FOCUSING HELP!!! :(

[deepimpact00]

well im new to this hobby, and i decided to buy a 405nm Blu Ray PHR-803T Laser diode in an Aixiz Laser Module with a Rkcstr Micro-Drive Adjustable Laser Driver from hightechdealz.com. as soon as i powered her up i began focusing, and right away i got it to burn a cardboard box, light white matches, and immediately light red ones, but heres my prob.. i did unscrew the focus ring to show my friend the small diode, i put it back together and immediately could not get it to focus correctly.. ive only ran it for 5 min total (pulsed) it seems the laser wont focus at all, i cant get that pin point focus like before, its more like a ball tipped pin point if even that small.. and ive noticed my focus distance has shortened, and no matter what i focus it at now, its not a nice beam, it has unfocused light all around the point, anywhere from 4 inches (at about 10 feet) to probably about 6-7 inches.. can anyone help me out!! i figured it was the lens, luckily i had an extra aixiz housing with lens (by the way both the lenses i have are acrylic) and i cut the small hole a little bigger to match the one that was pre installed in my housing, but nothing helps.. goes anyone know what im doing wrong? i can get a match head to BARELY smoke now, i just dont understand.. im using a 9v battery but i dont think the battery being weak would cause it to not focus correctly.. the micro drive s set to 120ma.. please, anything would be helpful at this point!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks in advance

Jon

 

[daguin]

First check to see that you have the lens in the right way.  The lens should be closer to the diode.  Second, look to see if something came loose in the lens nut while you had it out.  Third, check to see if the lens is dirty.  Fourth, look at the front of the diode to see if something got on the window or if the window got damaged while the lens was out or when you put it back in. Fifth, make sure that you have the lens nut screwed in straight.

Peace,
dave

 

[deepimpact00]

alrighty, the lens is in the right way (two notches in the black plastic that holds the lens pointing out) the lens is clean inside and outside, nothing on or in the diode housing, im positive its in straight i was very carful not to cross thread the fragile plastic threads on what i now know as a lens nut lol plus i used another lens, and have the same results.. unless im just going crazy staring at this UV laser and i am seeing things, but i dont understand how before i was able to burn mateches and brown cardboard boxes and recipts and now i can barely burn through electrical tape.. is it unusual to have some unfocused light around the dot? maybe before since there was some light out i didnt really notice the unfocused light, but as soon as it got a little darker was when i noticed the unfocused light and that was when the problems started.. and i did try to change the batteries too... thanks for the reply dave!

 

[daguin]

alrighty, the lens is in the right way (two notches in the black plastic that holds the lens pointing out) the lens is clean inside and outside, nothing on or in the diode housing, im positive its in straight i was very carful not to cross thread the fragile plastic threads on what i now know as a lens nut lol plus i used another lens, and have the same results.. unless im just going crazy staring at this UV laser and i am seeing things, but i dont understand how before i was able to burn mateches and brown cardboard boxes and recipts and now i can barely burn through electrical tape.. is it unusual to have some unfocused light around the dot? maybe before since there was some light out i didnt really notice the unfocused light, but as soon as it got a little darker was when i noticed the unfocused light and that was when the problems started.. and i did try to change the batteries too... thanks for the reply dave!

You're right. This is a pickle. When you looked at the diode, could you see the window? Was it in place and intact? If you turn the laser with it on does the spot change? How about if you shake the laser gently with it on?

Peace,
dave

 

[deepimpact00]

AH HA!! i may have found the problem.. the window is in tact and does not move, but when i look really closely at the window, there is a very small black speck on the glass.. it looks like it might have been from when the plastic for the lens nut was cut out a little bigger for the thicker beam to pass through the lens & nut. or could it possibly be a darkened spot on the inside of the glass, from the amount of heat generated from the diode? either way i'm pretty disappointed :-[ if this could be the problem, is it very common? and if its on the outside, is there any way to clean it correctly? if not its not such a big deal, i think ima just order a few 650s and make a red laser.. and i mean if it isnt repairable, it does still work, and for my first laser, it could be a great project to make my first host, (prolly the dorcy jr, nothin too fancy but im not too big of a fan on the box lasers, maybe in the future. but i just like the finished looking laser.. and sugestions let me know dave, by the way i have been browsing through LPF.com and ive read many of ur posts and i jus wanna thank you for gettin bak to me so fast, and i always see that ur always tryin to help people. keep up the good work and thanks in advanced!

 

[daguin]

AH HA!! i may have found the problem.. the window is in tact and does not move, but when i look really closely at the window, there is a very small  black speck on the glass.. it looks like it might have been from when the plastic for the lens nut was cut out a little bigger for the thicker beam to pass through the lens & nut. or could it possibly be a darkened spot on the inside of the glass, from the amount of heat generated from the diode? either way i'm pretty disappointed :-[ if this could be the problem, is it very common? and if its on the outside, is there any way to clean it correctly? if not its not such a big deal, i think ima just order a few 650s and make a red laser.. and i mean if it isnt repairable, it does still work, and for my first laser, it could be a great project to make my first host, (prolly the dorcy jr, nothin too fancy but im not too big of a fan on the box lasers, maybe in the future. but i just like the finished looking laser.. and sugestions let me know dave, by the way i have been browsing through LPF.com and ive read many of ur posts and i jus wanna thank you for gettin bak to me so fast, and i always see that ur always tryin to help people. keep up the good work and thanks in advanced!

That would do it

It is not "common" but it does happen. If there was a "loose" piece of plastic hanging onto the lens nut, it could have dislodged and fallen onto the diode. It could have also been some other foreign substance it was exposed to while you had the lens out. You might be able to clean it off. However, be VERY gentle. The window is fragile. Try a soft cloth and/or a Q-tip, dry. If you have a lenspen, I would try it first.

Peace,
dave

 

[deepimpact00]

Alright well I was unsucessful with a soft cloth and a q tip.. What I did is I had these little plastic tooth pics, I chewed on it a little bit to make the tip flat and flimsy and I just put some hot breath on the glass(so it wouldn't scratch it much) and I carefully scrubbed it off.. It looked more like permant marker but it did come off almost completly.. I put the lens back in and powered it up and almost imeatly I noticed the beam much sharper! I trned off the light just to see the improvment and as I adjusted it I noticed that there was a horizontal line! And I as I turned the lens to focus I noticed the line also turned so I took the lens back out and checked for dirt, hair etc and put it back in and it works like a charm!! No more unfocused light! Thanks for the tips (and I know it prolly wasn't the best idea to clean the diode) but its the best I could do considering what I had to work with!