445 pointer

[DSOTM1973]

I just picked up a pointer locally off of craigs. Never thought id be interested in one, but I talked him down and I suppose I got a decent deal. Im happy with it. However it was advertised as 2w and ofcourse its underspec. Also, there is no keyed interlock.

(((Chi-pointer((((=============================O

[Draco]

I got one my self from ebay and one day i want to see if i can adapt it to a projector, mine was claimed to be 5 watts and i cant verify that at the moment but i know one thing is it's dangerous, it runs on 2 cr123 batteries, i love the color as this is my first blue, as it is now i will use it for star gazing in northern Michigan and for some fireworks shows i host, i think my friends children will get a kick out of me lighting fuse with it, i am still baffled why the seller would advertise this for use by children though. when i get an external controller for it it i may use it as a line generator to shine though camp fire smoke, i learned the hard way with an older 532 pointer to have a correct controller. I know now that pointers are not "politically correct" due to the potential abuse of just plane criminal acts some people do with these but for people on a very tight budget they can be adapted for other uses using external power and i know for a fact that people here do use pointer modules for use in home made projectors. I take them out of the housing and use thermal epoxy and epoxy them to a heat sink.
on your unit are you using brand new good quality batteries? it may be possible to take it apart and up the driver current, out of curiosity what model is it? since it has no interlock we may have the same model
For use in a projector it will need to have the prism set to correct for the rectangle beam shape.

[DSOTM1973]

Its LuckLaser (advertised) 2w. Upon unscrewing it I found 1.6w etched clearly into the diode. haha. and even then its probably less, but I don't have any way to test that. It does burn things. I found out first hand yesterday at work, when I didn't have a lighter for my smokes. Luckily(haha?), I still had the laser in my backpack. I was fuching with a coworker too. He's from Micronesia and has never seen a laser before. I kept shining it at his feet and random places on the walls and he had no idea what the hell it was. hahahah it reminded me of a cat.

the laser is either

http://www.lucklaser.com/sale-off-no...ing-p-159.html

or

http://www.lucklaser.com/445nm-2w-ul...ping-p-31.html

I cant tell if theres a difference in the actual laser, but I seem to think it's the second link because I have the metal box and the guy purchased the extra $20 set of glasses. It also came with two sets of batteries.

$100 and the guy looked like he wanted to cry because he had to use the money to buy diapers....

[Draco]

Ok i have seen those advertised on from a few different places. I used to mess around with coworkers with a 5mw HeNe laser i hid in a tool box, and a 25mw green DPSS, it was a lot of fun till people finally realized it was from me, they got a kick out of it too as it was the first time they had seen lasers first hand, when i got my 200mw dpss i toasted a bug in one of your engineering labs that was fun until the smell got annoying lol
just be careful even a specular reflection can be hazardous at these power levels, treat it like a firearm

[DSOTM1973]

absolutely man. To be honest, i feel like im holding a weapon more than a laser pointer, with the size, weight, and color. And they were all weird when i wouldnt hand it over for them to try. I guess the pure amazement resembled that of children so I couldnt bring myself to do it, especially ay work haha. They thought i was being a dick till i lit a smoke infront of them. *not a toy*

[DrEvil]

I got one my self from ebay and one day i want to see if i can adapt it to a projector, mine was claimed to be 5 watts and i cant verify that at the moment but i know one thing is it's dangerous, it runs on 2 cr123 batteries, i love the color as this is my first blue, as it is now i will use it for star gazing in northern Michigan and for some fireworks shows i host, i think my friends children will get a kick out of me lighting fuse with it, i am still baffled why the seller would advertise this for use by children though. when i get an external controller for it it i may use it as a line generator to shine though camp fire smoke, i learned the hard way with an older 532 pointer to have a correct controller. I know now that pointers are not "politically correct" due to the potential abuse of just plane criminal acts some people do with these but for people on a very tight budget they can be adapted for other uses using external power and i know for a fact that people here do use pointer modules for use in home made projectors. I take them out of the housing and use thermal epoxy and epoxy them to a heat sink.
on your unit are you using brand new good quality batteries? it may be possible to take it apart and up the driver current, out of curiosity what model is it? since it has no interlock we may have the same model
For use in a projector it will need to have the prism set to correct for the rectangle beam shape.

It isn't even close to being 5W if it's running off of 2 cr123s.

[Draco]

yeah, that much i figured, i never did believe the power, and that's why i said "claimed to be" but i will say it's measured consumption is 7.8 watts, I hope some one will fill me in on the efficiency of these diodes. CR123 will do that current for a short amount of time. I buy them in bulk because my flashlights eat them like candy.

[hakzaw1]

I might know somebody up your way who can meter your lasers free.

Buying your own LPM is not a bad idea- they sell well used. some you will get most of your $$ back later.

also there may be a Li-ion battery that will work in place of your CR123s --16340s maybe??


I have not had much luck converting a handheld into a lab laser for a projector.

[Draco]

the cr123 are a lithium battery. I get them in bulk and that lowers the cost so they are about the same price as AA batteries. I have had horrible luck with the rechargeable 16340, do you know of some reliable brands that i could try?
I have the ability to recharge them, the chargers out lasted the batteries lol. one thing i like about this one is the diode is set in an aluminum disc and all i need to get it out is a spanner tool. I do have a meter i bought a number of years ago but it tops out at 40mwm i did get a part number for a wedge type beam splitter that should work well with my meter, i have seen some from other members but they look like it's a kit and i have been unable to find one.
one thing that i am currently doing to monitor the beam power is a single solar cell connected to a 50's era meter, i cant calibrate it as i have no idea what amount of current i should get for a given amount of power

[Draco]

Yesterday i found that the aluminum slug the diode has threads and was very easy to take apart, i think with a better controller that i can run it continuously once i get a better heat sink or just use the body of the pointer.