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FrozenGate by Avery

445 repair - diode window burnt

S

Sta

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Jan 27, 2014
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Ok, a few months ago I bought a 445 "2W" from a poor quality website. It now appears that some contaminant has been burned onto the diode window by some means. What are my options for removing it? It seems to be completely resistant to cleaning with Q-tips and alcohol solution. Is removing the window a possibility?
 





it is, but obviously a fair amount of care is needed. There are members here that have decanning tools (i don't remember who- blord, maybe?) or you could buy one from thorlabs link
You could also use a dremel or an razor blade, but again, just be very careful.
 
Are you sure it's the diode window and not
just actually the lens? I don't see how
anything could have gotten onto the window
of the diode itself unless you were burning
with no lens. That is a very bad idea!
 
Yeah more info is needed. Can you show pics?
No one ever shows pics lol :p
 
Last edited:
dirty-windows.jpg
 
The Lightning Stalker said:
Are you sure it's the diode window and not
just actually the lens? I don't see how
anything could have gotten onto the window
of the diode itself unless you were burning
with no lens. That is a very bad idea!
Click to expand...


Yes, I was indeed an idiot and was burning with no lens. I have cleaned the lens though just in case.
 
I've recently bought a used 3.5 watt blue laser from a family member of mine. After 1 week of having it , I turned it on and was focusing the beam to a small dot and I watched the dot change on the ground where I was pointing it, and after that point I could no longer get it to focus to a small dot, it only focuses to a circle that looks distorted. Could anyone tell me if this means that I need a brand new diode? And the whole unit needs to be replaced?
 
SteveW said:
I've recently bought a used 3.5 watt blue laser from a family member of mine. After 1 week of having it , I turned it on and was focusing the beam to a small dot and I watched the dot change on the ground where I was pointing it, and after that point I could no longer get it to focus to a small dot, it only focuses to a circle that looks distorted. Could anyone tell me if this means that I need a brand new diode? And the whole unit needs to be replaced?
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum Steve! If you can, post an image of the distorted circle (maybe post a picture of the raw output too, without the lens.) That way, I or another forum member can help you. I think it might be something with your lens.
 
Thank you for the reply but I am having a difficult time figuring out how to share a image here within a reply post.. when I click on the picture of the little mountain with the sun (should be the add imaget option) I am getting a window that pops up that wants to know the http:// location of my image.. it's a bit strange to me and I don't really know what to do.. I'm sorry.. I will try and figure out how can I share a image here...

Also... so at this time , I have shipped my laser back to the creator of the laser.. His name is doug johnson and I'm pretty sure he is well known here on the forums.

He has told me (without testing it) that he is just going to replace the whole unit. I have paid him $105 which is what he was requiring of me to move forward. But I know that the laser was working when I sent it to him, the diode was not burnt out .. it definitely looks like there is a little burnt spot on the diode lens / window ..
 
SteveW said:
Thank you for the reply but I am having a difficult time figuring out how to share a image here within a reply post.. when I click on the picture of the little mountain with the sun (should be the add imaget option) I am getting a window that pops up that wants to know the http:// location of my image.. it's a bit strange to me and I don't really know what to do.. I'm sorry.. I will try and figure out how can I share a image here...

Also... so at this time , I have shipped my laser back to the creator of the laser.. His name is doug johnson and I'm pretty sure he is well known here on the forums.

He has told me (without testing it) that he is just going to replace the whole unit. I have paid him $105 which is what he was requiring of me to move forward. But I know that the laser was working when I sent it to him, the diode was not burnt out .. it definitely looks like there is a little burnt spot on the diode lens / window ..
Click to expand...
Yes, it probably is a problem with the diode window. That would indeed require a new diode.
 
Ok Thank you very much for clarifying that for me.. it's very much appreciated.
 
Most definitely thank you for your insight Sta, I'm just a little bit skeptical or at least I was before. . Your reply is much appreciated. . And I'm Definitely looking forward to getting my laser back with a brand new diode in it.. I'm sure it will be worth the money spent..
 
It looks like he is a member here under the
name dougj164. It may be repairable by
decanning/dewindowing, but then the inside
would be open to the atmosphere. This is
of course in the absence of internal damage.

It also looks like whoever tightened the
retaining ring last stripped out the slots.
 
Thank you for your reply The Lightning Stalker.
I appreciate the wisdom shared. At this point I have already sent the laser back to him and he is in the process of replacing the whole diode unit. I guess that should take care of it but in the future if anything like this happens again at least now I will have a little more knowledge of the issue and I will be sure to post here at laserpointerforums to get some feedback first on what the problem is and see what other available options I may be able to take. At this point it seems that replacing the diode is the least expensive fix for this issue and it solves it and I've got a whole new diode with a longer lifespan to look forward to, considering I bought this laser used , it's a few years old.
 
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