GLP 589nm 5mW Yellow (More Pictures)

[Chicxulub]

I pot modded one of my 594nm yellows many moons ago. It didn't go so well for me. I would recommend setting your laser back to the default settings before you kill it.

 

[Alexander]

Actually, I didn't want to "pot mod" anything. I just need stable but safe pointer. If somebody can give me some hints about some approximate measurement of a real power I have, it would be appreciated. The only thing I can say is that today I can't feel any heat from long lasting beam, pointed on a black-painted spot on my wrist - it doesn't matter how long. But in the evening I can distinguish a dim beam in darkness - outdoors. In the dark room I can see no beam - just a spot. Is it 5mW or more? I don't want to make any harm to anybody - even potentially. But suffocate such an expensive toy too much is also not good. Who knows something - please, reply.

 

[RA_pierce]

By increasing the current to the pump diode (adjusting the pot) you are taking the risk of destroying your laser.
There is nothing wrong with making modifications or adjustments so long as you make sure you know the risks and what you are doing.

It will be impossible to estimate the power output. For this you need a laser power meter.
Yellow lasers are relatively unstable by nature. The power may fluctuate. DPSS lasers are difficult to stabilize - especially in a pointer - so the power may be inconsistent. You may be getting a little more than 5mW if you can see the beam in the night sky, depending on atmospheric conditions.
I would recommend setting it back to it's original power or at least decreasing the power a small amount. There is the possibility that this laser's pump may die prematurely if it is driven too hard.


Good luck with your laser...

 

[Meatball]

589s are more stable than 593.5s, but not any more reliable. Leave the pot where you found it, and your (very nice) laser will last you for a longgg time!

 

[RA_pierce]

@ Alexander:
Do you have a digital multimeter? If you could measure the current your laser is pulling from the battery, it could be very useful.

 

[Alexander]

@ Alexander:
Do you have a digital multimeter? If you could measure the current your laser is pulling from the battery, it could be very useful.

Thank you so much! It so simple that I wouldn't ever think about it. But actual power of beam, of'course, should be slightly less than the multimeter shows, right? Excellent solution for me, anyway.

 

[Trevor]

Thank you so much! It so simple that I wouldn't ever think about it. But actual power of beam, of'course, should be slightly less than the multimeter shows, right? Excellent solution for me, anyway.

The power draw from the battery could be far north of a watt. You're getting 25-30mW at most... and you probably won't get it for long.

-Trevor

 

[Alexander]

The power draw from the battery could be far north of a watt. You're getting 25-30mW at most... and you probably won't get it for long.

-Trevor

So you think I will get nothing of it? By the way, concerning warnings about near death of my pointer - Laserglow sells wide range of the same model for different power levels up to 50mW. Do they do something special for them to prolog their life? I have doubts.

 

[Trevor]

So you think I will get nothing of it?

The draw from the battery won't tell you anything about output power with any sort of reliability.

By the way, concerning warnings about near death of my pointer - Laserglow sells wide range of the same model for different power levels up to 50mW. Do they do something special for them to prolog their life? I have doubts.

Different power levels use different power (rated) pump diodes and different crystals. Yes, it makes a lot of differences. Please read.

-Trevor

 

[Alexander]

The draw from the battery won't tell you anything about output power with any sort of reliability.
-Trevor

What about relative change? I mean, if I slightly increase power by turning the pot from default position and count the change in battery power drain between these two pot positions does that difference somehow reflect difference between power levels of beam?

 

[EDC Laser]

Very nice! I love the CNI CR2 host. I have used many different types of CR2 cells in my 532 and have found that the standard PANASONIC CR2's offered up the most power and last a lot longer.

I have not been able to find them brick and mortar, but eBay has some good deals on them in bulk packs out of japan.

Try'em out.

 

[RA_pierce]

The reason I say the current draw from the battery could be useful is that it could tell you about how hard your diode is being driven. There are too many variables to correlate it with output power of the yellow, but it could say something about the pump.

Mine at factory setting draws 1.25A. This likely indicates a >1W pump diode driven at normal operating currents.

Do you know how to test the current?

 

[Alexander]

The reason I say the current draw from the battery could be useful is that it could tell you about how hard your diode is being driven. There are too many variables to correlate it with output power of the yellow, but it could say something about the pump.

Mine at factory setting draws 1.25A. This likely indicates a >1W pump diode driven at normal operating currents.

Do you know how to test the current?

Sure. With 3V on battery it's more than 3W in you case. However, actual voltage should be much lower, I think.

 

[Trevor]

What about relative change? I mean, if I slightly increase power by turning the pot from default position and count the change in battery power drain between these two pot positions does that difference somehow reflect difference between power levels of beam?

There's a reason they call the crystals nonlinear optics. :tired:

Please. Read.

-Trevor

 

[Chicxulub]

To answer your question as to why some lasers put out much more power;

It's not because they always have more juice going into them, it's because they have more efficient crystal sets. The crystal manufacturing process isn't perfect, and some will have tiny, tiny, tiny differences that make the difference between a .5% efficient conversion and a 5% efficient conversion.

When I decided to pot mod my old Rigel, I opened it up so far, that the only thing limiting the current going into my laser was the internal resistance of my old batteries. When those batteries eventually died, I but some brand new Energizer E2 lithium batteries into it, and the energy spike desoldered a bunch of stuff on the driver and actually separated (desoldered) the driver from the diode. I cooked the pump diode and may have cooked the crystals (but two years later I'm still holding on to the the crystals and haven't checked to see if they're good). Just like that, $400 down the tube.

This could easily be you if you're not careful. I learned the hard way, and I'd like to think that a bunch of guys here who had the "What if..." bug learned from my mistake. Take my advice here, that laser IS NOT meant to put out that kind of juice. I know exactly what you're getting at with the benefits of the mod, but are you really wanting to risk killing it? By no means are you guaranteed to kill it, it may live on for years, but do you really want to risk it?

Think bro, think.

 

[Alexander]

When I decided to pot mod my old Rigel, I opened it up so far, that the only thing limiting the current going into my laser was the internal resistance of my old batteries. When those batteries eventually died, I but some brand new Energizer E2 lithium batteries into it, and the energy spike desoldered a bunch of stuff on the driver and actually separated (desoldered) the driver from the diode. I cooked the pump diode and may have cooked the crystals (but two years later I'm still holding on to the the crystals and haven't checked to see if they're good). Just like that, $400 down the tube.

Such a sad story! Thank you and the others for clarification. I've returned pot back - now I can see only a small spot - may be just a little bit lighter than by default, but the same size. Beam is hardly viewable even in pitch black night sky. I think now it should be somewhere near 3-5mW. By the way, if it's interesting for someone: I fastened enclosure back by tiny bolt and nut to make it easy removable - not ordinary nut, of'course, but small copper corner with a screw thread cutted in a hole on one side. This thing by other side is soldered (!) to the edge of laser module. It was getting very hot during this process so I was afraid it was going to burn out. But all was ok, fortunately. If someone needs photos, I can post.