Epilog Red Dot Pointer issues

[Linda Mehlenbacher]

Hi,
I have an Epilog 35 watt laser I bought in Feb 2008. The tube was replaced in 2010 (2007 tube from Epilog). I recently sent my tube to Evergreen Laser in Ct - I bought their refill service on eBay for $800 plus $60 for return shipping and 1 year warranty. should have been a 5 - 10 day deal but on the second week it was there, I emailed to see how it was going and when to expect it to be shipped back. My reply back was " we're on vacation this week".....OK. Not happy still waiting the following week - emailed on a Tuesday and they said it needed a rebuild and they just happened to have a special deal for $1450 (minus my 800). I have orders!!! They gave me options 1) guarantee for 3 months refund 100 from my 800. 2) Send back within a year warranty and have the rebuild done within that year. I choose option "2". They said it was only putting out 35 watts....it's a 35 watt tube and they said they like to see 40. OK...send it back to me and I'll send it for rebuild during my slow season. Didn't hear back so I called that Friday to see where it was and they said it has to have a rebuild because NOW it's not putting anything out(watts). OKAY.....NOW my 5 - 10 days turned into FIVE WEEKS! I got it back this past Tuesday and it works fine but the red dot pointer is very weak. I can see it with the room lights off. I pulled the tube out and turned the laser on and pointed it towards the wall and a white piece of paper and the red laser is VERY dim.
So, my question is - is it OK to use with the red dot pointer so dim, or is there something going on inside the tube that they did when rebuilding it? They aren't answering my emails now. Absolutely horrible communication skills for this business.
Thank you for any answers to my dilemma!!

[Gerard Mullan]

Hey Linda,

I probably can't help much, but any red dot issues shouldn't affect the operation of the tube. In fact, I turned my red dot off completely - albeit on a different machine - as I couldn't fit it in after a lens change.

[Gary Hair]

I have never heard of a tube with an integrated red dot, they are usually a separate item and are joined with the laser beam with a variety of methods.

[Lee DeRaud]

I have never heard of a tube with an integrated red dot, they are usually a separate item and are joined with the laser beam with a variety of methods.The tubes for the ULS VL-series have the aiming dot built-in. The one in my current tube died early on...I don't use it much so the tube was out of warranty before I noticed. Doesn't seem to affect the operation of the actual laser though.

[Bruce Clumpner]

On the Epilogs, you can re-align the red-dot beam. If fact its the first half of a system realignment. Look in your handbook or ask Epilog tech support to email you the alignment instructions.

[Kev Williams]

The dot on my LS900 has been barely visible since the day I got the machine. The reason mine is dim is because either passing thru the collimator is expanding the red beam too much, or the beam is being partially deflected BY the collimator. Regardless, to even see the dot most times I have to turn off the laser's cabinet light. However, there is a bright spot with using a dim LED (pardon the pun ;) ), the spot is so tiny that it's extremely accurate. The blinding bright LED's in my old ULS and the GCC are so 'fat' that I have to point an Atomic Flashlight at the red dot to wash it out if I'm needing some high-precision alignment...

[Linda Mehlenbacher]

Thanks for the info! I have realigned my laser over the years. When I got it back last week I was so far behind on orders that I put the tube back in and cut away. It worked fine, so when I had a minute to do an alignment the red dot pointer didn't work. I thought I read somewhere it was separate, but I just wanted to make sure. The allen screws for the RDP look like they are sealed (as in coated with a hard plastic) and I can't seem to turn them but I'll try again tomorrow. Hope that will ( realigning) works because today it stopped cutting in spots as it was going along its path. What a headache - I should have just went through Epilog for an exchange.