Youll Burn Yer Eye Out Kid!!!

[Nugs Bunny]

You'll Burn Yer Eye Out Kid!!!

Here are a two of the high powered lasers I built a couple of years ago. The beam is adjusted in the same manner as a stock Maglight, and they are waterproof. I'm thinking about building a few more. Laser diodes have become available that are far more powerful, and I have several mini flashlights that would make really cool hosts for assembled laser modules.

Be sure to watch in HD by clicking the little gear in the bottom right of the video!




That balloon was about fifteen feet away, although the range of the red laser is 250 miles it can only burn things within a few feet.

There is a lot of work to making a solid and reliable version. Here are a few pictures of the drivers that must be soldered to the laser diode, the diode gets pressed into a housing that screws together and also has a lens. This is called a module, this has to be fitted and wired and heat sinked, but that's what playing mad scientist is all about! Bwuah hah hah haaa!!!


Finished laser in Maglight host.


Lens removed from module


Maglight and Maglight mini. (Custom made, cut down to length of one battery)


Chrome or Blacked Out?


Pocket Laser!


Row of four Rockstar Drivers and Lava Flex Drive.


Back side.


Lava Drive on a dime.


The area circled is a circuit that needs completed depending on the application.


Assembled and unassembled Test Loads used to calibrate the drivers

 

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[CA Gold Hunter]

Is there any difference with the color? I just heard that green lasers are the most powerful ones. Excellent choice in music for that demonstration btw

 

[Sluice Box]

Fantastic engineering on your part! How long would one possibly last on one battery source? Just wondering because I believe this would make out to be an AMAZING survival device to ignite a fire in wet/cold conditions! One more thing, are you able to also possibly make those Infra Red? Awesome post, thanks!

Sluice

 

[Nugs Bunny]

Is there any difference with the color? I just heard that green lasers are the most powerful ones. Excellent choice in music for that demonstration btw

Thanks!

Big difference with color.

The green are the most visible and will burn the most objects but are not the most powerful. They are hard to build at home because they are actually a blue laser with a filter.

The amount of heat the target can absorb the better they burn. The Military has lasers that shoot down mortars, missiles and other objects, they use UV radiation so it's not in the visible wavelength of light.

Green is absorbed the best, blue is next, but the red diodes can be ramped up much higher. The red one in the video has almost twice the mW as the blue one.

Green also has the biggest effect on vision, the Military has a green laser strobe called the dazzler that causes temporary blindness.

Wicked Lasers has some decent models, if you would like to build your own check out Laser Pointer Forums.

 

[Nugs Bunny]

Fantastic engineering on your part! How long would one possibly last on one battery source? Just wondering because I believe this would make out to be an AMAZING survival device to ignite a fire in wet/cold conditions! One more thing, are you able to also possibly make those Infra Red? Awesome post, thanks!

Sluice

Thanks!

The batteries are 3.7 volt rechargeable ones and last for a good bit. Any power source will work if it's the proper voltage, I made a lab style laser with a powerful blue diode and used a standard 9v battery.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice engineering!

 

[Oregon Viking]

OH yeh!

 

[Nugs Bunny]

Very nice engineering!

Thanks!

Unfortunately I had a hard drive crash and lost all my pictures from the builds. The pictures I posted here are from my Photobucket account and that all that's left.

I've seen other Maglight lasers but the modules stuck out the end and they had to fumble with the module lens to focus them. I knew I could do better after looking over some of the more crude designs.

I used a LED Mini Maglight instead of the older versions, the LED one has a longer head and was the perfect size to house a laser module.

I removed the threads from the barrel and head of the Maglight, so the two separate pieces no longer screwed together. I removed all the electronics except for the terminal for the battery. I soldered a lead to the terminal then filled the whole thing with epoxy, after it dried it went back in the stock location.

The laser module is three pieces including the lens, I fit that into a handmade heat sink made from a copper pipe fitting. This base of the module fits snugly in the location where the light used to be, epoxy is used to hold it permanently in place.

I replaced the original Maglight lens with a washer, the laser module lens retaining ring has been pressed into the hole creating one piece, epoxy was used on the backside to waterproof and secure it. A larger O ring replaced the stock one for the lens, and when screwed back together it became one piece.

That let me adjust the laser beam in the same manner as a standard Maglight.

The module is a another story, there is a lot to that process too, but more technical and I had to make custom tools along with a variable heat soldering iron (used a plug in lamp dimmer).

I built several electronics projects that I shot video of, they are on Youtube. I started off with the basic analog stuff, flashing lights, bouncing signals, stuff light that. Then I moved on to the Atmega 328 microchips, I bought a Nerd Kit to get started.

Then I found the Arduino, it's based on the Atmega 328 but uses C++ as a programming lanquage. I bought a bunch of stuff to go with it, plus boxes of old analog stuff lying around. So being a Visual Basic guy I figured C++ would be just as easy to learn... wrong!

So I have to start over from scratch and learn a new language, needless to say I haven't toyed with it since I got stumped on a project I was building. I couldn't get the button to cycle between my flash patterns.

 

[takeonestepback]

So you're telling me I should only use this on a neighbors cat because it's an *******.....

Sent from my beer can using pocket lint.

 

[Turbo21]

Very cool
I looked at building one a few years ago but the cost was high. What does it cost to build one now?
I really need one to help kill pest anemones in my fish tank
Would you build one for me?

Here is the article about using lasers in a saltwater tank

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/zap-aiptasia-dead-with-laser-beams

 

[Nugs Bunny]

Very cool
I looked at building one a few years ago but the cost was high. What does it cost to build one now?
I really need one to help kill pest anemones in my fish tank
Would you build one for me?

Here is the article about using lasers in a saltwater tank

Zap aiptasia dead with laser beams! (updated with new videos) ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog

Thanks!

You can build one for less than $100.00 but that's just for the parts. You may need some tools for the job.

I no longer build these for people because it violates the FDA regulations. I refer people to Wicked Lasers, they are a little pricey, but they are made very well and are pretty powerful.

Thanks for the interesting article!

 

[Turbo21]

Thanks!

You can build one for less than $100.00 but that's just for the parts. You may need some tools for the job.

I no longer build these for people because it violates the FDA regulations. I refer people to Wicked Lasers, they are a little pricey, but they are made very well and are pretty powerful.

Thanks for the interesting article!

Thanks for the link I will check it out. I have a degree in electronics engineering and have soldering irons and such laying around. Any other suggestions for building one.

 

[Nugs Bunny]

Thanks for the link I will check it out. I have a degree in electronics engineering and have soldering irons and such laying around. Any other suggestions for building one.

There was a decent forum on the subject Laser Pointer Forums. I learned the basics there plus there are plenty of specs and reviews and information on where to get parts.

If you build one stay away from the cheap Chinese drivers, they work but not that good. I bought a couple to experiment with, but in my opinion the Rockstar and Dr Lava are the best ones available.

The Dr Lava drivers are buck or boost current regulators that can run on anything from 2 1.5V cells to a li-ion 18650. It can also operate on two CR123 cells with the addition of a diode in series with the battery.

With your degree you will have no problems with the technical side of the build, if you need any help in the mechanical side just let me know.

 

[Peyton Manning]

I have no idea what any of this means, but I like pretty lights