Faulty laser collimator?

[Johnboy]

Hi folks,

About 18 months ago I purchased a Revelation Laser collimator which has worked very well, but recently I found I would be part way through collimating my scope when suddenly the beam would dim quickly making it very difficult to use. Turning the on/off knob a couple of times or so would correct the problem for a while, then it would dim again. I thought it was just the batteries getting weak so I changed them for a new set but the same thing happened. Again I swapped the batteries for new ones but now the laser beam is so weak it is useless. Does anyone know if a laser can 'die' in this manner? i.e. slowly fade away, or would it suddenly just stop working (similar to a light bulb), if the diode (is that the correct word?) packed in.

Anyway, it looks like it might be a new collimator for me, but I am just curious as to what might have gone wrong.

Cheers everyone,

John