New laser not working properly

[Bulldog63h]

I bought a premium +10mw green laser from optotronics and it arrive yesterday. The trouble I'm having is the laser doesn't always work at full power. The batteries are new, but they rattle a lot inside the body. When the power is low, I can unscrew the body some, tighten it back up and the laser works again. Any input as to why it's doing that and how to fix it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SteveT]

Hi,

Be sure to check out the welcome section and take a look at some of the helpful stickies.

Can you confirm that yours is a pen style host and is powered by 2 x AAA batteries? Remove the batteries and check the contact spring to ensure it is not excessively bent to one side. If the spring looks OK take some tinfoil, carefully double-over and cut a circular insert to place inside the tailcap recess; this should hopefully improve contact.

Let us know how you get on!

 

[Bulldog63h]

Hi,

Be sure to check out the welcome section and take a look at some of the helpful stickies.

Can you confirm that yours is a pen style host and is powered by 2 x AAA batteries? Remove the batteries and check the contact spring to ensure it is not excessively bent to one side. If the spring looks OK take some tinfoil, carefully double-over and cut a circular insert to place inside the tailcap recess; this should hopefully improve contact.

Let us know how you get on!

Okay, it is a pen style and the spring seems to be perfectly straight. I'll get som foil next time I'm out and give that a try.

 

[Gatrezal]

Hi, I am a noob here.I recently bought the same optotronics pen as the OP and it has the same issue. It seems the part of the pen where the batteries go in is slightly tapered, being larger at the (cap) end. I attached 2 pics to show the same aaa battery in the back & front of the pen. (Sorry about pic quality). This allows for significant “wiggle”, even if the bottom is “padded” as mentioned above. Another thing I noticed is the spring located in the laser part of the pen is off center (by design?). I don’t know if this causes a problem (ie. lining up with battery contact area) but even when I sure up the batteries I still have connection issues, which can be fixed by unscrewing/screwing a few times until the connection is good. (Edit: Also noticed the threads are very loose on this, don’t know if that’s a weak link ?)
I “tested” just the laser part using a battery pack and alligator clips and it worked consistently & flawlessly.
IMO the pen (host) is junk like a dollar store flashlight. I would expect slightly better considering the actual laser beam itself seems pretty nice.
Anyway, If there is any insight or advice to help make this pen work correctly I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.