Recent content by AlbertD

I wouldn't say that the people I bought this laser from were not reputable. Just because it was inexpensive doesn't mean it is not good or prone to burn out. Especially if I ran it at the specs it was originally sold at. Expensive ones burn out just as well. In today's day and age, the old adage...

@itw3ak: That was my first instinct too, some form of calcite. And on further inspection this morning, I don't know where I got that 90-degree cleavage plane from, this is definitely rhombohedral. Since there are no clear projecting points in this haphazard mass it was difficult to easily spot...

Looking back on my e-receipts, I got mine from a seller going by the handle of "tobelieveus" on March 30th. For $0.99 with $7.95 shipping. Okay, not quite $8, but you wouldn't have believed me telling you it was only 99 cents. I don't like disassembling the green and 405nm lasers I've gotten...

Interesting about the Citrine. But this couldn't be that. They are far too soft. A pocket-knife blade (hardness 5.5) easily causes deep scratches in it. Citrine is a quartz at hardness 7. I'm guessing this might be a form of Calcite (hardness 3) and with the growth or cleavage planes having both...

I edited the subject to say the frequency. 405nm. I guess that's considered a violet laser then? This isn't fluorescent. They're only phosphorescent. There is no color change of the laser while it is held in one spot on the crystals (other than, I presume a slight whitening effect from the...

I got one of those $8 China specials off of E-Bay. Pot-modded it to about 100mw. Starts a match almost instantaneously. Been using it for for several months now. I only let it cool down when the barrel shows signs of becoming warm. I explored my rock-shop with it, wondering if I might spot some...