Introduction: USB Laser Duck

By supamoto
About: I like to make things for the internets. I also sell a pretty cool calendar at supamoto.co. You'll like it.
Rubber duckies are great and all, but they don't have enough lasers. I was hoping that the little guys would evolve in the right direction, but it took too long so I had to take matters into my own hands. Oh, and of course it needs to be powered by USB.

Step 1: Get Your Stuff

USB cable? Check.
2 6mm red laser diodes from dealextreme? Check.
Rubber duckie? Oh yeah

Step 2: Wire Up the Lasers

This is some really basic soldering here. These two laser diodes are being wired in parallel. Basically, just connect everything up like the picture below and solder it together.

Then you can wrap a bit of electrical tape so you don't short the wire.

Step 3: Drill Out the Eyes

We need holes in the eyes! Drill!

Step 4: Pop in the Lasers

Cut an X in the bottom of the duck so you can access the inside and stick the laser diodes in. With a little bit of finesse, you'll get them to come out through the eyes.

Step 5: Glue and Align

Use some hot glue on the outside and inside to stick the diodes in place. While the glue is still soft, check out the beams on a flat object to make sure they're aligned.

Step 6: Enjoy!

Now hook up your duck to your computer and blind your coworkers! Or you can leave it unplugged and when they ask what it is and look reaaalllly closely at it, plug it in! HR might throw a fit about this, but it's all in good fun.

This particular USB laser duck was shipped out as a present in the Instructables Gift Exchange. I look forward to future gift exchanges in the future so I can ship more dubious objects to people I've never met.