I bought a RadioShack one a few months ago for $49.99 and was impressed with it's build quality. One of the first things I did to it was pot mod it and appeared to triple it's brightness. I was afraid of frying the diode so I toned it down a tad and used it for a couple weeks with no problems. At that time I decided to crank it up as high as it would go. Again, tested and used it extensively for about 4 more weeks with no problems. I had an idea about using Energizer e2 Lithium batteries in it thinking the 1.7v beasts might help push it further. Man, those batteries are awesome for this pointer! It completely eliminated the 1-2 second power drop-off that many have complained of and also seemed quite a bit brighter too. So, more extensive use went by for several weeks and still no problems. I started thinking this thing seems robust and wanted more out of it, so I began to attempt to examine the power supply and open the filter section of the laser. Wow, do they secure those threads in place well! After some major 'wrenching' (..and fear of destroying it) with 2 pliers I managed to get the filter section apart. To my horror there were 2 wires inside that had glue on them from the threads causing them to rotate while unscrewing the assembly. This caused them to rip apart and away from a sensor at the IR filter. Fearing the worst I cut the frayed wires off and screwed the culminating assembly back on to the filter section, connected the batteries and luckily the thing still turned on. OMG, not only did it turn on, but the intensity had easily more than doubled again! The IR filter at the end is angled to reflect a portion of the light to a sensor I now assume had throttled the intensity level. Well, my little wire 'accident' gave me even MORE power and now I'm really thinking this thing is going to fry. Folks, weeks have passed and this little monster is lazing along fantastically. The pot no longer seems to work so I'm thinking it adjusted the sensor level that is now disconnected. I'm not sure about it's output right now but I'll guess it's at LEAST 20-30mw. The beam is very visible in a brightly lit room. Do I recommend one, YES! I think I'll pick up another and do all this plus remove the IR filter for burning.
(ALWAYS USE IR FILTERED SAFETY GLASSES WITH NON IR FILTERED LASERS!!!)
PS - It should be noted that the fact that I did this in stages over a long period of time might have contributed to it's reliability by letting it 'burn-in' slowly. If you're familiar with overclocking CPU's you have similar results by allowing the CPU to have burn-in time. So, that being said, your mileage may vary but I'm one happy camper! ;D
(ALWAYS USE IR FILTERED SAFETY GLASSES WITH NON IR FILTERED LASERS!!!)
PS - It should be noted that the fact that I did this in stages over a long period of time might have contributed to it's reliability by letting it 'burn-in' slowly. If you're familiar with overclocking CPU's you have similar results by allowing the CPU to have burn-in time. So, that being said, your mileage may vary but I'm one happy camper! ;D