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laser specs? — Parallax Forums

laser specs?

P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
edited 2010-01-17 02:06 in Accessories
I got a couple lasers out of a dvd drive and I'm hoping to bring them to their max to light some matches for a project. Anyone know what what the max voltage they run on is? Thanks a lot.

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Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2010-01-15 06:13
    Do be careful and wear proper protective goggles when working with lasers, even low power ones. It's easier than you think to burn a hole in your retina.
  • AlsowolfmanAlsowolfman Posts: 65
    edited 2010-01-15 15:29
    For lasers the important part is current regulating, here is a tutorial on making your own: http://www.rog8811.com/laserdriver.htm

    if you just use a voltage regulator it is likely to work, but you won't have good control of its over,and it will likely burn out quickly.

    And yes, be careful!

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  • AlsowolfmanAlsowolfman Posts: 65
    edited 2010-01-15 15:36
    also if you still have the control board from the dvd-player you may be able to use that if has simple enables, see if you can find a data sheet for it. and if you have 2 lasers from a single dvd drive then one is likely an infra red laser, if you only got one diode out of the drive and it has 4 pins then that will have both the red and infrared inside.

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  • John R.John R. Posts: 1,376
    edited 2010-01-15 15:43
    Mike Green said...
    Do be careful and wear proper protective goggles when working with lasers, even low power ones. It's easier than you think to burn a hole in your retina.
    Hey - don't worry about it, this whole "vision" thing is highly overrated.· Cave crickets and catfish do just fine!

    NOT!

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    John R.
    Click here to see my Nomad Build Log
  • sylvie369sylvie369 Posts: 1,622
    edited 2010-01-15 16:55
    I've had a hole in my retina (not from playing with lasers, fortunately), and in fact it was repaired by laser. This is not an experience you want to go through. It was painless, but I had the sensation of someone crinkling up dried leaves _inside_ my eyeballs (yes, I'd swear I could hear that sound coming from inside). It also felt quite hot. I think I might have preferred pain. I shudder when I think about it.

    Oh, and catfish have to be blind - how else could they mate?
  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2010-01-15 23:39
    I didn't even think to check the driver, so I did and I found something. I don't know if it is the right one but it is similar, t0806.
    parts.digikey.com/1/parts/569353-ic-laser-dvr-3ch-2-output-16ssop-t0806-tcqg.html
    Both lasers seem the same, three pin, red output. The only difference is one had two pins bridged together. Think it would be alright to run it off of a 5v regulator? I'd hate to have to buy more stuff to make it work.

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    PG
    Image20.jpg
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  • mikedivmikediv Posts: 825
    edited 2010-01-16 01:16
    No 5 volts is to much , I did the same thing you are trying use 3 volts but like what was posted here you really want to regulate the power ,,current or it will fry in a millisecond. I actually burnt out my first one it lasted all but a blink of an eye and died.
    Someone else has correctly stated only one is the red laser the other IR and will be no good for what you want. Do a Google search with your DVD player somehting like DVD player using diode to burn matches you will not believe all the hits you will get
    and then I would build one of the LM317 regulators for using these lasers at least the thing will live for a little while you might also want to try and use a heat sink again I did not and it worked but for a very short time
  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2010-01-16 01:37
    I know, I saw the links but it doesn't seem to be working and I don't want to become blind trying. Any of you think it will work? Or should I go back to fuses?

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    PG
  • AlsowolfmanAlsowolfman Posts: 65
    edited 2010-01-16 02:00
    the digikey link's data sheet didn't work,but i found it here: http://www.dzjsw.com/jcdl/t/T0806.pdf searching for t0806 driver on google.

    i think one could puzzle out how to get it turned on from there, but it might take some trying.

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  • Tracy AllenTracy Allen Posts: 6,664
    edited 2010-01-16 03:11
    The red laser in a 20x DVD burner is usually 650nm and is pulsed to around 200 mW, driven by around 350 mA for writing. Lower power for reading. Did you get your lasers out of a DVD burner? That is important. A DVD player will not have such a high power laser, more like 5 mW, not 200 mW. The infrared laser is for CDs, usually 780 nm.

    The pinout is usually (viewed from back)
         +     positive supply current
          -    negative supply
     o         case or no connect



    As others have pointed out, it is very important to drive the diode with current, and at the very least a current limiting resistor in series with the diode. These burner diodes will have a forward voltage of around 2.5 volts, so if you want to be minimalist and have only a 5 volt power supply, then start with a 100 ohm resistor in series between the power supply and the diode, to shoot for 30 mA. You can decrease that resistor value one step at a time down to say 10 ohms for around 250 mA. Above some current the laser will start up, and above another current, it will burn out. If you don't know more about the laser itself, you are left with guesswork. The laser driver integrated circuit is overkill for what you want to do, but the next step up from a series resistor is the LM317 current source that others here have linked to.

    Be very very very careful where you have it pointed. That is doubly true for an infrared laser, because you can't see it and your natural aversion reflex will not kink in until it's too late.

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    Tracy Allen
    www.emesystems.com
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2010-01-16 03:43
    this is what I use for My 500mW IR DPSS system 190mW Green out .

    www.laserfaq.org/sam/laserdps.htm#dpssld


    works like a charm but for anything over a few mW you should Heat Sink the LM317.

    I would also put a 7805 plus a SI Diode to drop .69V in front of the 317 to keep the LASER Diode happy with voltage ...
    My DPSS diode runs at 4.3 Volts ..
    I can feed the whole assembly with 7-24 V with no change in LASER output.


    www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7tXJPkjLGE
    Said Module being used at 40mW .


    KG6LSE

    Peter

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    "Carpe Ducktum" "seize the tape!!"
    peterthethinker.com/tesla/Venom/Venom.html
    Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway. —Tanenbaum, Andrew S.
    LOL

    Post Edited (Peter KG6LSE) : 1/16/2010 3:52:34 AM GMT
  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2010-01-16 04:40
    Wow, all this advice is making me feel as if I need to use lasers! But I may not get to for a couple reasons, such as the fact that the lasers in the dvd drive are too out of focus and get dim over a few feet, and it isn't lighting matches as I hoped, instead it just seems to be making my eyes ache. Lol, maybe I should put on my welding helmet the next time! But all in all it's probably overkill as all I intend to do is light a couple fires for a model train project I'm doing with the prop. But while there is such a nice conversation going on, what else can these lasers be used for? I also have two old cd drives available, wouldn't mind turning them into something interesting!

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    PG
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2010-01-16 14:48
    All bare LASER Diodes that I know of need a collimation lens
    This is why your beam is so wide .
    If you hack a cheap pointer then you can get on from there .
    Also If you want to see where the beam goes use a Night vision device or a CCD Video cam .
    BTW the 1 SEC threshold for a strick anywhere match from what I have found with a 808nM Diode is ~600mW , You can go lower but it will take longer for it to light ..


    Peter KG6LSE

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    "Carpe Ducktum" "seize the tape!!"
    peterthethinker.com/tesla/Venom/Venom.html
    Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway. —Tanenbaum, Andrew S.
    LOL
  • Tracy AllenTracy Allen Posts: 6,664
    edited 2010-01-16 18:24
    There are many places on line that sell housings with collimation lenses, for example hightechdealz. Look around there and you can find videos of lighting a match and other wowsome feats, and advice.

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    Tracy Allen
    www.emesystems.com
  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2010-01-16 20:30
    I have a laser pointer so that should be alright but all this is making me wonder, since cd drives have ir lasers can they be used instead of ir leds on robots? If so it might be interesting to try and find distance based on how diffused the light is over a distance. The range even could be increased by adjusting a lense in front of it.

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    PG
  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2010-01-16 20:35
    Also, Mikedev earlier talked about the voltage levels for these lasers. So far I've been using the same batteries out of the laser pointer but as soon as I tried switching to another source I burnt out one of the lasers. If I were going to use a 3.3v power source, what kind of resistance would I be need?

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    PG
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2010-01-17 02:06
    some of the really cheap pointers use the internal resistance of the batts and a fixed resistor to control the Diode .. so If you use a PSU that has a lower resistance then the batts , Smoke will occur ..
    My Wally world 4$ one did this ....
    Peter KG6LSE

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    "Carpe Ducktum" "seize the tape!!"
    peterthethinker.com/tesla/Venom/Venom.html
    Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway. —Tanenbaum, Andrew S.
    LOL
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