Warning : DO NOT buy from Lazerer

Livinloud said:

what batteries are they? do you have any other batteries to try in it?

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This one
It says: TR 18650 3200mAh 3.7V
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It was the battery and the charger that MAx gave me, never used any other battery.

Also, so you can see it is indeed the stick:
http://tinypic.com/r/o0ih0/6

All I gotta say is, Max was an awesome seller, the laser was awesome and worked perfectly, but it is such a dissapointment it had such a short life.

well unless you test it with another battery you wont know if the laser is dead or if its the battery......for all we know the battery may have crapped the bed on you and the laser is still fine. thats the problem with these Chinese batteries, they work great and then all of a sudden die. they are not like the Duracell, Panasonic or other ones we are used to buying in stores

Hmm, I will buy a Panasonic and let you guys know.

Know where I can get one?

HERE

use drop down to select the mAh you want and you dont need to get a protected cell but you can if you want. ive never tried a protected in my lazerer so i dont know if it works. i have the ones that come up in the link at first

Livinloud said:

HERE

use drop down to select the mAh you want and you dont need to get a protected cell but you can if you want. ive never tried a protected in my lazerer so i dont know if it works. i have the ones that come up in the link at first

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Thanks!

What's the difference between the ones that say "A" and "B"?
I see no 3200mAh, should I go with a 3100 one? which one do you recommend? Sorry, complete noob with this stuff

Also, is it wise to charge them with the chinese charger that Max gave me?

well first off your batteries are not 3200mAh as advertised, they are Chinese batteries and more likely putting out around 1500-2000mAh so no matter what any of the Panasonic will perform better. secondly, mAh is just how long the battery will last between charges for lack of better words. they are all 3.7v batteries so the output is the same, the only difference is how often you want to charge them.
now for the A and B, i believe that is just the Panasonic part number, the only options on these batteries are protected vs not protected and flat top vs button top. id go with button tops for sure (all of them should be button minus the one that says flat top)

EDIT: as for being a "noob" well we all start with no knowledge and gain it through reading the forums. i personally dont mind helping people if i know an answer and if i give the wrong answer on accident i dont mind if someone corrects me since i enjoy learning as well. people on the forums dont like it when a "noob" comes to the community and first post is i need help with _____ and it is a common problem that has been discussed a million times. rule of thumb is search first ask second. you however are okay since this is a specific problem and isnt common at all.

also unless you plan on buying more lasers that run off 18650's i wouldn't buy the most expensive battery and for one reason. IF it is indeed your laser and not the battery, id hate to have you buy $20 batteries and not be able to use them since the laser is dead. the 2900 or 2250 mAh should be fine but in the end it is up to you what you buy.

The charger seems to be a common one, people here use it all the time. i dont have that charger so cant speak from experience. does it have an indicator to tell when the battery is fully charged? if not id invest in one, i can recommend one if you want. having a charge indicator with unprotected batteries is almost needed so you dont over charge the battery and kill it. protected batteries have circuits that help protect from over charging but they are usually longer due to this circuit. i dont have one so cant confirm it fits in the STICK.

Hey HenryC,
I'd like to add on that besides a battery issue, do also consider a possible contact issue. You mentioned that it's looking like ~5mW on one day and none the next. From my experience with flashlights from DX (also China), they tend to have a problem with contact after a few months or so. Usually the fault lies in the tail cap clicky, which I see yours seems to have. Since the pointer didn't suddenly die, it doesn't sound that likely that the diode blew. So get a DMM and try to perform a continuity test on the rear tailcap clicky to see if it's working. Yu might wanna check the other parts of the host too.

Don't give up yet! Worst come to worst, take the module out of the host (together with the driver of course) and see if you can power it up by connecting it with your batteries. It's a last resort, but if it works, then at least you have a usable module, which is the most valuable part of the laser, and you know the problem lies with the host.

Edit (add on): Oh yea, try lightly knocking/tapping the whole thing to see if some power comes back. When I do that with my flashlights, I always notice they flicker indicating bad contact.

Thanks Tw15t3r, will do that.

Anyways, I ordered a couple of Panasonics, they were 8 bucks so it is worth trying.

I noticed another thing, today the laser wouldn't even turn on, but after i charged the chinese battery for about 15 mins, the laser turned back on, but very dim, <5mW I'd say. Maybe that's a good sign eh?

Will let you guys know.

Livinloud said:

Does it have an indicator to tell when the battery is fully charged?

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Thanks man, I figured out I would just share my experience with the product I acquired. I pretty much gave up on the Stick but you guys are really helpful and I guess there's still a chance the laser's ok and it is indeed the battery.

The charger does have an indicator, red when charging and green when charged.

Bought these: $8.83 Panasonic CGR18650CG 3.6V 2250mAh 18650 Rechargeable Batteries 2-pack - authentic cells / 2-pack at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

Arriving in about a week, will charge, test and post the result. Hope the laser's ok .

EDIT: So yeah, day before yesterday I fully charged the battery but didn't use it, and today the battery was completely depleted, charged it for about 4 hours until the indicator went green, tested it and the laser turned on again, very, very dim, but worked out. It seems that the battery is indeed the problem here.

That's good news for your laser!
Considering that such a battery can last a year or two (or three as I've experienced) without depleting, if the battery that you had can deplete itself in one day, that's TERRIBLE! I wouldn't risk charging it again. It sounds like its chemistry is "gone". Li-ions are pretty delicate (never let it go above 4.2V and below 2.7V), otherwise there's risk of fire and other bad things.

Btw I want to say that you still might want to try checking the contacts, since there's potential to get it to be brighter if there's even a slight issue with the contacts. It'd be wise to try to get as much out of the laser as possible no?

Henry, good to hear that i could be of some help!!! makes me feel good that i could help out a fellow laser enthusiast. you also hit it right on the head, the battery has crapped the bed if it completely depleted overnight. i have a set of cheap 16340's but i haven't charged them in a month or so and they are still fully charged. i wish Panasonic made some 16340's. seems like that charger is fine if it has an indicator but please please please never charge your batteries if you are going out for a bit. even though it goes green, it doesnt stop the power flow through the batteries and it will kill them.

testing the tail cap isnt a bad idea if you can do it but from experience and reading this forum, only one other person has had a problem with their lazerer tail cap and it was as soon as they got the laser. if it is the tail cap that is bad you can get another clicky switch for like $5. however based on what you just said, charged the batteries and got a dim dot, i would say it is almost 99% the batteries were bad.

keep us updated as to your findings and good luck

Max,

What is your preferred method of contact? I had ordered a laser from you, but have not heard back. I sent an email to sales@lazerer.com, and I apologize for sounding short. If you could PM me, I would very much appreciate it. I had placed an order and not heard anything back, expect the sales confirmation of the money being withdrawn.

My big issue is my loving wife constantly asking when my expensive toy will arrive, and how much of a waste it was, and how could I not even know when it will arrive etc. etc. (nevermind the endless sea of unless pieces of stuff around the house)

Thank you, sir.

MK19 said:

Max,

What is your preferred method of contact? I had ordered a laser from you, but have not heard back. I sent an email to sales@lazerer.com, and I apologize for sounding short. If you could PM me, I would very much appreciate it. I had placed an order and not heard anything back, expect the sales confirmation of the money being withdrawn.

My big issue is my loving wife constantly asking when my expensive toy will arrive, and how much of a waste it was, and how could I not even know when it will arrive etc. etc. (nevermind the endless sea of unless pieces of stuff around the house)

Thank you, sir.

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Not sure how often max checks this site but email him at: lazerer@gmail.com

don't worry, your order will come and BTW you ordered it during a Chinese holiday so china is SHUT DOWN for business until early may, may 1 or 3 iirc. all orders will be processed and shipped after the holiday, they dont work like the US

Just fyi, you can get good batteries here in the us (much quicker shipping) from lighthound.com.

I purchased my protected Panasonic 3400mah from orbitronic. They were $18each but they, along with the charger are protected. Not that I would just leave them sitting. I also use them in my flashlights as well and plan on building more than the one laser. So for me they were worth the money.

Had no idea about the Chinese holiday. Had to look them all up on their official site. Interesting how rather than holidays, China has several day long celebrations. Must be nice, as I have to go in to work the day after Thanksgiving (I work in finance).

I will be patient. Waiting for toys is a difficult task. Last time I had to wait was for my telescope.

Thank you again for the information.