Broken greenie

[FNinjaP90]

Hello, I have a broken 5mw 532nm laser. No green light comes out, but in a totally dark room the laser makes an almost undetectable red light when it is right next to something. I took it apart and cleansed it and it was still the same. I am thinking either the diode or pump circuit is busted. Is there anyone (other than Dwight Finny, bad experiences) that can fix my laser for cheap? Thank you.

 

[Lasernerd]

You can see red emitted from it?
do not look close at it.
If is emitting red it sounds like the crystal has been knocked out of alignment.
The diode may still work because of the IR that is emitted
from the unit..
Sometimes a fresh set of batteries could make it work??
they go soo fast in those little units,,
Maybe 20 mins.?

 

[FNinjaP90]

I have tried it with fresh batteries and it doesn't change. You cannot see that much red being emitted. If you put the laser up like ¼in away from a wall in a totally dark room and you look really close you can see some faint red. But that's all the light that's coming out. Do you know anyone that can repair it cheaply?

 

[Lasernerd]

If you would like I could give it a shot for you,
I will not charge you anything just the mailing,
and if a part is needed I will confirm with you first,
I have alot of time with diode pumped lasers.

 

[Lasernerd]

Also if you have a video recorder,webcam etc. shine the diode at the wall in a dark room and record,,take a picture of the infrared that is emitted..
if you can post the picture or e-mail it to me..
might help with on-line idea of whats going on or not.

 

[FNinjaP90]

I took a picture with my digital camera but it was all black, so there was no sign of IR. Whenever you press the button and hold it down, there is this extremely small green spark that ignites from anywhere from 0.5-2 seconds. Then it dies out and only a faint red light appears from the laser.

This laser had a long history. I bought it off eBay and was not amazed at all by it, so I sent it to Dwight Finney. The laser underwent a lot of back and forth shipments, and the laser was never much better. Supposedly, Dwight Finney(the guy that modified the laser) put in a large 350mw diode in it to replace the stock 100mw(I'm not sure if he is telling the truth) diode. I did not see any improvement on the laser after he "modified" it. Now the laser is broken, and my ties with Dwight are cut. I have already spent more than I should with Dwight, but I don't think I should just let this $200 piece of crap stay there and rust.

 

[Lasernerd]

Well it sounds to me that the Diode is dead or mostly,
by the quick flash,more than likely the pump diode needs replaced,,cause perhaps by increasing gain to diode to threshold than zap.
with a 350mw pump diode that baby should have put out huge bursts of green very short time maybe 30 seconds?

 

[Lasernerd]

350mw`s is going to get HOT super fast!

Check this puppy out,,
The first one in the USA Viasho DPSS 532nm Catweasel Laser projector.Built by me.
http://groups.msn.com/LaserShowsKES/shoebox.msnw?Page=11

 

[FNinjaP90]

Nope, no huge bursts of green and it didn't heat up at all, so I guess Dwight was all talk. The laser was never able to hit a cloud.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Maybe the stuff inside the laser resonator got all out of whack. That really weak red glow you're getting is a clue. I wouldn't point that thing at your eyes, but you might be able to light J's or cigarettes with it if you put a focusing lens in front of it. :-O

 

[FNinjaP90]

Hehe, that would be cool, but it has like no power at ALL. The camera didn't pick up any IR, and I alighned and cleaned all the lenses and optics. I have a feeling it is the circuit board and that it might not be able to provide enough energy to the diode. So lasernerd, what are the chances that you will be able to get it back up and running?

 

[Lasernerd]

I have a pretty good record at repairing lasers,,

 

[FNinjaP90]

Alright I want to get it fixed. What do you charge and where do I send it? Do you accept PayPal?

 

[Lasernerd]

PM me..
I will not charge you anything except for parts if it needs any.

 

[lemlux]

Lasernerd:

Do you tweak 5 mW greenies to increase their output? I find it curious that the components for several outputs in this range are said to be the same, but that tuning is doable (at least before initial assembly.) If this is so, are the significant increases in pricing with output in the 10 to 40 mW range just marketing decisions or do they reflect any particular manufacturing challenges?

 

[FNinjaP90]

PM you? What is your address? I would like to sent this out as soon as possible. Also, I was wondering if it is possible to get my laser to say....at 15mw. Might you be able to do that without replacing everything? That is, if the thing is still working of course.

 

[FalconFX]

PM... Private Message... Click on Lasernerd's name link on the left hand frame, and it'll take you to a window where you can send him a private message...

 

[FNinjaP90]

Gotcha

 

[Lasernerd]

Lasers can only be sold at 5mw`s in the USA,,,
most of the laser type pens have an adjustable current limit supply,,these are backed off to keep it within limits
5 mw`s, i have no problem with increasing these for the CPF OEM
folks..
Not all can be adjusted some have resistors in place and the value must be changed,,
And also the laser diode must be able to run at a hotter current.


It is Marketing in most parts the 10-50 etc. etc. mw`s
but then you run into cooling of a small device ,,

I would recommend that the people with these high power laser pen types to afix some type of heatsink,,,
a 50 mw laser pen type should get hot within 30 seconds.
I would only do short bursts with them,,saves batts,less chance of spotting the KTP,diode meltdown