How to Make a Blu-Ray Laser Phaser

The future meets the past as I turn a Star Trek Phaser into a Blu-Ray Laser Phaser! Captain Kirk would have loved to have one of these in his arsenal of goodies and now he can. Typical blu-ray lasers are very expensive but I found an inexpensive source for obtaining one. The Playstation 3 games system from Sony has a blu-ray laser diode in it. Rather than spend $400 for a Playstation 3 only to destroy it made no sense. I found a replacement laser assembly (KEM-400AAA) on a popular auction site for $45. Then, I picked up the Star Trek Classic Phaser, also on that auction site, for $30. Now it's time to "boldly go where no man has gone before."

You will need to have some electronics experience to build this as well as some tools. You will need: a Soldering Iron & Solder, small screwdrivers, X-Acto Knife, hot glue or epoxy, a Dremel tool, wire, wire snips and pliers or vice-grips.

In addition to the blu-ray diode and the Star Trek Phaser, you will also need a diode housing. I picked one up from Aixiz International, a 9 volt battery, a 150 ohm resistor and a momentary switch. I used a part # 275-1556 from Radio Shack.

Now let's get to work. The first step is extracting the diode from the laser assembly. The blu-ray diode is pretty easy to locate. There are 2 screws to remove and a small ribbon cable that needs to be cut off. After you have removed the laser mount, you need to scrap away the remaining glue and using a small jewelers screwdriver, very gently tap around the edge of the diode housing to free it from the mount. Use extreme care doing this.

Once the diode has been freed, it's time to do some soldering. You will need great eyes or a pair of strong reading glasses to do the soldering. Plus a steady hand and quick touches of the iron to keep the heat down on the diode. There are a total of 5 pins as seen in the diagram. It's best to remove the existing small board on the diode and end up with the 5 pins.

Now it's time to install the diode in the Aixiz housing. After unscrewing the housing and saving the top half, using vice-grips or a pair of pliers, gently work around the edge of the diode and press it into the housing. It should be flush to the housing.

Let's move to the Star Trek Phaser and get it ready for the diode. This is easy to disassemble with a few screws and by unscrewing the front light bulb assembly. Once you have it apart, you will need to remove the small trigger button and the circuit board that is inside to make room for the switch and blu-ray diode housing.

When you removed the light bulb, it was in a black mount that you will need. This mount will need some plastic cut in order to make room for the Aixiz housing with diode. It should look like this after you have cut it:

Then, using a drop of hot glue, attach the Aixiz housing to the light bulb bracket.

Now it's time to wire everything up and install it in the Phaser. Solder the Negative (-) wire from the diode to the new momentary switch and a wire from the other leg of the switch to the black wire on the 9 volt clip. Then solder the Positive (+) wire from the diode to one end of the Resistor and solder the red wire from the 9 volt clip to the other end of the resistor. NOTE: The wiring to the 9 volt battery clip should be done after you have run the wires to the battery compartment. You will understand when you look at it. Now install the diode in the Phaser in the original light bulb location, the new switch where the old trigger was and the 9 volt battery in the battery compartment.