theothersimon - A DVD burner has two diodes, an IR (infra-red) which is probably around 20mw. And, a 650nm (red). If teh DVD burner is say 20X, than you could run a safe current to the diode with an output of 300mW+
I have built a Blu-ray Laser and I think I am getting someone around 100mW's.
NO LASER IS SAFE! unless it's <0.5mW...
DrKev - I know I should stay away from lasers. Especialy when I dream to be a pilot. If anything happened at my age, I would ofcourse look back at it and say "damn I was irresponsibe".
But to assure you;
- I have some safety glasses on there way,
- I do not use lasers irresposibly, and
- I have had no physical training, although I am a member of a laser forum which has provided me with very helpful safety info.