Lifetime limiting factor is probably the pump diode. How does he guarantee 2,000 hours, when (I assume) the thing doesn have an hour-meter?
(From: Mike.) I have not measured the power stability or repeatability yet, but I will in the next couple weeks. Visually, it looks consistent in both respects – but that doesn’t say much. I have not measured optical noise, but I will do that, too. I just got the thing yesterday afternoon, so I haven’t had time to do anything but a single power reading yet. The pump diode is rated 2 A and is being run at 1.16 A, if the spec sheet is real (it’s from the diode manufacturer, not Transverse). I wondered the same thing you are, though: How do you guarantee lifetime if it has no hour meter? (From: AESLasers (aeslasers@aol.com).) Yeah, those died anywhere from 50 hours to a few hundred hours. Seems to me the person looked at it, and said the diodes were crap. $995 isn’t a good deal for a boat anchor, and what good is a warranty if you can’t collect on it? I don’t think you want to fly to Taiwan to make sure it gets fixed. Back to the old adage “you get what you pay for”. (From: Mike.) Quite t
