What happens if you turn a laser on for too long/ over the proposed duty cycle?

[LaserBoi01]

Ok, I got this 200mw purple laser , and I held it just before i sleep. When I woke up, the laser was ON and it feels hot(not hot enough to burn though, I can still hold it on my hand without feeling any pain), so I quickly turned it OFF and after that, I tested it by shining it again. The brightness of the laser was still the same and I couldn't find any damage at all, but turning it ON for hours must have some damage since the proposed duty cycle is only 5-10 mins.

So, what happens when you turn your laser on for too long?

 

[blue led]

If it is still working dont worry about it .
some lasers heat up the diode and / or the driver if they are pushed to much but obviously neither is the case with this laser.The only thing you might have done is use up some of the 10,000 hours life of the diode in a few hours while you were asleep.
Please also understand that this could have been dangerous as no one was in control of where the laser was shining .

 

[LaserBoi01]

If it is still working dont worry about it .
some lasers heat up the diode and / or the driver if they are pushed to much but obviously neither is the case with this laser.The only thing you might have done is use up some of the 10,000 hours life of the diode in a few hours while you were asleep.
Please also understand that this could have been dangerous as no one was in control of where the laser was shining .

Thanks, but are you sure that there is no damage at all? 'cuz there is a duty cycle for something

 

[Blord]

The danger lies in the overheating the driver or de diode. Some drivers are heat-protected and no harm can be done. They shut off or go in flash mode. But not all drivers have this feature. They just burn out.
If the laser is poorly made like bad heatsinking the diode it can kill the diode too.
Your laser heats up when it is operational. That is normal. Just don't overheat it.

 

[DarkSide]

Whats the location of the powered laser?

i think one of our very own can better answer this question. I'll see if i can have him chime in. I believe it was a pocket rocket..

 

[LaserBoi01]

The danger lies in the overheating the driver or de diode. Some drivers are heat-protected and no harm can be done. They shut off or go in flash mode. But not all drivers have this feature. They just burn out.
If the laser is poorly made like bad heatsinking the diode it can kill the diode too.
Your laser heats up when it is operational. That is normal. Just don't overheat it.

So does it mean that my laser is fine since the diode is still working?

 

[LaserBoi01]

Whats the location of the powered laser?

i think one of our very own can better answer this question. I'll see if i can have him chime in. I believe it was a pocket rocket..

what do you mean? can you rephrase that?