How to make your way overspec $5 pen focusable + new bonus section added

[Pman]

? Could you post pics of the insides with the top caps removed? I sure hope the seller didn't go back to the other ones he had sold for awhile. They had good output but were not worth trying to make them focusable.
Not sure what you mean by the 650 and 405nm not being bright. I hope you haven't shined them in your eyes! They are both likely close to 100mw and will NOT look bright like a 532nm.
You do realize that they don't arrive focusable right? This is a tutorial for YOU to do this.
I've done this procedure within the last 2 weeks 4 times with the 405 and 650 from this seller

 

[Antharak]

Pman this is what one of the 405nm pens you had sent to me looks like inside.
PS the cap was made of plastic. Just crushed when I took it off.

 

[LiGhTMaGiCk]

? Could you post pics of the insides with the top caps removed? I sure hope the seller didn't go back to the other ones he had sold for awhile. They had good output but were not worth trying to make them focusable.
Not sure what you mean by the 650 and 405nm not being bright. I hope you haven't shined them in your eyes! They are both likely close to 100mw and will NOT look bright like a 532nm.
You do realize that they don't arrive focusable right? This is a tutorial for YOU to do this.
I've done this procedure within the last 2 weeks 4 times with the 405 and 650 from this seller

Well I'm not quite stupid enough to shine a laser in my eyes. And I know the brightness of the 532nm is going to appear brighter because that wavelength is more visible to human eyes. That being said the dot produced from the 405nm appeared to be quite like what you might see from a weak UV LED, the 650nm dot is actually a bit brighter than what I originally saw when I first lit it up so I don't know exactly what happened with that. The inside below the caps on all three is just like the picture that Antharak posted. I was going to follow the tutorial but was deterred by the lack of a movable lens beneath the caps. I do however have a 405nm pen which looks the same as these that I purchased a good while back. Which also has a much greater output than the 405nm I just received, and I do believe it has a movable lens beneath its cap. The cap on that one is being very stubborn and I believe I will have to use the PMAN method to remove it ie pliers with something softer to keep it from damaging the cap. So I may get to make a focusable pen out of that one but it will have to be another day as I need sleep so I can wake up for work at 4am.

 

[LiGhTMaGiCk]

Pman this is what one of the 405nm pens you had sent to me looks like inside.
PS the cap was made of plastic. Just crushed when I took it off.

That is exactly what mine look like under the caps, I didn't even have to try pliers with the set of three I just got, the caps came off with ease just using bare hands. But yes the caps are definitely cheap plastic on my tri-color set.

 

[Pman]

Crud. If that is a pic of the 405 or 650 then he is selling the other ones again that are not correct. The output on that version was not as consistent as the other ones.
Shouldn't be spending any money now but I just purchased a set of the 13.80 ones to see what the deal is. They have a cheaper set so maybe those are different.
The 2 sets I received a few weeks ago were correct.
Maybe he has a mish-mash of these packets of 3

You wouldn't believe just how much sweat is dripping down from my head and soaking everything.
I keep nodding off and getting startled when I come back.

The pic like antharack shows are the ones the seller sent out for a time that I complained about. Looks like it may be a crapshoot as to which ones you get
Stinks but I have no control over this. Don't know who else is selling the correct ones.
Since I just bought a set of the slightly more expensive ones someone esle could buy the $12 ones and we both report when they arrive.
I keep passing out and hitting random keys....

 

[LiGhTMaGiCk]

Crud. If that is a pic of the 405 or 650 then he is selling the other ones again that are not correct. The output on that version was not as consistent as the other ones.
Shouldn't be spending any money now but I just purchased a set of the 13.80 ones to see what the deal is. They have a cheaper set so maybe those are different.
The 2 sets I received a few weeks ago were correct.
Maybe he has a mish-mash of these packets of 3

You wouldn't believe just how much sweat is dripping down from my head and soaking everything.
I keep nodding off and getting startled when I come back.

You had better not be having a heart attack and posting the symptoms on here, sweating isn't exactly a good sign. Drink something nice and cool check your pulse if you can maybe take some aspirin. I'm no doctor but my dad had similar symptoms i.e. nodding off and profuse sweating and it turned out to be a heart attack. Take care of yourself PMAN don't push yourself too hard.

 

[Antharak]

Pman
good to see you up a bit more.
That pic is of one of the 405 pens, that have a plastic cap. I opened a 650 and the cap was metal but it has the same lens setup.
Thanks again for the pens, I still like them and the fact that I have an actually 1mw laser is cool as hell.
Get better soon.
Ed

 

[Pman]

Didn't mean to freak anyone out with my comment but most here know that I am in the hospital.

So Antharak, what did each pen read then? I could guess from your units but would like to know for sure.
It is an unusual thing indeed to get an actual 1mw unit.

 

[Antharak]

They are allover the place.
405nm #1 135mw- #2 12mw
532 #1 12mw- #2 13mw
650 #1 168mw- #2 01mw
Still made my day Pman.
Thanks again. :thanks:

 

[Pman]

Those really are all over the place.
Looking at your sig list it looks like qtech has the correct ones?

 

[Antharak]

Yes the QTechs are the right ones, got them around three years ago from amazon a green, red, violet set. Didn't know about LPF and didn't know I had over spec lasers. Only laser I had before that was a <5mw HENE I got from Meredith in the 90s. It's a miracle that I can still see, got flashed a few times from reflections with all three. The 532 is dead now. I miss the HENE.

 

[Javalin]

I could have sworn I had subbed to this thread. I can't believe the pens aren't the right ones anymore! I didn't even realize they had 2 different sets. Not sure what the difference is I just chalked it up to a double posting. But here's the direct link to what I bought in late Aug this year:
Powerful 5mW 532nm Red Green Blue Laser Pointer Pen Fast Free Shipping | eBay

I'll check with my girlfriend but I should be able to buy these again and I'll report back.

Edit: Just found out I'm not getting any pay until the government passes a new budget. So it might be a while before I can make the purchase.

 

[Antharak]

Javalin that's where mine came from, for now save your $
I too may be screwed by the meatheads in dc

 

[Javalin]

You know what might be the worst part though is the conflicting info. I might get paid but then again I might not... Nobody is sure about it. In any case my laser building has been put on a hiatus pending my paycheck...

As for the ebay pen you got the $13 ones? This is terrible news... I guess there's always fasttech for cheap modules. I just liked the expedience of the US based seller.

 

[Antharak]

I don't know which ones I got as Pman had them sent directly to me.
I think Fast tech is a better option at this point.
QQTech was on the FDA watch list so I think we can say good bye to them.
It's almost getting to the point that you are better off building your own.

 

[Pman]

I'll take a look and see what I bought Antharack.

K, took a look and I had ordered 2 of the exact same orders.

Order#1 was placed on 9/9 and went to me and they were all correct for focus mod.
Order#2 was placed on 9/28 and went to Antharack and were the wrong style.

Just ordered a single set and I'll have to see what style they are.

Bottom line is it looks like you just don't know what you are going to get and it stinks.
Feel bad that I can't find a seller to make all this simple.
When I originally wrote the pen tutorial it was easy to get the correct units in multiple ways but now everything has changed and I don't know what to tell anyone