Wicked Lasers 445nm <1W Spyder III Pro Arctic Series

[Shiftlock]

Also, if the back-flash killed them, they would still emit a dim glow ("LED") as opposed to just doing nothing.

Agreed, and this is the really strange part. I've burned out so many laser diodes over the years, and you always know they're toasted when you see that warm glow. With these Arctics, it seems almost as if the driver shorted and flooded the diode with direct battery current, but if that's the case, it's an incredibly bad design.

Are they doing anything remarkable when they die, like burning out with a bright flash?

 

[wyager]

Agreed, and this is the really strange part. I've burned out so many laser diodes over the years, and you always know they're toasted when you see that warm glow. With these Arctics, it seems almost as if the driver shorted and flooded the diode with direct battery current, but if that's the case, it's an incredibly bad design.

Are they doing anything remarkable when they die, like burning out with a bright flash?

Nothing remarkable. It seems to me like the driver must be pumping enough voltage/current through the diode to break the bonding wires, which is not easy.

 

[bshanahan14rulz]

Now we don't know for sure if the driver is over-amping and hence blowing the wires, or if it is something else. It is very strange for them not to be LED'd. Perhaps if that user could verify whether or not the bond wires are opened or not...

The driver was awful-looking. R8 and Q1, IIRC, were all off-kilter, and there was an "engineering fix" on the back-side.

 

[Shiftlock]

Now we don't know for sure if the driver is over-amping and hence blowing the wires, or if it is something else. It is very strange for them not to be LED'd. Perhaps if that user could verify whether or not the bond wires are opened or not...

The driver was awful-looking. R8 and Q1, IIRC, were all off-kilter, and there was an "engineering fix" on the back-side.

Did someone post pictures of the driver on a different forum? If so, can you please point me to them?

 

[wyager]

Now we don't know for sure if the driver is over-amping and hence blowing the wires, or if it is something else. It is very strange for them not to be LED'd. Perhaps if that user could verify whether or not the bond wires are opened or not...

The driver was awful-looking. R8 and Q1, IIRC, were all off-kilter, and there was an "engineering fix" on the back-side.

Yep, it was huge and poorly done. We have these drivers that are like 8*13mm that can pump out 1.2A without flinching, and wicked is wasting all this space for a huge ugly driver that doesn't even work properly

Did someone post pictures of the driver on a different forum? If so, can you please point me to them?

Look around on LPF, there's a thread called "arctic disassembly" or something.

 

[hugodrax]

I've kept my hopes low thus far, and they will continue to be until I have it in my hands.

Fingers crossed. I need it for work!

I will definitely post pictures and video the second it arrives.

EDIT: Oh, and I ordered it about 3 days after it was announced.

So hows your laser doing??

 

[lensman137]

Just got this from wicked:


From: "Wicked Lasers - Sales & Customer Service"
Date: August 20, 2010 1:21:46 PM PDT
To: lensman137
Subject: Re: Order status

Dear Wicked Lasers customer,

Arctic G2 Lasers have begun shipping. Due to the last-minute
implementation of the SmartSwitch as well as a high volume of orders,
customers who purchased first will receive priority status in the
order of shipping. In order to avoid customs-related delays, we will
not be providing tracking numbers for Arctic orders at this time. You
will be notified when your order is shipped out and you'll receive the
date when the package is scheduled to be delivered. Most current
Arctic customers should receive their shipment notification emails
sometime next week. We did not expect so many orders and we feel that
the addition of extra safety features is a good idea even though it
has taken us longer.
We are no longer taking orders for the Arctic G1, the version without
the smartswitch. *We will ship previous requests for the Arctic G1
however; we are hoping that those whom requested G1s would give great
thought to changing their order back to an Arctic G2 Smartswitch
Version. *You may do this by emailing us with "Change order back to G2
[order number]" in the subject field.
If for any reason, you would like to receive a refund prior to
shipping, please notify us immediately by sending us an email with
"Cancel order [order number]" in the subject field.
If your question was about a Pulsar or Lunar, we will be getting them
in stock this week and in consequence they will begin shipping next
week or sooner.
If you want to know why your payment hasn't been deducted from your
bank account it is most probably because we often don't capture
payments until we're ready to ship your order.
If your question was about the price difference between the Spyder III
532nm laser and the Arctic laser, it's because they have different
manufacturing processes. The Spyder III 532nm laser has crystals
inside that convert IR light (1064nm) to green light (532nm) thus
making the final product more expensive due to precision alignment of
the crystals.
Should you require further assistance don't hesitate to contact us.
We're very sorry about the inconveniences and delays. We appreciate
your patience and look forward to doing business with you again.


--
Best regards,
Wicked Lasers
Customer Service

To receive exclusive updates, follow us:

[contact details deleted - DM51]

 

[senecaripple]

two months later!
i haven't got that letter yet.

 

[Tachikoma]

I cancelled my Wickedlasers Arctic order a long ago and bought (and received in less than a week) a Dragonlasers Spartan...
According to someone the WL puts out only 750mw while the DL exceeds 1100mw!

 

[Dave 300]

Well ive had a mail my G2 will ship next week ! We will see . If it turns out a load of crap ill strip it out and build a good one and do it properly my self but we will see they might get better than the G1.

 

[senecaripple]

well, still no acknowledgment of my purchases from wl. and still queued for dragonlaser. wtf?

 

[Dave 300]

I have been trying to access the ticket page from a book mark and from email receipts and I can't now get in to view my order! Any body else with this problem?

 

[hugodrax]

I have been trying to access the ticket page from a book mark and from email receipts and I can't now get in to view my order! Any body else with this problem?

Maybe the order got lost in the system?

 

[hank]

aiee, perhaps everyone there has mysteriously gone blind ....

 

[senecaripple]

aiee, perhaps everyone there has mysteriously gone blind ....

must have forgotten to put goggles on when testing. confused with google!

well, i check my email everyday to see if they respond to my ticket. still nada, and no form letter either of the shipment of g2

 

[Shiftlock]

must have forgotten to put goggles on when testing. confused with google!

well, i check my email everyday to see if they respond to my ticket. still nada, and no form letter either of the shipment of g2

If you have an automatic spam filter/folder, you should check it. I've heard that some people have had email from WL mistakenly labeled as spam.

 

[senecaripple]

If you have an automatic spam filter/folder, you should check it. I've heard that some people have had email from WL mistakenly labeled as spam.

unfortunately, i do check both and still nada.

 

[Dave 300]

Well in my boredom i ordered a Spartan 1watt laser from Dragon lasers only to find that there is a waiting time for those too but i reckon in the next two or so weeks one or the other will turn up!!! Ill get one one way or another..

 

[senecaripple]

Well in my boredom i ordered a Spartan 1watt laser from Dragon lasers only to find that there is a waiting time for those too but i reckon in the next two or so weeks one or the other will turn up!!! Ill get one one way or another..

ditto. mine may ship thursday???

 

[Dave 300]

I hope the G2's are a little better if it blows up ill replace its internals with some real power and reliability but im still waiting....:shakehead