building laser from dvd burner diode

[rotor]

i go lots of fee time now

and i saw on youtube
YouTube - Laser Flashlight Hack!

and i have an old dvd burner

i disassembled the eye as much as i could but
i cant get to the basic diode as they show it
there no more nuts and bolts in there.
how to disassembling further in order to get the showed diode in the video
??

here how my most basic part looks
https://i26.tinypic.com/5ang91.jpg
https://i25.tinypic.com/j0xqvb.jpg
https://i32.tinypic.com/eqsh1g.jpg
https://i30.tinypic.com/2ah76oh.jpg
https://i25.tinypic.com/jb6bnl.jpg

 

[PedroDaGr8]

IIRC usually the diode is at a right angle to the lens. That being said, you are messing with something that could quite possibly damage your eyesight etc. The "safe" limit for laser diodes is usually around 5mW or so. These run at MINIMUM, ONE HUNDRED milliwatts with some running as high as FOUR HUNDRED milliwatts. That is EASILY enough power to damage your eyes (either directly or via reflection off of a wall). DOn't forget you don't have to be looking at it to damage your eyes. It can easily damage the non-focal portion as well (seeing it out of the corner of your eye). Honestly, unless you know what you are doing (ie have worked with lasers before, know how to implement safety precautions, etc.) I would avoid it. It's like giving a child a loaded shotgun, something is bound to go wrong. I haev read of people on the candlepower forums accidentally blasting their eye with 30mW or 50mW laser diodes while cleaning and causing PERMANENT damage.

At minimum get yourself some filtering goggles for use at 650nm (DVD burner diode wavelength).

 

[rotor]

ok safety is first i will get those goggles

how to disassemble my part to get the diode?

 

[HarveyH42]

ok safety is first i will get those goggles

how to disassemble my part to get the diode?

Not all DVD burners are built the same, sometimes you just have to figure it out as you go along.

You do realize, that just because you saw it on Utube, doesn't always mean it's the gospel truth. There have been many humorous, and very realistic hoaxes over the years. Didn't watch the video, maybe later.

 

[arunb]

making the driver for the laser diodes may be a bit complicated..also the diodes are susceptible to ESD and need special handling...

 

[rotor]

IIRC usually the diode is at a right angle to the lens. That being said, you are messing with something that could quite possibly damage your eyesight etc. The "safe" limit for laser diodes is usually around 5mW or so. These run at MINIMUM, ONE HUNDRED milliwatts with some running as high as FOUR HUNDRED milliwatts. That is EASILY enough power to damage your eyes (either directly or via reflection off of a wall). DOn't forget you don't have to be looking at it to damage your eyes. It can easily damage the non-focal portion as well (seeing it out of the corner of your eye). Honestly, unless you know what you are doing (ie have worked with lasers before, know how to implement safety precautions, etc.) I would avoid it. It's like giving a child a loaded shotgun, something is bound to go wrong. I haev read of people on the candlepower forums accidentally blasting their eye with 30mW or 50mW laser diodes while cleaning and causing PERMANENT damage.

At minimum get yourself some filtering goggles for use at 650nm (DVD burner diode wavelength).

is it ok to handle it with welding mask
??

 

[arunb]

you need to use goggles recommended for the wavelength and power emitted by the diode. Also you must ensure everyone else with you is wearing the same type of goggles.

Eye defects may also develop after a period of use.....

 

[mugumbo]

I signed up for these forums just to say this.
All of you responders of rotor's main question are idiots.

He definitely knows the risks if he is doing this in the first place. You want to maybe answer his damn question rather than ridicule him of what he is doing. "oh wear glasses omg you're gonna hurt yourself." for f**ks' sake he hasn't even disassembled it yet.


Okay rotor. That final piece you have there. If you look at it for more than 2-3 minutes you should finally realize that it is not a laser burning diode. In order to extract a laser burning diode out of a DVD burner, it needs to be faster than 16x. That is, > 16x. This is because any dvd burner less than 16x does not use a laser burning diode. Like yours, they have a prism in the middle reflecting the light through a lens. If you take your piece apart more, it is a lens with a bunch of wires. This is of no use to make a laser flashlight. I'm sorry. I know this because I did the same thing before then realized that my burner was 8x. Life's a *****.

 

[Vizier87]

MUGUMBO, watch your language. Although your words are 'censored' they're indicative enough. This site is not talking about carnal stuff or discussing music, but for educational purposes.
'Nuff said.

 

[tcmtech]

I signed up for these forums just to say this.
All of you responders of rotor's main question are idiots.

He definitely knows the risks if he is doing this in the first place. You want to maybe answer his damn question rather than ridicule him of what he is doing. "oh wear glasses omg you're gonna hurt yourself." for f**ks' sake he hasn't even disassembled it yet.

Some how I already like you hope you stay around for a while!

 

[ke5frf]

He definitely knows the risks if he is doing this in the first place. You want to maybe answer his damn question rather than ridicule him of what he is doing. "oh wear glasses omg you're gonna hurt yourself."

Good grief, what an ill concieved assumption. Do you know how many teenagers, total novices, and electrically challenged morons pass through sites like this every day, asking questions? Literally, often people who barely grasp Ohm's Law.

Also, do you understand the consequences of eyesite damage? We're not talking about a "widdle biddy bo-bo" here, we're talking about irreversable loss of vision.

What is wrong with offering some health hazard warnings?

 

[tcmtech]

Find a pointy stick and live and learn.

 

[Boncuk]

I signed up for these forums just to say this.
All of you responders of rotor's main question are idiots.

You have said why you signed up here and you did what you wanted. I expect you to disappear as quickly as you have appeared after such a general insult!

There are lots of idiots out there not knowing what they are doing. Some of them dry their cat in a microwave oven and ask why it exploded.

As already said: You better watch your language. Even better: Go with god, but go!

Boncuk

 

[HiTech]

I signed up for these forums just to say this.
All of you responders of rotor's main question are idiots..... Life's a *****.

Well, well MuchoDumbo you've done a fine job of being an idiot yourself... and in your first posting too!

 

[HarveyH42]

A lot of people see those videos of lasers burning stuff, lighting cigarettes, and other things, and just don't stop to think how dangerous these things can be. Your eyes are one of the few organs that can't be replaced, very little on repairs. It's more than reasonable to point out the dangers, and proper safety when playing with lasers, every time the topic comes up. Maybe the OP already knows, and has the right equipment, but maybe not somebody who found the thread through Google. DIY lasik isn't cool, and most likely not reversible. It can happen so quickly too, just a little careless, worse than playing with microwave oven guts.

 

[Boncuk]

This is because any dvd burner less than 16x does not use a laser burning diode. Like yours, they have a prism in the middle reflecting the light through a lens. If you take your piece apart more, it is a lens with a bunch of wires. This is of no use to make a laser flashlight. I'm sorry. I know this because I did the same thing before then realized that my burner was 8x. Life's a *****.

Agreed!

My first CD-writer had a candle built in.

 

[tcmtech]

My first CD-writer had a candle built in.

My high school had those too! Probably still does. Technology updates only happen about once every generation or so.

I hear the new Eco friendly ones have a magnifying glass you have to hold up to a window in order for them to burn a disk.

 

[Sceadwian]

The hack probably only worked a half dozen times before the laser diode burnt out. They're not designed to handle that much power. Take a look at
Green Laser Pointers - Red, Blue, Green Lasers - Laser Pointer - Think Lasers
DVD players being modernized you may have trouble finding a DVD player old enough that it has a discrete diode module not one with all the other electronics built into it already, I could be wrong.

 

[Boncuk]

The hack probably only worked a half dozen times before the laser diode burnt out.

Hi Sceadwian,

I guess you overlooked the real point:

Originally Posted by mugumbo View Post
This is because any dvd burner less than 16x does not use a laser burning diode.

If not a laser diode, what then?

Boncuk

 

[Sceadwian]

I think he ment laser burning diode as in, the diode in models under 16x don't have diodes rated at high enough power.
Think about it logically. You can't just speed the disc up on a DVD burner and expect the data write speed to get higher, you have to increase the laser power linearly because the speed increase means each pulse of the laser has to contain that much more power because it stays in one spot that much less time. He was just very cranky about saying that =O