FS: >110mW PHR, >140mW 4x & >170mW 6x Blu-Rays

[Maxi3D]

Although I'm just a noob here, for what's worth I will also vouch for Dark for what he have done for me. IgorT and Darkarmyofone you guys are the top sellers in this forum.

 

[Sam7]

Igor,

would it be possible to upgrade existing finished 6x's to an 8x?

 

[electron]

Igor: it is all good my friend, it truly is. I was just congratulating Franco on his new acquisition. He really is a good person, as I have exchanged several emails with him in the past and he even helped me out personally with a project I was working on, so I know what I'm talking about, and couldn't agree with you any better on this; he's a great person and a very helpful one at that

I'm very pleased with my latest acquisition from you for sure, had it not been the case, it certainly wouldn't have been posted in the public eye.

I couldn't wait to post the power graph showing how superb your BR's really are. All that power in such a nice and cleanly done host.

I'm sure somewhere down the road, if 8x really take off and are that good I'll order-up one of those too; but it certainly doesn't mean I don't like the one I have. As you know this is my 2nd BR from you, and I have no intention of parting with the 1st one either.

 

[IgorT]

FS: >120mW PHR, >170-210mW 6x & NEW 8x Blu-Rays!!

Sam7: You are quick to ask... You just got your laser like a week ago or two...



But in general, yes... It is possible to upgrade a laser. However, please let's not rush into this!


I need to test the diodes first, altho i have a good feeling about them and with good reason, and i need to test one to destruction on my diode cycler, to see what powers they can survive for how long......



So. My lasers can support much higher powers, they could even support a 12x, with the same heatsinks and drivers!


I do not want to have to remove a 6x diode if it's not dead tho. Luckily i have many spare v3 heatsinks.....



A big question is, how to calculate the upgrade cost?!? 8x diodes could reduce the need for 6x diodes, and you just paid for a 6x diode.


Usually i'd say an upgrade is best suitable if a diode burns out, or if some time has passed...


Problem is, i can not afford buying 40 8x diodes. I don't have the funds for that. So what it would take is, you'd have to order an 8x diode WITH me, and send your existing laser back.


Then i'd put the 8x diode into another v3 Heatsink/Module, take the driver off your 6x (to save time), plot the 8x on my Diode Analyzer, select a current, set the driver accordingly, and assemble the new laser. This would be the fastest and least painful possible way...


After that you could get reimbursed some, when someone else would order a 6x where your diode would be suitable for the build....

If it's used, it's obviously worth a little less tho. In that case, sooner MAY actually be better... :undecided:



I hope you can see why the situation is quite complicated... There are many factors to consider.

In general i wouldn't mind upgrading any laser at any time. But i'd be forced to charge the full cost of the new diode, at least until your old diode can be used somewhere else....



In any case, i'm ordering two, i will plot both, and use one for destructive testing (Diode Torture Chamber, aka Cycler Circuit). Then we will know more.

Then we can talk about upgrades and ordering more of them...


BTW, i REALLY suggest you never take your lens completelly out, ok?

 

[Sam7]

so, what you're saying is that the lens assembly IS NOT dishwasher safe?

 

[IgorT]

FS: >120mW PHR, 170-210mW 6x & NEW 8x Blu-Rays!!

Electron: I don't think i misunderstood anything.. :yh:


I was just explaining WHY i'm sending Franco my one and only medium custom lens i have so far.
For a short review and some playing, before he gets his 8x laser. :drool:


I wanted to send the laser with medium lens to Traveller after that, for a second review, but after talking to Jay, i decided to have it properly mounted in a metal lens nut immediatelly after i get it back from Franco, so that i can have custom metal lens-nuts made on a CNC.

This way i can then start the Test-Buy faster, and everyone can get a sample, if they want. :yh:



Otherwise, i sent Franco two lasers. The 265mW BluRay, and a 320mW Long Closed Can red..

The red is an experimental "diode-killer" laser, that for some strange reason doesn't want to die. While it's putting out more power than i ever had a red put out before! Interestingly, it is also in a v3 All-In-One Heatsink/Module...


So i sent it to Franco, for him to try to kill it... It produces 315-320mW after an AR coated acrylic, and 340mW after glass lenses. This is at 520mA! And for some reason it's still alive. Maybe it's a freak. Franco can keep it as long as it's alive, since i owe him a 280mW Open Can laser. If for some strange reason this diode continues not dying, why not have someone enjoy it's incredible power.. :evil:


Otherwise, my instructions for Franco for the red were "Try to kill it".. I want to know how long it could possibly last, and i don't have as much time to play with it as i would like....:angel:

 

[IgorT]

FS: >120mW PHR, >170-210mW 6x & NEW 8x Blu-Rays!!

so, what you're saying is that the lens assembly IS NOT dishwasher safe?

Umm, where did i say that?

And no, it's NOT dishwasher-safe.. Why would you ask that? Is this in reference to an email and diving? Someone asked me if the laser is waterproof.

Unfortunatelly, while a laser COULD be made waterproof, it could not be focusable in that case.



Otherwise, someone just told me their wife put their PHR laser into the washing machine together with some clothes, and it's "dead" now. Altho i think i just need to take it appart and dry it and clean it well, by washing in pure ethanol, for it to start working again. That is, as long as it was not turned ON for too long after it was full of water. :undecided:

But in any case, it can and will be fixed.

Salt water on the other hand, would not be too nice to a laser! :tsk:




EDIT: Oh wait, i said "I suggest you never take your lens completelly out of the laser!"..

The reason i said that was, that you were asking about a diode upgrade.. And you'd probably want to trade in your 6x diode, right? Well, in that case it's better to never take the lens out, since i spend hours upon hours before packing on making sure that there are no particles between the lens and diode and on the diode window. Or on the spring, where they would be catapulted from onto either the inside of the lens or the diode window...


As soon as you take the lens out, you'll probably drop the spring, especially if you never did it before. Then you'll get dust in, and possibly mess up the diode window. Then you could get the funny idea of trying to clean it, and break it instead, and that would make your diode useless.


It's better to ALWAYS keep the lens caps ON the laser, when it's not ON, to prevent dust from ever getting onto the diode window. Cos once it gets there itcan sometimes be impossible to get clean again (plastic lenses)..


With glass lenses this problem will no longer be a problem, but cleaning will require a LensPen of very pure solvents.... That and the rubber AirBlower bulbs i recommend, for getting dust particles off.

 

[Sam7]

i was trying to be humorous. it wasn't a serious question.

 

[Darkarmyofone]

Even so, He answered you thourally and comletely

You forgot to say thank you

Sounds like IgorT has me beat in one aspect! I for one do NOT have a clean room... close to it!, but no cigar yet... Thats pretty cool man!

Tyler - Dark Lasers

 

[Traveller]

...cleaning will require a LensPen of very pure solvents....

I didn't know that there were more than the original "Lenspen" on the market, Igor... :thinking:

I use mine for my [camera] objectives without using any extra solvents... . I got several that are re-branded (like one that is branded with Nikon) but I can't imagine that they aren't all from the same manufacturer...

If you know otherwise, please do let us know which "brand" to use, thanks

 

[electron]

i was trying to be humorous. it wasn't a serious question.

Actually I got it, I actually laughed out loud when I read your post about being not dishwasher safe; thought it was and is hilarious.

 

[IgorT]

FS: >120mW PHR, >170-210mW 6x & NEW 8x Blu-Rays!!

8x DiodeZ UPDATE!
​

I ordered a test diode, it will be here in 7-10 days...
It will get plotted and then cycled into diode heavenz....


Until then, i have reserved 10 8x diodez, for builds. If the test diode is good i'll buy them.. :yh:


I can't take more than 6 or 7 orders tho, as at least three are already reserved... Unless of course i get more 8x diodez after that..

But the suppliers are saying that's it...

 

[IgorT]

FS: >120mW PHR, >170-210mW 6x & NEW 8x Blu-Rays!!

I didn't get it, cos someone just asked me, if they can take their 6x lazor diving with them, and i wasn't sure, who that was... :yabbem:


Oh well.. Better safe than sorry... :angel:

 

[IgorT]

FS: >120mW PHR, >170-210mW 6x & NEW 8x Blu-Rays!!

I didn't know that there were more than the original "Lenspen" on the market, Igor... :thinking:

I thought i put an OR between "LensPen" and "solvents"...

But it looks like i put an "of"..... :thinking:


I'd recommend a LensPen MicroPro (or what's it called?).. Basically a LensPen with a tiny enough tip, that you can actually move it around on the lens. And then blow the tiny particles off with a rubber air-blower bulb from DX....


I also found ACS (or higher grade) solvents to work very well. That's 99.5% purity or more...


I use 99.5% acetone to wash glass lenses or diode windows... I used to use 96% ethanol, and it made more mess than it removed!
Another better solvent i would recommend would be isopropyl alcohol... The latter is probably safer for widespread use, since it won't melt most plastics on contact.

But my lens manufacturers told me they use the purest acetone they can get (probably Analysis grade), and that it does not affect AR coatings, which are baked onto the lenses...


I once put a plastic lens nut into the acetone, to see what would happen. It started mushrooming and then melted completelly..


But when it comes to plastic lenses, the ONLY thing you should EVER try is the rubber air-blower. In addition to that, i sometimes wash them in demineralised water, and then dry with the rubber air-blower..

But never touch them with anything! You'll just mess them up.
Instead, keep the lens caps on AT ALL TIMES, and you won't have problems..


If i see a plastic lens has particles on it, during assembly of a laser, i just throw it away, and take the next one from the tray....

The only plastic lenses i ever tried to clean were the AR coated ones, because they are so much more expensive... That was where i used distilled water to try to wash off the particles and then the rubber air-blower to blow away the water.

It has to be the purest distilled water tho, or else it will again introduce more mess than remove!


Thing is, with lasers, particles on the lens or imperfections in it are 1000x more noticable than in any other optics. This is because lasers are point-sources of light, and they enlarge everything like a microscope.

If you defocus the spot on the wall, and have a dirty lens, you will notice spots in the circle, that are turning around...

If you see concentric circles in the output, which don't turn with the lens, it's interference-rings from microscopic (literally) particles on the diode window... These are the hardest to get rid off. If you're not careful you break the diode window! You need the purest possible solvents and a lint-free swab, and only the most gentle touch. And then you have to suck on the other end, to suck the solvent IN and make it work like a vacuum cleaner - by sucking the solvent, and hopefully the impurities, away from the diode window...


But even IF you notice anything like that, in most cases it is best to just leave it be.... I am ALWAYS scared, when i have to clean diode windows, especially after i lost two rare freak 6x's when attempting to clean the window and breaking it instead. :cryyy:



This is why i keep saying: NEVER REMOVE THE FREAKING LENS AND ALWAYS USE THE FREAKING LENS CAPS!!! I don't include them for the laser to look pretty!


When you get a laser from me, it always has clean optics, because i spent a lot of time making sure of that before packing!

- First i check the diode window, then the lens.
- If the lens is dirty, i throw it away and take another from a tray of 100.
- If the diode window has interference rings, i clean it with outmost care, and the purest solvents...
- I even use an uncollimated blu-ray laser to illuminate the spring, and then brush it off with a special antistatic brush. The blu-ray makes the dust particles fluoresce, so i can see them, and make sure the spring is completelly clean, before i put it in.
- Then i assemble everything, and recheck if there are no particles present, before doing the final measurements, writing them down in the box, and packaging the laser....




It's EASY to KEEP the lens clean. It's HARD or impossible to MAKE it clean once you get it dirty!
Unless it's a glass one.. That's why i can't wait to get the medium lenses ready! But even with glass, it's beter to keep it clean than having to make it clean.... One day you could get a particle on it that is hard enough to cause actual damage to the glass or the coating! Better to be safe than sorry. Such particles are also the reason why the first step in EVERY cleaning should be the rubber air-blower!


Otherwise, Jay and i just made the final arrangements about how the lens will be mounted. When it comes back from Franco reviewed, it goes directly to Jay, for mounting, and then back to me for final tests, before i start the Test-Buy..

Once it's properly mounted and i do the final tests i will probably also send it to Traveller for the last review before the Test-Buy...

 

[IgorT]

FS: >120mW PHR, >170-210mW 6x & NEW 8x Blu-Rays!!

8x DiodeZ Update
​

Ok, i'll start taking pre-orders (just reservations for now) for the 8x diodes that are not yet reserved already (only 6 or 7 left!)...


After i test the sample, i'll post the results, and place the larger order... The reservations are of course only valid if the test results are good... Otherwise i won't go through with the big order.


But from everything i've seen so far, i expect these to be the real Pioneer 8x Writer sleds! :yh:

8x UPGRADE OPTION
​

I COULD also offer an 8x upgrade, but due to the limited availability of these diodes, at least for now, i'd need those of you wanting an upgrade to order a sled from an alternative source WITH me!

I can't spare any of the small number of the ones i'll buy - those are for sale...


But if you order one WITH me, and i get one more sled, then an upgrade is no problem at all...


I WILL take your old module back, i'll try to re-use it, and when i can, you'll get refunded the difference....

 

[usakicksass]

I got a PHR from Igor long ago. I am getting a 6x made now and am really twisted about should I spring for the 8x, damn, 300mw of beautiful bluray.