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Man, you've tried everything! If I could rep I so would. How come your homebrew didn't work as well as a bought tec? Did the glue conduct heat much worse than the tec plate? You had greater junction density, right? I guess I'm back to a tec and paint, I'll try direct painting a cheap...

Incidentally, can TECs accurately measure power by rate-of-change (derivative)? If so might this be a faster way of getting data? Or would variance in beam size hitting the unit change the heat dissipation characteristics too much..? I know this is a very technical question but I thought I'd...

LOL no HIMNL's right : ) Instead of spending $100+ on a power meter I'd rather put it towards an ever more powerful blue, or at very least towards making my own meter so I totally understand its operation. And I'd build a datalogger onto the system, USB is virtually free if you're digitizing...

Incidentally, with a typical TEC setup, would a shroud over the laser attached over the tec that's painted as reflective a white on the inside as possible help with accuracy much? Or does a good coating (Cool raindrop method, btw!) absorb enough that it doesn't matter?

That makes a lot of sense, many thanks! Calibrating the output is no problem, though I definitely appreciate the simplification : ) It's the sensor cost & read time that I'm worried about... a peltier seems like a good idea, but they're too slow, everybody says... I'm wondering if I can use...

LOL technology = magic explained, no? : ) And there's definitely something comforting in believing that my doide's regulated by spike-proofing magic!

lol I'll totally agree there : ) @Wolf: depends on how focussed the beam is, if you put a spreading lens in early on it'd have a very tight focal point (X without vs >< with) which means it'd be more spread at the same distance from the focal point Either way, I'm REALLY not suggesting...

@HIMNL: Wow, reading through that post DP linked me to, I realize I was asking old questions, thanks for letting me know about the anodized aluminum... I take it you tried that method? I wonder how thin a plate they can anodize... Nifty lamp setup / idea! did you end up getting it working as...

Not really, but you can control the focal point so you can control the effective length of your laser as a cutting tool....

Yep, little balls is how it would work, but because they're relatively finely spaced and the dpss required would be running => 10khZ (let's say), it'd LOOK like a line... much the same way that television conveys the impression of motion. And it'd still cut things. What's the difference? I...

It is for me! It's just a question of available power. And just to clarify, I wan't saying there's too many POSTS about light sabers (whatever people are interested in, right?) but that there's too many THREADS about light sabers. Maybe there needs to be a section for Light Saber ideas : )

@Last: lol no worries, I'm glad it was motivational : D Good luck and I'd love to see a video response when you're done! @Benm: couldn't the angle of deflection be controlled pretty accurately with opposing coils? (1 for each edge of a small square mirror mechanically constrained at the back...

LOL I love Anselm's method, but I'm confused about step 3... my light gets gooey but doesn't solidify, is my freezer set too high? @eud: so what's wrong with my system? It creates a point of plasma along a line, if it does this much faster than a typical swing motion it's the same effect...

@ DP: oh my gosh, I feel so unoriginal all of a sudden! Thanks very for the links, and the mini-analysis : ) I'll try starting there and if I can't make do with components in my junk box I might very well buy one of those radiant alphas.. they certainly hit an attractive price point : o...

this is way more interesting than sleep..! pardons if i babble, it's 5am here ok so if you are thinking of building this, and you want it to do more than just simple x/y plots... 1-why have two mirrors? one mirror with 2 (maybe 4, one on each edge) pushing coils should do... 2-the big problem...

Hi guys, quick question... I want a laser power meter but I'm on a shoestring hobby budget. Can I use a peltier plate as a power meter? I've seen Thermopile power meters on the market, and thermopile = thermoelectric effect exploiting sensors, right? and / or with the right tinting, could two...

Hi, I'm new to LPF and recently purchased two hosts from you... I just noticed you posting Package Sent Confirmations to people by name and wondering if I was supposed to put my lpf username in the transaction memo area..? Thanks for the great deal on beautiful-looking pieces of tube : )

Lightsaber's totally possible... how much power/volume (is it volume?) do you need to "burn" air? The way I see it you just have to make a focal point oscillate real fast between right in front of the device to say a meter out... If it vibrates back and forth fast enough it'll make the...

Oh my goodness! Thanks for the replies (BB twice for the in-depth explanation!), 2.2V _DROP_! That's where I got confused, I just thought of it as a component that required a 2.2V potential to lase! I totally didn't think about them in their proper diode context ("laser module" in my head)...

ok not the most coherent video ever and the ending's unexpected (I have no editing software handy) but I made an account on youTube and posted the vid: YouTube - Laser Deflection, Step 2 Hahaha I'm glad you got the answer to your post then! : )