Blu-ray Laser Gadget 204
i4u writes, "Wicked Lasers has done the unthinkable. They took the sparse blue laser diodes used in Blu-ray Disc drives and are making cool laser gadgets out of them, called Sonar. You can own one of these very limited edition lasers for $1,999.99. The price is that high because Wicked Lasers buys Blu-ray Disc players and removes the Blu-ray diode for the Sonar laser."
Make sure to check out their videos (Score:3, Informative)
It's enough to make one wonder: How feasible is a handheld laser weapon? (Say, a few watts?) I realize that the key issue is that the laser does very little damage as it passes through an object. (Actually, it leaves a hole the diameter of the beam. Not very large.) However, I could see the laser rotating through a small arc during fire. That would at least carve out a centimeter or two from the target...
Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? (Score:3, Informative)
All that searching and the cheapest source for one is right at the top of this page.
Re:Stupid. (Score:4, Informative)
I see another person did it too!
http://www.felesmagus.com/pages/lasers-howto.html [felesmagus.com]
When you take the laser assembly out, you'll notice two of them mounted to little heatsinks. One of the two puts out light well into the visible red spectrum and the other is useless.
You can use the usual optical feedback supply to run at peak output, but since this dvd laser application used no feedback, neither did I. I hooked it directly up to the 5 volts from a USB cable through a 10 ohm resistor. You might want to steal a lens off another laser or a camera. If you don't use a lens, the beam spread will light up half the room.
This would be a good time to consider buying some eyewear that will filter out the red, because an accidental burst can get focused onto your retina. That would be bad.
Total Bullshit (Score:5, Informative)
"The cost of the Sonar is mainly due to the high price of laser diodes which are taken from Blu-ray disc players. The cost of a new Blu-ray disc player combined with international shipping, and import taxes raises the cost of obtaining a 405nm diode in China to approximately $1,500."
Either these guys a clinically stupid, or they're totally full of shit.
You can buy a brand new, already-imported, Sony BD-RW drive for under $500 according to the PC Connection catalog that is on my desk right now, and you can get a Sony standalone player for $799. They're paying $1500 for them? I bet they making the whole thing up and he's just holding a piece of (poorly) machined aluminum or a regular laser pointer in the picture. It's a ploy to get you to go to their website that you wouldn't have ever heard of otherwise. They priced it at $2k so that nobody would buy one, and they're hoping you'll pick up an overpriced green pointer while you're there.
Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? (Score:2, Informative)
- Basically, there is quite a bit you can do with 405nm that you can't do or do as well with say 650nm (red). Briefly: fluoroscopy, higher speed optical comms, nano-scale work, gas spectroscopy, holographic storage, etc. As we get into the higher frequencies even more applications such as portable weapons, etc.
- The average home has 1/2 dozen or more laser diodes. Most are in the cheaper/lower frequencies. As the cost comes done on the higher frequencies, this will open up the floodgates. If you recall, when laser were first invented they were called a, "good idea with no practical use". Sound like some of the posts to this thread?
- The higher the frequency, the more effective the energy against the target. As a result, a 20mw 405nm is more destructive than a 60mw 650nm for example. Incidentally, the reason laser diode power output is rising in disk players is that is allows the disk to be spun faster. This maintains the average energy per data area. Historically, the biggest impediment to faster CDR/RW speeds has been the availability of the high power laser diodes. We are going to continue to see applications held up by the availability of sufficient laser diodes in desired frequencies and power levels until investment dramatically increases.
- One of the difficulties with the higher frequencies is that the same energetic advantages of the wavelength work against the very materials of the diode. Basically the diode attacks itself. This reduces the lifespan of the device for a particular drive level. Early blue laser diodes had a lifespan measured in 100s of hours. The 405nm devices used in the disk players may only be good for 2-5k hours, depending on the drive level. This will improve of course. Eventually the 405nm 20mw devices will cost less than $5 and last 50k hours or more.
- Basically, putting an expensive laser diode in a handheld pointer is mostly for fun at this point. People with money who also know lasers realize that with a 405nm device they are going to see very unusual things. For example, imagine what a 405nm pointer looks like when shone against a 3d object painted with fluorescent material. Some people buy the latest game or sci-fi movie, others buy rare laser pointers. As these devices become more available, creative people will find more uses for them. Like I said earlier, laser diodes are already quite common in the average home or business.
- Our government is going to have a real problem with high power laser diodes in the near future. Without going into details, advanced laser diodes can have significant public threat. Right now the law is fairly lax and not enforced. I am not for more laws but I don't want to have to wear eye protection every time I attend a public event. It will be a sticky issue and I hope that whatever the solution, it provides the most liberty for scientific experimentation.