Laser Pen Problem

[Davekyn (David)]

Any one else have problems with thier laser pen? Ever since I got mine, no matter when I try fresh batteries, the laser itself never seems to power up properly.

It's as if the beam has to warm up or somthing, and I have to hold the button at the exact pressure point. Even then, the beam turns on & off, fluctuating from powerful to weak.

I have contacted the supplier, but was hoping someone could comment?
Cheers
Dave.

[leon]

For some reason these lasers chew through the battery life, therefore the best heavy duty battery is best, and they do like to be warm.

Having said that it dose appear that your unit is faulty, with it's fluctuating problem, if it is still new, I would be returning it for a warranty replacement.

Leon

[bojan]

These are cheap chinese products, worth ~$10 in bulk on market.
I had the opportunity to test a batch of 20 green laser modules recently.
Each one of them behaved in its own way (some would fade after power up, some would increase output, some would flicker..) and almost none of them met the output power specs claimed by manufacturer (for continuous operation).
The problem with cheap green lasers is, their operating temperature range is very narrow, because they have couple of resonant cavities and they all line up correctly only at a single temperature point.
Properly temperature compensated units will cost couple of $100's (in bulk).

[Davekyn (David)]

Thanks for the clarification,
I paid $110.00...Grrrrrrrrrrrrr...but know what you mean. I expect it to at least work for 10 minutes with a fresh set of batteries. If it's a problem with opperating temps, Perhaps they should address that issue, before selling them. (considering that we use them in a wide range of varying tepms) Good to know the results of your test. Very interesting.

I'm hopping for one replacement, then will post the results here & accept it for what you say. Very disapointing if that is to be the case.

Thanks for the feed back guys
Cheers
Dave

[erick (Eric)]

My sense of operating temps for green lasers is that they are fine above say 5-7 deg C. As their temp starts to drop below that, they fade away. Many people blame their batteries but it's more likely the laser itself. Mine stays in my top pocket when it's not switched on benefiting from the exothermic metabolism in the lump of meat beside it.

My relatively cheap 5mW has performed well for some time. Lately it has been a bit sluggish to come up to full brightness on switch on - nothing a good thump doesn't fix - I'd better check the battery contacts

[Terry B]

Originally Posted by erick

snip

- nothing a good thump doesn't fix - I'd better check the battery contacts

Nothing like a good hit to fix a "finely tuned piece of electroninic equipment"

[erick (Eric)]

Originally Posted by Terry B

Nothing like a good hit to fix a "finely tuned piece of electroninic equipment"

Worked on a >$million piece of scientific equipment back in the 80s - all vacuums, high precision aligned stainless steel, big magnets and electric fields, electronics, high voltages etc. A special piece of wood was kept to thump a special spot at the front end since that would often free up a mechanical slit that would get stuck. Otherwise the requirement was allow the equipment to come up to atmospheric pressure and break the seals, remove sensitive stuff etc. to get at the slit - losing most of the day and risking other problems being introduced. We got quite expert at this unconventional adjustment. Kept the lump of wood hidden from the Professor though

ps. I just whack the laser against my palm - usually hurts me more than it does the laser.

[Davekyn (David)]

LOL...thanks for the tip Eric. I agree that the contacts are rather faulty, however would lint to reserve the belting technique for my replacement if the supplier responds to my email.

Couldn't agree with you more!

[Davekyn (David)]

Retail outlet is willing to send it back to thier supplier if need be. Therfore I did a last indoor test, which seem to indicate that it was working properly. After reading up more on this issue here and elsewhere, I now feel moisture is also playing a part to my problem.

You know how the batteries are ussually stored along side the pen in its metal case; well this leads me to setting the pen up outside in the night air. Tonight I am going to set the pen up with a fresh set of batteries installed before leaving the house, so as to avoid exsposing the internal components of the unit to the night air as I have been doing.

Perhaps it is only a simply matter of fluctuating temps & moisture that has been resulting in poor perfomance. I'll be sure to wear it on my persons as well as you mention Erick.

If after all this and still problems, I'll try using the wacking method (ever so slight) to get it going. Hopefully I am onto somthing. Works fine Indoors!