Rominsen L-D030 >150mW mod

[IgorT]

Anyone ordered one of these yet? http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12274
If so, does it come appart into three pieces?


I've seen it for the first time in the "duct tape RPL wannabe mod" (aka pube-laser) thread and i liked the big heatsink.

The laser would seem to be current regulated, as it says it can use a 3V or 3.6V CR123.
The build quality doesn't look all that special, and i don't have high expectations for it. The two flashlight looking Rominsons are probably better as a 30mW green, but i want to use the body to put a more powerful green module in. I might use the DX200 module or maybe a >150mW CNI module. Both would definitely be able to keep a high power for longer with such a massive head.

The CR123 will also be a good power source for the 0.5W diode. The driver will consist of two AMCs and the pushbutton will be replaced with a clicky switch.


The original guts will go into a smaller host (1AA flashlight) and given away as a present.

Hope it gets here soon.

 

[IgorT]

Ok, i just got this laser. I took it appart, and it seemed i made a bad mistake. The module is completelly different, so i thought i couldn't make the DX200 modules fit. But then i tried a KD50 (EDWINA) module, and it drops in PERFECTLY. As if it was meant for it. It even makes contact with the top tension adjust ring from the KD50, and since the KD50 was the host i originally had in mind for my DX200, i'll just use that ring. After that, the big head really is massive, and makes nice contact wthrough the threads, where it is needed the most. Some thermal paste will make it just perfect. It could be much better, if the laser module was actually in that head. In that case, the head could be even more massive.

Still, everything is aluminum, so the heat sinking will be great. And it will be even less work, than transplanting the DX200 into the KD50.


So that's the good news. The bad news is, that the clicky switch i wanted to use was missing from my order, and the laser itself only puts out 14 -> 7mW of pathetic TEM01 -> 02 -> 03 beam(s). I wanted to give the module in a different host away as a present for gawds sake!



Good thing i mostly bought this thing for a mod. I'm still gonna RMA it, and because the return shipping costs half of it, they'll probably just send me another one. When these are good, they put out close to 50mW. The current consumption is similar to the KD50 laser.

 

[Benm]

Re: Rominsen L-D030   >150mW mod

So how big is this thing anyways, can you take a pic next to the KD50 or DX200 as reference?

There seems to be a very similar 50 mw rated product too: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12595 - it is a little more expensive but could be worth it if properly build.

 

[IgorT]

Yeah, i've seen the 50mW rated one. It's not Rominsen, but it looks almost identical.

I will post some pics when i get a chance. The thing is as long as the KD50, but the barrel has a slightly larger diameter from the outside, but is much less massive from the inside, since it fits a CR123.

The top of the barrel, where the module fits in is massive from the inside tho. The module is put together in a funny way. I've never seen anything like it. The collimator is in a plastic extension tube.. It also has O-rings on both the tailcap and where the head screws on, which is pointless. Then there is an aluminum ring, that looks like what screws the reflector into the head of a flashlight, but pushes the laser module down into the body. Unfortunatelly, there is a spring there (removable), which prevents any actual contact and heatsinking in the original design,

The PCB is again supported mostly by the diode's legs, and some foam. When will they learn?


If i screw the head on completelly, it looks ugly but a little less, and it actually looks nice. Since the DX200 module will be a little longer, the head won't screw on completelly, but will push against it and stay a little higher. The force should also make thermal contacts better.



EDIT: Ok, here are the KD50 and the Rominsen L-D030 side by side..

 

[IgorT]

And this is what the original module looks like in and out of the laser. The ring in the second picture screws the module down into the barrel, pressing it against the spring, that is there to prevent heatsinking i guess..

Next to it, the KD50 module with its own tension adjust ring on top, and the KD50 module with the top ring in the Rominsen body. It fits amazingly well. There is little space around it, and i'll use alluminum foil to fill it.

Of course i'm not putting the KD50 module in there, it's just to see how it fits, since the DX200 module has the same dimensions.


It might be better if i drilled out the original aluminum ring and used that to tighten the DX200 module down the Rominsen barrel. I might need the KD50 ring. Without it, the KD50 body is pretty much useless.

 

[Benm]

Re: Rominsen L-D030   >150mW mod

Looks like pretty bad design in the original with the spring-and-ring construction indeed.

Btw, if you put a brass module (kd/dx) into this aluminium housing, be careful with connections that carry any current - that might not work so well with 2 different metals and just mechanical force holding it in place.

 

[Razako]

You can't really expect quality engineering when you buy a laser that the manufacturer probably spent $8 or less making.

 

[IgorT]

Yeah, the big heatsink is just for the looks. I don't see any way for the heat to flow between the middle brass module and the body. But if contact was there, the heatsinking could be great! On the other hand, the laser doesn't really warm up in just the module.


I know there are theoretical problems possible with electrical contacts between different metals, but the original laser also has a brass module, so there really won't be such a big difference. Now that you mention it, the steel spring is probably there to ensure the electrical contact between the aluminum body and the brass module. But i'm gonna have to discard it.


Because i want perfect heatsinking, i'm gonna make a huge surface area contact between the module and the aluminum body. What can really go wrong?

 

[IgorT]

You can't really expect quality engineering when you buy a laser that the manufacturer probably spent $8 or less making.

Well, sure, but in EVERY cheap laser i have taken appart so far, everything required to make it work great was there. At most, it would require some minor changes.

Unfortunately it is the same when it comes to heatsinking or the drivers - everything is there, just not connected properly.

 

[Razako]

[quote author=Razako link=1209508565/0#6 date=1210695434]You can't really expect quality engineering when you buy a laser that the manufacturer probably spent $8 or less making.

Well, sure, but in EVERY cheap laser i have taken appart so far, everything required to make it work great was there. At most, it would require some minor changes.

Unfortunately it is the same when it comes to heatsinking or the drivers - everything is there, just not connected properly.[/quote]
That's the main reason why I only buy clicky on/off lasers from Dx and kai now. I got completely sick of the crappy push buttons after buying two of these.

The only support under the driver is a piece of foam and the button sinks into the laser and stops working properly after a few hundred depressions. The lasers actually started mode hopping because the diode was being pushed out of alignment. To fix it I glued the driver board permanently in place with some epoxy. After this quick 1 minute fix both of the lasers have worked flawlessly for over a month. Would it kill them to glue a piece of plastic under the driver instead of the foam? Generally the clicky lasers are much nicer and the improved switch eliminates a lot of the connectivity and driver support issues.

 

[IgorT]

Exactly!

It's the SAME with the DX200 green pen laser. With the first, when it was mode hopping, i could actually make it go back into TEM00, just by varying the pressure on the button. The way these are built can even misalign the diode!

In the last three i noticed a piece of plastic, shaped as if it's meant to fit under the transistor under the PCB and support it, but in EACH of them it fell deeper down into the barrel, and any support was gone again. Before, there were just pieces of foam, and as soon as i put a piece of plastic in, the stability instantly improoved.


Otherwise, i just successfully extracted the DX200 module, this time without damaging the paint on the head...
I wanted to use a Nova X-75 driver, because it is wonderfully regulated, but it's too wide. I either have to sand it down a bit or make myself a dual AMC driver. But the Nova driver is actually better.


I will most likely replace the button with a miniature slide switch, and add a Low-Battery warning LED, which will light up the button hole, as the battery goes empty. If the Nova driver would fit, this would be a 5 minute job...


EDIT: Got the Nova driver down to the correct size. Now i need to do something about the contacts. they are in all the wrong places.

 

[JLSE]

Re: Rominsen L-D030   >150mW mod

Speaking of Rominsen mods... :

 

[JLSE]

Re: Rominsen L-D030   >150mW mod

1 watt pump in this badboy

 

[thejunkmonger]

Re: Rominsen L-D030   >150mW mod

can I be your fan LOL

 

[awirq]

Re: Rominsen L-D030   >150mW mod

1 watt pump in this badboy

Wow , nice work

 

[IgorT]

Hey, wannaburn, did you have much trouble centering the expander?

Isn't that part the most "fun"? Almost more than aligning the crystals. The last time i had to break the glue three times, because i couldn't get the expander perfectly centered before the glue would set, and the tiniest fraction of a milimeter off center shoots the beam out at a crazy angle...



Did you use all special optics for this build? What power did you get out?