Dragon Lasers New Website

How do you like the spartan? Is the construction solid? It looks appealing to me because of how portable it is. Do you know what kind of duty cycle it has?

the new site looks a lot nicer

Entity said:

How do you like the spartan? Is the construction solid? It looks appealing to me because of how portable it is. Do you know what kind of duty cycle it has?

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The construction is very solid, it's got a good heft to it and it's extremely portable. So portable that I put it in my pocket everywhere I went for 2 months and broke it somehow :-[ Note to self: don't do that with sensitive, delicate electronics next time

As for duty cycle, it appears to have a 100% duty cycle. I've never had a significant power drop, or dimming, from turning it on and leaving it on for any period of time. The whole Spartan body acts as a heatsink, and indeed it does get pretty warm after being on for a period of time. The only thing I have noticed is that it really hates cold weather, and will modeshift outside in the winter. Once you take it inside, however, it stops completely and maintains a nice TEM00 beam. If you're in the market for a good portable laser, I'd highly recommend this one. It's basically my dream laser: rechargeable batteries, slim, sleek form factor, protective lens cap that's easy to remove, clean and access the interior lens, click on/off tailcap instead of all that dumb safety bullshit with the keys and the interlocks and the shutters and the emission delays. I'm a pretty smart guy, I don't need my laser to make me feel like I'm a goddamn retard who should be wearing diapers every time I turn it on, I'm well aware of the consequences of improper laser use.

Well it seems pretty amazing. But I just wonder if it performs up to spec as far as power output. Have you tested it? This would be a pretty important factor to me.

BTW, this laser seems to have been inspired by the spyder. Unlike the Spyder however, it seems this laser is not crap.

Amnizu said:

[quote author=Entity link=1202510319/15#16 date=1205041397]How do you like the spartan? Is the construction solid? It looks appealing to me because of how portable it is. Do you know what kind of duty cycle it has?

Click to expand...

The construction is very solid, it's got a good heft to it and it's extremely portable. So portable that I put it in my pocket everywhere I went for 2 months and broke it somehow :-[ Note to self: don't do that with sensitive, delicate electronics next time

As for duty cycle, it appears to have a 100% duty cycle. I've never had a significant power drop, or dimming, from turning it on and leaving it on for any period of time. The whole Spartan body acts as a heatsink, and indeed it does get pretty warm after being on for a period of time. The only thing I have noticed is that it really hates cold weather, and will modeshift outside in the winter. Once you take it inside, however, it stops completely and maintains a nice TEM00 beam. If you're in the market for a good portable laser, I'd highly recommend this one. It's basically my dream laser: rechargeable batteries, slim, sleek form factor, protective lens cap that's easy to remove, clean and access the interior lens, click on/off tailcap instead of all that dumb safety bullshit with the keys and the interlocks and the shutters and the emission delays. I'm a pretty smart guy, I don't need my laser to make me feel like I'm a goddamn retard who should be wearing diapers every time I turn it on, I'm well aware of the consequences of improper laser use. [/quote]
lol, yeah, all of that extra crap some lasers have would get on my nerves, of course, a shudder would be nice with keeping dust off of the lens, but the dongle feature on some lasers seems unnecessary

Hmm

I kept a 3$ red with key chain clip on my keyring for 4 years and it never failed. It still works and is on the second set of 3 button batteries.
I know the reds are durable but i clipped this one to my belt loop day after day and it never failed. I hope the quality extends to the newer more powerful ones, but granted, greens have detailed optics. I would expect better of something that is larger then a half smoked mini cigar size <5mW button cell red.

SN

Entity said:

Well it seems pretty amazing. But I just wonder if it performs up to spec as far as power output. Have you tested it? This would be a pretty important factor to me.

BTW, this laser seems to have been inspired by the spyder. Unlike the Spyder however, it seems this laser is not crap.

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When I tested it at the local university, very briefly, unfortunately the prof wouldn't let me do an extended test/graph the output over 2-3 minutes, it tested at 380 peak and about 310-320 average. I was pretty impressed.

Yeah, the Spartan and the Spyder are eerily similar. They use the same batteries, have almost exactly the same body size and shape, same click on/off tailcap, and are designed to be extremely portable. Luckily, that's where the similarities end.

edit: In fact, if you look on Dragonlasers' website, and Wicked's website, they sell the exact same charger + battery combo for both:

Dragonlasers:



Wickedlasers:


It's the DSD charger from DealExtreme.

Thanks for your help. I think I just may get one.

be sure to post a review with pics

Entity said:

Thanks for your help. I think I just may get one.

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No problem. Everybody should have their dream laser.

Their new layout is the same template as Wicked Lasers, just a different color scheme.

Dammit, they don't have the 300mW green or 70mW blue spartans in stock.

Entity said:

Dammit, they don't have the 300mW green or 70mW blue spartans in stock.

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I bet I got the last one when I RMA'd mine after I broke it.

optotronics RULE

Lol, yes it does. I am planning on buying an RPL 400 in addition to the spartan. One for pure power, and one for portability when i am treasure hunting in nigeria. Well without the treasure hunting part at least.