Help Needed With DVD Burner Laser Diodes Please

[chimpezman]

Well I'm brand new to lasers, and I've been researching a bit about the threads about DVD burner diode lasers that many of you have probably made. I've found a DVD Drive from a store that I think will work fairly well for my first project. However, I've read some posts about how you strongly suggest not directly connecting the diode to a power source, such as two AA batteries, for safety of destroying the diode. In this thread I ask of assistance and/or any suggestions for going about dismanteling my dvd drive to try for my first time at making a laser, by guidelines in the threads in this forum, and from other sites. I dont know what type of diode it is yet, for i havent yet bought the Drive, but ill be sure to post the model numbers and brands as soon as i can. I've read that people suggest at least a resistor and capacitor when running the lasers. For my age, all I know is what these two components generally do, and would appreciate any help I can get for possibly creating a logic board for the laser with these components on them or something. I am also looking into the holography powermeters i see in pictures on this forum, but I can't seem to find any yet. I hope all goes well, and I apologize for any spelling mistakes as well as for the lengthy post.
Thanks,
Chimpezman

One last thing, when looking for a DVD drive, the speed at which I am looking for is what?-The burning speed?...DVD reading speed, or what exactly should I look at when selecting a drive?

 

[microtronix2]

I think theres a group-buy being organised over at LPF for 16x DVD burner diodes for $14.50ea, rated at like <250mW or something. That might be a cheaper and easier way to experiment with these diodes. I dont have much experience with the whole regulation thing yet, our class at school is studying capacitors in physics at the moment , so hopefully ill pick some useful stuff up there . Good luck anyways.