Thumbs UP for O-like

SO ... After being MIA from lasers for awhile, I decided to place an order with O-like *Before* I had a chance to check online and see if they were still as reliable as they were years ago. Obviously, the few negative reviews here were a point of concern (as back when I left the hobby, they were considered the best source for China Lasers) but dang if DHL didn't deliver the order exactly 7 days from placing it. So far, so good.

Next move was to bust out the old Laserbee and see how everything worked ... The first 5 I tested were this model:New Rocking High Power Green laser 50mW torch/focusable [OL-ROG50] - $25.99 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

My initial reaction was "WOW, these hosts are solid" - and they are. VERY well constructed, especially at this low price point. The chargers and batteries are basic, but the nylon holsters are actually ALSO very nice. The following are the test results for the 5:

1: 101mW, nice beam with a little splash
2: 128mW, Beautiful, splash-free beam
3: 120mW, Excellent beam, negligible splash
4: 110mW, just a great beam and splash-free
5: 117mW, another excellent beam, zero splash

So the conclusion thus far is "Thumbs Up" - every single one at least DOUBLE over-spec, I'm ordering a bunch more tonight because I know these will sell themselves around here, LOL

Next on the test table is this $59 1W 445nm: New waterproof Blue laser 1W torch /focusable [OL-BLUW] - $59.99 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

Same deal as far as construction, VERY solid, smooth focusing - and a fast run through the LB1 showed a peak of 1014mW and a locked-in 940mW over a minute.

Next came this one: New special Burning 250mW red laser torch/focusable [OL-RT-250] - $25.99 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

The host that it came in is a little different than the one pictured, as a nice touch though it also included a holster. LB1 calls it 186mW settled in with a peak of 220 - just a hair under spec but still a great $25 buy!

Last but not least is the cheapie $10 pen I picked up for the other half because she wanted a pointer with a purple dot: 5 in1 star sky 405nm 100mW violet laser pointer/5 Patterns [OL-405-5 P] - $9.99 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

Basic Chinese pen laser, 42mW on the LB1 disappointed me, but a fresh set of alkalines and she puts out 88mW, still a hair under spec but hey, $10 pointer WITH the diffraction caps, LOL

So there You have it, 7 days from order to door and at least IMHO at great price points. I'll be getting some beamshots and comparisons to other lasers once it gets dark, but for now here's a pic of the shipment and again, I was VERY happy with every part of this order !!!

First off, wow, you buy a lot of lasers

Second, more importantly, I think this pushes back O-like back on the list of companies to recommend to people wanting to buy lasers, does it not?

That's 8 out of 8 lasers working perfectly, five of which are overspec by 100%, arriving within 7 days.

Sh*t, just by these numbers alone, no other company actually matches this

Pretty impressive they are all working and overspec. A good thing to hear after a recent string of bad reviews from o-like!

I had recently purchased a couple units from them also as they owed me some $. ONE of them was that same on sale 650nm and mine read about the same so expect them to be around 200mW and not their spec of 250mW. Not disappointed with it though as it has a smooth feel to it and came with the holster. The bad part was the piece of garbage Ultrafire battery that they are including as it is the black with red/white stripes on one end that is lighter and overall doodoo. Didn't actually expect the battery so whatever. It went the way of tossing it in the back yard to sit in the snow.
Fasttech has some great deals on way overspec 532nm modules and some way overspec 532nm usb chargeable pens. If you are interested ask and I will link them.

Oops, almost forgot I'd ordered another one too (luckily it was still in the box in the garbage, LOL) ... This one is a Module to replace a bad one in a small laser display that we recently pulled out of a bar: 150mW Industrial Red laser module diode/driver built-in [OLRLMB150] - $28.00 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce ... 168mW, but it is rated at up to 5.25v and the unit is putting out around 5.9v-6.2v so it's hard to get an exact idea of the output at the actual recommended voltage. Is it overspec when pushed over-voltage, yes. Would it be at the rated voltage, can't say.

All the lasers that included batteries came with the standard, generic green ones (no printing) - if they're fakes you can't tell by the heft, they weigh the same as my Sony's (not the lightweight "UltraFire" stuff most places ship with LED's and Lasers) - time will tell how they hold up. Given the power these are presenting as well as the excellent beam characteristics (the 405nm excluded because, well, it's just a silly Blu-Ray pointer) I am quite happy. At $26, it's not unreasonable to invest another $10 per laser in high-quality 18650's - net result is a 100-128mW laser with a top-shelf battery, charger, and holster for around $36 (at least this batch).

Probably the best part of messing with these things again is it made me pull out my old laser toolbox to get the LPM and I found a bunch of cool stuff I had forgotten about from days past, a couple of aixis modules with 405 diodes and drivers, one's at 122mW and the other is just over 190, found a couple of 60mW and one 120mW green 120v labbies, a green module that needs some attention (power is up and down all over the place), a bunch of nice first-surface mirrors, an unharvested 12x sled, a couple of Krytons that need rebuilding (bad diodes) and a handful of old Dildas and pointers - like a little laser Christmas, hahaha.

a good haul you got, though not sure why one needs so many greens of similar output. been a good while since I was on the site, I see they have 5W IR hand helds. must resist.

LOL - a buddy who used to come to the shows for years (I worked with Stage Sound and Lighting for a long time) bought a laser off me back in 2010 or so, he now belongs to an Astronomy Club so 4 of the Greens are for him as well as the red. Back in the day I was moving at least 20-30 lasers a month at the shows but now that I'm not out in the clubs so much (nor am I running Laser Shows) I'm thinking it'll stay more or less at the Hobbyist level this time around.

I've got the 400mW Blu-Ray, a decent 120mW Green out of this batch, and the 900+ 445 - I'm thinking I'll build a nice 700mW-ish 638nm, a nice stupid pair of multiwatt 520 and 468's, and pop for a decent yellow, that should bring the collection back to where it should be ... Well, OK *maybe* pop for a bigger, say 500mW 532, I really REALLY miss my old Hercules. I'm thinking the bug has bitten again, LOL

BrewCityMusic!
Did you just go MIA again?
Always up and disappearing without giving anyone warning!

BrewCityMusic said:

So the conclusion thus far is "Thumbs Up" - every single one at least DOUBLE over-spec, I'm ordering a bunch more tonight because I know these will sell themselves around here, LOL

So there You have it, 7 days from order to door and at least IMHO at great price points. I'll be getting some beamshots and comparisons to other lasers once it gets dark, but for now here's a pic of the shipment and again, I was VERY happy with every part of this order !!!

Click to expand...

Glad to see O-like is back on top of their game again --great prices and service. Is nice to have a supplier that you don't have to worry about like the many unknowns aliexpress where anything you buy is risking money on a maybe.

For a while was touch and go. Just saw the O-like web site http://o-like.com/ show a lot of new interesting items at very reasonable prices.

The 100mW 532nm greens you bought have nice looking hosts and are a real bargain for $25 .

I think I will try O-Like once again. Susie was always very helpful and responsive. I never had a bad experience with them in times past and the items purchased 4 years ago are still 100% .

Nice to read the positive info about O-Like

I've always had good products from O-like, especially that 400mW 532nm Crown. It almost hit 700mW once! :beer:

-Jim