A+ customer service Optotronics 40mw 532nm

I was, at first, disappointed with my 40mw green laser from Optotronics. It was only staying bright for a few secons, then dimming so much that you couldn't even see the beam. I contacted Jack and he had me ship it back to him. He also had me include the batteries I was using. After testing it, he said my batteries were low and there was nothing wrong with the laser, but he replaced it anyways.

I didn't think it was possible that my batteries were low since they were brand new out of the package Energizer alkaline batteries, but I bought some new ones for the new laser anyways. I decided to check them with my multi meter, and I guess the store that I was buying them from is selling old batteries. Out of the box, they tested at 1.6 volts, but they would drop to 1.43 volts after only 10-20 seconds of using the laser. So I decided to go to a different store and pick up some good lithium batteries and now everything is working better than I could've hoped.

Even though there was probably nothing wrong with the original laser, Jack replaced it anyways since I wasn't happy with it. Now I kind of feel bad that I returned it before testing out my batteries. Thank you for your excellent service Jack. Sorry for all the trouble. I hope you think about including good batteries with your lasers in the future, so this sort of thing doesn't happen again.

Edit: wasn't sure where to put this, mods feel free to move if this is the wrong place

..I had an issue with a 75mw laser that I also bought from optotronics. I also thought it was under performing and it could of been that the driver board spring wasnt long enough for a good contact but being such a top notch laser I didnt dare try to fix it. Jack sent me a replacement before he even got my return and to boot it he sent me one averages at 86mw. All of this with me getting my replacement in around 6 days. Jack is one great guy I cant say enough. Oh yes what a difference fresh batterys can make, on this same laser it popped a balloon in 2sec compared to 20sec. I bought a 32 pack of duracels on sale a few years back and just about all of them leaked in the box and in some remotes I had thats one of the many reasons why I allways take them out of my lasers. You should introduce yourself here and tell us a little about you.....Edit shipping batterys isnt reccomended and isnt always legal

Those laser pens draw alot of current that alkalines have a tough time providing without alot of voltage sag. Alkaleaks just cannot sustain 1/2 or 3/4 amp draws for long at all. Use lithiums or nimh rechargables.
I have a 4 or 5 year old 100mw pen from optotronics that lasts maybe 10 to 15 minutes runtime on alkaline, or almost an hour on nimh triple a rechargables.

I can say for a fact that the pen type units that laserbtb sells have dramatic increases in output with more voltage such as running a couple of lithiums or a 10440 with spacer. Of course there's not going to be as much battery sag with good cells

my experience with those pens has been all bad unfortunately. all of them mode hopped like crazy i had a 100mw 150mw and 120mw and none of them lasted more then a month before they quit working. never used them that hard or ran them longer then 40 seconds so it made no sense. i really wanted to believe from all the good reviews but i kept having issues. Id love to buy one of the portable lasers but they really have to get with the times.
375mw 532nm for over a grand and for a 30mw 473nm. you have to be kidding me.

Pman said:

I can say for a fact that the pen type units that laserbtb sells have dramatic increases in output with more voltage such as running a couple of lithiums or a 10440 with spacer. Of course there's not going to be as much battery sag with good cells

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Pman it is like a night and day in difference at least with my cheapie pens. Like I have mentioned I have 2 pens as of now that have had Everready lithiums in for over a year and no problems yet. Jack from optotronics had told a client not to use these high voltage AAA as it would void the warrentee in a post mabey 3 years ago. Dont know if it still stands. I stick to regular alkalines on my opto laser at least unless I hear different but it is tempting

GSS said:

Pman it is like a night and day in difference at least with my cheapie pens. Like I have mentioned I have 2 pens as of now that have had Everready lithiums in for over a year and no problems yet. Jack from optotronics had told a client not to use these high voltage AAA as it would void the warrentee in a post mabey 3 years ago. Dont know if it still stands. I stick to regular alkalines on my opto laser at least unless I hear different but it is tempting

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on my 150mw pen i had the black foam disk around the spring not seated well so i poped it out and put it back in so it would sink farther down so the spring could poke through. there much have been an ESD because that broke it. stupid me told Jack that and he said i voided the warranty. The thing was about to fall out anyway. Man was i pissed. $170 down the drain. and now i hear using certain batteries will void the warranty. that is a joke. this was 4 years ago tho so the lasers could be better now i guess. the warranty is very easy to void so be careful.

Alex2893 said:

on my 150mw pen i had the black foam disk around the spring not seated well so i poped it out and put it back in so it would sink farther down so the spring could poke through. there much have been an ESD because that broke it. stupid me told Jack that and he said i voided the warranty. The thing was about to fall out anyway. Man was i pissed. $170 down the drain. and now i hear using certain batteries will void the warranty. that is a joke. this was 4 years ago tho so the lasers could be better now i guess. the warranty is very easy to void so be careful.

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That seems to be the way Jack at opto sets them up as my 2 were the same. I never contacted him myself as far the battery issue mabey I will or just leave well enough alone. It doesnt look like the OP JuckMan has been back so lets hope he didnt void his warranty.

It does say to use alkaline batteries on the instruction sheet, but the only thing that specifically says will void the warranty is opening it. If it works with lithium and not with alkaline batteries, then warranty be dammed. I'm happy with the way it's running on lithium, and the laser is still going strong. Hopefully everything holds up.

YuckMan said:

It does say to use alkaline batteries on the instruction sheet, but the only thing that specifically says will void the warranty is opening it. If it works with lithium and not with alkaline batteries, then warranty be dammed. I'm happy with the way it's running on lithium, and the laser is still going strong. Hopefully everything holds up.

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There you are YuckMan, so did you notice any difference with the lithium?

GSS said:

There you are YuckMan, so did you notice any difference with the lithium?

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Huge difference. The beam is so much more consistent, and I don't need to swap out the batteries every 10 mins. I'm not sure it's a fair test though, since the alkaline batteries I was using may have been old.

YuckMan said:

Huge difference. The beam is so much more consistent, and I don't need to swap out the batteries every 10 mins. I'm not sure it's a fair test though, since the alkaline batteries I was using may have been old.

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Thats cool I havent used mine that much but probably it could be due for a change of batterys. Im trying to be easy on it (I know it doesnt make sense) thats what its there for.

Nimh rechargables.. no swapping out after 10 minutes, more like 45 minutes to an hour. After it dies, recharge them.

herektir said:

Nimh rechargables.. no swapping out after 10 minutes, more like 45 minutes to an hour. After it dies, recharge them.

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Yes true but pens types dont live to their power potential with them

Hence why my pens have lived for over 4 years, drive the laser harder the less time it lasts. It's why Jack doesnt cover overvoltage when pushed with lithium primaries which i think can reach 1.7 volts when brand new. It is being overdriven at 3.4 volts.

I agree, I dont and never have put the high voltage lithiums in my opto pens they are too nice to chance them and they work fine with alkaline but when you order say a 50mw from him and need that output for a specific reason the nimh at 1.2v I dont believe will give you that 50mw output. If your using your pens for board room presentations or choose to under drive them yes they are cheaper and understandably more feasable to use. I only chance them with my cheapie ebays.