445 1.2W in C6: Blurry/Damaged lense?

[HarrisonTZ]

Hey guys. I just bought a laser from Machinist Joe (BTW dude, it's awesome! :yh, But I have been taking the focusing lense off overnight (don't ask why, not important) So I forget that the cap isn't on and I place the laser on a piece of paper, and turn it on. It starts burning, and I take it off to look. I turn the laser on (which is now acting like a sort of flash light, since there is no focusing cap on) and I see a bunch of spirals and blurs on the end of the beam. I have attached a photo of the "flashlight" effect after I saw this. Now, when I attach the focusing lense, and focus the laser to a point, I get a blue ring around the point, about 2 feet in diameter. Did I get smoke particles in the lense? Please help!:cryyy:

 

[grainde]

Sorry cant see the pic?

Did you have a look in the module cavity to see if there is anything in there? Take the batteries out first though as a precaution and try to blow any dust or residue out. Be careful not to get anything onto the diode glass window.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Sounds like you got the diode window dirty.

Try compressed air... if that fails, VERY gently microfiber dipped in isopropyl alcohol 90%+ and then again dry.

A lens cleaning kit would be even better, but I doubt you have one on hand.

 

[Eudaimonium]

Yeah there's no picture.

If the diode's window indeed got dirty, you're going to have a difficult time cleaning it.
It'll take a lot of time, and patience, and you risk the diode which is pretty much the most valuable part of the laser.

 

[HarrisonTZ]

Sorry guys, I'll reupload the picture. Thanks.

 

[DTR]

looks like you got dust/debris on the diode window. Don't turn it on again untill you try to clean. You don't want to bake whatever it is on the diodes window. I use a Q-tip and some isopropyl. Be careful as if you apply too much pressure trying to clean it you could break out the window.:beer:

 

[Machinist Joe]

Sorry to see this happen man. Glad you like the laser though. Let me know if you need some repairs.

 

[HarrisonTZ]

On the attached picture, do I just clean the tiny glass part that the arrow is pointing at?

 

[HarrisonTZ]

Sorry to see this happen man. Glad you like the laser though. Let me know if you need some repairs.

Thanks. I think I'm fine, but I will definitely contact you if I do.

 

[532 with Envy]

As DTR said don't use the diode again until you clean the lens. I got a tiny little spot of dust on a 445nm diode and it burned a hole in the diode window. The diode still worked but had a terrible spot in the beam.

 

[HarrisonTZ]

As DTR said don't use the diode again until you clean the lens. I got a tiny little spot of dust on a 445nm diode and it burned a hole in the diode window. The diode still worked but had a terrible spot in the beam.

Darn. I've used it for at least 2-5 minutes since the spots appeared. Will it survive?

 

[532 with Envy]

You may be getting lucky, or it could be some other problem that hasn't been identified.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

While you're cleaning the diode window, clean the lens on both sides too. Hopefully nothing got burned onto the ld window yet.

 

[HarrisonTZ]

While you're cleaning the diode window, clean the lens on both sides too. Hopefully nothing got burned onto the ld window yet.

I am still confused about which component I should clean. Also, how do i clean both sides?

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Clean that:

What the arrow is pointing to is commonly referred to as the laser diode window.

You might as well clean the lens on both sides too... possible you got it dirty, can't hurt to clean a bit.

 

[HarrisonTZ]

Clean that:

What the arrow is pointing to is commonly referred to as the laser diode window.

You might as well clean the lens on both sides too... possible you got it dirty, can't hurt to clean a bit.

Okay, thanks. How do I clean both sides?

EDIT: Sorry, I was being an idiot when I asked that question. Disregard it. Thanks!