Spartan 1W heating.

[447]

I have had a spartan 1W for about a week now. I notice that whenever the laser gets hot the power dies down to around <50mW But as soon as I get my unit cold or even room temperature it will go back up to 1000mW.
I am aware that the units are sensative to temperatures but is this suppose to happen?

thank you

 

[447]

I have had a spartan 1W for about a week now. I notice that whenever the laser gets hot the power dies down to around <50mW But as soon as I get my unit cold or even room temperature it will go back up to 1000mW.
I am aware that the units are sensative to temperatures but is this suppose to happen?

thank you

Meant to add; The laser gets hot within a matter of 8-10 minutes.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

NEVER RUN YOUR LASER FOR 10 MINUTES!!!!

Have you measured the output over time, or are you judging basically by the way in looks? If you have the data, that would be interesting to take a look at.

To answer your question, no it's not supposed to happen. The a140 diode in there is very resilient, but it is temperature sensitive and it heats up a lot. If the outside of the host feels hot to you, the inside is VERY hot.

The heatsinking in the spartan is not the greatest iirc... So stick to a two minute duty cycle MAX. Two minutes on, two off.

Also IIRC the spartan uses an acrylic lens... or at least it did at some point.

When you're running the laser for too long you're really pushing your luck... on more than one front. You likely already took hours off of the total use you're going to get out the laser.

 

[447]

NEVER RUN YOUR LASER FOR 10 MINUTES!!!!

Have you measured the output over time, or are you judging basically by the way in looks? If you have the data, that would be interesting to take a look at.

To answer your question, no it's not supposed to happen. The a140 diode in there is very resilient, but it is temperature sensitive and it heats up a lot. If the outside of the host feels hot to you, the inside is VERY hot.

The heatsinking in the spartan is not the greatest iirc... So stick to a two minute duty cycle MAX. Two minutes on, two off.

Also IIRC the spartan uses an acrylic lens... or at least it did at some point.

When you're running the laser for too long you're really pushing your luck... on more than one front. You likely already took hours off of the total use you're going to get out the laser.

I wasn't saying 10 minute continuous use. More like 1 minute with a 1 minute break. But still when you add those minutes up from use into 10 it gets warm.
I was just wondering if it is a normal occurrence for 20 min total (1 on/ 1 off)
for the laser to get warm and power to drop or if I got a bad laser?

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

It's normal. It just means your laser needs more time to cool off.

Check out the reviews section, or the b/s/t section... there is a reason that people make large heatsinks. The diode produces a lot of heat that has to be dealt with.

If following a one on, one off cycle still leaves your laser hot, try other patterns of use. Generally if the laser feels warm, it's time to turn it off.

Also, I don't remember off hand what batteries the spartan runs off of, but it could be that towards the end of that 20 minute cycle, your batteries are dying. Try putting in a fresh set/battery to see if that will bring the output back to normal.

 

[447]

It's normal. It just means your laser needs more time to cool off.

Check out the reviews section, or the b/s/t section... there is a reason that people make large heatsinks. The diode produces a lot of heat that has to be dealt with.

If following a one on, try other patterns of use.

Also, I don't remember off hand what batteries the spartan runs off of, but it could be that towards the end of that 20 minute cycle, your batteries are dying. Try putting in a fresh set/battery to see if that will bring the output back to normal.

Thanks for all the help.
And the spartan runs off of the CR123a. Mainly I use the LiFePo4 's
and yes as I agree they suck for life use, they saddly aren't the problem.
But either way. Thank you! you have saved me the trouble of worrying if I had to send it back to china. :wave: Ease the mind that it isn't malfunctioned.
I'll work with different patterns. Perhaps a 1on / 2 or 2.5 off