Hello from Oregon

May 8, 2018, 8:14 pm

≫ Next: 700mW Tùng Laser 638nm

≪ Previous: Hi from Virginia!

$

0

0

First off, great community you have here. I've been lurking for a while, and have seen a lot of friendly interactions.

Quick Bio: I am a student of electrical and optical engineering in Oregon, and I will be trying to keep myself mostly professional because that tidbit and my name probably identify me exactly with some digging. No doxxing please. Optics are pretty damn amazing, as you all know.

In addition to my classwork, I have some amount of relevant experience, mostly maintaining CO2 laser cutters and working at an optoelectronic company.

I don't often post on forums, so I am creating an account now to make it a bit easier to jump into the B&W Tek Spectro thread if I have any breakthroughs. I purchased one about a month ago before I came across the thread, and have been trying to do some of my own work with it in parallel to what people are doing here.

Other than the standard reds, I have that 473nm lab laser, a couple 532nm and 405nm pointers, along with a Tec cooled DFB 1310nm laser that I built the control circuit for, and is currently sitting in my senior project (and may stay there indefinitely.) Not much, but enough to do what I need.

Good to meet you all,
T

---

700mW Tùng Laser 638nm

May 8, 2018, 8:18 pm

≫ Next: Diode glitch.

≪ Previous: Hello from Oregon

$

0

0

Awesome red laser. I love the host. It's slightly visible during the day time and quite nice at night. About 3 weeks shipping. 10/10

Attached Thumbnails

   

Diode glitch.

May 9, 2018, 4:40 am

≫ Next: Cooling chip ?

≪ Previous: 700mW Tùng Laser 638nm

$

0

0

A few years back - quite a few years now - I bought a host from Ehgemus and installed a 638nm Osram diode into it. This laser has seen it all - hard drops onto concrete and brick. Sub-freezing temperatures from being left in the car all night. Searing summer heat from being left in the car all day. All this while being fairly decently overdriven - it puts out a solid 190mW - and never an issue, until today.

The laser fell off my bed and hit something hard. I could tell from the sound of it. I picked it up and thought nothing of it, but when I aimed it at the wall the output was all wrong. I pulled the lens and the diode output was just nasty. Time to replace, I figured.

I've always been a firm believer in 'percussive maintenance' so I aimed the laser at the wall and gave it a few solid taps. And the damndest thing - on the third or fourth hit, the diode output went from basically jacked up to perfectly normal. The cleanest single-mode profile you could hope to expect. I put the lens back on it and dialed it in and not a further problem.

I'm going to guess that the diode is about to die and this is just a lucky repair by banging on it, but who knows. Anybody else experienced this? Hopefully I'm wrong and this diode has a few more years in it, but we shall see.

Cooling chip ?

May 9, 2018, 12:29 pm

≫ Next: Increasing laser output power

≪ Previous: Diode glitch.

$

0

0

I saw a product Peltier Thermoelectric Cooling Chip 91 watt Peltier Cooling Chip : United Nuclear , Scientific Equipment & Supplies that cools on one side and heats on the other. Can this be incorporated into a laser to increase run time?

Increasing laser output power

May 9, 2018, 5:51 pm

≫ Next: 565nm From LaserLandAustralia

≪ Previous: Cooling chip ?

$

0

0

If you combine three lasers together with diacroic mirrors like RGB lasers. Would you get more burning power. Reason i asked is. That i have a 300 mw RGB and it doesn't burn. But 300 mw 532 surely does. Thinking of combining three heads of the same wavelength

565nm From LaserLandAustralia

May 10, 2018, 2:16 am

≫ Next: Hello from AZ

≪ Previous: Increasing laser output power

$

0

0

Lets start with an obvious question. What Color is 565nm ?





Next. The One that everyone wants to know. The Wavelength.





An Expanded view of the Spectrum. This DPSS laser has quite a wide bandwidth. Ranging from 565nm up to 571nm. That is quite wide for a DPSS laser. It's obviously not 561nm.





I measured the output power with 2 LPM's. I suspect the Sanwa PL1 is the more accurate one at Low Power Levels.

The Sanwa PL1 reads 30 mW and the Pocket Laser Power Meter from the Laser Pointer Store reads 25 mW.

The Output seems quite stable. Variation was a few mW over a few minutes.


I measured the Voltage and Current in the Pump Diode. It's 1.6 Volts at 1100 mA. It's pumping at 1.76 Watts.



Some Images of the Laser head. Sorry about the soft Focus. It's a typical Chinese Heatsink with the module buried deep inside. Looking into the output end I can see the Collimation lens has an AR coating on it. A Blue tint.





An Image of the driver. Again it's a standard Chinese driver as found in most Laser Light Show Units.




Dam this is a hard laser to try and get decent beam shots. 25-30 mW is not very bright.

NOTE: I used a Cannon camera and the Color is Wrong on the beam. I also tried with my Mobile phone and the color was even more green. Try and imagine these Beam Shots but in the Color from the top of this post. It seems a CMOS sensor is not capable of detecting 565 nm. The Camera is making it much greener. The Color of the beam truly is very close to the first image I posted about the color of 565 nm.

Anyway, Here is my first effort at capturing this Lasers Beam. The second image is a 4 second exposure.



I will try and do some outdoor shots on Sat Night. I should be up at the Astronomy club for our viewing night. There is probably nothing I can do make the color accurate. It's just the way the camera works. 565nm is a narrow area of the spectrum were color changes quickly.

Hello from AZ

May 10, 2018, 12:40 pm

≫ Next: laserpointerstore or olike

≪ Previous: 565nm From LaserLandAustralia

$

0

0

Hello folks! I've been an amateur enthusiasts of these gadgets for about 6 years. I've owned 15 or so different handheld lasers. I was active on this forum a couple years ago but lost interest for a while. Forgot my info so I made a new account! I currently have a 460mw 532nm, a 1.2w 445nn, and a 5w sanwu 470nm on the way! Thanks all!

laserpointerstore or olike

May 11, 2018, 1:12 am

≫ Next: (A) Mineral phosphorescence

≪ Previous: Hello from AZ

$

0

0

Hi all
I have a budget of $70 max for a 100mw green laser that has constant on and runs on either 16340 or preferably an 18650. i was looking at these 2 stores based on what i have read here on the forum. it seemed like after looking at a few of the stickies that o like might be the better company. what are peoples thoughts on these 2? does one have better quality product or service over the other? laserpointerstore had the cheaper option for a 100mw green laser at $35 and their web page said they have a warehouse in the US, but then the shipping still says 10 - 15 days. olike seemed like possibly higher quality for about $50 or $60 but the return process if the laser had any problems looked to be lengthy. so just looking for some feedback and thoughts from the experts here. thank you.:yh:

---

(A) Mineral phosphorescence

May 11, 2018, 6:31 am

≫ Next: 50(7)nm Chrome Pen

≪ Previous: laserpointerstore or olike

$

0

0

Often I use my 405 nm laser to see if it induces phosphorescence. Many do such as gypsum, titanium dioxide all of which give off a pale white light for a short time after excitation. But yesterday I found a mineral of some type that glows orange briefly.

50(7)nm Chrome Pen

May 11, 2018, 7:24 am

≫ Next: Hello from Israel!

≪ Previous: (A) Mineral phosphorescence

$

0

0

My inspiration to build this pen came when I came across RA_pierce’s 505 Chrome pen build. I just had to have one, too:D
Thx, buddy!!

View his thread here https://laserpointerforums.com/f45/l...ht-101508.html

I bought the Sharp GH05030C2LM 35mW diode on techhood for around $16. Had to try it.

After reading all of Paul’s write-ups and testing on these, I asked him about this one I bought and he recommended the Blitz Linear to be best paired with it because they’d both be case positive. He also offered to set it up and measure the WL. I sent him everything and he put the diode into a module paired with a 520 2EG lens I purchased from DTR, and set the driver to 180mA.

Thanks again Paul for setting it and testing and all the helpful tips!! You made this by far the simplest build:beer:

These pics don’t do the beam much justice (iPhone) but here she is.

SGD:beer:

Attached Thumbnails

     

Hello from Israel!

May 11, 2018, 1:27 pm

≫ Next: Laser jigsaw table project - will it work?

≪ Previous: 50(7)nm Chrome Pen

$

0

0

Hi everyone!
I'm Itay from Isreal and my main hobby is electronics, but recently I disassembled some laser diodes from CD/DVD drivers and got interested In them, so I came here to learn what I can do with those and learn about lasers generally.

Laser jigsaw table project - will it work?

May 11, 2018, 2:11 pm

≫ Next: Laserbee LPM's

≪ Previous: Hello from Israel!

$

0

0

Hello everyone, this is my first post here:)
After disassembling some laser diodes from CD/DVD drives I was thinking, what can I do with them? then I saw some guys who made CNC engravers from them.
My idea is, instead of having a laser head that moves above the material plate (wood/plastic) to be cut, I will be moving the plate below a stationary laser head, like a jigsaw table:

My question is, how practical is this idea:
Are dvd lasers strong enough to cut about 3mm thick wood plate, with the proper lenses? From what I see on youtube these diodes are only able to light matches and cut tapes, but in these videos they are shooting the laser from a distance, In my application, though, I will be able to focus the laser to a fixed point and shoot it from a close distance. From my understanding the more focused I want the laser to be, the more expensive the lenses get. Do you think I can achieve the burning ability specified above with, say, 20$ lens?
I will have no problem with driving the diodes, I have the required components already, and I am aware to the safety issues with this kind of lasers, that's why I am asking about this here, before I spend money on goggles and then realize these diodes are not worth it.

Hope I was clear,
Itay.

Laserbee LPM's

May 12, 2018, 9:06 am

≫ Next: Pretty Lifetime17 1x14500 Blue Build

≪ Previous: Laser jigsaw table project - will it work?

$

0

0

Hi Guys ,
I just want to reach out to all who are looking for an awesome LPM. The LPM is from no other than Jerry of Laserbee Electronics. I contacted him in regards to the latest A10 RTA LPM , this LPM is top of the line for an affordable unit. Response time is minimal in seconds with adjustable zero . So if your looking for a top of the line LPM this is were you should purchase the unit. Outstanding customer service . I also have his 7W unit that is also top notch ..

Rich:)

Attached Thumbnails

 

Pretty Lifetime17 1x14500 Blue Build

May 12, 2018, 1:09 pm

≫ Next: Sanwu 488nm vs 492nm?

≪ Previous: Laserbee LPM's

$

0

0

I am a few days late posting this - life has been very full (typical w/5 children and a FT jobbie)...but I'm super happy to share this build with the community. As well as sing some more praises for some good peeps around these parts...no pun intended. :beer:

Build:
<488nm Sharp Diode (procured and measured via ZRaffleTicket and Paul1598419)
Pico Drive (by Astralist)
14500 Blue Coated Host (by Lifetime17)

The driver is set a 145mA - diode is putting out ~64 mW and according to some math by ZRaffleTicket, should be JUST under 488nm in wavelength. The diode was spectro'd at 487.6 nm @ 100 mA.

Host (w/o focus adapter):
IMAG2079 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr


Business of the host: I have to say, typically screwing together the pieces of a host can make you cringe...these threads are BUTTER smooth. I actually ENJOY screwing this thing together. Lovely job @Lifetime17!!!
IMAG2082 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr

Tail-cap clicky: Another great aspect of this host, nice feel to this switch.
IMAG2081 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr

Host was pre-wired to drop-in the module (nice silicone wires, plenty of length to work with):
IMAG2080 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr

Tailcap end of host:
IMAG2083 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr

Matching focus adapter w/lens installed (3eG) (was using acrylic, but the three-element was longer and fit better):
IMAG2092 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr

The Driver on a test load (very easy to set this diode to desired current, great size, too - kudos to @Astralist!):
IMAG2078 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr

Module wired up, ready for its new home:
IMAG2090 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr

MMMmmmmm:
IMAG2106 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr


A picture with the flash on - so you can see the host, too :D
IMAG2109 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr

Beam shot:
IMAG2096 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr

"Same" diode - 490ish on L, 488 on R:
IMAG2121 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr

A couple more beam shots, just for fun :beer:
IMAG2101 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr
IMAG2146 by Lewie Wilkinson, on Flickr

Sanwu 488nm vs 492nm?

May 12, 2018, 2:02 pm

≫ Next: Happy Mothers Day!

≪ Previous: Pretty Lifetime17 1x14500 Blue Build

$

0

0

Hey All,

It's been a while since I've posted on these forums. I've been inactive for a little. (Couple of years) Still enjoying the lasers that I have had all the time. I just got to a point in life where other things took financial priority. (You know, Marriage, house, etc etc lol)

I "left" not long after the 445nm diode from nichia came out and the "blue" laser was finally affordable. I built one and loved it (still do). But just about any other wavelength of blue at the time was way to expensive.

Well I just randomly decided to check the forums only to see that some of these wavelengths have become more affordable.

Looking at the Sanwu 488nm 55mW or 492nm 100mW. What would be the advantages/disadvantages?

I have been out of the "game" so long, I don't know anything about these diodes and what their pattern is like etc.

I really like these Sanwu and this cyan color wavelength. In my mind 488-492 isn't that much of a difference and 100mW would probably be a lot brighter/more visible and the price difference is not much at all. Anyone have a beam comparison of 488-492?

Thoughts/recommendations?

---

Happy Mothers Day!

May 13, 2018, 7:50 am

≫ Next: Dropped my Custom built 445nm and it stopped working

≪ Previous: Sanwu 488nm vs 492nm?

$

0

0

Happy Mothers Day everyone! :wave:

Don't forget to wish your mother or wife a happy mothers day, especially if you want to stay out of the doghouse. :yh:
I think the US, Canada, and Australia, and maybe others all celebrate mothers day today.

Dropped my Custom built 445nm and it stopped working

May 13, 2018, 8:35 am

≫ Next: NUBM44 build

≪ Previous: Happy Mothers Day!

$

0

0

Hey all,

Crazy coincidence that I come back to these forums after years of being inactive hoping to buy a new wavelength laser that I don't currently have.... And then I drop my 445nm laser that I built and had for years.

It fell from my computer desk to the hardwood floor. Not a high drop, 3 feet maybe, but not a soft landing at all either. It was working moments before it fell. And I immediately picked it up and attempted to turn it on, only to to get nothing.

I took it apart and made sure everything was tight. The "pill" was tight, everything tight. I'm charging the battery just to be certain, but I'm sure I probably damaged the diode.

This was one of the original 445nm diodes from way back when we were group buying projectors and ripping the diodes out of them.

I have been out if the game so long, I don't even know where I could purchase another diode like this, or what the dimensions/specs we're on this. I'm Leary of eBay because I've been out of the loop for too long to know who/what to trust.

Is there any trusted/recommended websites around for these diodes?

So bummed out right now. I was ready to pull the trigger and buy a new 492nm laser... And now I have to try and fix my old one first. 😶😥

NUBM44 build

May 14, 2018, 1:17 am

≫ Next: New Sharp 487-492nm diodes

≪ Previous: Dropped my Custom built 445nm and it stopped working

$

0

0

I just finished my latest build. It is a 450nm NUBM44 in a 25mm Copper Module with a Super X-Drive set at 4.5A from DTR.

The host I purchased off ebay. It's a 3 cell 18650 (convertible to 2 cell) flashlight that has tons of space for a large heatsink.

https://imgur.com/9ufEQhy

https://imgur.com/S68zoQj

https://imgur.com/G3awh5n

https://imgur.com/GjfBARy

The focus adapter was my first attempt at using a rotary dividing table. I messed up the spacing on the second hole because numbers are dumb. To have 8 equally spaced holes I needed to turn the handle 5 times to locate for each hole. Because I'm super duper extra smart.... I turned the handle 8 times for the second hole. :banghead:

https://imgur.com/PPNwiQN

https://imgur.com/dZ6OTtA

All in all it came out satisfactory. It meters at just over 6 watts, but drops quickly as it heats up (or my batteries sag). It becomes warm to the touch after a minute or so.

https://imgur.com/mJi1izI

I'm using a piece of local basalt as a beam dump. When I focus the beam to a pinpoint crazy shit happens.



It melts the rock leaving little scars of obsidian. The Mineralogical Society of America says that basalt melts at about 984°c to 1260°c.

https://imgur.com/3HD5Uxs

https://imgur.com/HopRH19

New Sharp 487-492nm diodes

May 14, 2018, 9:17 am

≫ Next: 4A Laser Driver

≪ Previous: NUBM44 build

$

0

0

Hello again LPF!

Today I'm sharing pics of my new 487-492nm diodes by Sharp.

I have 3 of them put together at the moment, and I plan to make one more once I get my hands on a hot glue gun to keep the clicky button in place on a pen build... (below: 485, 487, 488, 488, 492, 495: 495nm from the first batch, 485 PLT5-488 in the pic below, and my friend's sanwu pocket 488 on top of the 3 I will be sharing here)


So far, there have been two iterations of these sharp 495nm diodes, the first batch being 492-495nm, and the second being 487-492nm from Paul's measurements. It's amazing how these diodes spread so much in color:


On to the builds...
First up was something a little weird for me to make. I decided to make a little homemade labby out of the 487nm diode. I purchased a 532nm labby w/ fan from laserlands expecting an easy stop 'n' swap out for the 12mm module. For the most part it was :)



Most part... I had two little annoying things to work out. First off, there was a lens glued to the front of the module I needed to get out. Acetone and vice grips tend to make this easy.

The other problem is that the set screw was in the back of the module, meaning I couldn't have a good heat spread to the outer module using the extended back... or the driver attached straight outward. Instead, I needed to desolder the driver (sorry Paul!), and re-solder it to the diode diagonally to fit the cavity in the heatsink:


And with that, put some thermal paste on the copper module, put it into the heatsink and screwed the fan back on.. aaaand... we were done :na:


The fan doesn't move a lot of air, but I did leave it on for a half hour without any noticeable increase in temperature. Guess it does its job pretty well :D

After those 30 minutes, still going strong



______


Next up is a ~492nm build (I assume after heat/extra current) in a C6 host



And vs the 487 labby:



___


And finally, what might be my new favorite laser: a teal powder coated host by Rich with the lowest WL 488nm diode of my 25 inside:


Which lies close to the labby from before (it is being driven a little harder):


I'll cut to the chase. What makes this one REALLY stand out (other than the fantastic host!). When you put it through a diffraction grating, this does something no other laser I've ever seen does:






This thing has a good 10nm spread, all of it with a speckle to it. It gets very visibly deeper blue.




Whereas the other diodes don't do anything close to it:



From a little bluer than my 480nm, to a little greener than the labby above. Crazy. And all of the output is fairly bright. I just hope this isn't a defect that will shorten the lifespan...

Anyway, that's what I have for now! As always, I add to the albums over time and there will be more pics over on imgur.

next on the list is the 565...

4A Laser Driver

May 14, 2018, 8:47 pm

≫ Next: Hello from India

≪ Previous: New Sharp 487-492nm diodes

$

0

0

I'm fairly new to lasers but an old hand at electronics. I started working with lasers about 2 years ago and since then I've been hooked! I came up with this 4A laser driver recently and the one shown here is a prototype that I use with my laser engraver that is powered by a 3.5W NUBM06 laser. A 10A driver prototype is also in the works. If this is something you folks would be interested in, I can start making more.

Here are the specs:

1. 4A max current out at 5.5V
2. Max VIN is 75V (recommended Max VIN is 60V)
3. Two modes of current adjustment - PWM and potentiometer. Suggested method is to set the max current limit using the pot and then use to the PWM to vary power output. PWM frequency can be between 400Hz to about 100KHz.
4. Soft start of about 5ms.
5. Cycle by cycle current limit with low-power and thermal shutdown
6. 500KHz switching frequency
7. Terminal tabs on the board to attach external current meters for continuous current readout.
8. JST VH connectors for input and output rated at 10A.