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Laser pointer modding

I

Idgy

n00b
Joined
Oct 26, 2004
Messages
12
My Halloween costume this year includes 2 laser pointers. Does anyone have any experience rewiring them to extend the switch off the body of the pointer? Basically, these are momentary switches like every other laser pointer, and I don't want to have to reach up and squeeze my costume to activate them.

I'm hoping that it'll be simple to solder some wire to the pointers, run the wire down my sleeve into a switch I can carry in my hand. I don't have the pointers yet, so I figured while I'm waiting I'd ask you guys to see if anyone else has done something like this.
 
It would be much easier to tape/glue the button down (so it stays ON), and the run some wire from the back of the battery to a switch and back up to where the battery would normally make contact.
 
Haha, whats your costume? Predator? But I dont see any reason why you couldn't just solder a new switch on to the pointers, although that would definitely void your warranty, and quite possibly bugger up your pointers.
 
Nope, "Shark With Frickin' Laser Beams On Its Head" (proof-of-concept, the real thing will be about 40% larger).

I like the idea of wiring it to the battery, thanks for mentioning that. Less chance of totally borking the original switch that way.

Still, I'm hoping someone who's actually done this can come up and say "Dude, I tried XXXX and shit blew up, but when I XXXXXXed instead, it worked beautifully."
 
I'd think XXXX would work better than XXXXXX, but that's just my opinion. Ha ha ha.

Seriously though, post pics when complete!
 
Will do. Hopefully they'll be "I Won First Prize And Got The Number Of That Chick Dressed As Lara Croft" pics, and not "I'm Posting This From My Hospital Bed Because My Jury-Rigged Laser Switches Overheated and Set My Foam Costume On Fire" pics. ;)
 
Idgy said:
Nope, "Shark With Frickin' Laser Beams On Its Head" (proof-of-concept, the real thing will be about 40% larger).

I like the idea of wiring it to the battery, thanks for mentioning that. Less chance of totally borking the original switch that way.

Still, I'm hoping someone who's actually done this can come up and say "Dude, I tried XXXX and shit blew up, but when I XXXXXXed instead, it worked beautifully."
Click to expand...
LOLOL...*sigh*

i don't know why, but that picutre just looks like a reluctant D&D playing geek sadly resolute to go into war. kekekekekekekekeke

</exit the clown>
 
What, LARPing? Lightning Bolt !!

OK no. I think your imagination is getting the better of you.
 
How is anyone going to see the beams? Hopefully you'll be in a bar or somewhere where tons of people are smoking. Then the effect would be sweet!

If you are going to be extending the power switch wires, you will most likely need more current to power it. The longer the current has to travel, the weaker it gets. Try it with the standard amount of batteries at first, but if that doesn't work, you may need to add a few and make an extra battery box. Just make sure you wire it in parallel, NOT series. :D
 
Thanks for the tip on the higher power requirement, I hadn't thought about that at all.

I've ordered 20 mW green lasers; most red lasers top out at 5mW (due to FDA regulations). I don't know if they'll be beam-visible in an average setting, but since I'm going to be at a dimly lit bar and there will probably be smokers there, there should be enough particles in the air for my higher-powered laser to show up. I hope. Otherwise this will have been a waste of time and money - I could have just attached cardboard tubes with "FRIKKIN' LASER" written on them.
 
HOLY CRAP. I just got the lasers and they are BRIGHT AS HELL. It hurts to look directly at the spot just shining on the walls of my cubicle. With the lights off - just indirect window light coming through - I can kind of see the beam, and that's with no dust. In a dimly lit bar with lots of smokers, I will be a veritable beacon of green lasery goodness.

For a test, I cannibalized a little bit of spare Cat5 (no one's going to need the brown/brown-white pair anyway) and secured one end of the wire to the inside wall of the battery compartment. I secured the other end of the wire to the battery's + terminal, clicked the button, and voila! Laser. Frikkin' bright, no less. Now all I need to do is buy a switch and splice it into the wire.

So, what kind of switch am I going to need? I'm reluctant to have both lasers on the same circuit; is there a switch where one lever or button closes two separate circuits without joining those circuits?
 
EDIT: PICS!

Side view
Front view
Lights off, lasers on

/edit

Thanks Sarver - I actually found this page just before you posted, and realized I wanted a DPST switch. However, those shiftless bastards at Radio Shack didn't have any DPSTs, so I settled for two push-to-make SPST switches (I wasn't sure that I could correctly wire a DPDT switch to engage both circuits simultaneously).

I was quite proud of myself when I walked in there, asked for a DPST switch, and the clerk gave me a blank look. I beat the Radio Shack guy at his own game!! (he was just a trainee though).

At this point I'm pretty much finished. The lasers aren't mounted on the costume yet, but the costume is done and the rewiring is done - just waiting for the spray paint to dry before I affix the lasers.

I ended up wiring the lasers to a small hobby box, with a nice red button for each laser. Both work, although one of them is tricksy - I can't decide if it's a really sensitive switch, or if I botched the soldering.

I should have some pics tomorrow since we're wearing costumes at work, although I doubt I'll get any pics with the laser beams or laser points visible. That'll have to wait until Sunday, when I'll get to upload any pics from parties this weekend.

Anyway, thanks everyone for your contributions and suggestions. Without your help this costume wouldn't be nearly as good as it is.
 
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