Beam Divergence

[audio]

I've had my Opto 150 for about 9 months now. Works great, no major problems. But, I've noticed that the beam divergence has been getting progressively worse. I have a hunch that it could just be dirt on the lens. Is there a safe way to clean it and try to improve my divergence?

Thanks!

 

[Ash]

Dirt on the lens would just look like haze around the "dot". I'm not sure if a dirty lens can affect divergence. :thinking:
You can try to clean it with canned-air (an air-duster). You don't want to attempt to "clean" the lens with a cloth or rag, you may end up getting permanent scratches.

 

[Asherz]

Do you have a guarantee on the laser? Regardless if you do or not contact Optotronics (Jack) and see what he says, it could be a fault with the laser that they can fix.

As a wild guess I would say maybe the focus lens housing on the module is a little loose and is unspinning it's self or something.

 

[Cyparagon]

What IS the divergence you measured?

 

[Deleted member 10578]

I've had my Opto 150 for about 9 months now. Works great, no major problems. But, I've noticed that the beam divergence has been getting progressively worse. I have a hunch that it could just be dirt on the lens. Is there a safe way to clean it and try to improve my divergence?

Thanks!

Hi audio,
It sounds from your description that the lens has gotten dirty/dusty over time.
A dirty lens can give the impression of increased divergence as the light scatter from the dirty lens makes for a larger spot size.
I posted here about a month ago as to the best way to clean these, here's the link.
http://laserpointerforums.com/f45/dirty-green-dot-48691.html#post664819

 

[audio]

Wow guys thanks. Perhaps I was wrong to label my problem as beam divergence... :thinking:

Bootleg, thanks much for the link regarding the lens cleaning, that symptom is exactly what I've been experiencing. I'll delicately attempt a cleaning operation in the coming days and post the results.