HACKED!: Laser Diode from DVD Burner || Constant Current Source

[@josemedrano2645]

I love love LOVE that you did a video on a project that DIDN'T work. That's such an important part of the process and I feel like people get discouraged when their projects don't work rather than just getting up and trying again, like your awesome attitude at the end.

[@jerkycam]

*Spoiler Alert*

[@danieldusentrieb4082]

😂

[@jerryg50]

This engineer is terrific. He knows design and process for electronic circuits very well. He is concise, and accurate with his facts and process. His videos are terrific!

[@claireclark2076]

+Jonathan Knirsch Terrific is a positive thing.

[@domasselezenevas4007]

+Claire Clark Yes...

[@Dyl_Cam]

Well don't blow your load bud, jeez

[@johnelbertmamonong969]

tom and jerry

[@annelieseocallaghan801]

He's also hilarious.

[@brentmorris262]

"Since this is exciting, dangerous, and has the potential to blind you for lifetime, it's perfect for KZbin." Yup. Exactly my thoughts too.

[@jerryt6340]

Watching in 2019 and youtube was so much simpler back then

[@Sandwich4321]

So basically styropyros channel

[@layton3503]

I went blind watching this video. Right here 3:33, in case you want to try.

[@spyderdyneincorporated6600]

Yes!

[@saeidyazdani]

2:04 Carefully removed the diode....flies away 5000 meters

[@TommyGx69]

*PEW*

[@solaris7404]

Hey R.D. Hows it going?

[@BloodyRainRang]

Just like Tommy said, "PEW" was exactly what I was thinking too at that moment xD

[@magicdev2192]

LOL😁😁

[@pavanpratapsinghchauhan6804]

in electronics it is counted under carefull

[@zarkzangetsu21]

I just loved how he said it is perfect for KZbin lol

[@ebrocoliphoto]

LOL

[@obviouslytwo4u]

And failed so was definitely following suit

[@cyclcrclicly9840]

WHY DID NOONE TELL ME THERE IS FREAKING NEODYMIUM MAGNETS IN A DVD BURNER?

[@spoderman15]

well now we know I guess. I need to find a junkyard around where I live, the stuff people throw away would give electronics enthusiasts nightmares

[@Spirit07700]

+sans you can't find neodynium magnets since dvd players roughly. i'm sure i'm wrong but in some old CD players i've never seen them. Or i was really blind.

[@leekshooter4825]

neodymium is pretty fun... as long as you don't need surgery to remove them from your face when you try to be an idiot with them.

[@Tom-dy5ub]

YEAH ME TOO!

[@boblewis5558]

Actually gives me cause for puzzlement but otherwise HIGHLY delighted that they do. I could spend a week at our recycling plant saving a fortune in bits, pieces and perfectly usable components Just today picked up two fully functional Makita drills, both two speed and one a hammer drill also. Well used but otherwise look in pretty good condition, only missing batteries - big deal - get on eBay for less than £25 for TWO!. Don't need the standard chargers as they f**k up batteries big-time. Have my own which doesn't! Also collected three PC's c/w psus and some older DDR400 memory (I needed some for an old shoe-box PC too), a few DVD RW drives (hence being here) LOADS of SMD components I can recover off these if the boards don't work. Amazing stuff people chuck away. A few fans (I always refurbish fans whenever I can. A few drops of 3-in-1 oil onto the bearing from behind the stopper - or sticker - work it in and bingo. I have one fan that I've re-lubed twice and it's still going after 16 years!! Quiet too.

[@temprmj1]

I had to 'like' this video after hearing 'See a screw, remove a screw'. lol

[@mikescherer9196]

the

[@durlav1n1]

same lol

[@boblewis5558]

When stripping for parts it's a great maxim ... unless you're actually after sub assemblies. :D

[@Jimbo78ify]

They make precision voltage references for small amounts of current. Basically you can use it similar to the schematic with a few changes. Constant voltage across a resistor = constant current. The precision voltage references are used in IC's like LM34 and LM315. The LM1117 is a low voltage high efficiency voltage supply that would be ideal to run this kind of application in addition with the voltage reference and a battery pack. Nice application and tutorial.

[@exgenica]

For the future, there were likely 2 additional neodymium magnets that you may have missed...depends on the drive. They are REALLY TINY magnets, too...about 3mm L x 2mm W and less than 1mm thick. They should be attacked to a small movable coil that further stabilize the LASER beam emitter based on optical feedback from the disc. This helps the drives achieve much higher speeds than before.

[@lomeranger]

I appreciate your failed attempts at worthy projects. They show humility and design acumen. It’s awesome to watch a video more concerned with the process than the outcome.

[@donaldfilbert4832]

Loved your comment at 2:05 " .... and carefully removed the two diodes ..." And then you take you pliers - jam them behind the diode - and it goes flying off the screen !! LOL !!!

[@0326Hambone]

Love how you chose to explain why setting up the diode with constant current is better.

[@odsutton5006]

Only if using projected heat .thats contained and distributed through camera iris or shutter. At point of exp ells ion with on off switch. Or trigger

[@Spartacus-4297]

Omg I remember these old projects it's so weird to see them again nearly a decade on

[@johanneszwilling]

When I was a teenager I thought about how cool that would be to do. Thanks for answering that question by showing how nothing visibly interesting happens.

[@Xebozone]

I tried this myself before which also resulted in disappointment, but your solution was much more elegant!

[@GoGreenMan]

Don't know how I haven't found you untill a week or so ago, but so very glad I have! makes me want to get into playing with electronics all over again! thank you sir!

[@darkprincesayan]

Welcome to the GS fandom!

[@GoGreenMan]

rainbowfrog yeah and now I'm sitting here gathering pieces to follow his diy bench top powersupply!

[@rphuntarchive1]

The Technics SL-P1200 CD player had a particular point of failure in the CD door switch. The switch was a blade that contacted copper fingers, meant to prevent the player from operating whenever the door was open, because potentially a user could look right at the laser. But it was a crude design, so we had to replace them regularly.

[@digitalbroadcaster]

'Arnie makes a video' But at least it saves others wasting so much time with hacking the old laser diodes from computers, so a worthy video.

[@swlee9289]

GreatScott! I am an electronics amateur and I know the high power laser diode is not that price cheap, I mean the one you can put something on fire. You proved fake things all around in youtube. I love your video - clear and professional.

[@jclowe735]

The red laser diode is for reading while the ultraviolet or blue ray diode is for writing which can also be used as a burning laser.

[@Dr.Cosmar]

"and has the potential to blind you for a life time" said with such enthusiasm I died.

[@BloodyRainRang]

The demonstration of the safety glasses was quite interesting. Like how the voltmeter turned black and the numbers on the 7segs completely vanished.

[@EpicBigfoot]

I just watched this video and immediately dismantled 7 of the 10 dvd drives I had sitting. I would love to see a tutorial on how to use multiple diodes simultaneously, I would imagine that many others may want to do that also.

[@justinp4235]

for an episode of hacked you could build a dvd drive mini laser engraver/plotter. You could use 2 dvd drives (already got one from the drive you took apart for the laser), a servo (for the plotter, if you go that route), 2 stepper drivers and a arduino, it would be a fun project to see

[@Xenro66]

You should use a Bluray diode if you can get your hands on one. They're damn powerful.

[@greatscottlab]

Jordan O'C OK, I still want to ignite that damn match. I hope to get one someday.

[@Xenro66]

GreatScott! I would say "pump more power into the DVD laser diode", but that would probably burn it out. xD

[@greatscottlab]

Jordan O'C I think so too ;-)

[@JoshuasRecordings]

Jordan O'C I once got a Blu-Ray diode, but lost it.

[@AdrasHoriaGaming]

Jordan O'C who's willing to break one of those tho ;/

[@joshwaid9073]

I hit the like button because I appreciated the honest reporting of a disappointing result

[@darkbreed]

A little tip if you want to use a DVD diode. Check the voltage and current on the drive before you remove the diodes so you get the correct values.

[@brunocabral1578]

I wonder how he discover positive and negative in three leg diodes...

[@bgable7707]

Great explanation of the disassembly of the CDrom device. I now know what other parts I can pull out of them.

[@joachimpeiper7471]

GreatScott is basically my hero.

[@gmoney7912]

I was looking for some other site and seen your home made stereo box ,so I watched the video ,anyways I could watch this all day my grandfather was an inventor one of the things I was told he invented was the thermostat inside your furnace ,my dad. invented lots of different types of tools for sears and my uncle's are inventors also they do the same things you do thanks for your time and videos I subscribed ,love it .

[@robertselectronichobbies9507]

I would think you could use a high current pulse to drive the laser much harder. You can do this with infra red LEDs when you need to send the light over a longer distance. The data sheets will tell you how much current and for how long of a pulse to use.

[@HelloThere-kd3if]

GREAT SCOTT! It's Emmett Brown!

[@Dannyvphantom]

"Carefully removed the diodes" flies across the table xD

[@nicewhenearnedrudemostlyel489]

"Repeats most popular comment" hopes people will like it more so they'll think he did it better. lmao. loser...

[@Citizen5000]

Just searched for ages, the other song in this video is: Phase Three - Huma Huma

[@rebatecheck]

Every youtube electronics channel teardown: I'll save this motor for a future project! Future project: Never needs a motor.

[@Forssa1]

If the forward voltage of the diode is less than 3V, then it is the IR diode. It still gives off visible red light at, so beware - you can easily blind yourself, thinking it is just a dim red diode.. An LM317 is sufficient if you keep the input voltage not far above 7V. 500mA is too much for an unknown diode. Don't go above 400mA MAX (even this is pushing your luck), and the 1/4W pot will handle it fine if you put an appropriate series resistor before it (the voltage drop over the pot will be low (P=V*I) . Disconnecting the diode from the constant current source and reconnecting it while under power will kill the diode.

[@greatscottlab]

Forssa1 I also powered the IR Diode but it did not emit any visible red light though.

[@Forssa1]

GreatScott! Maybe you are not as sensitive in the near IR as I am, or you powered it wrong or even killed it before it got a chance to laze.

[@greatscottlab]

Forssa1 Sure

[@greatscottlab]

Patrick Yoon Could you stop trolling now?

[@neutrino9738]

There are at least two different IR diodes 840nm and 910nm the 910nm should not give any visible light (at least for regular diodes tho not laser ones)

[@Gounesh]

I'd like to see "DVD drvier to Mini Desktop Engraver" man. Love your clean English by the way!

[@Colaaah]

What nationality do you think he is?

[@einflinkeswiesel2695]

@@Colaaah he is german

[@peteytwofinger]

I.7M VIEWS ON A FAILED PROJECT , YOU SIR , HAVE DONE WELL FOR YOURSELF .

[@boblewis5558]

It was a project that didn't provide a result that was expected NOT a failed project. MUCH can be learnt from this video even if it didn't succeed in giving the expected result. Any time something can be learnt (without killing or seriously injuring yourself) is useful, therefore not a failure.

[@peteytwofinger]

right on bob lewis , dont listen to me , i am just envious .

[@catchdisl2558]

Best diy tech channel I've seen keep up the work you got yourself a new sub

[@JacobP81]

You can also salvage hard drives for neodymium magnets :-)

[@KavorkaDesigns]

TIP: Peanut-butter removes oils, glues, tars. Chunky versions effectively helps this further, steel-wool does wonders. Polish with some tooth-paste and warm water

[@KavorkaDesigns]

NOTE: That isn't paste that silicone, very ineffective are heat dissipation. Thermal Grizzly has some of the best, Kryonaut or K-Extreme is recommended for best results

[@hustlaz2k]

thank u for busting all the myths of dvd burner laser!

[@themadhacker9376]

Warning label: Don't do that! Me: That's adorable...

[@ZebbMassiv]

Pretty cool. My DVD drive has two lasers. One writes data , the other engraves custom labels onto the surface.

[@fzaan5]

Thats really cool You shouldent use that for lasers!

[@ZebbMassiv]

@@fzaan5 oh I'm not touching it. Just cool that it exists. Might be worth something one day.

[@neophobicnyctophile8264]

OMG ROTARY TOOL DRILL PRESS??? I didn't know such a thing existed! And they do! OMG thank you!!!!!

[@TomTheDragon87]

This kind of diodes start to burn at 150-200mA and you normally should run them between max 300-400mA. I think he did blow the diode up, which can happen really quickly when he connected the diode to an charged capacitor, like the one of the output on the power supply. You cant really see this, the diode just gets dimmer and a powerful diode like that one could maybe look like an very weak laser diode after that. Or he maybe overheated the diode because the diode did not have a "very tight fit" in the housing that it normally should have. Thats the reason why you "never" should use a drill to get the old/standart diode out of the housing. Btw. you could even use a driver with just two parts like this one is.gd/OOSwlC just replace the resistor with an small potentiometer ;)

[@gasturbat8]

Thanks for the awesome video Scott! Your videos ignite the interest in me to study electronics engineering in the university! :)

[@greatscottlab]

Yonatan Vologdin Awesome!

[@eamonn280958]

Nice video. I need a constant current source around 1 miliamp and made it with a LM317.I did not know this was an inefficent way to do it, so I will be looking out for your more efficent constant current source. Thanks.

[@ExpertCMX]

Thank you! Love your professional videos & work. I just had a question, how many (total volts) was the laser diode consuming?

[@apburner1]

Can I mount this on a shark?

[@ciprianwinerElectronicManiac]

Had the same problem. I've built everything but didn't work out too well. I was using the laser diode from an 8X laptop DVD-RW drive. Aparently you need at least an 16X drive up to 22X or more X drive because that dictates the power of the laser diode. Hope this helps. Cheers :)

[@foobar-9k]

For anyone reading this in 2022, the drive in this video (LG GH22NP20) was actually a 22x drive already.

[@Dat_Feathered_Boi]

It's nice to see a project on youtube not work that well for once.

[@nassimkoubeissi5814]

this is why I work in electronics repair business because I enjoy working even if the repair process alot of time and labor as long as customer is happy and paying the fees 😀 not only that I do the same as you do for the Laser diode to actually burn things you need military level laser diode which is not available to buy but you have already disassembled the optical pickup lense why not using the detector sensor for example building a motor speed optical tacho sensor it would be fun to watch the laser light cutting through the sensor disk .

[@mattibboss]

i did try this few years ago ...and it worked you need at lest 16x dvd burner and focus (not infinity)

[@tawhidahmed7179]

Video starts at 0:47

[@tjtube263]

Man. That dull monotone voice drones on and on, and doesn't change until; AND I WILL SEEE YOUU NEXTIME!

[@rimzo2006]

this got hacked like 5 years ago, with a simple driver, but thanks for new er update

[@RizLazey]

sees a screw, remove a screw greatscott’s tactic lol

[@РоманПлетнев-г3э]

2:04 - that was very "careful" :D

[@Reseiver]

Arnold, it's you!!!

[@Spycyzygy]

Wow I've never seen a video that so completely went over my head

[@patbenzo]

I think we all are waiting for a video how to make an efficient Constant Current Source. I have several 700mA leds that need to have a CCS driver but need to be controlled it with a micro-controller.

[@jestersi]

Dude, use a heat gun/blow dryer to remove the diode, when ive pulled those magnets from CD read/write heads it works well with bit of heat, plus breaking the coating on those magnets isn't great exposure over time, but with heat they slide off

[@emmanuelsheshi1553]

Good work Scott...

[@ozfartface1914]

I bought an £8 laser from eBay, that worked wonderfully at lighting matches etc

[@AmateurInventor]

Congratulations for 1m subscribers

[@divyajnana]

DANG! that was such a informative and disappointing video. Ripping apart old HDs and CD/DVDs. Saw the laser and got excited!!! A Google later and GreatScott! FANTASTIC! ...oh well. Thank you, saved me gobbs of time. You are the BEST!!!

[@wienergemeindebautischler2298]

Du machst echt saucoole und informative vidz. Danke dafür. Echt thumps up und liebe Grüße aus Wien

[@Amber-si7kx]

THANK YOU KZbin SUGGESTION FEED!

[@david7402]

Good video! The warnings are much appreciated.

[@uilsoum875]

"see a screw, remove a screw" my tactic

[@BernhardHofmann]

"See a screw, remove a screw" HAHAHA! That's excellent. :D

[@zezeA380]

Be sure to wear Laser Safety goggles if the laser power reaches above >5mW

[@danfishermen5362]

Nah.

[@Tygyver]

You must unfocus the laser to have it burn, and that will not take your eyesight, maybe the ultraviolet one, but that red one is less that 5mw, right within the safety of the blink reflex which prevents damage to the retina

[@petarmedo1192]

YOU MADE ME BLIND!

[@cen7ury]

I seriously love these videos. I have the same habit of repurposing old parts for new projects. I also enjoy the fact that you don't try to hide or gloss over when you don't get the end result you were hoping for (aside from a working circuit, which always happens). By the way, your English is excellent! Even if you do pronounce a few words in a strange way, I can still always understand everything that you say. What's your native tongue?

[@fullywireduk]

You have the same did reader and burner as my pc

[@elpechos]

Both of those circuits are linear regulators; so they'll both burn off the extra power as heat.

[@-na-nomad6247]

"see screw, remove screw" once you finish, you won't see anymore screws.

[@ivan868]

1K/1W potentiometer is STPID thing :) Just use potentiometer as a voltage divider and divide voltage drop on current sense resistor. Second version with operational amplifier is much smarter but also not very good, there you can use 0.1 ohm/1W resistor :) And best variant is a simple current generator PWM modulator with TL494 or better SG3525.

[@fjean1452]

Yes, thoses schematics are all based on the same mechanics as LDO's. The transistor is still operated in it's linear zone. He needs switched power supply in order to get high efficiency. The PWM is a good hint for a simple constant current generator.

[@khalilburno9713]

Awesome Non Functioning project :-)

[@apburner1]

That laser diode fit right into that pointer mount, almost like it was designed for it, hmmm.

[@jacobkiser]

try it with a DVD burner they burn things

[@the-bgrspot6997]

DVD microwave... lmao

[@DMonZ1988]

hi scott! i really like your videos, thank you. did you ever make the video showing the more efficient constant current circuit? i need to make one and would love to apply the less power hungry option.

[@izacksinclair9721]

Love that this is perfect for KZbin joke

[@GrulbGL]

hey Scott, the IR lasers burns more than DVD lasers, is just harder to see, but burns more!

[@kanchansharma5802]

Great scott you are a great burning laser maker

[@itssaturday5471]

I love the Great stuff videos. lol Everytime I hear him say "See a screw, remove a screw" and "That's Bullshit" I start cracking up... Very informational and I've learned a lot from this dudes videos. :-P

[@harmindersingh7833]

Sir you are great engineer

[@ddrusa]

I see your a back to the future fan to say great scott for your youtube name interesting :)

[@adriang8537]

YOU ARE BEST IN THE ELECTRONICS

[@labscience8271]

I also did the same previously And found all these components Cool video!

[@buffplums]

4:21 Mosfets are voltage operated devices not current … that 1k resistor isn’t necessary at all… it works of course but it won’t make any difference to the amount of drain current because it’s the voltage rather than the current on the gate that enhances the channel between drain and source… in other words it’s a voltage dependents resistor. Also there is no inrush current, inrush current is initial current that meets high capacitance and it’s the surge that is required to provide that initial peak in demand that is what’s called inrush current.

[@damianmandich8723]

Need to buy some precision soldering kit. Love this kind of stuff and have bunch of components already. Hope the laser diodes are still okay.

[@professorfidelcat]

great video scott, please make a N machine with the dc motors you salvaged and show us next video project!

[@Li_M0_N]

Great Video! Hope you will continue this series ;)

[@joelhill4107]

Great video! Love your accent. Sounds like being narrated by Arnold Swartzenegger. (no offense) but a very cool accent. Has very interesting content , have always been into electronics. Would like to see more! Keep up the great work!

[@KG4JYS]

Great Scott is here to pump diodes up!

[@RXGUSR]

i had that pc ! all the memories!, I also used the dvd burner for another case

[@hunterross9615]

the Sharpie covered the match head blocking the laser from hitting the flammable part

[@DominoSixO]

So we learned that it's waste of time to open a dvd-rw better go buy a laser diode and do your project :D

[@greatscottlab]

+Domino SixO Take a look at the first link in the description.

[@DominoSixO]

GreatScott! What exactly should I look? I see a lot of stuffs there

[@CIubDuck]

+Domino SixO "take a look at the FIRST link"..