660nm lasers

[MechEng3]

Ok here are the reds I have for now. They have Flexmod and LOC diode set for just above threshold and full analog modulation ...5v max set to 175mw. Some may scoff and say I can do that. Yeah you can. But you havn't. I am going 473 all the way and will not be spending time in any other area as far as design/construction. I feel that these are well worth $130 each, or $260 for a pair that have polarity set for a PBS, 1 Hpol and 1 Vpol. They will perform at and above 250mw, but these are not TEC cooled. You could opt to mount them on a TEC plate and turn them up a bit and still have a long lifetime. I have 2 of these that have been doing just fine in a projector lately with no problems. The big thing is that they are repairable and very compact. Nice beam ... 4mm at the aperture.....close to 6-8 mm 12 meters away. This is the complete unit...nothing extra to hook up. Just 5vdc for the power and the modulation lines. I would mount on a surface that will be able to shed heat....like a heatsink or beam table. They will get warm after around 20 minutes at max in CW. See pix ...a splash of fog in there.... $6 gets them shipped priority mail CONUS.

[allthatwhichis]

PM sent...

[MechEng3]

OK here is the lowdown...I have 4 that are done,ready to ship. I have another matched pair that should be done soon...say by early next week. I have written the program to cut these little guys and may sell as a kit form to any that may have an inclination to make a few themselves. I also have the correct .20187" bit to make the hole the right size. Seems China doesnt hold a tight tolerance on a lot of things that are duplicated in the thousands....maybe the cutter was a little dull. Anyhow... that is how it is....just a few. I dont really know how to divide these up....I guess first come...first served...PM me as I will be working here tonight.

[FourDee]

How do they work? Diode in one end M9 lens in the other?

[MechEng3]

The hole through the housing is finish reamed to accept the holder assy. with the lense. It is rather simple,but compact. I had already designed an 800mw version of this in a same size package. That is my thing....design small....then make it smaller.

[allthatwhichis]

Reds arrived today. It has taken me a few hours to get them combined and in the projector. With the 635 and 660 it is a lil cramped and all my pictures suck. I can't get a good angle. I have a bit of loss on the cube, but also have it at an angle to be safe. This is my first PBS mount and I want to keep the back reflections to a minimum... With no metter I am gussing I am getting atleast 300mW after the cube, maybe 320. Unfortunatly the 660/635 dichro is not nice to the 660 and neither is my green or blue. I'll take a guess at 200 to 225 on the scanners. Can't wait to get some 405 in here. It's gonna suck getting it in too...

Thanks Mike, the beam on these is SOOO much better than this 635. I took a rubber wacher and put it in the mask I currently have an have knocked the beam size on the 635 down to about a 5th of it's aperature and it mixes well with my green. The 635 still fattens out but I have some lenses I am going to try and play around with. My blue should be here in a few days so I can get see how they look in full RGB.

Is there anyway I can talk you into making a 100-150mW 635 before you stop playing with reds? Please!

[MechEng3]

We will see....just remember that these will make heat and need to get rid of it. I feel the advantage of getting rid of heat out weighed the isolation of the diode to allow a long life. Just keep'm cool. Glad you are pleased with the little guys.

[allthatwhichis]

Well, I am having a problem with that. You say I have to isolate them from my beam table... They can both be on the same conductive plate or have a big heat sink placed on top of them, same heat sink across both heads correct? I have them on a platic plate and want to strap a heat sink to them and the one I have handy would cover both of them. This document you included had got me scared to have them touch anything conductive, let alone touch each head to the other, but, being they are running off the same power supply; part of me sees no problem. I ran them through several shows last night and they didn't get above room temp. Today I ran them all out and they started to get warm after about 30 minutes. My "office" is the coldes room in the house, but the do seem to need a lil more surface area. I can get my dremel back and cut this heat sink down if I need to, but would prefer just to attach it to the top of both lasers together.

[MechEng3]

That will be fine...the heatsink and the pair mounted on it. They need to be electricaly isolated from the beam table....capacitance,and other laser[s] blanking and grounding issues. After you combine the beams and the focus is set right where you want it...place a small spot or 2 of 5 min epoxy on either side of the lens holder with a toothpick very carefully. This will prevent any vibs changing alignment. The heatsink is a fine idea here. Just make sure it is mounted as to not ground on the beam table. They should do fine....pix please when done? When in normal modulated use there should be no heat issues. They make heat in CW though...or very red heavy shows.

[allthatwhichis]

Cool. I'll get to mounting that sink somehow. Is there any issue with blanking them on the same channel as another red? I mean, there hasn't been any issue so far... I think I would like to put them on the red channel and the 635 on the "yellow channel" and see how that works out.

Hey, you don't have any extra drivers do you?