Originally Posted by
ZeroPoint
My G-2 lens came today and I am very impressed with the improvement. The image is much sharper than it was before. This S06J is running about 650mW @500mA with the G-2. The substrate is zinc sulfide paint from home depot.
That video you posted looked great. Zinc sulfide is definitely the right paint for this type of pattern. It would likely look like a bright mess if it were strontium aluminate.
Regarding the colimation lenses, I've been using DTR's G-2s almost exclusively with the 16x diodes, but if I were using bullet mounts instead of Lasershowparts brass mounts, I'd probably be using Aixiz G-2s to save some money as the correction and power specs for most diodes are almost identical. (Note: The threads on the Aixiz G-2s are too large for Lasershowparts diode mounts and will jam before you can get them colimated correctly.)
As others have found, a tight beam is preferred for accurate drawing on GITD materials as well as not too much power. In general, you can't go wrong with the G-2s (either kind) for most diodes, but low power reds correct better with acrylic lenses in my experience (assuming you are willing to deal with the ~30% loss in power.)
Regarding premature deaths of my 16x 405nm diodes, as I was saying earlier, I believe the most likely culprit is back reflection off my PBS cubes (all of my 405nm builds have two 405nm diodes PBS'd together). I've started aiming my diodes at a slight angle so the back reflection isn't bounced back into the diode, so we'll see if this helps.
Keep having fun with your GITD experimenting / artwork!
-David
"Help, help, I'm being repressed!"