Fixing DX 50mW green switch

[Oznog]

The 50mw DX green I have does work well, and I like it, except for the switch.

I've got 2 problems- one, sometimes the laser turns on weakly WITHOUT pressing the switch. I killed the batt once because of that. It's kinda scary to have the laser on without the switch on and all but it IS faint. I'm not sure what's conducting here but it sure ain't right.

Second, you touch that switch much at all when it's on and it tends to make the beam drop out and flicker.

OK, so, bad switch. I even have a bunch of flashlight clicky switches I got earlier and I think it may be the same type... maybe. Any advice on replacing this? The brass housing has no opening big enough to get the switch out! It looks like they put the switch in sideways, turned it flat, then rammed it back up against the brass collar. Which explains why the button presser is so loose in back, it had to have enough free room to rotate the switch around I guess.

 

[Oznog]

Ah ha... well, nobody had ideas so I started prying blindly.

GOOD NEWS! I didn't see this before but the switch is actually just being held in with a brass ring which is press-fit in. Just pry and it pops out and the switch falls out.

The switch is indeed bad. I measured like 50 ohms across it when off. No idea what's behind that crap.

OK good thing I ordered every clicky switch from DX awhile back. Here's the winner: SKU 5588 from DX

Pry out the side contacts and then push it in there and press the brass back on over it. It's a nice fit! The only thing is it can slide further down and I don't see and easy answer there. It might be possible to apply solder to the terminal then heat the whole thing up (the laser's pusher is metal not plastic, and the switch's plastic doesn't contact the walls directly) and let it solder itself in place. In theory.

It could use a spacer between the housing and the pusher. The pusher's got like 1/4" of slack here. It basically "falls out" too far- the same thing was true with the original switch.

Or.. well, I guess this might work- Press the switch all the way down into the hole and add a spring or something so it still touches the batt yet sits pressed to the bottom of the housing. But actually you can push the clicky down and the spring holds it down from behind it can't spring back out for the release phase of the click-press. Also the pusher juts out far enough now that it might be possible to press it accidentally.

 

[Oznog]

Ah, ok this worked!
Found 3 o-rings in my cheapo Harbor Freight kit that went around the narrow part of the body of the switch that now keep it from being able to go any further into the housing.
Dropped in a smaller o-ring between the pusher and the button. The pusher now has a nice height when fully assembled.

All done. Solid, quality switch. Nice, I haven't been able to use this in awhile because of this crap.