PGL-III-C 473 50mW died...

[aryntha]

Ok, Ava says that she still thinks the laser will "probably get to CNI in 3 or 4 days" and that it might have something to do with them "thinking that it has a LiIon battery in it" (it doesn't.)

She says they may have to do a safety inspection, and if it doesn't have a LiIon battery in it (I didn't ship the 18650, that's for sure!!) -- it should pass and be at CNI in 3 or 4 days. If it doesn't pass, Ava says, "In a word, the laser can't past the safety inspection.
Now Fedex use the post to send the laser to us."

I'm hoping this is all that it meant.... If it makes it through to CNI, I'm glad I'm documenting this for other folks in the future. And, Glenn is still corresponding with me and Ava, so, +rep to Glenn again whenever the system allows me to.

If you've got a lot of CNI lasers, stay tuned...

 

[bug373]

did you include 3 copies of a proforma invoice ? When I sent back mine Fedex asked me to include this document ...

This is ridiculous; I had a FedEx office who was supposedly well versed in this do all of the paperwork... Didn't mind paying the $106 or so because I figured it'd get there. I don't know if FedEx can or will refund me or what.

As far as them sending it back to me, who knows, I'm sure they won't do -that- in a fast manner.

Does anyone know if FedEx will even say what Beijing said was 'missing' or 'unacceptable'?

This is nuts... CNI should do something here, but with Ava's attitude lately, I doubt they will. (And, they're in China. Really, they don't have to.)

 

[aryntha]

did you include 3 copies of a proforma invoice ? When I sent back mine Fedex asked me to include this document ...

Yup, sure did. Made photocopies, included them in the packet.

 

[davidgdg]

It seems to be hit or miss with these, some work great and are very much overspec, others just dont work right or at all. I would have expected more trouble with the yellows, blue has been around for a while, you'd think they would have figured it out by now.....
IDK, Im just happy mine is working so good....

Mine was both hit and miss. When it first arrived it was dead. No LED light or anything. Went back to CNI via Glenn. When it came back it worked fine for a few minutes and was highly over spec But then the key switch assembly stopped working (basically just fell apart). I returned it directly to CNI and they returned it to me last week. Key switch working fine (I guess they just swapped it around) and the LED comes on, but no beam. So back it will go today. This time I have asked them either to refund me or supply a replacement unit. Ava has been pretty good about it so far. Hopefully the third time will be the final time.

David

 

[Razako]

oh wow....
This is why you gotta buy CNI lasers from a reseller like Dragon/Laserglow. That way the reseller will take care of most of the blatant QC issues and you don't need to worry about it. It does cost a bit more, but if you need to send a laser to and from china several times it adds up quick.

 

[aryntha]

oh wow....
This is why you gotta buy CNI lasers from a reseller like Dragon/Laserglow. That way the reseller will take care of most of the blatant QC issues and you don't need to worry about it. It does cost a bit more, but if you need to send a laser to and from china several times it adds up quick.

True, and my PGL-III-A-473 came from Laserglow, but nobody seems to sell the PGL-III-C-473 as a reseller... so I had to go right to the source for that one.

 

[RA_pierce]

Hey Aryntha, I just wanted to offer some encouragement and maybe make you feel a little better about your return...
My replacement 80mW 473 came in about 10 minutes ago.
First power test: 148mW peak.
Second power test: 150mW peak after 13 second warm up! Stable at 130-140mW over 1 minute. I haven't pushed this laser yet, but it's definitely a keeper!

CNI came through with mine, and I think it was really worth the extra 1 month wait. I hope you get the same fortune.
I asked CNI to thoroughly test it before sending it out. They took an extra couple days but I really got a good unit! I would suggest you do the same.

Good luck!

 

[kingdave2357]

Hey Aryntha, I just wanted to offer some encouragement and maybe make you feel a little better about your return...
My replacement 80mW 473 came in about 10 minutes ago.
First power test: 148mW peak.
Second power test: 150mW peak after 13 second warm up! Stable at 130-140mW over 1 minute. I haven't pushed this laser yet, but it's definitely a keeper!

CNI came through with mine, and I think it was really worth the extra 1 month wait. I hope you get the same fortune.
I asked CNI to thoroughly test it before sending it out. They took an extra couple days but I really got a good unit! I would suggest you do the same.

Good luck!

Wow, EPIC win!!! With units like that coming out, I may have to upgrade my 473nm as well!!!

Hope yours turns out like that too, aryntha.....

 

[aryntha]

Stable at 130-140mW over 1 minute. I haven't pushed this laser yet, but it's definitely a keeper!

They took an extra couple days but I really got a good unit! I would suggest you do the same.

Good luck!

RA, thanks - this is REALLY encouraging..I'll definitely tell CNI to test it for a while... 150mW of 473!!! That's getting into 532 power territory.

Wow. Yeah, I've got no problem waiting for some good QA.

Dave, RA, thanks a lot guys for the good word.

Right now the laser is back "in transit", two updates of "in transit" since the "Invalid paperwork" error, so it does seem like it's still moving.

Thanks for the updates and let me know how that 473 performs going forward!

 

[aryntha]

Ok. I think this is GOOD information for people dealing with this in the future, as when googling "Unacceptable pkg or incomplete paperwork", I got like -one- hit..

Three days later now, I've got this status:

"Jul 8, 2010 8:21 AM / At local FedEx facility / CHANGCHUN CN"
"Jul 8, 2010 8:22 AM / On FedEx vehicle for delivery / CHANGCHUN CN"

... So, looks like the laser may make it to CNI today after all. That's ONE hurdle down, now:

-Getting it repaired/replaced, and
-Getting that one delivered, and
-That one working when it gets here.

Step 1 of 4 complete, IMO.

 

[aryntha]

Ok, CNI has the laser now; Ava says she'll get back to me "after testing report later". You guys who have sent yours in before; when's a good time to ping her again? Or did Ava get back to you on her own?

I don't want to annoy her into saying I dropped it out of a 4 story window, but also I know that sometimes CNI takes a bit of badgering.

 

[RA_pierce]

Ok, CNI has the laser now; Ava says she'll get back to me "after testing report later". You guys who have sent yours in before; when's a good time to ping her again? Or did Ava get back to you on her own?

I don't want to annoy her into saying I dropped it out of a 4 story window, but also I know that sometimes CNI takes a bit of badgering.

Give it a couple days.
If they don't get back to you soon after the weekend (keeping time zones in mind) it couldn't hurt to send a reminder as I have had to do several times just to make sure they were moving.

 

[Mik]

Sure hope it works out for you! Now I see why Glenn tests all of our lasers before sending them to us.. Not just to "play" with them, but I assume also to save us a hassle of returning when needed.

I gotta go power up my 473 for a few minutes and see if the power level comes up at all. Hopefully it dosn't break! I'd be so pissed after reading this thread.

 

[aryntha]

Well, update is this:

"The result is that the LD of the laser is dead, we will replace a new laser for you with 50mW output power."

Seems they're reluctant to let me pay to upgrade to 80mW at this point... I wonder why... it'd be more money for them?

Oh well - looks like at the VERY LEAST, they're honoring the warranty. So, Step #2 done: two more remaining:

3- Receiving the laser,
4- It working correctly.

Half way there!

EDIT: Looks like Ava is willing to let me upgrade to an 80mW; $240... Not as good as the GB but, better than a dead laser and having to wait for the next GB.

 

[kingdave2357]

Just go for the upgrade while they have the laser, who knows when the next GB will even be, and with the overspec factor, you could be looking at >100mW of 473nm
Whatever your decision, I wish you luck and a speedy laser return!

 

[aryntha]

Done and done. Ava is going to let me know when she receives the payment, and is going ahead with putting in the order for manufacturing a new PGL-III-C-473-80mW.

Lets hope it IS overspec, I know not all of them are