Laser Apparatus

I'm currently constructing a laser setup for a research project I am involved in. The goal of its operation is that it will run 4 lasers at night off of a marine battery. This operation is controlled by a timer. During the day the battery charges from a solar panel.

The problem in question is that the 4 lasers can only take up to 5.0 volts each while the battery outputs 12V. I'm not sure if this is fine to leave it alone because of the increased load from 4 lasers. This is the major issue at this point.

My Materials are as follows.

Optima Marine Battery Model no. 34
**broken link removed**

SunWize OEM 5 (solar panel)
**broken link removed**

SunSaver-6 (solar panel controller)
**broken link removed**

4x Brightline power source (for laser)
I dont think I will actually need this. It takes AC power and converts it to DC power for the laser. Everything else is DC power however, so I think I can just skip over this.
**broken link removed**

4x Brightline laser (green)
accepts 1.0-5.0 Volts DC
**broken link removed**

OMROM H3CR-F8 (timer)
**broken link removed**


I also am not suer if I should connect the lasers in series or parallel. I really don't know all that much about electronics or circuitry so any help you guys can offer is completely appreciated.

I really don't know all that much about electronics or circuitry so any help you guys can offer is completely appreciated.

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The simplest solution for you would to buy a 12V - 110Vac inverter to run the "official" power supply for the lasers. This will not be the most efficient solution as far as power consumption is concerned. To be more efficient you could purchase a 12 to 5V switching supply like this one:
https://www.powerstream.com/dc6.htm
Note: The above product is just an example of what could work for you and there may be better units available on the market with higher efficiency etc.
To know for sure we also need to know how much current the lasers will draw at 5V

Whoops, I should have mentioned that. Each laser has its own separate power supply. That's 4 plugs, so 2 inverters. The goal is for it to eventually become a commercially viable product, we just have to get a decent prototype working and then test whether it is effective.

The laser says, "peak power <500mW" and the power source says "maximum current: 500 mA". I don't know if they are equivalent, because the power source only produces 3 volts DC rather than the 5 the laser says.

I also have no objection to learning more about electronics

The Edible Napkin said:

The laser says, "peak power <500mW" and the power source says "maximum current: 500 mA". I don't know if they are equivalent, because the power source only produces 3 volts DC rather than the 5 the laser says.

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hi.
The 500mW peak power refers to the laser radiation, the 500mA refers to the
current drawn by the unit, there is no direct correlation.

I see its a Class 3B laser, have you read the eye-safety requirements for this Class?

Extract:
Class 3B lasers may have an output power of up to 500 mW (half a watt). Class 3B lasers may have sufficient power to cause an eye injury, both from the direct beam and from reflections. The higher the output power of the device the greater the risk of injury. Class 3B lasers are therefore considered hazardous to the eye. However, the extent and severity of any eye injury arising from an exposure to the laser beam of a Class 3B laser will depend upon several factors including the radiant power entering the eye and the duration of the exposure. Examples of Class 3B products include lasers used for physiotherapy treatments and many research lasers.

www.kam.co.uk/products/lighting/docs/KAM-Class3BLaserEffectUserGuide.pdf

Thanks for the info! I knew to be careful with the laser but it is always nice to know more about what I am working with. The system will be offshore however and inaccessible to the public.

The Edible Napkin said:

Thanks for the info! I knew to be careful with the laser but it is always nice to know more about what I am working with. The system will be offshore however and inaccessible to the public.

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hi,
You can get eye protection goggles, choose them for the correct light freq, I used 904nM goggles.

They arent really necessary at this point because I am not running the lasers, but thank you again.

I called up the local electronics supply store today, they said that if I were to get a 5 volt regulator for each laser it would work well.

The Edible Napkin said:

Thanks for the info! I knew to be careful with the laser but it is always nice to know more about what I am working with. The system will be offshore however and inaccessible to the public.

Click to expand...

People have been know to use boats

The Edible Napkin said:

Thanks for the info! I knew to be careful with the laser but it is always nice to know more about what I am working with. The system will be offshore however and inaccessible to the public.

Click to expand...

Lemme go out on a limb here- if you don't have a professional understanding of laser safety, you should NOT be working with 500mW lasers. They're fantastically dangerous! At 500mW in the dark, if it hits a reflective surface it can cause retinal damage to people within sight of the scatter. 5mW is the acceptable safe power for uneducated consumers.

Just what is this research project? You aren't planning to shine these up in the air, are you? The FAA and even Homeland Security could have issues with that. The FAA might have to issue a TFR for the area to advise pilots, however unlikely it may be that they'd randomly fly into a thin beam in that big sky.

In regards to your question:
A laser head itself is a diode that must have its current regulated in some way. Simply giving it a constant voltage will either yield a power too low or too high and could destroy the head immediately. That power supply will handle all those supply issues.

There ARE plenty of ways to power that head off of 12V and it'll be far more efficient than an inverter+AC/DC power supplies, but honestly those heads are so expensive that you need to know something about lasers as well as electronics to do that right and not blow the heads in a few milliseconds. Plus, well, safety!

The other question is how much energy capacity you have. 3 heads draws several watts and the inverter + power supply are not 100% efficient. Actually the best thing to do is just hook up the inverter and supplies+lasers and see how much current it draws from the batt. You need to look at the amp-hrs of the batt and see that over the time it's going to run that it won't drain more than half the capacity. For many many cycles, to avoid beating up the battery you might want to limit that to 25% or so. And the solar panel needs to be large enough to be able to recharge back into the battery everything it used overnight and that may need a big panel. Remember the panel will not produce the rated power in the winter, in northern latitudes, or in cloudy weather even IF your panel alignment is perfect.

Really, this is the place to ask the question if you want to take on building a 12V laser head supply:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=53
Really, that power supply isn't rocket science. There may be an off-the-shelf 12v supply too, there's probably gonna be several guys there who've already worked with that specific head.

Again, I need to emphasize: they may look calm and innocent making a light without blazing sound effects going "blam blam blam" and all, but a 500mW laser is dangerous!

and you can also ask at www.laserpointerforums.com, we would be glad to help you! but yeah, 500mw is a TON of power! 500mw can cut through electrical tape, pop balloons, light matches, and much more! so you MUST be very careful with these! and like others have said, these will die almost instantly with too much current/voltage, so some more advice would be helpful if you don't want them to blow up!

The Edible Napkin said:

They arent really necessary at this point because I am not running the lasers, but thank you again.

I called up the local electronics supply store today, they said that if I were to get a 5 volt regulator for each laser it would work well.

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Your 5 volt regulators, assuming they are linear regulators, will use 1.4 times as much power as the lasers, this power will be converted to heat. As long as you have enough battery capacity to waste over half of your power as heat they will work fine.