RadioShack Green Laser Pointer Mod

I bought a RadioShack one a few months ago for $49.99 and was impressed with it's build quality.  One of the first things I did to it was pot mod it and appeared to triple it's brightness. I was afraid of frying the diode so I toned it down a tad and used it for a couple weeks with no problems. At that time I decided to crank it up as high as it would go. Again, tested and used it extensively for about 4 more weeks with no problems. I had an idea about using Energizer e2 Lithium batteries in it thinking the 1.7v beasts might help push it further. Man, those batteries are awesome for this pointer! It completely eliminated the 1-2 second power drop-off that many have complained of and also seemed quite a bit brighter too. So, more extensive use went by for several weeks and still no problems. I started thinking this thing seems robust and wanted more out of it, so I began to attempt to examine the power supply and open the filter section of the laser. Wow, do they secure those threads in place well! After some major 'wrenching' (..and fear of destroying it) with 2 pliers I managed to get the filter section apart. To my horror there were 2 wires inside that had glue on them from the threads causing them to rotate while unscrewing the assembly. This caused them to rip apart and away from a sensor at the IR filter. Fearing the worst I cut the frayed wires off and screwed the culminating assembly back on to the filter section, connected the batteries and luckily the thing still turned on. OMG, not only did it turn on, but the intensity had easily more than doubled again! The IR filter at the end is angled to reflect a portion of the light to a sensor I now assume had throttled the intensity level. Well, my little wire 'accident' gave me even MORE power and now I'm really thinking this thing is going to fry. Folks, weeks have passed and this little monster is lazing along fantastically. The pot no longer seems to work so I'm thinking it adjusted the sensor level that is now disconnected.  I'm not sure about it's output right now but I'll guess it's at LEAST 20-30mw. The beam is very visible in a brightly lit room. Do I recommend one, YES! I think I'll pick up another and do all this plus remove the IR filter for burning.

(ALWAYS USE IR FILTERED SAFETY GLASSES WITH NON IR FILTERED LASERS!!!)

PS - It should be noted that the fact that I did this in stages over a long period of time might have contributed to it's reliability by letting it 'burn-in' slowly. If you're familiar with overclocking CPU's you have similar results by allowing the CPU to have burn-in time. So, that being said, your mileage may vary but I'm one happy camper!  ;D

I'm glad you are enjoying your RS green laser, but before you go buy another one check out the prices of other green lasers on the internet. You can get 5mW green laser pointers for $17 off of dealextreme.com and you can get a 30mW one for $25.

Also, removing the IR filter will most likely not make your laser burn. If you want a burning laser pick up the DX200 red, I have a review of that laser in my signature and it is only $44, it will burn much better than an un-filtered RS green laser!

Agreed. This was my first delve into a green laser and used it as a learning experience. I knew I could find them cheaper but I wanted to actually test drive one before ordering something I couldn't even handle first. My second will not be a RS one. I was quite impressed with the headroom of this laser. I just wish I knew who really manufactures it and how much further I can push it. Any thoughts?

How are we meant to know the manufacturer, you haven't given us any information ;D

Does RadioShack have a site? Maybe you can give us a link to the product page of this laser, that would be helpful. Or even just a picture of your laser, and generally some of us will know the manufacturer.

I'm not sure I can give more information.  I mean, it's RadioShack (radioshack.com), it's a green laser and I believe the only one they sell.  This is all I know as there are no other sources on or inside the laser to tell me anything.

Here is the direct link: (site won't allow a clickable link until I post 10 posts)
radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2767643&cp=2032060.2032340.2032354&parentPage=family

www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2767643&cp=2032060.2032340.2032354&parentPage=family
That's pretty cool how the laser still is going, I'm amazed that a cheap 5mW can be pushed that high...

My thoughts exactly. That's the only reason I even posted my experience with it on here. I just seems odd. I still think it could go higher too. Do I add another AAA battery? I'm nervous to do anything more but this is the same feeling I had in the beginning too.

Its not all that suprising. Generally, the crystal set in the 5mW pens are capable of putting out upwards of 50-70mW. Also, the pump diode is almost always a 200mW 808nm pump thats just turned way down to make it 'legal'. Add those two together and you get a pen capaple of around 30mW when you add more current to the pump.

(ALWAYS USE IR FILTERED SAFETY GLASSES WITH NON IR FILTERED LASERS!!!)

Click to expand...

Why? The small amount of IR will do almost 0 damage when compared to the amount of green coming out.

"Safety first", I always say. I've done a lot of research into this subject and it has more to do with the culmination difference in the IR verses the green. It always ways heavily on the output power as well. But I'm sure you're very aware of all this but it's just best to be safe as I'm always thinking of the newbies out there.

yeah but the small amount of IR compared to the high amounts of green is nothing to worry about.

It's like if you're about to be hit by a guy on a bicycle and a freight train at the same time, and worry about what kind of damage the bike may have on you. I'd be more worried about the train ;D

It's more like wearing a bullet proof vest in lieu of a bicycle helmet while riding in fear of gang violence out on the farm. You can never be too careful, right?

Cyparagon said:

It's more like wearing a bullet proof vest in lieu of a bicycle helmet while riding in fear of gang violence out on the farm. You can never be too careful, right?

Click to expand...

;D ;D

So why have an IR filter to begin with? Is IR emissions only a factor (to the eyes) with direct beam exposure? That is with a pointer up to 30mw or so? This is important information for me as I value my eyesight so please give me accurate information. Thank you for all the responses. I really do appreciate it.

Well, they add the IR filter mostly because the IR "pollutes" the beam and screws up readings on power meters and those beam profiler things .
Otherwise, the amount of IR that even a solid 150mW DPSS green can output is too little to cause any real damage.
The difference index of refraction for the lens between 808nm and 532nm is great enough that the IR will diverge much worse than the green. Because of this, a lot of the IR will be blocked by the aperture and become so spread out, it would be like looking at the LED from a TV remote.
The green light is the real concern.
Not to mention the IR diode is multimode, which also contributes to the harmlessness of IR spill.

My green is unfiltered. I even play with a bare pump diode (probably around 400-500mW.. anyone know what power the X-Series lasers pump diodes output?) and burn stuff... my eyes are still great.
No goggles. Ever. I have confidence in my common sense... enough that I don't feel it's necessary to rely on secondary safety measures. Common sense is the best and cheapest safety apparatus. ;D

the 100% safe way to use a laser...

step 1.. make sure there is no power cord going to laser
step 2.. remove any batteries
step 3.. remove any energy storing devices( capacitors and such)
step 4.. place in box
step 5.. place box on top of loose papers to eliminate paper cuts from loose papers

Iguana, bwana

Did you try yours with 4.5v (or even 5.1v with the e2s)? BTW, some specs on the e2s say they are rated at 1.5v with a 1.72v initial peak, so the glory may not last...

I have a 10mw green module from Jaycar, and when I cranked the pot over, like yours, it seemed at least 3x as bright - beam not visible in ambient, but a strong beam that goes all the way up at night.

I thought I'd take a middle ground to your 3x AA suggestion, and bought a 1/2 AA size 3.6v back up battery. I hooked it up to see if the brightness would increase. NOTHING! Had I blown it?

I put my 2x AAs back on and it worked just fine. Tried again with the 3.6 - still nothing, but I noticed the on-board led glowing ever-so feebly. Voltage check: spot on 3.6v. Upshot is I spent 14 bucks on a battery that puts out less current than an earthworm :'(

I'll go up to 4.5v later tonight unless someone cautions me not to in the meantime. I'm a little nervous about this as the module was A$100 even though it is shown as US$49.95 on the Jaycar US website - another instance of price gouging the Aussies whereever US corporations can (I thought we have a FREE trade agreement) - so I don't want to kill a $100 thing that should actually have cost me about A$53.