9mm kryton

I just bought, from a gentleman on here a kryton groove with 9mm diode and a mohgasm 1.6a linear driver ???.. the member guaranteed it worked properly. some of you here may have seen the advert.
The batteries he sent with it were flat so I inserted two fresh 16340 batteries. It was immediately apparent it was very very weak but not LED.
I've never seen an led'd 9mm so I cant tell.
I took it apart
The relevant anodising for negative was correctly removed as far as I could see.
The diode wasn't pressed in properly and looked like it was crushed in with mole grips.
the soldering to the diode was not great and the pos wire wasn't attached as well as it should have been in my opinion. any way the two pins were insulated with tape that had come away.
I decided to re do all the wires because it would have been at best unreliable like that.
I resoldered new wire onto the provided driver and new bare earths as described by Moh. .
once I was satisfied with the neatness and joints I wired it to a dummy load with the jumper on 5.The load started at 1600mv but rapidly dropped to about 1000mv. then stays there but get REALLY hot . even with a heat sink!
Being inexperienced Im assuming the driver is faulty?.
Anyway the diode makes 65mw which is eeeer RUBBISH . but does this mean its ruined?

the man said he tested it all and it worked well .. and I should try new batteries . er which I did any way .. My question is is if this diode was driven at an amp would it be that weak?
or shall I try a direct drive test?..
should the member give me a partial refund seeing as its likely ill need a new driver and diode .Or am I just an idiot again

http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/sold-kryton-groove-9mm-445nm-diode-82797.html

I was afraid this was the laser in question...

I'd suggest you try to work something out with the seller. I believe I'd be asking for a full refund. That is between you and him.
Should you not be able to work something out, at least it seems you have the skills and equipment to press a new diode into it.

Who sold it to you?

Would just like to add in my defence before shipping I put 2 18650's into the host (my only batteries that are fully charged) and connected a wire to the inner threading, the laser worked fine and looked and felt to be over 1.5w, it started burning holes on my rug, and this was without a lens, and I tested the switch on/off several times using the slightly dead batteries (still powered diode but weakly) and it went on off fine.

I did direct drive the diode while it was in a copper module also using the driver and again it was outputting a high power beam. When I sent it out it was working as it should, I would not sell anything I knew to be faulty to anyone. Heck if it was faulty I would have just got a new diode and driver for it and then sold it.

What you guys think I should do? I sent it out fully working and outputting in the region of 1-2w (no lpm, but it was definitely over or close to 1w).

If all comes to worst I would be willing to have it all shipped back to me and would be willing to mend it by purchasing new diode and driver and either assembling it myself or having the parts sent to OP's address if he feels he would do a better job at it.

the groove will not and never will fit 2x 18650s. it is also the buyers responsibility to properly package any item they ship (@ the buyer-how well was it packed?)

i suggest asking for a full refund and building one yourself. sounds like you know exactly what you are doing and i had my doubts about this build myself, hence why i backed off of it. one does not simply

daawood123 said:

pressed it [9mm diode] using a vice plier type thing, I can press it into the copper module because the thickness of the copper module isnt large compared to that of the kryton, and I dont want to damage the kryton surface.

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please keep us informed on the outcome of this and if any problems come about. LPF is really good with helping members solve problems

daawood123 said:

Would just like to add in my defence before shipping I put 2 18650's into the host (my only batteries that are fully charged) and connected a wire to the inner threading, the laser worked fine and looked and felt to be over 1.5wLooked?? This is a measurement??, it started burning holes on my rug, and this was without a lensExactly how did you focus the beam to burn the carpet without a lens??, and I tested the switch on/off several times using the slightly dead batteries (still powered diode but weakly) and it went on off fine.

I did direct drive the diode while it was in a copper moduleYou did not heatsink a 9mm diode when testing?? also using the driver and again it was outputting a high power beam. When I sent it out it was working as it should, I would not sell anything I knew to be faulty to anyone. Heck if it was faulty I would have just got a new diode and driver for it and then sold it.

What you guys think I should do? I sent it out fully working and outputting in the region of 1-2w (no lpm, but it was definitely over or close to 1w).HOW ARE YOU QUANTIFYING THIS???

If all comes to worst I would be willing to have it all shipped back to me and would be willing to mend it by purchasing new diode and driver and either assembling it myself or having the parts sent to OP if he feels he would do a better job at it.

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In my opinion, you should return his money, quickly. You do not sell a poorly tested diode for that kind of money without any idea what it is outputting. This was a very irresponsible sale. You did not disclose enough information or photos of the laser.

That being said, I can hardly believe someone paid that kind of money from an unknown member, with no information about how it was tested, without a lens, and without an LPM measurement, and based on the posts in the thread.

These are just my opinions, and I am not trashing either person. This was just bad all the way around. I wish you both a speedy resolve.

scumbagatheist said:

In my opinion, you should return his money, quickly. You do not sell a poorly tested diode for that kind of money without any idea what it is outputting. This was a very irresponsible sale. You did not disclose enough information or photos of the laser.

That being said, I can hardly believe someone paid that kind of money from an unknown member, with no information about how it was tested, without a lens, and without an LPM measurement, and based on the posts in the thread.

These are just my opinions, and I am not trashing either person. This was just bad all the way around. I wish you both a speedy resolve.

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The man sounded genuine. and I think he believes its was as it should be .

Right I dont know how you guys believe I could mistake 1w for 65mw. I am not that new to this hobby that I would not be able to tell if it was poorly powered or such. I did not measure it accurately that was mentioned I think in the original sale. I didnt focus it, it just started smoking my plastic protective carpet (dont know what else to call it) at a distance of about 20 cm. It was not poorly tested, the diode was bought from a reliable member and outputted what I believed to be reasonable power (1w+ ) It was not powered on for more than a second or so, in which time it did start smoking the plastic thingy, straight after the module was only lukewarm.

Livinloud I never said it would fit 2x 18650 I mentioned a wire I simply took it from the end of the battery to the inside of the thread where the tailcap and barrel meet.
It was quite well packaged, each piece was bubblewraped individually. I would not say I was a unknown member, I feel as if a lot of negativity is being sent my way, when I sent what I believed to be a reasonable item for a reasonable price, and it was working fine at the time of packaging, it was definately outputting more than 65mw (how many 65mw lasers burn plastic unfocused?). I dont know what is wrong with it, which is why I am offering to fix it or send OP new parts for nothing, I feel as if this itself is payment enough as in the end he will have what he paid for (if he doesnt already).

I hear what you're saying. It is a mistake I might have easily made not long ago.

The problem with believing is a lack of data. I do not doubt Daawood's character or sincerity.

I hope this works out for you both. Daawood, if you take it back, you should go ahead and build it, enjoy it and keep it. From the description of the innards, it sounds like you may need more diodes under your belt before you start selling lasers.

Wires were attached fine imo and it wasnt tape like sellotape but insulating tape. Definitely wasnt crushed in with mole grips either. I will definitely get some more builds under my belt before I ever attempt to sell again here.

I am only going by the description. I'm not busting your balls here. I'm just saying that perhaps it's best that you stick to Best Practices Management when you build lasers. If you used any kind of tape and tested a diode that was not heatsinked, then you clearly are not doing that. I hope you become an excellent laser builder. I hope you provide the forum with amazing lasers. This just wasn't one of them.

daawood123 said:

Right I dont know how you guys believe I could mistake 1w for 65mw. I am not that new to this hobby that I would not be able to tell if it was poorly powered or such. I did not measure it accurately that was mentioned I think in the original sale. I didnt focus it, it just started smoking my plastic protective carpet (dont know what else to call it) at a distance of about 20 cm. It was not poorly tested, the diode was bought from a reliable member and outputted what I believed to be reasonable power (1w+ ) It was not powered on for more than a second or so, in which time it did start smoking the plastic thingy, straight after the module was only lukewarm.

Livinloud I never said it would fit 2x 18650 I mentioned a wire I simply took it from the end of the battery to the inside of the thread where the tailcap and barrel meet.
It was quite well packaged, each piece was bubblewraped individually. I would not say I was a unknown member, I feel as if a lot of negativity is being sent my way, when I sent what I believed to be a reasonable item for a reasonable price, and it was working fine at the time of packaging, it was definately outputting more than 65mw (how many 65mw lasers burn plastic unfocused?). I dont know what is wrong with it, which is why I am offering to fix it or send OP new parts for nothing, I feel as if this itself is payment enough as in the end he will have what he paid for (if he doesnt already).

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Im not saying you done anything knowingly
the press though was terrible and the soldering less than great.
instead of shrink wrap the wires were taped and had come loose and gooey.
I have a screen shot of the power test and it was 65 mw with fresh batteries .(it was worse before I re did the wires)
the driver was loose and the earths/negatives were not great.
I really am not slating anyone . I just need advice as to a couple of things
why a driver drops from 1600 to 1000 mv in a few seconds.? is this a driver fault
also would a diode of this nature produce such a measley amount of power at an amp
maybe because it just passed a lasing threshold ?
even so if it worked right I wouldn't be asking .there would be no point
those negative connections and the bad positive diode connection could have cause all sorts of grief and damage.

Yup I have learnt scumbagtheist :d I'm trying my best to sort it out with OP, if i purposefully had sold him a dodgy item I would not be here right now, trying to sort it out.

Anyway thanks for the recommendations/advice guys.

MT, what brand of batteries are you using? I've found that anything but AW IMRs are rubbish.

Is it possible that there is an issue with how the tailcap was assembled? If putting a wire from the battery to the threads renders full output, then it is possible that the tailcap is not getting much current into the host? Just a thought.

Obviously you still face the issues of the questionable/shoddy worksmanship, but just trying to help you troubleshoot.

daawood123 said:

Would just like to add in my defence before shipping I put 2 18650's into the host (my only batteries that are fully charged) and connected a wire to the inner threading, the laser worked fine and looked and felt to be over 1.5w, it started burning holes on my rug, and this was without a lens, and I tested the switch on/off several times using the slightly dead batteries (still powered diode but weakly) and it went on off fine.

I did direct drive the diode while it was in a copper module also using the driver and again it was outputting a high power beam. When I sent it out it was working as it should, I would not sell anything I knew to be faulty to anyone. Heck if it was faulty I would have just got a new diode and driver for it and then sold it.

What you guys think I should do? I sent it out fully working and outputting in the region of 1-2w (no lpm, but it was definitely over or close to 1w).

If all comes to worst I would be willing to have it all shipped back to me and would be willing to mend it by purchasing new diode and driver and either assembling it myself or having the parts sent to OP's address if he feels he would do a better job at it.

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Please explain how you never said you put 2x 18650 in the groove

We are not bashing anyone and we are only going off what has been said by you and the seller.