Leadlight crystal

Hello!
I know there was talking about crystal in leadlight pointers over couple of times but... i've noticed that everybody are talking about that that crystal needs to be cold...i've noticed that crystal in my modifyed Leadlight (it draws 430 mA and it works for 3 months now of every day using it alot) is working better when it reach higher temperature. Untill then, power rapidly changes same as brightness. And yes, it worked may times over 2-3 minutes without turning it of and it's still fully functional as first day when i done a mod. and it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif things /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif So...anyone know the work temperature of crystal?

Here are 2 pictures i've made...left one is my modifyed Leadlight and the right one is vital_spirit's pointer at pot mod. Also, my pointer at closer look /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

It varies from pointer to pointer.

Crystal purity, quality, alignment, diode output and efficiency all come into play with a GLP. There's so many variables, that cold/warm temps might be affecting, I'd expect no two pointers to be the same.

Tom, it's not the heat directly that is making the crystal more or less efficient, it's the fact that the fastening adhesive that is holding the crystal, as well as the metal that it is attached to will expand causing the alignment of the crystal to shift one direction or another, causing the crystal to be more or less efficient.

I'm sure there is a certain temperature it works best, and a temperature that if close enough will cook the crystals, but with a leadlight, frying the crystal is unlikely.

xenophobe is right, your pointer is probablly actually mis-aligned slighty causing higher output once it heats up and shifts the MCA's alignment, this is a good thing as long as you dont overdue its working load. Ive had most of my units the opposite where they are correctlly aligned when cold but after a few seconds dim more and more as heat shifts the crystals collimation to the IR beam.