I need help powering 50 mW green laser.

[mW Maniac]

i did not mess with the crystals if the crystals are in the diode. i don't have a multimeter. I connected the 4.5 holder and it did the same thing.

All I did when I took the laser apart was mess up the host and the spring bent off of the driver. it originally took 2 AAAs.

 

[DrMario]

Alright, the crystals are ruled out, now to the diode power source. Sometimes having the multimeter is actually useful in finding the problems, giving us the headstart on the subject.

What I know is that some pot mods will just fail gracefully, refusing to push the diode current to 50mA, other requiring more juice to light it up. I would suggest starting with two fresh AA batteries to rule it out first (throwing full 4.5 Volts would end in disaster for some folks doing pot mod without testing with full 3.0 V). Then you can try 4.5 V, if nothing - I would suspect the pot mod deterrent and/or LED'd diode.

 

[crazyspaz]

I wouldn't run it off 4.5V- i have never seen a green module that runs off more than ~3.7 volts. also, if you are only seeing red, it means your crystals are out of alignment, so you are only seeing IR-which some people perceive as a very dim red glow. Meaning, your module is probably dead

 

[mW Maniac]

alright thanks

 

[Pman]

That unit should have taken 3.2V (as in 2 standard AAA alkaline batteries). Sounds to me like the unit is toast. It may have been damaged in removal or wiring it incorrectly or over voltage. Would recomend saving it in case you ever want parts off of it and also keeping the host it came in for future use.
It is usually not worth tampering with cheap 532nm pen lasers as more than half of their ouitput is sometimes IR.
More interesting to buy a 3 color set from a reputable seller if you want to "play" with decent inexpensive pens. If you are in the states I highly recoment ebay seller overfeel IF you have apropriate glasses and understand that these are not "toys"and will handle them responsibly. We like to have fun here BUT safety first, last and always.
I know a thing or 2 about these type of units. This is the best seller I've found now as everyone else I've tried has gone very very cheap on the quality of their units. The pens he sells even have metal caps which is unusual.
If you want to understand more, see my inexpensive pen tutorial.