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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Broken focusing lens

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Apr 26, 2013
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Hello, I have a 1W+ blue laser that has a focusing lens installed into the front of the laser(the whole front can be taken of but the lens is inside it)

Recently i went to my brother to see his new house and his father in law thought it was a good idea to try and light a smoke with my laser...
It ended up in destroying my focus lens because a piece of tabacco fell onto the lens which caused it to melt.. so i am guessing the lens was made of some kind of plastic..

I will try to upload pictures of my laser as soon as i can but for now i will write down everything i know about it.
I do know that Blaster has the exact same laser as this one so perhaps he knows the answer to my question.

The laser itself uses 2 16340 lion battery's and has the on/off switch on the back of it
The power output is around 1W-1,1W the color is blue and i suspect the wavelength to be 450 but i am not sure about that since the laser does not have anything on it that says anything about the specifications

as i said before the focusing lens in inside the front of the laser which can be taken off easily and star effect caps can be screwed ontop of it yet it looks kinda impossible to get the focus lens out since it is stuck right in the middle of the top part of the laser..

my question is if it is possible to replace the lens with a new possibly better lens and if so where can i order such lenses and how can i do it myself?
or if someone knows where to vbuy a complete new front part of the laser that has a lens for focusing inside it?

I will try to add pictures later but possibly i will have to add links to my FB account because last time i tried to upload pictures it wouldn't let me..

anyway i would appreciate any information you guys can give me :yh:


As i thought i was unable to upload the pictures to this post.. so here is a link to my FB acc there are 5 pictures
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1461811634052436&set=pcb.1461811724052427&type=1&theater

If you cannot see them then please let me know perhaps i need to change somethings in my privacy settings.
 
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Tmack

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Your obviously going to have to find a way to get that sucker out of there. Then you can see if a typical lens barrel will fit, or if you need something special.

Dtr lasers, olike, sell lenses so obtaining one isn't the problem, sounds like getting it out might be. Use a set of "easy out" if it's that difficult, but there should be a way you can remove it without destroying the barrel.
 
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Thanks for the reply :) yes getting it out will indeed require some skill ^^
But as for a new lens should i be looking for a particular type or doesn't it really matter? i have never repaired build or took apart a laser before so i kinda have no idea what i'm doing ^^ i'm just happy it's only the focus lens and not the laser itself
 

Tmack

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You'll gain about 30 percent power with a g2 lens over what was in there if it was acrylic.

3 element will produce a better dot and is cheaper. Under 10$

G2 will increase power, but the dot will not be trimmed up. $45
 
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I'm liking the sound of that G2 ^^ but what about the dot? it will be bigger or not really look like a dot? right now it was kinda looking like a rectangle instead of a round dot

is this the lens you are talking about?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/405-G-2-Gla...el-for-405nm-445nm-Laser-Diodes-/180950243100

it says for 445 nm diodes however i'm pretty sure my laser is 450 ^^ i don't know if this will be a problem? and is this a focusing lens?
I was able to turn the top part of my laser and make the beam become alot wider almost like a flashlight and turn it back to become a perfect beam ^^ will i be able to do that with a lens like this?

Right now my laser still works i just cannot focus it and it is not a beam it is just a blue light right now not looking like a laser at all ^^'' more like a flashlight ...
 
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Gadget

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Yes...that's the lens you want, and that's DTR's shop. You can't go wrong dealing with him!

405-445-450, it's all the same AR coating. If it was, indeed, an acrylic lens you had in there, then you'll love the power increase to be had from a proper glass lens. And it won't ever melt on you again!

It's kind of hard to tell from the pics, but there should be some kind of threaded retainer holding that lens in place....ahh yes...in PIC#2, see the two little slots on either side of that brass ring? You'll need something that can engage both slots at the same time (ring pliers, modified hemostats, modified tweezers, etc..). The brass ring will unscrew from the body of that focusing mechanism, and will contain the lens (held in place by another brass ring threaded into the outer one).

See if you can get the lens-holder unit out and let us know. hopefully it's not glued in place!

(EDIT) And yes, it will look like a small line at the termination point with a G2, as do all 445-450 diodes. A 3-element lens will make it appear more like a dot at the cost of about 30% of the power output because what the 3-element does is truncate the line at each end to make it only appear round.

G
 
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Thanks alot for the reply!
So now i know the lens i need abd all i have to do now is get the broken one out of there ^^ i will have to look around to see if i got the proper tools somewhere :p
 
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So i managed to get the gold collored lens socket out of it there were no other loose parts
I used a big flathead screwdriver which worked fine

Now i have a slight problem.. how can i get the lens out of the gold socket? ^^

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1462572727309660&set=pcb.1462572787309654&type=1&theater

that is if i need to get it out? or if it is even possible ^^ ?
I uploaded 4 pictures to my FB so you guys can see what i mean
I do'nt know the size of the brass barrel where the g2 lens is in from that link i posted earlier but i guess it is about the same size as the one i have?(by guess i mean hope PRAY for a mirracle that it is the same size^^)
 
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Gadget

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In pic #2, there is another brass ring inside that one, but it looks like they put it in upside down. If you look down near the lens itself, you'll see the two little slots like the outer one has. That inner ring needs to come out. You'll need to find something to wedge into the hole to turn the inner ring.

(EDIT) From the looks of it, that's the standard size lens barrel. If you can turn out the inner ring, any of the commonly available lenses should fit.
Or, you could go here and get a new barrel with lens already installed, remove the focusing ring, and screw it right into your existing laser head.
Get it from the link I posted, it's cheaper.

G
 
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Thanks alot for that link! i think i will leave this as it is and buy a lens that is already in a barrel because i don't want to risk damaging the new lens when putting it in this barrel ^^ as i said before i never done something like this before so i shouldn't be trusted with a 35$ lens :p

Now i just have to wait for pay day so i can order a brand new lens and use my laser again.. untill that time i will just have to live with shaking hands haha ^^

Thanks alot for all the information it really helped alot :)
 

Tmack

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Hey, that turned out easy :) good to hear. Yup a new g2 and your up and running.
 
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@Shakenawake can you tell by my pictures if i would have the same problem with a g2?
 
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.... Hotmail blocked my account because they think it's being used by someone else... i tried 2 times to get it back but no matter how much information i give them they won't give it back...

Now i can also not use my paypal account anymore and i tried making a new hotmail and paypal but now paypal refuses to accept my bank account number -.-''
I do not own a creditcard and i cannot open a paypal account anymore... how the hell am i supposed to order a lens now? -.-'' seriously iritated right now... :gun:

Edit... nevermind i found out how to send money to paypal without linking my bank account...^^
 
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Tmack

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Shaken - so is it a longer barrel you need? If I'm having problems with distance, I put a drop of superglue on the threads, thread it to exactly where I need it, and I have no problems. I never use extended barrels, nor have any problems with distance.

My maglite is very deep, and my wicked laser EVO is very shallow. They use the same lens, and have the same distance from the heatsink when focus to infinity.

Or I cut a few loops of a spring to insert in the focus adapter before I insert the barrel if I need more height in the lens barrel. There's many ways to get around barrel size. Threading on a nut to protect the threads and grinding off some if it's too long work well too. Just some methods to correct these problems for the op :)
 
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if the lens gets closer to the laser then the orginal lens barrel then would this be a problem? it wont get further because the lens barrel is bigger then the one i had so it probably will get closer ^^
 




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