed to fix some club lasers so I think that you guys will help me do that and many other things :D :thanks:

Welcoming RB Astro as new moderator!

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Congratulations RB on your new position! :yh:

-Alex

Forum page looking much nicer!

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I love the changes to the forum header, much better! The huge colored text was somewhat bothersome to me to need to scroll through each time.

3d printing

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Hey all

does any one know were a guy that does not have a lot of money can get things printed for cheap or were to find the parts to make a printer for cheap. I know you can run them off ardunio which I have three but I would need the stepper motors and the associated hardware to build such a unit. I am trying to get set up so me and my two youngest daughters can build things we have looked at on instructables but not having a 3 D printer is hurting that effort! The cheapest I have found on flea bay is 175 bucks which is not going to happen! So I am trying to come up with a alternative solution. I know I can build the frame out of square tube steel but that right now is not in the budget Either! Any thoughts or ideas that would help me accomplish my goal would be great. Thanks guys for all the help over the years its much appreicated

Coast Hp 14 NUBMO7 FOR KEEPING KNOW! Too Late!

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Decided to sell this lovely mod I did a while back, it's hardly used, just under 5w with its original battery holder and 2 IMR 14500,s U can use 3 and a spacer! Lovely size not small just perfect!

These diodes aren't cheap still it's using 4.5a. SXD. $260au



http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/co...ild-97052.html

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13 Low Priced Lasers For "SALE"

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Hi guys
A lot of money spent on top quality parts and housings here but it's time to shear them around, I've priced them reasonably, Most of these have been my toys for about a year some longer but who gets to play with all there toys everyday, Very rarely used! Most diodes are from DTR,s store as well as drivers. Any questions just tell me the number and I can help,

I can ship interstate shouldn't be a problem we can pack and conceal well!

It's too much time consuming to detail each one like I said just ask and I'll explain,

Thanks guys!

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UK laser laws - regarding unterminated beams in the sky

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Does anybody have *accurate*, *verifiable* information about the rules/law(s) surrounding laser shows / lasers being pointed in the sky in the UK? I am aware that laser shows require you to submit a document to the CAA per their website https://www.caa.co.uk/Consumers/Disp...ys-and-events/ - but this appears to be a "let us know about it", not a "wait for permission"... which in itself is slightly confusing. Again, looking for verifiable information, not speculation here, if anyone more experienced than me can comment that would be appreciated.

A Tale of Two Metrics

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A Tale of Two Metrics:
Useful Parameters for Diode Comparison and the Need for High Quality Data

It's typical to choose a diode for a build based on uniqueness of wavelength in our current collection or maximum output power. Another feature we might consider is beam characteristics. Those of us that are after aesthetics over power may want to opt for the single-mode varieties. What do we do when there are two or more comparable diodes with similar specifications?
What do we do if the build is constrained by size limtations or if we want to maximize efficiency?
We can choose a diode on the basis of efficiency.

The typical data we use to determine how hard we can or should drive a laser diode includes PIV information. That is, we use preliminary tests (thanks to those who do these) to obtain information about the power output of a laser diode at a range of current settings. This information tells us where diodes are likely to fail, where they produce maximum power, and what the lasing threshold is. Often, the output power per unit input current (W/A; we can call this current efficiency) is used as a measure of efficiency. Of course, we could refer to manufacturer datasheets for diode specifications but sometimes they are not available and we typically operate diodes in very different conditions than whay they were intended for. I wanted to investigate another way to characterize diodes: "power efficiency."

I am defining this as the ratio of output power to total power (Po/Pt) where Po is the measured output power of a laser diode and the total power, Pt, is simply the product of forward Voltage (Vf) and input current (Ii). This value of power efficiency (Ep) tells us what proportion of the output power is light and, relatively, how much is heat. It also gives us a basis to compare laser diode behavior across diode types - different diodes often have different forward Voltage which makes the output power to input current measure less informative. When considering how to build a portable laser, we can also consider heat management (i.e. what kind of heatsink to use). It is well known that temperature has an effect on laser diode output power and the peak emission wavelength. Portable lasers are always constrained by mass so it is useful to have some basis for comparing efficiency across diodes to make better informed decisions about which diode is best suited to a particular build. This may help increase the lifetime of our diodes or allow us to design a better system to, for example, keep a diode within operating conditions for a desired center wavelength or avoid other problems caused by overheating.

Here, I plotted the PIV values from some diodes with test results on DTR's shop.
The plot gives us a reasonable idea of how a diode behaves at a given current.



In this next series of plots, you can see how differently these diodes behave as we set them for higher output power. These plots show power efficiency vs current input.



Plotting the current efficiency (Po/Ii) gives a very similar result.



Note: The sampling resolution will have a notable impact on the shape of these curves as you can see from the plot of the Oclaro 638nm diode. The Voltage reading has only two significant digits so between some of the points, there is an artificially abrupt change in the efficiency (the problematic points have been removed for the last plot). A higher resolution sampling of the Voltage should provide a more gradual, more realistic change in Ep.

Although the shapes of the curves are similar, the power efficiency parameter is more informative than current efficiency and gives us a better basis for comparing diodes.
Ep will always be some value between 0 and 1 because it is the proportion of total output power that is optical output power. Ei, on the other hand, can be any positive value. Because Ep is incorporates information about forward Voltage, it provides a more comprehensive summary of the performance characteristics of a laser diode. This allows us to determine the optimal drive current, assess how much heat the diode will produce at a given setting (Heat produced in proportion to Pt is 1 - Ep), and gives us a basis for comparing across diodes and diode types. A real world example will help explain what I mean:

I recently have been researching diodes for some pen builds. I knew that I wanted a blue laser in the 0.3-0.4W power range with a preference for longer wavelengths. I also wanted a 638nm laser from 0.7-1.0W. Intuitively, I would have chosen the PLTB 450B diode for the blue (better beam characteristics and can reach the desired output and longer wavelength if pushed hard) and the Oclaro 638 700mW diodes. However, I knew that these builds will be compact and so limited mass for heatsinking will be a factor for which diode I should choose. This is what led me to collect test data and summarize it in these various plots.
This last graph shows what I think is the most useful part of this essay.



In the above plot, you can see that for blues, the high power M462 is more efficient in the power range I want than the PLT5 450B. This means it will run cooler at the same output power. This could not be determined using Po/Ii alone. Notice also that the Mitsubishi 638nm 500mW diode is more efficient between 0.7-1.0W than the Oclaro, despite the latter being designed for that output range.

Now is a good time to throw in a few caveats and make a suggestion for keeping data on the forum.

The data I am using here is not my own, so I could not standardize the test conditions. I don't know what lenses were used, what power meters, or how heat during the tests might have had an effect on the results. Additionally, my sample size here is 1 for each diode. Sample to sample variation will have some impact on the results and of course it would be much more useful to have much more data. However, I do think that these data should be at least roughly representative and for this being a hobby, I'm not too worried about statistical legitimacy.

My second point with this essay is to demonstrate that summarizing data this way is a great way to, at a glance, understand the characteristics of a diode. Take, for example, the 505nm diode in the last plot. You can clearly see at what point the diode drops in power - this is also clearly evident in the PIV plot. Visual representations like this make data easier to understand, patterns easier to see, and all of this information quicker to share and access. My suggestion is that we can start organizing data more effectively for the benefit of the community. I'd like to see what input you all have to offer on this.


@DTR, if you would like a copy of the PIV plots I made from the diodes I've used in this post, let me know and I can send them.

LaserBee II Issue

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Hi All,
I have a 3.2W Laserbee II and recently whenever I try to use it is simply shows:

Overflow 3200Mx

I've tried all the basic stuff - new battery, made sure all connections are clean, etc.

The new battery seemed to work and then after about 10 minutes it went back to the overflow error again.

I've tried reaching out to Laserbee with sales@laserbeelpm.com and info@laserbeelpm.com but can't get a response - maybe Jerry is away or I'm using the wrong email addresses.

Anyway, anyone have any idea what could be going on?

Cheers
Mick

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Hyperion Arg and my lasers

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please see my video:


thanks, have a good day

Anybody had New Mexico green chile?

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I live in southern Colorado, but my family is from New Mexico. I also live in NM part-time. In a lot of southwest towns around here, you can always tell when fall is here because of the smell of roasting green chile. It's a very important ingredient to all our local food, but it's still available further away.

You definitely are doing things wrong if you've ever been to Santa Fe or Albuquerque and haven't at least tried a dish with green chile. Even most of the fast food restaurants offer it.

I just wanted to see how many of you have had it and what you had it in. :D

CNI 473nm DPSS: Alignment help needed

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I was just wondering if anyone could put me at ease.
A while back I purchased a 473nm DPSS of Styropyro. It is a 300mW system and has a peak of 320mW recorded by Styropyro himself. But before he sold it to me he said it was outputting less than that, and then decided to sell it for less. When I ran it for the first time, I discovered that it was still outputting well and it LPM'd at 247mW although there was some clipping going on. I noticed that the laser was hitting the edge of the aperture slightly.

Today, I decided to actually take a look at the insides of the laser. Part for curiosity and part to try and figure out why. :p It didn't take long to see why the laser is clipping the aperture.
The crystal plate is fixed wonky making the beam tracking slightly off to the side.
Now I didn't just want to start readjusting that plate without checking that it wouldn't pose any other alignment issues. What do you think?

Here's the internals when on. The laser was too bright for my phone camera, but when on you can see that the dot touches the internal hole as well.



Here is the beam profile.



Another internal shot:



And a couple with the laser off. I thought these might be nice to add for those who want to know what a DPSS Blue looks like on the inside. :)



Sanwu pocket 445 nm 800 mW illegal?

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So I ordered the Sanwu pocket 445 nm 800 mw Laser. When I ordered it I looked into legality in my country (Canada) and it said it was fine. Turns out the reference I used was a little outdated. Anything above a 3a is now illegal in Canada. So I’m wondering what the odds are that my laser will make it through customs and also if I will be in legal trouble if it doesn’t. Thanks!

New "505"nm diodes

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Hi everyone

Yesterday I noticed on ebay that existotem and newgazer had a new sale of the 505nm diodes.

The sale is located here:
https://m.ebay.es/itm/232493655764

I asked them if it was a SB147EC91, SB1473N91 or SB1573N91, but they told me that instead it's a SB217HL91 diode, which hasn't been seen up to now.

Looking at the specs sheet provided, would you all say that it's a case neutral, case positive or case negative diode?

I already have two of them heading to Paul to test the WL, but would want someone to clarify the pinout diagram if possible.

Many thanks in advance

A.

WTB: Any kind of 1550 nm laser stuff, what have you seen?

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WTB: Any kind of 1550 nm laser stuff, what have you seen?

Hi there, newcomer from Michigan

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Hello all, I am working on a project that would use lasers in an automated system to control weeds around plants, like in a green house.
As a little background, I have played around with concentrating sunlight some. Which has some similarities but is different than lasers of course.

I do not know much about lasers, what I do know is: 1. Always wear protective eye wear. 2. Lasers burn stuff and are dangerous if not used properly. 3. Lasers are cool! :D

Anything else I learn about lasers will hopefully come from you guys.
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