March 2017
I need help with a circuit design to flash a 10W laser diode at 14 Hz. A crystal controlled 555 IC is too variable due to temperature, and must be calibrated. No microcontrollers please; too complex and require coding. I need a simple discrete design.
The problem is laser diodes are pulsed with a tiny duty cycle, so they must be pulsed at high PRF to create the 1/28 second ON cycle. Probably 100 kHz for 1/28 second, off for 1/28 second, repeat ... It may require multiple laser diodes, interleaved ON pulses to smooth out the 14 Hz ON cycle. I basically want to emulate as close as possible the 14 Hz square wave. To top it off, this needs to run off the “dirty” rectified 6-12 VDC from a motorcycle alternator.
As an alternative, instead of laser diodes, an array of LEDs, perhaps 6 x 6 (36 LEDs) may be acceptable to simplify down to just a 14 Hz crystal controlled strobe timer.
The whole thing needs to fit in a garage door opener sized box.
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A 10 watt laser is capable of permanently blinding a person and possibly starting a fire. Mounted on a motorcycle, it would be totally illegal. No one in his right mind would get involved in this project!
