SciFi repair help - ex SciFi customers only!

[Zombie21]

Thanks 94, I ordered the V5 a moment ago. For some reason I thought they only sold the blitzbuck.
I think you meant 3W 445nm Zombie as there's no such thing as a 3W 405nm. If there was a 3W 405nm there would be a mad rush for them

You are correct it's been so long since I paid attention to it..... I PM'd you and hope your not too busy. Either way I waited over a year for a dud so I can wait a while longer in hopes of getting something out of this complete loss so far.

 

[codeforge]

Full repair service! I get a laser (broken or not so good) from scifi lasers and i send it to grainde. In 2 week i get it back repaired and changed with more quality hardware components .
Lens calibration and power test.
So now i have a 3W blue laser (3.1W after grainde repair and test). It's Perfect!

Thanks so much

 

[Zombie21]

That's great codeforge! Did yours go out or was it DOA?
What parts did he end up having to put in it?
Also what was total cost all said and done.

 

[grainde]

Thanks codeforge!

Zombie, this is a summary of the work done:

New X-drive V7 adj set at 2.4 A. This was heat sinked with a small piece of copper on the IC, which was in turn heatsinked to the main copper sink (inside the tube) to increase run times. There was no heat sinking on the original driver. The wires were not soldered on well either and actually fell off when I removed the module! Removed the teflon tape, which seems to be Jokers trade mark, and resoldered new wires from driver with heat shrink tubing. Added silver thermal paste between the module and heatsink as none was present...:thinking:
Lastly I adjusted the lens to infinity when screwed in and made sure it cant turn in the focus adapter - previously the lens wasn't fixed in the focus adapter, which made focusing difficult.

The use of an X-drive V7 buck, means you need two 16340, or 18350 batteries to operate the laser at full power, but that one 18650 may also be used for a lower power output of around 200 mW.

Lastly the laser was metered on my Ophir and recorded 3180 mW max, with an average of over 3 W for around a min. The big copper sink in this host helps! :beer:

 

[codeforge]

That's great codeforge! Did yours go out or was it DOA?

What parts did he end up having to put in it?
Also what was total cost all said and done.

All repair service was without cost. Completly free
I just made a little donation to this forum

 

[Zombie21]

neat hopefully pman could find the time to help me. to be clear you didn't even pay for the parts or shipping as well? just a donation?

 

[grainde]

No, as with everyone he was charged for parts and shipping only. The donation was voluntary and he threw in a few extra dollars as a thank you. :beer:

 

[Zombie21]

Alright I'm sending mine in to pman just wondering what dimensions or style box did you use to ship it?

 

[Pman]

Well, looks like one of the 3 lasers I repaired that went back to the owner a couple weeks ago has turned into me being taken advantage of. I can't say that I'm that surprised considering the guy has 2 posts. Out $41.80 which was the exact repair cost including the $6.80 for shipping. To make a long story short I was afraid his batteries/charger might be bad and it appears to be so. This is the message he sent to me:

"Ok so I got the laser and I tried it out and it didn't work I think it's something wrong with my batteries so Im getting new ones. Imma get the ones you suggested and see how they work out. I can send you the money on paypall after I see how the new batteries work out incase I need to send it back to you."

I sent this message back:
You did put them in positive to the front right? I was afraid you might have an issue with the batteries you have. Do you have a multi-meter to check the voltage of your batteries?

What bothers me about this is I don't play games and it was thoroughly tested by me and because his batteries and or charger is having issues to me that is no reason to withhold payment for the work that was done. I've repaired at least 6 of them now and there have been no issues.
From what I can tell it appears this person is likely a young teen and doesn't necessarily have the $ to pay right away to begin with. I feel bad that it bugs me this much to be honest. I broke all the rules Grainde had set on every single build I repaired to help others out though so I gave above and beyond. $42 isn't a huge deal but it's the principle of it. Suppose I need an attitude check as I'm feeling like I earned the right by now to not have to prove I know what I'm doing and I would never rip someone off. Who knows, maybe I'll eventually get paid for it.
I sent him a couple links for an I2 charger and AW IMR batteries and even offered to sell him mine for a good price but haven't heard back. It's not like I really wanted to sell the stuff but was just trying to finish this. Here is what I sent:

"This is what I suggest:
[url]https://www.amazon.com/NiteCore-i2-V...gent-Batteries[/url]

2 of these batteries:
[url=http://www.rtdvapor.com/new-aw-imr-18350-3-7v-800mah/]AW IMR 18350 800mAh[/url]

I can sell you my used charger and 2 of those batteries for $25 including the priority shipping but you haven't paid me for the laser repair yet;)"


Obviously I would want payment for the repair before I would send anything else.
The laser I repaired was a 3W 445nm that had a blown driver. He had paid $100 for it and I believe that driver ran it at just over 1W but it was repaired to full capacity 3W. I believe Eitan was just using what he had to throw units together in the end. I kind of regret not taking pics of all the lasers I repaired as I could have at least shown others how not to build.

 

[grainde]

Sorry to hear that Pete Did you think about asking for payment before shipping the repaired laser back to him? Anyway I hope he does come through and pay for the parts, it would be a shame if someone actually abused this offer. :can:

 

[Pman]

Nah, I always send out the stuff and look to the persons sense of fairness to pay. I would rather take the hit than anyone have someone hold something against me. I probably shouldn't have said anything. I'm just really feeling off as my pain medication isn't working well right now and I'm totally exhausted. I feel like I need to sleep for a very long time.

 

[J4K3ST3R]

It always helps to vent.
I'm sorry man, hopefully he comes around.

I still appreciate you fixing up my old sci fi junk, I hope someone here is still enjoying it

 

[Pman]

I better make this clear. It wasn't someone who posted in this thread. They had apparently only posted to get help for a repair.

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi Pete,
Sorry to hear you got slammed for a repair put a voodoo on the build ,maybe that inconsiderate person will come around . Most likely not ,Karma is waiting in his background to do what it does best ,. As for the person who stiffed you he will get his just return and you won't have to lift a finger my brother. Spooky but true

Rich

 

[Chrisbee]

This is very discouraging to say the least!

 

[tomfire1735]

time to put that guy name on the scammer list in the vet section!!!.

make people either pay first or use the payment upon delivery system...