Replacing diode and lens in Spartan hosts.

[Slickfins1986]

So I have two Spartan hosts from DragonLasers. The 1W blue one pictured first, I tried to clean the diode lens at one point and seemed to make it worse.

The diode needs to be replaced now. This is deep down in the host and am unsure of how to even get it out. The next one is a green laser older Spartan host design.
It is just the lens right underneath the cap that I have screwed off in the picture. It has a scratch on it and needs to be replaced.

Would anybody who knows about DL hosts be able to carefully fix this?
The green one is easier since the paste just has to be chipped away and get a new lens there, but I'm not sure what kind of lens it is. The 1W I don't even know how to get out.

I would rather not have to send it back to China because of high shipping costs obviously and I have to claim it as under $25 to get into China. That would suck if it got lost.
Also the recent blunder with RHD and his laser makes me wary to send something back to them.

 

[Slickfins1986]

*bump*

Anyone?

At least know the lens that the spartan uses?

I would ask Frank at DL, but he won't tell me cuz he wants me to send it in.
Warranties are expired anyways so doesn't matter if I mess with it.

 

[laserhead2112]

Hmm well I'm not sure about this but it looks like you could unscrew the heatsink right out of the host by the small holes on the heatsink also the lens has the same holes. Mine looks just like yours on the blue one that is..not sure if I would try this or not..

 

[Slickfins1986]

yeah I was thinking that I can unscrew the heatsink at those holes but I don't have the right size hex tightener thing. The one I have is too small apparently.

 

[Eudaimonium]

Are you sure that the diode needs to be replaced? If you haven't damaged it visibly, it can still be cleaned to provide nice output. Just send it to somebody close to you to clean the lens (or diode).

Replacing a diode just because the output window is dirty is not exactly a way to go.

Besides, how did it get dirty in the first place?

 

[Slickfins1986]

Not sure. For those 445 spartans there is no cover except a cap with a hole in it. Took it camping a while back and was kind of rough with it.
There was a slight smear on the dot after so I tried to clean with q-tips, alcohol and whatnot...
But fibers I didn't get off may have baked onto the diode lens and then I tried to do it again,
but I was not careful and some water may have got behind the diode and not evaporated since I didn't use 99%.
And it seems like it since no matter how I clean the lens now nothing changes and it looks foggy like there is condensate trapped behind it.
I need to at least get it out to look at it, but can't even do that.