Modding Novophone laser

This is how to mod the Novophone laser, which I bought on eBay. I got it up to around 30mW.

I thought people might be interested in these:

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?folder_id=1760225

Your pot mod instrucrtions imply that you are popping balloons with the modded unit - if this is true, it's at least twice the power you state. 30mW won't burn anything (except retinal tissue) AFAIK

Are you actually able to pop balloons with it after adjustment?

lol, i just relized that i created those photos lol. So in case anybody needs help with this just shoot me a PM i would be glad to help out if your having any problems doing it.

-edit, I was able to pop balloons, but only from very small distances. The furthest i had popped one was around a foot. I used black party balloons and regular baloons with black marker on them and both would pop.

I ordered a >30mw laser off ebay and it is able to pop black ballons.

Hmmm. I'd be wary of VERY high IR levels on any greenie with <80mW (green) output that can pop a balloon.

If it won't pop a red balloon, but will pop a black one, it's almost certainly IR, not green. This is because a red surface absorbs green light about as well as a black surface, but red is much more transparent to IR light, than it is to green light.

Remember that the pump diode outputs 808nm IR, the Nd:YVO4 outputs 1064nm IR -much of this IR energy is transmitted through the crystals and optics and unless a quality IR filter is installed at the output of the laser - you have invisible IR energy riding the green beam.

A disturbing number of pointers recently evaluated by forum members have poor - or no - IR attenuation. This IR energy can easily exceed the green output power - by a wide margin.

BTW your eyes have zero IR attentuation either but are just as affected by it as a balloon...

Actually a ~20mW laser is really all that is needed to pop a balloon, especially if it is a CNI model. The beam diameter is about 0.5mm leaving the aperture, giving enough energy/area to pop baloons from even a foot or more way. I've done this with a laser rated at 24mW, with no measurable IR piggybacking along the beam. Beam diameter is the key, if it were say 1mm, then it wouldn't do this without the use of a lens to focus it.

This is actually on of the reasons I try to impress the importance of safety. I don't think people realize that even at 15mW, a laser can cause serious eye damage.

I just did this Novophone mod and now it can punch through a spot painted with a black sharpie on a plastic grocery bag. Anyone know how much power that would take at 1". The beam visibility is much greater now (air glow and dust sparkle) and shining the laser on a red stripe in the carpet that before would absorb the spot results in a bright spot now. It has a very bright spot on green mesquite trees at 1/3 mile. (I live in a remote area).

Edit: I tried a balloon today after coloring a spot with a black sharpie (I only had white balloon. Pops instantly at 1" distance.

Thurmond

While these are very easy to mod, and generally have really good results. Has anybody had a problem with the lense getting dirty and being unable to clean it? It has the typical galaxy style design on a white wall. When I attempt to clean the lense it either will get better or worse, but never goes away. Any suggestions?

Athoul said:

Actually a ~20mW laser is really all that is needed to pop a balloon, <clip>

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I stand corrected! So...I can turn my ~35mW Leadlight into a balloon popper by setting the collimator for a tighter beam at short distances...

You bet ...heck if narrow enough 35mW may even light a match.

Fretwise said:

Has anybody had a problem with the lense getting dirty and being unable to clean it? It has the typical galaxy style design on a white wall. When I attempt to clean the lense it either will get better or worse, but never goes away. Any suggestions?

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First thing to try is a lens brush, if it's loose dust this (or a compressed air blast) is all that is needed. You generally want to avoid touching the lens unless the dirt is adhered to it.

What are you cleaning it with? There have been several threads about this but in general you should be using a mild non-residue solvent (isopropyl alchohol or ammonia-based glass cleaners work well) and a soft, lint-free cloth. Most problems arise from the cloth depositing junk on the lens when wiping.

Pocket dust probably the biggest contributor to this and to avoid that get a soft vinyl "pipe cap" type of thing to cover the end when not in use. This seals out the dust and also provides a measure of added safety, acting like an aperture shutter...

For a cloth I'd highly suggest a microfiber cloth specifically designed to clean optics. About a year ago I purchased a small microfibercloth/lens cleaning solution from a store called Sunglasses Hut, it cost about $12 and I still have that same cloth and cleaning solution a year later and works like a charm.

i`v mentioned it before but I use filter tips for roll your own cigarets and find they work very well.

I am using a microfiber cloth, that I got from our university for the science equipement (he mentioned microscopes so I figured it would be gentle enough) but even using Q-tips, or anything just seems to give random results. Novophone was kind enough to send me a few of the lasers for testing so I might just switch it out with a new case -shrug-

Just don't do what I did, try to polish the lens by pushing a cleaning cloth through the hole using a screwdriver, killed the lens by piercing throught the cloth.

Just don't do what I did, try to polish the lens by pushing a cleaning cloth through the hole using a screwdriver, killed the lens by piercing throught the cloth.

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I'll keep that in mind

Mine broke as well Similare problem, only mine being worse. Punched the front lense right out of its place. Oh well Replaced with a PGL-III-A