This work presents the design, construction and parametrization of pul
sed dye lasers, which are economic and easily instrumented by undergra
duate students without previous experience. It analyzes the Littrow an
d grazing incidence configurations and presents simple alternatives to
reduce the band width. Also studied are the threshold energy and the
pump beam focus in didactic experiments. These lasers are pumped by si
mple and economic N-2 lasers that emit at ultraviolet wavelength (337
nm), which allows to pump dyes with emission spectrums from as low as
357 to 708 nm; and a tuning range between 30 and 60 nm.