Holy POOP.

[RA_pierce]

Lately, I've been getting a little more familiar with my X105. I've had it for a while and ever since the lens cracked I've been modifying it... Here's a link to my thread on how I made the divergence a LOT better: http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1211946562

So today I was having some mode hopping problems (my laser mode hops when current is low). It was annoying. I decided I would take a risk and pot mod it. I did.
This was the scariest mod I have ever done on this laser. I was half expecting it to die. It worked though... I turned the potentiometer a microscopic fraction of a mm and its mode issues are now cured.
The thing to do now is see if it lasts :-/

I only have a broken multimeter and no power meter so I can't take measurements but the goal was not a power increase, just to see if a little bit higher current would fix the mode hopping...

If anyone is interested I can post a how to guide and pictures.

 

[Murudai]

I'm not sure how many people would be interested in potentially breaking their multi-hundred dollar lasers...

But I wouldn't mind seeing what the guts of a nova laser look like

 

[Chad]

I have a CNI pen in pieces on my desk, and I can get pictures if you want.
I really should try what you did...

 

[RA_pierce]

I'm not sure how many people would be interested in potentially breaking their multi-hundred dollar lasers...

But I wouldn't mind seeing what the guts of a nova laser look like

Yeah, I know, but if someone had one they were willing to (potentially sacrifice) test and a power meter, maybe they could do some tests and see what these lasers are capable of with a little bit higher current.
I'm sure an X100 would have no problem hitting 130mW. And an X15 might be capable of 30-40mW.
But I wouldn't be too concerned because these lasers are high quality and should be safe unless you turn the pot to the max.
And there is even less risk because all the mods I did were done without taking everything apart!
\

Anyway, I discovered that with the tiny pot adjustment, the batteries do not drop out of regulation until the NiMH rechargeable cells hit ~1.24V each (compared to 1.28V before the pot adjustment). There seems to be a slight increase in burning power too, but no visible difference. Stability seems fine. No excessive overheating and no mode hopping with fully charged NiMH batteries.
So I got an extra 0.04V to work with and maybe a slight power increase with no negative effects.

 

[Ace82]

I seriously doubt that you will damage your laser by adjusting the potentiometer. You might shave off a few hundred hrs of life or something, but I don't see it over currenting the LD. I believe the pot is to adjust for optimum crystal effeciency, not to over or under saturate them. It is also possible to swap the LD should it die. I'm sure all of us here would love to see some pictures, if you're willing to post them. I think you're doing the correct steps, especially if you noticed better beam specs.

 

[RA_pierce]

I seriously doubt that you will damage your laser by adjusting the potentiometer. You might shave off a few hundred hrs of life or something, but I don't see it over currenting the LD. I believe the pot is to adjust for optimum crystal effeciency, not to over or under saturate them. It is also possible to swap the LD should it die. I'm sure all of us here would love to see some pictures, if you're willing to post them. I think you're doing the correct steps, especially if you noticed better beam specs.

I agree, although it is still risky (because of how much each DPSS laser varies in performance and stability) the chances are better that it won't kill it. Like I said, it should be safe unless you turn the pot to the max, because then you may get crystal saturation and a burned up LD. The lifetime should still be good as long as the laser doesn't heat up severely. These diodes are probably 500-1W diodes so they should have no problem with a bit more current (at a proper duty cycle of course).

I'll post some pictures.

 

[RA_pierce]

CNI pen Modifications


Here is how to modify an X series/Viper series CNI pen laser WITHOUT disassembling it.

Step 1:
Remove batteries
Remove button
It takes a while and it's a little frustrating, but don't use pliers because they may rip the rubber button
Here's a picture of the switch with button removed:

Step 2:
Find the pot
It should be located on the left of the switch (aperture facing away from you)
You may need a flashlight to look inside and see it.

Step 3:
Find a reeeeeaaaaallllly tiny screwdriver.
Tinier than the micro screwdrivers. I used an awl but the super small screwdrivers on the leatherman tools (charge, wave, and blast have them) work great.

Step 4:
Adjust it!
Turning it clockwise increases current and turning it counterclockwise decreases (obviously).
Start off with really really small turns. To be safe, I put the batteries back in after every turn and pressed the switch (no you don't have to put the button back in, I just put it in upside down so I didn't have to mess with getting it back out again) to check if it was stable at the new current level. I found that turning the pot clockwise from [x] to [+] made my laser unstable and it mode hopped, so I turned it back a bit until it was stable again.

I also replaced the button with one that is more flush with the case, and it also takes a little less pressure to turn on. I have this grey one and a black one.

Oh, and here is how I did the divergence adjustment:

 

[jamilm9]

but then you don't have a ir filter

 

[RA_pierce]

but then you don't have a ir filter

Don't really need it. I can still put it in but it's just more glass to absorb power. I'm not really concerned with safety, mostly because I like to use common sense.

 

[Jimmymcjimthejim]

Nice guide. It's pretty neat how you can adjust the pot without opening the case!

 

[f22warzone]

you can do the same thing on the alpha series also..... i had a guide on how to do it but i think it got lost....

 

[RA_pierce]

you can do the same thing on the alpha series also..... i had a guide on how to do it but i think it got lost....

Yeah do you still have the alpha?

 

[f22warzone]

no gooegus does now...... other wise you could pot mod it just by removiing the battries and a long screw driver