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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

laserglow aries 150mw

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Hi all I'm totally new to the forum so bear with me. I have a laser from laserglow which has a a peak rate of 164mw, I've had the laser for a few years now so it may of had a few knocks along the way. It seems the safety switch on the side of the laser is faulty, once I've placed the key in and turned the laser on I have to fiddle with the key to get the laser to work and I think it is stopping the laser from getting its full power. I was wondering if any one could advise me on how to maybe strip the laser down and dissable the safety switch some how? I also seem to be getting a lot o messy light around the beam when I shine it a wall etc but that is something I've always noticed. I can post a few pics of the laser if needed
 





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sounds like the lensing is dirty. its quite fragile because it is high grade optical glass, it probably needs cleaning. As for the tail cap safety its easy to fix. or you can always just bypass it with tinfoil. alot of the members here do that. but I cant promise it'll help your battery life as it may add resistance to the circuit. (that and its therefore no longer FDA approved :p) laserglow offers repairs of their lasers, or if you like I'll offer to repair it best I can for you. I also own this laser and it works fabulously as long as its cared for.

What's the serial number? it should be on a sticker inside of the battery barrel/compartment.

You may wish to post in the welcome thread and introduce yourself and fill out your profile, that way we know where you're from and we can help you further.
cheers and welcome to the LPF :beer:
 
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Thank you very much for the reply, I'll head over to the welcome thread straight away :)

I think the tail is ok, I've got an older version of the laserglow aries which has a key on the side of the laser which is by the power switch and it's deffo the key switch that is faulty, I think the shipping costs would be to much for me to send to you over the other side of the pond ;) I'm from rainy england lol.. I'll do a clip on youtube so you can get a better understanding of my novice knowledge on my laser. I'll try and do that tomorrow.

Thx again for your help
 
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shipping isn't too bad to ensure it will be fixed properly, but honestly these are not easily repaired by a novice and this is especially true on the older models. I know a good amount about DPSS 532 and 671, but I'd definitely get at least a quote from laserglow about it being fixed as I've not personally delved into older models. (and it sounds like you have a pretty aged one)

Posting a vid or some pics would be helpful as well.
The serial number also would give us an idea of what we're dealing with.
 
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oh yes... those PGLs... yes you'd have fun tearing one of those apart...especially if you don't know how. those models I don't believe come out in one piece. (anyone feel free to prove me wrong) it requires a bit of digging, so I'd definitely consult a pro on this one if you have the money

Edit: to be specific as to your problem however, the key switch presses down on a momentary 'on' switch on the driver when you turn it. Its quite possible its just worn out from being old or been knocked off the switch, hence the jiggling making it work/not work.
 
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Maybe it might be cheaper for me to buy a new 200mw laser and just leave this one alone? I Fancy a new toy anyhow ;)

To be honest it looks pretty welded together tight and unable to dismantel any further
 
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Maybe it might be cheaper for me to buy a new 200mw laser and just leave this one alone? I Fancy a new toy anyhow ;)

To be honest it looks pretty welded together tight and unable to dismantel any further

That's always an option too. I can tell you how to take it apart, but it honestly isn't a task for beginners.
 
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I could probably repair this laser for you. The problem is you live in the UK. So shipping would be a bit pricey. (maybe 30-40$ total both ways).

"a lot o messy light"
This is most likely dirt on your lens. I have lab quality cleaner that will take care of that for you.

As far as the flickering goes, that could either be caused by instability of the crystals or the key interlock as you mentioned. It's most likely that interlock.

Please don't take your laser apart (as ultimatekaiser said). DPSS lasers are all epoxied together for a reason. They are very sensitive units and require precision to put back together. If you decide to not take ultimatekaiser's warning and mine and decide to try and repair your laser yourself and you can't get it back together. I might still be able to repair it. I may even be interested in purchasing it.

Let me know if are interested in having someone else taking a look at it.
 
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Agreed if we can't fix it I can use the guts for a my next DPSS project. Thinking I might do a walkthrough on it, as I see so many questions about it.
 
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I'm confused about what to do now :-/ I think it sounds best for me not to take it apart even though it could be a learnning curve for myself but then again I don't want to completely screw it up.

I may consider selling it but I'd like to get another with the same MW or possibly more but not as expensive as this beast, I've seen a few kit builds on the forum which look very interesting so if you could recommend anything for me that would be great.

I'm going to make a quick vid of the fault with the laser right now

http://youtu.be/ccaMeO8VPyw
 
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Yeah looks like the switch is just old and loose. It sits on a little switch and probably just isn't well seated anymore.
 
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If you don't actually take the module that holds the diode and crystals apart. Then you can just bypass that switch directly or swap it out for something you like. Perhaps a toggle, a rocker, a momentary ect. To bypass it you just bridge the connections of the switch to close the circuit. You could then throw the key away and never have to worry about that part of the laser again.

Im not sure what I was thinking before. I thought perhaps you wanted to disassemble the bare module. Once you get the module out, the rest should be simple. I could be wrong but I think those modules are threaded in? Edit: Yep, looks like jts just held in by that outer retaining ring. Once you get that off the module and all the guts should slide out. The module will be attached to the switch I would assume, at least it will be attached to the driver which you may have to remove too. Im not sure if thag laser uses a round driver or not.
 
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It does. It's a light friction fit round driver setup pressed in with the module after it, with a threaded epoxied ring to retain it. Then the heat sink and forward lens assembly with the shutter on top
 




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