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Laser strength disappearing fast!

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shezza

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So I bought a <5mW laser from ebay. I did not expect something so amazing, but when I tried some cheap 1.2v Ni-Mh Batteries I has lying around, it proved to be worse than those red lasers they put on everything. A bit of research seemed to suggest a couple of 1.5v AAAs could only be an advantage, so I tried out these philips batteries instead and it was wow! I could see the beam and it was going 100's of metres and still lighting up clearly. This excitement was short lived though. It began to dim and the excitement was gone. I tried again a bit later and it was decent for a bit, but then it would dim again. This morning, the batteries are at 1.5v and the lasers strength is dismal. I also tried some 1.2v eneloops, but still pretty weak. What on earth is going on here?
 





Assuming its 532nm?

I'm going to guess it was a cheap Chinese laser too?
 
Those eBay lasers are a gamble. You'll either get a good, overspec unit or a piece of crap. Most of the time their units are pretty good, but for a couple $'s you can't really expect much :undecided:

-Alex
 
I noticed the newwish style ones are crap VS what you could get a few years ago. Lighter and even a red will get weaker if you use nimh vs akalines.

I did get a got 301 that does 110 domesticlly along with 3 of each pointers only one red was overspec near 100mw

2 where 5mw

the bluerays where ok. Havent tested the greens.
 
Some of them (mostly greens) don't even work on 3V, 3.5-4.0V has to be used sometimes. Which is nice if li-ion battery is used.
 
Cel said:
Some of them (mostly greens) don't even work on 3V, 3.5-4.0V has to be used sometimes. Which is nice if li-ion battery is used.
Click to expand...

or those nickel zinc AAAs that are 1.7 each.


Anyone every try that. I wonder how they are.


I love my red 301 110mw 660 takes a 18650 and it lasts forever.
 
shezza said:
That is their claim. Cheap indeed! They commonly fail quickly?
Click to expand...
Yes its common but go the next step to at least regular AAA alkalines. Those heavy duty carbon one's just don't seem to cut it even at 1.5V
If that doesn't work then yes go as member's told you with the 301's.
 
Try it at different Temps. 532 can be very tempetur picky.. a lot of my first lasers were cheap ebay.. some of the 532 liked to be warm.. some cold. I kept thinking it was batteries in my case
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I tried some new ones and again it was great, dropped off it's 0.1 v pretty fast and that was it! Based on what GSS said, I may try one of these. Also what Cel said... I am thinking it seems clear it needs above 3.2v.

Though the 301 does sound pretty good and I do have an endless supply of 18650 batteries, so maybe I should ditch this one and buy a 301. Are all colours the same? Does it matter which one I pick? I am guessing they are over spec to get through customs?

Also, is the preheat time how long it takes to get to full strength?

10fenny, it is pretty cold here, I will try warming it up... Will not hold my breath though!
 
joeyss said:
or those nickel zinc AAAs that are 1.7 each.


Anyone every try that. I wonder how they are.


I love my red 301 110mw 660 takes a 18650 and it lasts forever.
Click to expand...


I have a 520 as my EDC laser. With new energizer lithium cells I get just a few minutes of full power before the thing drops out of regulation. With Alkaline cells it never gets to full power. When I want full power out of this laser I use NiZn cells. They have, as mentioned, a bit more voltage but more importantly they have extremely low internal resistance so they can supply much more current without their voltage drooping. I wish they had more capacity (600mAh) but everywhere between fully charged and dead they rock.
 
WizardG said:
I have a 520 as my EDC laser. With new energizer lithium cells I get just a few minutes of full power before the thing drops out of regulation. With Alkaline cells it never gets to full power. When I want full power out of this laser I use NiZn cells. They have, as mentioned, a bit more voltage but more importantly they have extremely low internal resistance so they can supply much more current without their voltage drooping. I wish they had more capacity (600mAh) but everywhere between fully charged and dead they rock.
Click to expand...


are they better resistane wise than even NiCDs?
 
shezza said:
Thanks for all the replies.

I tried some new ones and again it was great, dropped off it's 0.1 v pretty fast and that was it! Based on what GSS said, I may try one of these. Also what Cel said... I am thinking it seems clear it needs above 3.2v.

Though the 301 does sound pretty good and I do have an endless supply of 18650 batteries, so maybe I should ditch this one and buy a 301. Are all colours the same? Does it matter which one I pick? I am guessing they are over spec to get through customs?

Also, is the preheat time how long it takes to get to full strength?

10fenny, it is pretty cold here, I will try warming it up... Will not hold my breath though!
Click to expand...
If you go with the 301, yes they come in different colors "WL". In your case stay with 532 green. These 532's just have the potential to last alot longer according to what members say. The green beam is the most visible and what it looks you want. Some have run them continuous till the battery gave out in an hour, "not that I recommend that".
Since they are around $8 a piece I would get 2 as the ratio always seems to be 1 out of 2 is alot stronger than the other. You have the batteries and charger already.
They also are focusable and yes way over spec that can do 50mw to 80mw.
I wouldn't give up on your other just yet either, I have a 75mw Optotronic unit that struggled to pop a black balloon with those carbon heavy duty's and with alkalines it was instant:)
 
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