thermal protection?

hey guys, i just got my first medium power Green laser when i went to FRY'S in Portland. I really like it and its very bright (visible beam and all) but it seems to get a little warm and then cut power down. if its outside the cool air helps prevent this bit it seems like it does it more often indoors.
can i possibly get a better housing that will help cool it down better?

here is the one i bought: FRYS.com | TREND SOURCES

thanks for the help guys

I would dissasemble the laser, get a good looking flashlight from DX and then get a big aluminium or copper heatsink. I got a green laser pointer and the duty cycle was about 1min so I got a nice big heat sink. I can now run it for about 5min without any heat. Remember if you put a new heat sink remember to make sure that the laser module is tight against the heat sink or add some thermal paste or heat will not travel as well.

Thats what i was thinking, but where would i find a heatsink for the internals?

You can either may your own on the lathe out of aluminium, or you might be able to ask a member on the forum if they can supply you with a heatsink. Just give somebody the measurments and they will do it for pretty cheap.

A heat-sink will cost over $20 to have made (unless you have your own lathe and aluminum stock).
I have re-housed a few pen-sized lasers and I have found it easier to just buy a host that is already made for green modules (12mm x 56mm) rather than getting a flashlight, and have a custom heat-sink machined by someone.
They are only ~$18 (including shipping) and they make the laser completely waterproof (well to about 3-meters) and do a great job of dissipating the heat. Really, the only thing you need to do is extract the module from the pen laser, solder a jumper across the button-switch, then press-fit (using a vice) the module into the new host.
The waterproof hosts can be found here: www.rayfoss.com

That is a good idea Ash, it may just be cheaper to buy a good host which is purpose built for lasers. You can always get a host which is for a normall 5.6mm diode and drill the heatsink with a pillar drill to fit the green laser module but getting one suistable for a green laser module already will be easier.

after taking this one apart some, i see the module does not look like many of the ones here, its got a large brass backing with the crystal mounted to the middle on a post while the lens is on a plastic tube that screws into the backing brass. i may just have to leave this one as is and buy some proper components :yabbem:

also, this one has a plastic insert that holds the circuit board up in the housing, how do i get this out? it wont fit past the threads for the battery tube...