LZCS host from Lazerer

Hi all.
A few weeks ago I purchased a LZCS laser host from Lazerer and it arrived today. While it is fairly nice looking and has some nice features I do have some concerns with it.

Does anyone have any experience in building a laser out of this host ?


First off the host is designed for a 18650 for power and while the diameter is fine the 18650 slides back and forth in the host.

Second the heat sink and LD housing does not press fit and falls out when you put the host together. The LD housing I received is very different than the one pictured. There are no set screws so I don't know how the designer intends for the housing and heat sink to stay in place.

Third, the Lens and lens holder in my unit are completely different than what is show on the Lazerer site photos. In the site photos the lens and holder come out of the head and come apart..... In mine they do not come out and when I screw them in they hit the LD housing.

Forth, there is no switch in the unit. The site states that all is needed is a LD and a driver, but no mention of a switch. The photos on the site look to have a button switch.

The positives are that the host appears to be well made and the unit has multiple sections with very nice threads.
The end cap also has a keyed safety switch.


I sent Max at Lazerer an email with my concerns, hopefully they will have some solutions.

Its sad to say that the laser I am building out of an old flashlight is going much better.


Let me know what you think and I'll post back with the responses from Lazerer.


Nick

You should post some pictures if you can.

I'm thinking that the battery may feel loose because there's no spring from the driver pushing on the battery. Often this is attached to the driver of a 532nm laser or something similar.

For the lens and lens holder, you should post some pictures. Maybe they're just stuck together?

For the button, I think the case expects that the driver will have a switch attached to it or some other mechanism. Many of those laser hosts were intended for green lasers, which often have integrated switches. You can buy switches at sites like Sparkfun or DealExtreme. It should have the button itself though.

Bionic-Badger said:

You should post some pictures if you can.

I'm thinking that the battery may feel loose because there's no spring from the driver pushing on the battery. Often this is attached to the driver of a 532nm laser or something similar.

For the lens and lens holder, you should post some pictures. Maybe they're just stuck together?

For the button, I think the case expects that the driver will have a switch attached to it or some other mechanism. Many of those laser hosts were intended for green lasers, which often have integrated switches. You can buy switches at sites like Sparkfun or DealExtreme. It should have the button itself though.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I still have not heard back from Lazerer yet and sent them another email today. I believe they were on a holiday.

I looked at the links you sent and saw some switches that could work.

I do have some drivers with springs, but other drivers I made myself so I will have to figure out how to mount them inside and secure the battery.

This laser host is not as "plug n play" as Lazerer makes it out to be so caution to others that are looking at it.