Spyderz20x6 said:
2. Pull out the weak 808nm IR diode along w/ the stock driver
3. Build a new driver, buy a 200mW 808nm diode, solder it together, and install in the housing with the pre-alligned crystal.
Pull out the weak diode and put in a more powerful one with a pre aligned crystal? ;D
What would this crystal be prealigned with exactly?
I have tried fixing greens or making new ones out of parts from others, and the best i could get after LOTS of patient aligning is 14%
Usually one half of original power. With a more powerful diode, you might get a bit more, but i doubt you would get double the half the original power...
The crystals have to be aligned with the diode! Even if you just pull out the diode and immediately put it back into the same place again, you will instantly lose all of your power.
We are talking about micrometers and fractions of a degree of rotation here. Manufacturers have special micro precision multi axis alignment tools for this. It's not something you can do by hand.. And you would go blind without IR goggles.
I had to make myself a special tool, which held the fast axis of the diode aligned with the diagonal of the crystals while i was turning the crystal nut to change the distance. After that i had to use another tool, so that i could fine tune the fast axis alignment, since the first tool wasn't perfect. And the best i got then was 70mW of TEM00, from what used to me a mode hopping DX200.
If you should happen to put the crystals into just the right spot by accident, you might get a bit more out, but then you would have to fix everything in place, which would again result in a misalignment.. For example, just tightening the diode holding nut can cause you to lose half the power.
It can be done to a certain degree, but you would need a lot of studying and practice, not to mention patience.