1/2 wave plate holder

There are times when you need an inexpensive way to rotate an optic and not too long ago I had just such a need.

I purchased a few half-wave plates off eBay some time ago and needed a way to rotate them without breaking the bank.

It was time to go to the hardware store and see what I could find.

After looking around a bit I wandered into the isle that has all the sprinkler parts and found a few couplers that once mated together could be easily rotated. Because of the type of half wave plate I had, it would fit right over the opening at one end.

After attaching the plate to one end all I had to do was wrap the threads with pipe tape so that the parts wouldn’t wobble.

I have two of these now and they work great. They’re easy to turn and good and stable.

Published by

Michael Harrison

Husband, Programmer, Irish dancer, tinkerer, astronomer, layabout (as much as possible)

One thought on “1/2 wave plate holder”

  1. Hi Michael-
    I’ve used exactly the same pieces to hold a laser diode by drilling and tapping three holes for self-centering the diode, also for adjusting polarization angle. Works great!
    Larry

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