- Joined
- Feb 25, 2009
- Messages
- 169
- Points
- 18
About a week ago I ordered a 3W Dominator from Blord, which arrived yesterday. The first things I noticed were how heavy it is, and how the focussing ring at the front appeared to be much better coupled than the focussing element of the 1W laser I had bought last year (I could notice no backlash as I moved). Another thing I noticed was a small magnet between the batteries, to improve the stability of the contact.
After asking and getting information about the correct way to charge the batteries (one at a time), I charged them, and then I tried the laser. That's when I had a bad surprise: the rubber cover of the tailcap switch came off as soon as I touched it, and the switch itself didn't work so well (the presence or absence of a contact was spurious and depended on how I moved it around; the switch itself rattled).
Fast-forward to today, when I decided to fix the switch. My plan was to drill two holes through it, pass two wires through the holes, solder them to the central and peripheral contacts, and solder another switch at the other end, bypassing the faulty switch completely.
So I started drilling the first hole, but before I could complete it, the drill bit broke off into the switch. After the obligatory cussing, I noticed a curious thing: the switch felt more stable and did not rattle anymore. I thought: "Could it be?" and tried the switch with a tester.
By an AMAZING coincidence, the broken drill bit has fixed the switch!
Now I tried the laser, and it works! The divergence is comparable to my OdicForce 1W, and I could see how much faster it burns where it's focussed!
After asking and getting information about the correct way to charge the batteries (one at a time), I charged them, and then I tried the laser. That's when I had a bad surprise: the rubber cover of the tailcap switch came off as soon as I touched it, and the switch itself didn't work so well (the presence or absence of a contact was spurious and depended on how I moved it around; the switch itself rattled).
Fast-forward to today, when I decided to fix the switch. My plan was to drill two holes through it, pass two wires through the holes, solder them to the central and peripheral contacts, and solder another switch at the other end, bypassing the faulty switch completely.
So I started drilling the first hole, but before I could complete it, the drill bit broke off into the switch. After the obligatory cussing, I noticed a curious thing: the switch felt more stable and did not rattle anymore. I thought: "Could it be?" and tried the switch with a tester.
By an AMAZING coincidence, the broken drill bit has fixed the switch!
Now I tried the laser, and it works! The divergence is comparable to my OdicForce 1W, and I could see how much faster it burns where it's focussed!
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