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I knew that different wavelengths refract at different rates, but I just got a really good understanding of just how much today.  I unfocused my blu-ray until the beam was about as big as my palm and shined (shone?  I can never remember which is correct) it at my hand, which was also illuminated...

I've made drivers with LM317s before and never had a problem.  Now I've tried THREE different diodes, and none work.  I got them from Stonetek.  I use my camera on night vision to look for the light - but of course, if it's working, I'd be able to see it with my naked eye too. My driver setup...

My Wicked Laser (I know, I know, they're not well-liked here) 95mw green usually has a very hard time lighting a match even when the beam is focused. Sometimes I can't at all. Sometimes it burns OK, and sometimes not, with the same batteries. I started wondering if perhaps it wasn't getting...

I bought a few glass lenses that fit in aixiz modules from Stonetek.  EVERY SINGLE ONE is bad.  At about 15 meters, no matter how carefully I focus the laser, the best I can get is a diffuse dot with a fan sticking out of the side.  All of the lenses with all of my lasers (violet and red) do the...

Just a quick question - frequency doubling crystal sets are only for specific wavelengths, right? I wouldn't be able to shine a red laser through the set for a green pointer?

I'm sick of the crappy soft plastic lenses, not to mention the crappy soft plastic lens holders that screw into the metal aixiz housings. No matter what I do, the lenses refocus themselves in as few as a few minutes even if I have it very tight, and of course the lenses are too easy to scratch...

I accidentally deleted my last post (see my other complaining post), so here we go again.  *sigh* After finding a flashlight that took 6 AAA batteries, I finally built my first self-contained laser. It took a long time to build this laser (four or five hours of work).  First the 9 volts...

And wanted to modify it so I moved the cursor to "modify". Well, I misfired and hit the "delete." I very quickly hit the "modify" button, but it was too late. Something needs to be changed, like a "do you really want to delete?" box or something.

I first noticed this phenomenon when at a lecture. There was a small LED indicator light that was about the same color as a blu-ray (I hadn't built my laser yet), and from a distance it looked kind of like one of those plasma balls, with spikes sticking out in all directions. Then I built my...

I've been working on some red and violet lasers for the last two days. I've heard that the violet lasers diverge more than the red ones. But in my experience, the violet ones have divergence specs just as good as the red. When I focus my PHR-803t just right, it hardly looks any bigger at 20...

I got a 95mW executive green. They're supposed to have a beam divergence of 1mm/meter. Well, this thing widens so fast that I can SEE the beam widen when I shine it into the sky. I reflected the beam off of a mirror and measured the diameter of the beam after having traveled for about 15-20...

I built a driver with an LM317 and two 10 ohm resistors in parallel (5ohm total resistance), powered by three AAA batteries. That should amount to 250mA, right?  The diode should be putting out almost 200mW!  (It's only rated for about 100mW for continuous use).  But it appears to be only a few...

I do not want to buy a laser pointer and take its guts out to build my own. From what I've read, that's what a lot of people do, but it's a waste of money. Is there a company that just sells empty shells?

I recently ordered these laser diodes: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=280279354713 They're SLD1236VL diodes. The data sheet says that they run on 2.5 volts. If I used an LM317 which uses 1.25 volts, would these diodes be safe with 3 AA or AAA...

When two waves cancel each other out, where does that energy go? I know that once the two waves separate again they no longer interfere and are normal waves again, but what if they hit an absorbing object as they are interfering? Is the energy hitting the object zero? I mean, the energy still...

I have very limited knowledge of electronics, but I am a hobbyist and and am very eager to build a 405nm laser.  I already bought two PHR-803T diodes from eBay.  After hearing people talk about drivers, about voltages, etc, I'm confused.  Here are some issues I'm having. 1.  People say that you...