After 6 days, new laser is now a flashlight

[InfinitusEquitas]

Pretty sure literally everyone who's had a laser has this experience at some point. :crackup:

Buy some teflon tape, springs, and make sure you're not putting the lens in backward, as it's been mentioned.

Edit: http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/there-something-wrong-my-beam-spot-59400.html

 

[LEDbeam]

Hi Led,
Ok take unscrew the lens out of the laser then screw the focus ring back onto the lens tight.
Now screw the lens back in the laser it should focus now and the ring will stay on the lens. Just be careful when you take the lens out NOT!! to get any dirt or dust on the diode window or it will burn onto it and it won't focus well after that.
Get some sleep's not that bad of an issue.

Rich

Got it done. Thanks! I ended up with about 3.5 hours of sleep. :tired:

 

[LEDbeam]

LED:crackup: This isn't toward you. I did and thought the exact same thing when I got my first SciFi!! 1W 445 when I first joined. I tortured Pman with PM's telling him I lost a lens that I thought was also in the focus ring. The best way to tighten that ring to the lens barrel is to take out the lens barrel and finger tighten them pretty well together and it should hold fine. A few things to be careful of is to put the focus ring back on the right side of the barrel and not to lose the fine spring that comes out when you take the barrel out. Maby stay away from using teflon tape and a paper clip spring as it will hold finger tight. and no lock tight at all. That silver surface is the front of the heatsink that goes into the front of the host and if its wiggling it will most likely cause flickering. The only thing that holding it in is the front portion of the host that you should make sure is tight. Just study it closely and you should be able to figure it out without having to return it to the Joker. It just might need something simple as a thin piece of metal to snug it down if even that
Yes get some sleep like Lifetime said its not that bad. Pman said the exact thing to me

I guess great minds think alike! :crackup: But I did end up getting everything all back together again and working right. When I was about to give up, I figured I had nothing more to lose, so I unscrewed the top portion of the host, took out the heatsink that was rattling and put a very thin rubber shim on the side of it and that is keeping it tighter so it no longer rattles inside the host.
Now that I've seen the inside of the laser and seen how parts simply screw together, I'm starting to think maybe I could assemble a laser someday. The heatsink assembly was fully enclosed and I'm not about to take that apart. Wouldn't know how anyway. But I imagine that's where all the complicated parts of assembly are.

 

[LEDbeam]

LED,
Yes what GSS said What ever you do DON"T send it back to SCI Fi If you lost a spring or focus ring i'll send you one to get you back on your feet.
Rich

I sure hope that little spring isn't too important because I never saw one. Hopefully, it remained attached to wherever it was and I just didn't notice it.

 

[OVNI]

I sure hope that little spring isn't too important because I never saw one. Hopefully, it remained attached to wherever it was and I just didn't notice it.

Survival Laser sells springs as well as other places. You can use springs that go inside the laser diode's holder/cavity like this

or ones that fit around the threaded lens holder like this (they also sell a 5-pack).

I also use teflon tape (find at any hardware/plumber store) which also works well.

 

[LEDbeam]

Survival Laser sells springs as well as other places. You can use springs that go inside the laser diode's holder/cavity like this

or ones that fit around the threaded lens holder like this (they also sell a 5-pack).

I also use teflon tape (find at any hardware/plumber store) which also works well.

Is the purpose of that spring simply to keep the heatsink from wobbling around? From what I'm understanding so far, that's the case. But I ended up putting a thin rubber shim between the side of the heatsink and the inside of the host this morning. That seems to be holding it tight now and everything is working right.

 

[GSS]

No there is a spring inside that heat sink that puts a little pressure on on the back of the lens barrel. It is very thin and not much spring tension and there might be a good chance if you took the lens barrel out that you didn't see it come out and another that you can put on the outside of the barrel that rests on the focus ring. Wait till lifetime chimes in and like he said he might just ship you the proper ones with the right tension.

Yup LED nice job and it sure is satisfying problem solving isn't it! Look at the pics members are sending as they are worth a 1000 words.

 

[LEDbeam]

No there is a spring inside that heat sink that puts a little pressure on on the back of the lens barrel. It is very thin and not much spring tension and there might be a good chance if you took the lens barrel out that you didn't see it come out and another that you can put on the outside of the barrel that rests on the focus ring. Wait till lifetime chimes in and like he said he might just ship you the proper ones with the right tension.

I'm not home right now, but maybe when I get the chance, I'll take the lens barrel out again and see if there's still a spring in there. I know for sure there never was one between the heatsink and focusing ring. When I removed the lens barrel the first time, I made sure to keep the host tilted upright in case anything wanted to come spilling out. I was kind of at the end of my rope, so taking things apart seemed like an acceptable option at the time. At least I learned a few things in the process! I'm not as intimidated by the "complexity" anymore, although I'm sure there's plenty of complexity inside the heatsink.

 

[OVNI]

Is the purpose of that spring simply to keep the heatsink from wobbling around? From what I'm understanding so far, that's the case. But I ended up putting a thin rubber shim between the side of the heatsink and the inside of the host this morning. That seems to be holding it tight now and everything is working right.

Yes. If it's working for you, you're fine. Your rubber shim is doing precisely the same thing, keeping the lens still/stable. Just make sure the rubber shim doesn't dry up or flake off small pieces over time as you adjust it from time to time.

So FYI, here are a couple pics showing teflon tape on a lens barrel with one showing the barrel already screwed onto a copper Focus Adapter (on yours the FA is the small ring)

and to be thorough, this is teflon tape.

EDIT: I looked up where the picture of the copper FA came from and it came from a thread here on this forum. Also has a picture showing an internal spring sitting inside the lens barrel.

EDIT2: Oops. Should say "Also has a picture showing an internal spring sitting inside the Laser Diode barrel." The internal spring actually pushes up on the lens barrel.

 

[LEDbeam]

Yes. If it's working for you, you're fine. Your rubber shim is doing precisely the same thing, keeping the lens still/stable. Just make sure the rubber shim doesn't dry up or flake off small pieces over time as you adjust it from time to time.

So FYI, here are a couple pics showing teflon tape on a lens barrel with one showing the barrel already screwed onto a copper Focus Adapter (on yours the FA is the small ring)

and to be thorough, this is teflon tape.

EDIT: I looked up where the picture of the copper FA came from and it came from a thread here on this forum. Also has a picture showing an internal spring sitting inside the lens barrel.

Huh! I actually have some tape exactly like that. I got it because it was supposed to be wrapped around threads of water pipes before joining them together. Supposed to prevent leaking. When I threaded the pipes together, the tape shredded right off. Is it supposed to do that? Is there some part of the tape left behind on the threads when the rest of it shreds off?

Also just noticed your edit and went to that thread. Hmmmm. Doesn't look familiar. I may have to look around on the floor to see if it's laying there. I know exactly where I was when I took it apart, so it would certainly have to be there. Hopefully I haven't already stepped on it!

 

[OVNI]

Huh! I actually have some tape exactly like that. I got it because it was supposed to be wrapped around threads of water pipes before joining them together. Supposed to prevent leaking. When I threaded the pipes together, the tape shredded right off. Is it supposed to do that? Is there some part of the tape left behind on the threads when the rest of it shreds off?

Also just noticed your edit and went to that thread. Hmmmm. Doesn't look familiar. I may have to look around on the floor to see if it's laying there. I know exactly where I was when I took it apart, so it would certainly have to be there. Hopefully I haven't already stepped on it!

Could have been cheap tape, too much tape, or a number of things but no, it shouldn't shred off. You might be right in that the excess simply shredded off. For use on laser diode barrels, I typically use just one wrap.

And no biggie if you can't find the spring (assuming one was there in the first place) if you already have it secure, tape + spring is like belts + suspenders, i.e. insurance. Either or both will do.

 

[gtokie]

I literally had the same problem as you when I got my first laser today, except mine was never focused. The ring was loose and it just threaded and tightened. I ended up pulling it off and turning it by hand to get it loose, and then i saw it would focus!

 

[Pman]

You also may have put the tape on the wrong direction. Please be careful that 0 thread could get get into the cavity between the lens and diode. I'm not trying to sound like a broken record. I just don't want anything bad to happen to it.

 

[LEDbeam]

I literally had the same problem as you when I got my first laser today, except mine was never focused. The ring was loose and it just threaded and tightened. I ended up pulling it off and turning it by hand to get it loose, and then i saw it would focus!

I think that's kind of what happened on mine on the 6th day. It used to focus, but then suddenly I was turning the ring and not noticing any change in the beam. Then the ring just came off and the beam looked more like a flashlight beam. So I looked at the ring and expected to see a lens in it but it was just hollow. Then I looked into the body of the laser and it seemed empty too! That's when I started looking around on the floor for a lens and then started panicking when I couldn't find it!