AisuShiden
Newly Enlightened
So here in my hand is a radioshack greenie, that I have messed with.
First I tried the pot mod, but I did not want to cut a hole in the side of the pen, so I turned the potentiometer to the right some and tried the laser out. It didn't seem to get any brighter, maybe a tiny bit. I only once adjusted it with the laser beam on, and it didn't seem to get much brighter, if at all.
I then attempted to turn the pot counter-clockwise, until I felt no resistance. I turned it, and put it back together, but still no real difference in the brightness.
So I decided to cut the wires going to the photodiode. In another post I read, this made the laser considerably brighter. It actually seemed to harm the performance of mine, or change it very little. It flickered a bit, seeming unstable.
At this point it was time for a different approach. I soldered the wires back together. Then, using a small screwdriver, I applied a small piece of painters tape to the surface of the photodiode. The laser seemed to be a little brighter. I tested a piece of tape, and the laser easily shone through it. So I applied another layer to the photodiode. The laser seemed to be a bit brighter again. A third piece of tape made a small difference. The laser didn't shine much through three, so I stopped there.
Now, the laser dot on the wall seems brighter, but it also has more of a splatter of light around the dot itself. Could this be from the laser light reflecting off of the painters tape on the photodiode? I also feel like the beam was more visible last night, but that is a very subjective observation.
Now for the questions! ^_^'
Am I perceiving the laser as brighter because of the light splatter? Is my idea about covering the photodiode a realistic way to marginally increase the power of the light?
How can I measure its power, with a digital multimeter? Why did the pot mod not work, did I do it wrong?
Thanks in advance, writing this has been quite arduous, since my kitten has been biting and attacking my hands/keyboard nearly the entire time. -_-'
First I tried the pot mod, but I did not want to cut a hole in the side of the pen, so I turned the potentiometer to the right some and tried the laser out. It didn't seem to get any brighter, maybe a tiny bit. I only once adjusted it with the laser beam on, and it didn't seem to get much brighter, if at all.
I then attempted to turn the pot counter-clockwise, until I felt no resistance. I turned it, and put it back together, but still no real difference in the brightness.
So I decided to cut the wires going to the photodiode. In another post I read, this made the laser considerably brighter. It actually seemed to harm the performance of mine, or change it very little. It flickered a bit, seeming unstable.
At this point it was time for a different approach. I soldered the wires back together. Then, using a small screwdriver, I applied a small piece of painters tape to the surface of the photodiode. The laser seemed to be a little brighter. I tested a piece of tape, and the laser easily shone through it. So I applied another layer to the photodiode. The laser seemed to be a bit brighter again. A third piece of tape made a small difference. The laser didn't shine much through three, so I stopped there.
Now, the laser dot on the wall seems brighter, but it also has more of a splatter of light around the dot itself. Could this be from the laser light reflecting off of the painters tape on the photodiode? I also feel like the beam was more visible last night, but that is a very subjective observation.
Now for the questions! ^_^'
Am I perceiving the laser as brighter because of the light splatter? Is my idea about covering the photodiode a realistic way to marginally increase the power of the light?
How can I measure its power, with a digital multimeter? Why did the pot mod not work, did I do it wrong?
Thanks in advance, writing this has been quite arduous, since my kitten has been biting and attacking my hands/keyboard nearly the entire time. -_-'