CNI GLP-589 issues

[jayrob]

In case you didn't already check, make sure you check the very basic stuff before you try to dig deeper...

Could just be the spring for the battery negative contact since that is where the pressure/wear is most likely.

Have you tested it while it is apart using maybe a CR123? Just with a wire from the battery positive to the brass case, and the battery negative to the spring contact?

 

[LtKernelPanic]

I've hooked it to my bench supply and it draws a steady .83-.84A just as it did when I tested it about a year ago to see what kind of current it draws so the connections to the driver are fine. The one thing I did think of today is to try a continuity test across the diode leads and see if I get anything or if it's an open circuit. If it comes back open then it's almost certainly a dead diode.

 

[Hiemal]

It is more than likely a dead diode. I can tell already. Why?

If the diode was open circuit then the driver wouldn't be drawing any current at all. So that leads me to believe the diode has been LED'd, so it still draws current but no longer lases.

 

[LtKernelPanic]

It is more than likely a dead diode. I can tell already. Why?

If the diode was open circuit then the driver wouldn't be drawing any current at all. So that leads me to believe the diode has been LED'd, so it still draws current but no longer lases.

I think you nailed it. I hadn't thought about the possibility of the diode having gone LED. The other full time person on my team at work got canned two weeks ago which is why I haven't had much time to work on figuring out what happened. I did put my DMM across the leads going to the diode and it showed a very high resistance but it wasn't an open circuit for sure. After looking at the teardown pics in another thread I think I could probably replace the diode but cutting the case down to fit would present a challenge and of course it still may not work if the alignment between the diode and crystals isn't right.

 

[Hiemal]

You're gonna have a fun time getting alignment right, I'll just say that.

 

[LtKernelPanic]

Yeah that part scares me this is provided I can get the thing apart, find a 500mw 1064nm c-mount diode, cut it down without ruining it (I'm pretty sure I can), and get it to lase by itself. Hmm maybe it's time to cut my losses and sell it and put the profit towards a new one from laserglow.

edit: seems those diodes are pretty expensive. crap.

 

[Cyparagon]

It's a standard 808nm diode. The 1064 is generated in the Nd.

 

[LtKernelPanic]

It's a standard 808nm diode. The 1064 is generated in the Nd.

*facepalm* I knew that too. Thank you for pointing that out. Those are around $20-25 which is a little easier on the wallet. I don't know if I need one with FAC or not but from the looks of the diode's "dot" in that repair thread I'm guessing no. Plus I don't see any sort of optic on the diode in those pics.

 

[jeffreythe00]

*facepalm* I knew that too. Thank you for pointing that out. Those are around $20-25 which is a little easier on the wallet. I don't know if I need one with FAC or not but from the looks of the diode's "dot" in that repair thread I'm guessing no. Plus I don't see any sort of optic on the diode in those pics.

You probably wont know until you take your LD out.

MarioMaster had a similar issue with one of his DPSS green's. The pump died (808nm C-mount /w FAC) and he replaced it with a 1W FAC'd diode from one of those B&W Tek units only to find out that the emitter area was larger than the old diode. So he only ended up with about 30mw vs the >200mw he had. He ended up getting another C-mount FAC'd pump from a dead C-mount greenie and it ended up having a smaller emitter area but hes still only getting about 50-70mw of green iirc even though this is a 1.5W'ish pump.

Many different factors could be at play with your 589 and I really wish you the best of luck!

 

[Meatball]

Didn't MM repair and re-align a 100mw 594 at one point? Maybe he would have some insight on the re-alignment process.

 

[jeffreythe00]

I don't recall if he did any actual alignment. You would have to ask him or I could if you want. I think he just did a bunch of "fine" tuning or tweaking to the psu/controller. Maybe he did. I'm not entirely sure.

 

[jeffreythe00]

So I spoke to mariomaster. He indeed did do some crystal tweeking. I will link him the thread and see if he can shed some insight.

 

[MarioMaster]

Yeah I have a similar problem with my WL Spyder I 200, was my favorite handheld and always ran at 250mW or more. Diode blew and although I've tried two diodes (one from the BW tek) and another from an RPL type handheld green, I can only seem to get 50-75mW of green out of it. Handheld pointers seem to have much more touchy crystals in terms of alignment.

The 593.5 was tec regulated with the pump diode and crystal assembly separately bolted down to the main aluminum plate. Careful tweaking was fairly easy since it was a fairly high powered unit (50mW is pretty powerful for a SFG orange) so I can imagine with a unit where the crystal barely lases to begin with, detaching the crystals would be a last ditch effort to get it fixed.

You may want to see what a repair would cost before you pop off the crystals. (you will probably need to if you are replacing the diode)