Recent content by chronomadic

I managed to drill through the barrel and get screws in to align it, but the project failed in another unforseen way. The glue I used to secure the tact switch ended up working for a few minutes, and then somehow seeped into the switch and locked it up completely. I may be able to fix it in the...

Well, the guy himself was from Tennessee. :P I got my new laser and I'm trying to mount it in the barrel of this gun. the laser is a bit too small and I need to figure out a way to do it so the laser is aimed properly, without screws.

Well, I have just been informed by the seller that adjusting the lens could 'damage' the diode. Complete bullshit, right?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the pot being turned up is what did it. I wasn't even thinking about that. Mistakes are to be learned from, not forgotten. I will definitely have the pot turned down before I plug the new one in. Any other safety measures I can take?

Diode's dead. Project ruined. Halloween cancelled. I hooked it up to a 3.7V cell phone li-ion and it no longer works, even at lower voltage. I thought it could work up to 4.2V but apparently I was wrong! So much for my first laser. $30 down the drain and now I'm broke. UPDATE: Getting a free...

Some more beamshots I got while testing the batteries. Depending on what the problem really is, there may not be too many more of them :/ (linked for huge) (also linked for huge)

Yeah, I was just using alkalines. I'll pick some Li-Ions up next time I go out. Thanks for the tip! EDIT: Maybe I should be a bit more clear with my problem, as I'm not 100% sure it's the batteries at all. When I first got this laser, it worked absolutely flawlessly. When I first hooked it up...

On the topic of batteries-- AAAs don't seem to be enough for this thing. I've gone through several pairs of AAAs by now. Should I switch to AAs? I could probably fit up to a C battery holder on the gun.

Well, I took some very bad-quality pictures of the laser working. I had to mess with settings quite a bit to get the beam to show up. This is all I have for now, there will be more to come. Still not sure if it's 100mW or not, but here's some things it can do, when focused: -Burn my skin...

A quick update, even though I'm fairly certain no one cares. :P I've decided to not use the tone generator at all. Instead, I'm using a 3V piezo buzzer for noise. This way, everything can run off of two AAAs. The original concept was cool, but way more trouble than I have time for. I'll post...

It was a green one. I think I just need to find a multimeter. I'm sick of not having one.

Well, I received my laser yesterday... I'm not sure it's 100mW, like someone mentioned. It didn't come with a collimating lens, so I can't test it on anything (correction: it did, just not a very good one, and the threads were glued on). It IS bright, though. The beam is visible (ever so...

Whoops, sorry for the double post.

I have a similar problem here. I don't know if I can find a DPDT small enough. Space is a very big problem with this build. About the only switch that'd fit inside the trigger mechanism area is this little guy: The barrel of the gun is metal, so I'm thinking heat dissipation would be, in the...

I've still never seen a DPST momentary pushbutton. :/ Even Google is like "" But, to answer your question specifically, YES, I have heard of a double pole switch. I'm a beginner to lasers, not to electronics overall. In the case of this project, it would probably be easier to just build my...