Kryton Groove tailswitch shenanigans

Hi all!

I recently purchased a number of different bits and pieces and assembled my first self-built custom lasers out of two Kryton Groove hosts.

One with a Oclaro HL63133DG 638nm diode, a V5 FlexDrive @ 300mA, and a three-element lens (the divergence is AMAZING on this one, and such a nice red!)

And the other with an M462 462nm diode, one of (formerly known as Le Quack) Hiemal's Super BoostDrives @ 1.75A, also with a three-element lens.

Both are running off single nice fresh protected Panasonic NCR18650Bs.

I of course got the hosts from grainde, with matching cyan/red GITD (and even a blue tailcap for the M462) and with contact boards pre-fitted / tailcaps pre-assembled.

Here I ran into an issue. I spent almost 20 minutes trying to work out why my Super BoostDrive was working fine off my bench power supply, but would have nothing to do with operating off the battery in the host, only to discover that the tailswitch wasn't actually closing the circuit.

The tailswitch assembly slides around inside the tailcap and fails to make proper contact with the tailcap walls - it also seems to have some issues making proper contact with its spring.

With enough prodding and poking to get the mechanism into the right position, I can convince the lasers to work (and oh boy are they pretty when they work), but for the most part they just don't get power.

Is there something I should have done / should do to the tailcap assembly to get it to co-operate? Is there perhaps a better tailswitch assembly I can use? Even at the best of times this one seems to be annoyingly high resistance (0.2-0.3 ohms typical, sometimes 0.1), which is not optimal for the high current draw of the Super BoostDrive.

I've PMed grainde, of course, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask if anyone else has had similar issues (I tried a search but didn't get very far... you know how vBulletin search is).

In the immortal words of various internet people; What do? How fix?

Oh, one other thing - am I meant to have an o-ring for the focus ring / lens holder?

I had this similar issue. How I rectified this was to remove the tail switch completely and order a tail switch from survivallaser.com. You'll have to take the old switch out and get creative with the new switch as they will not fit in perfectly. Hmm hard to explain without photos, tonight when I get home I can post here with better detail. You might need to reinforce the spring itself if you are getting a high current draw.

I would very much appreciate some photos and tips if and when you have the time

Interestingly enough I already flagged the SurvivalLaser switch modules as a possible swap-in and bought two, so it seems we think alike!

No problem. I'll get back to you soon. Oh since you are using a boost drive you might have to reinforce the contact spring with a bit of copper wire to base. (As seen in this evenings photos)

Awesome help DwU
I just love to see such great help offered!!
+ Rep to you!!

Someone had suggested this switch, although I haven't tried it yet.

I've had issues with current draw, killing the cheapo switches.

McGizmo McClicky Pak Switch Module with holes no boot

Hi Andrew sorry for the trouble. I just sent you a PM with some suggestions that will hopefully help. Please let me know if you cant get it to work and we'll sort something out. :beer:

Daguin uses the switch suggested by icrcruncher and says it fits perfectly.

Somewhere buried deep in the abyss of LPF are threads pertaining to this same problem.
The little spring that's inside the clicky switch heats up due to the high current, and starts to melt the inside of the switch, destroying it.

Some were doing fixes by actually taking the clicky switch apart, and soldering a tiny wire inside the spring to help carry the current.

When the Krytons were designed, the highest current diode was maybe 500mA.....we've come a ways since then.

Ok Im going to look in to some Judco switches that were recently recommended. Once Ive found the correct size switches, or come up with a suitable mod, Ill open a thread with the info and begin including them in the Krytons. :beer:

the mcgizmo were considered, but ultimately we just gave people the link to buy them, as it would of added $5 to each kryton to include them

Anyone who is feeling DIYish can open up the switch, they should find a top and bottom plate connected in the center by a spring.
This is the spring that heats up.
If you solder a very tiny piece of silicone wire connecting the top and bottom plate, you can reassemble the switch and it will perform fine.
Or feed the wire through the center of the spring and solder it to the top and bottom part of the spring.

If the high current is what murders them that explains why the tailcap for the red one operated perfectly until I started using it for the blue!

The switch is definitely the weakest link as when I bridge the tailcap with wire or my multimeter in current mode everything works totally fine.

I'll try some switch mods & buy a couple of McClicky switches in case the SurvivalLaser ones don't help.

Thanks a lot everyone, I'll let you know how it all goes

http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/wtb-kryton-groove-tail-switch-52388.html

http://laserpointerforums.com/f51/kryton-groove-duty-cycle-1a-switch-fix-inside-62364-2.html

I think anslem was the one selling fixed switches. I bought a couple from him. But he hasn't been on in almost 4 years

The second thread has info on how to do it.

Try these threads for help

Here is what I did to rectify my krypton Groove, others here might have better methods.
-First beef up your spring. I believe the thread above has the link.
-second, in my case the battery wouldn't fit in the tail cap so I epoxied a thumb tack and a spacer.


Lastly the survival switch is slightly smaller so I carefully inserted copper strips and pressed the assembly together. (The assembly isn't compressed in the photo)


It might take some tinkering but this worked well. I'm running an Xboost at 1.8A for the m462. I can't remember the current draw off the top of my head.
Good luck!

Thanks for the photos, Down with Umbrella! I've pulled a switch from one of my SurvivalLasers hosts and done something very similar (using a bit of pencil rubber as an extender so it's reversible) and hallelujah! It works!

It would almost be better if the tailcap was shorter & threaded for the SL switch, but that'd likely make a currently fairly cheap host quite a bit more expensive.

I also annoyingly destroyed one of my stock Kryton switches trying to modify it into working again - but that's OK, more are on their way from FastTech.

Note to self: don't run more than one battery amp through the stock Kryton switch!

Very interested to hear how the replacement switches go, grainde - do keep us posted

In addition to the above, your Groove might also be anodized, which reduces the conductivity. Get some metal brushes and brush down the threads and contacts. I found that helped a bit. Some people have gone through the trouble of drilling out the aluminum and screwing into it to create a really good connection, but that's often a bit of work.