How strong is my aging Hercules laser?
Added 2020-05-27 17:44:46 +0000 UTCAs mentioned in my previous post, I will test the Hercules-400 laser on the laser power meter. I bought the power meter a long time ago but have hesitated to power test the Hercules. I am simply worried about being disappointed...
For this poll, I would like to hear what you expect, based on the following info:
I bought the laser back in 2008 (12 years ago!) so it is far from new. Especially since I bought it secondhand online. I can't remember how long the first owner had it.
And the potentiometer that adjusts the current to the laser diode is easily accessible to increase or decrease the outout power - with risks of damaging the diode. I have fiddled a little with it myself but set it back to where it was when I bought it. But has the previous owner also fiddled a bit or a lot with it?
When new, well over a decade ago, the laser was measured to average 425 mW over 10 minutes, and peaked at 489 mW. Will it still go above 400 mW today?
Comments
True. Usage time, overheating, humidity and ESD are common failure reasons for a laser diode/DPSS crystals. I am pretty sure the quality of CNI/Laserglow lasers is high enough for overheating, humidity and ESD to not be a problem. I am not sure of the run time though - especially after buying it secondhand. But it most likely is not thousand of hours...
2020-05-28 18:03:29 +0000 UTCIt really depends on how much it has been used. 100,000 hours? 5,000 hours? If you don't use it often and for short periods of time, you may have not expended much of the diodes usefulness.
Alicia Smith
2020-05-27 18:35:32 +0000 UTC
