Radio Shack

[Lightdude]

I recieved a green laser pointer from Radio Shack as a gift. It is my first green laser. While it is very bright it only stays very bright for about 5 or 10 minutes. Then it still puts out a beam but you cannot see the beam trail even at night. Is this laser able to be modded? Just curious because to run it at full power it is a battery pig! So if i'm gonna blow through batteries that fast it would be cool to pop a few balloons!

 

[yuandrew]

I just bought one of these as well on sale. Mine however seems to heat up quickly since it starts to "dim" after about 3 seconds of turning it on. I may try changing the batteries though.

I don't know how to open it but it looks as if the top could be removed. Additionally, there are two little slots by the - spring for the battery

 

[Athoul]

Most 5mW greens can be modded to output higher. It does depend on the MCA though and how well it handles more power from the pump.

I can't see a 5mW model having more then ~350mA current draw. You should be getting almost an hour out of it before noticing any real power drop.

Based on what is happening I doubt it has an APC on the driver board... or it could be that the pump diode is red shifting due to heat build-up. If you let the laser cool down for a few minutes after it becomes dim, does it start out bright again? --That would be one of the indications of a redshifting pump diode.

If it is the diode, increasing the current will only cause it to heat up faster and although you may get more mW out, it will drop faster as well.

 

[yuandrew]

If you let the laser cool down for a few minutes after it becomes dim, does it start out bright again? --That would be one of the indications of a redshifting pump diode.

I did let it cool down longer (about 15 mins) and it seems to run at full brightness again when I turned it back on.