Quad RED module, home made, miniature size

[andy_con]

i would need to dig out a pics, but im sure i sent you the pic on PM.

my red pointer with an open can diode and aixiz glass lens. at about 18m it was like 6-7mm which is pretty good. let me go find

not done any measurements at apeture

[b52productions]

what is the tpi on your 10mm mirror mounts i might want to buy a couple

[sbk]

Andy, I'm interested to know the diameter of the beam at the aperture with the Aixiz glass lens, could you measure it please?
And is the body made of brass?

I now have to make a choice between some lens :
- the Aixiz glass lens, which is cheap, AR coated and is easy to mount into the Aixiz diode mount, but is a 3 elements lens and increase only by 5% the power compared to the acrylic lens (and I don't know the focal lenght nor the aperture diameter)
- some other better quality lens (Meredith, LENS27, etc), which is a single-element lens, so ~20% increase in power, offer a tight beam, but is expensive, and maybe hard to adapt to the diode mount

Furthermore, if I can obtain a tight enough beam at the exit of my quad module, it will prevent me to spend a lot of money on a telescope

[Hemlock Mike]

Nice machine work. I like to see that.
Keep us updated.

Mike

[kikbot]

Nice work thanks for sharing.

[p1t8ull]

SB, here's some comparison info on various lenses with a common 660nm DVD diode -

LENS27 143mW ~1.5mm x 2.2mm Glass single element, ARC
CAY046 130mW ~1.8mm x 2.5mm Acrylic single element, not ARC

The others have higher FL/NA so bigger initial beam diameter, all approx ~3mm x 5mm:

GS7020H 132mW Acrylic single element, ARC
AIXIZ glass 125mW Glass multi element, ARC
Std AIXIZ 115mW Acrylic single element, not ARC

The LENS27 is a direct fit into the Aixiz housing, the CAY046 is an easy mod if you sacrifice an AIXIZ lens by using an M4 screw and a pin hammer to tap it out with the retainer into a spare empty housing. The CAY046 will fit in it's place with no retainer, being a bigger diameter it does not go as far into the holder but the spring will keep it in check.
I have heard that uncoated acrylics can distort with the high powers LOC diodes can produce but it's possible either the diodes were being pushed extremely hard or the lenses mechanically stressed causing this.. no idea...

[andy_con]

thats interesting simon ill have a chat with you when i next see you about then lens

[sbk]

Thanks for the info Simon. I'm very tempted by the LENS27 ones, despite the quite high price (24€/pce). Furthermore the case is made of aluminium, which is better than the wobbling plastic one of the acrylic Aixiz lens.

However, I'm wondering about the divergeance with the Lens27 : on the datasheet, they're talking of 2mrad. Is this true? It's quite a lot... But seems to be possible, since divergeance is related to the beam diameter.

In this case the CAY046 will be better. Well, it's difficult to find the perfect lens

[Doc]

The wobbling lens problem can be completely eliminated by the use of PTFE tape on the the threads and then depending on the lens; you can also lose the spring.

[sbk]

Yes I've already read that somewhere, thanks, I'll try when I'll have my new lens