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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Dim DX True 30mw

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Sep 16, 2007
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Well, it would still suck if your laser has a "duty cycle" of two weeks working, two weeks in the mail (or make that four).
 





Benm

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Hehe.. 50% isn't that bad for a 2 aaa greenie at all ;p

Well, the idea is that if you get a semi-dud like that your replacement will be a good one at some point. The easiest way to get a good one is to order 10 of them, select the best and return the other 9... but i guess DX won't be happy about that ;)

I hope they'll get quality control under control at DX soon... making dodgy deals into good ones.
 

gmAg21

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Oct 4, 2007
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yeah dude just stick it in freezer that should work, cool things down bro
 
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Aug 17, 2007
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Benm said:
I got a (true) DX30 in the mail yesterday, and that seems to be pretty good so far. Runs quite bright on NiMHs, good enough to pop a sharpied balloon at a foot range. The switch is already flimsy, but that's easily replaced i guess.

One thing i noticed is that this new DX30 has a different cap from the older models, the aperture is somewhat wider (see pic). I have no idea if this also relfects a change in the innards, but it could be different production?
How long did it take to receive Benm? It'll be going on 14 days tomorrow after I received their "shipped" email. Just wondering. Thanks.
 
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Oct 4, 2007
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I am not sure why but now my true 30mw DX can hold more than 10 seconds full power even with the battery that come with the laser which previously wasn't. I haven't test it with longer time because i am not sure what is the duty cycle of this laser.

thanks
 
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Aug 15, 2007
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Other thing is, difference between a true and untrue is simply that the true DX will be a real NewWish, while the untrue is simply a clone.

I have heard good and bad things about these true 30's and in my opinion the problem comes down to this: not enough power. Try lithiums.
This is because the true 30 is the same electronic components as the 20s and perhaps even the 10 and 5. The difference is that the 30 is turned right up, and has better crystals to cope with this. Because it is turned right up, 3 volts isn't quite enough. Try lithiums and IMO it should work better.
This is however purely theory, I will wait and get my true DX 30 and try it.
But whatever you do, don't complain if you're running it on NiMh's because they are 1.2v not 1.5v so DUH of course it's not getting enough power. Use alkalines at least.
 

Benm

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photongeek said:
How long did it take to receive Benm? It'll be going on 14 days tomorrow after I received their "shipped" email. Just wondering. Thanks.

The last one took roughly 3 weeks from order to delivery, but from the moment they confirmed shipping to delivery was just a little over a week (8-9 days or so), the rest of the time was waiting for suppliers and a failed quality check.

I've found the actual shipping time fairly consistent with DX orders, it always takes a week plus a few days to get here (holland). Doesn't seem to matter what the package contains or how big it is.
 

dar303

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Sep 17, 2007
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Hi,

I got my DX true 30 yesterday and as many others had done noticed the dimming effect.
I tried new alkaline batteries but that didn't help either so I hooked it up to a multimeter and a really good lab power supply to rule out problems with battery capacity.
I first tried 3.0V but nothing spectacular happened, dimming again and about 260mA current draw.
At 3,4V i drew 300mA and at 3.6 about 320mA, still dimming. I didn't go higher than that.

I have also noticed that it seems to be very sensitive to temperature and in the "manual" it says just that and states a temperature range of 20 to 35 degrees centigrade.
Mine sometimes seem to function perfectly when it has been handeled for a while but not yet reached hand temperature!

Is it something related to the DPSS crystal or to the crippled/non existant control and regulation circuitry (that somebody on this forum was kind enough to reverse-engineer)?
Anybody has som good facts or analysis or even plausible theories? I've done enough speculation about the dimming for now! :)
 
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Aug 28, 2007
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Thanks for the update. Seems we have ruled out the switch and supply. Hope someone else will chime in...

As I mentioned I sent mine back. I wrote a letter asking for mine to be tested thoroughly before sending it to me. I just got an email saying that my order has been delayed due to QC issues...haha...can they not find a good one in their stock?
 
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Aug 16, 2007
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Someone said his dx true 5mW starts bright then dims.
But it dims to the brightness of his core which is 5mW

So could it not just be that you dx true 30mW start out above 30mW and then dims slightly to 30mW. This should happen due to the sort of drive circuitry in the dx30 where it peaks when initially turned on. So maybe all your dim dx true 30mW are working ok.

As for nimh, fresh ones work fine for me for awhile but then the dimming occurs when the voltage drops. (Bright then dims to nothing) Must be some serious battery sag going on. Dimming does not happen with weak/used alkalines. Instead, it just starts out dim. Like a 5mW. I'm not sure if this means my nimhs are lousy or what. Still I think it might be more of a voltage/lasing threshold issue.
 

Benm

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Looks can be deceiving indeed, if it puts out say 50 mW and some point and then dims to 30, you'd still notice. But the bad ones dim to way under 1 mW.. i have a DX20 here thats dims to a point where its visibly less bright than a 5 mW odd red laser.

About the balloons and stuff: I recently got a DX30 that seems good for now (after fixing a bad contact). That pops sharpied balloons very well, and i even lit a match with it using and additional lens to focus the beam to the size of a pin.
 
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Are you using lithium cells? I hear they give much higher outputs, probably above 50mW. That might easily pop sharpied balloons. But I don't have any lithiums to try :(

So many new dx 30mW flashlight style lasers out there. Wonder if they use new wish modules or what not? Reviews should be coming in soon when those who ordered get their lasers. I hope they are good. I'm sick of AAAs and their wimpy output.
 

Benm

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Actually, both for the balloon popping and (lens-aided) match lighting, i ran the DX30 or NiMH's. One odd thing now is that when i cold start it, the ouput jumps up and down wildly for 10 or 20 seconds, and is steady after that. I'm not sure what is causing that, and i'm fine with it as long as its not a sign of something going bad.

As for the dimming problem on my DX20, i'm still not really sure what's causing that. Diode current doesnt seem to drop (much) between starting blast and maintained low current. Perhaps its a problem with the pump diode warming up a little bit, and somehow its output wavelength just slides out of the absorption range of the solid state laser.

I've tried working on the DX20's circuitry (which is different from my DX30), but haven't been able to find a solution. There are some flaws in the electrical part, but they don't seem to account for the observed dimming no matter how you look at it.
 
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Does your dx 30 fully drain your nimh? what voltage does it stop working at.
To pop balloons you'd need about >40mW so I guess your unit must be above average or the ir is doing the work.

The mca crystals need to be at the right temperature to work well. So I guess some lasers need to warm up while others need to cool down as has been mentioned previously. Not sure why though. but noticeable fluctuating output seems a little strange since our eyes are not that sensitive.
 
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Aug 28, 2007
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xarylx said:
Someone said his dx true 5mW starts bright then dims.
But it dims to the brightness of his core which is 5mW

So could it not just be that you dx true 30mW start out above 30mW and then dims slightly to 30mW. This should happen due to the sort of drive circuitry in the dx30 where it peaks when initially turned on. So maybe all your dim dx true 30mW are working ok.
After all, riskyp's supposedly dimming dx30 is still able to pop balloons. I find that ridiculous. And he complains about his dx30 dimming. :eek:  Mine doesn't even pop balloons when fully operational! Maybe he got a dx200 by mistake.

As for nimh, fresh ones work fine for me for awhile but then the dimming occurs when the voltage drops. (Bright then dims to nothing) Must be some serious battery sag going on. Dimming does not happen with weak/used alkalines. Instead, it just starts out dim. Like a 5mW. I'm not sure if this means my nimhs are lousy or what. Still I think it might be more of a voltage/lasing threshold issue.


Absolutly NOT the case (at least for me). When mine dimmed I could not see the beam at all, even in a completly dark room or outside. It dimmed to less than my 5mW red 4 year old Target pen.
 
H

High_Octane

Guest
xarylx said:
Someone said his dx true 5mW starts bright then dims.
But it dims to the brightness of his core which is 5mW

So could it not just be that you dx true 30mW start out above 30mW and then dims slightly to 30mW. This should happen due to the sort of drive circuitry in the dx30 where it peaks when initially turned on. So maybe all your dim dx true 30mW are working ok.
After all, riskyp's supposedly dimming dx30 is still able to pop balloons. I find that ridiculous. And he complains about his dx30 dimming. :eek: Mine doesn't even pop balloons when fully operational! Maybe he got a dx200 by mistake.

As for nimh, fresh ones work fine for me for awhile but then the dimming occurs when the voltage drops. (Bright then dims to nothing) Must be some serious battery sag going on. Dimming does not happen with weak/used alkalines. Instead, it just starts out dim. Like a 5mW. I'm not sure if this means my nimhs are lousy or what. Still I think it might be more of a voltage/lasing threshold issue.

Not in my case! My core was brighter than that crappy 200mw DX greeny, and the same as my DX 30mw flashlight style that only lated a few days.
 




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