neewbie qs bout handheld lazers

hi all

after playing with a mates green 50mw laser last week thought i must get one asap
then i got shattered by finding out that its damn illegal in sydney so i thought i might as well buy one and see what happens...

anyways started looking on ebay one thing led to another found the WL arctic s3 which made me think WOW i must have one now!!!!:drool:
then further seraching many sites on handheld 1w lasers im starting to think is it genuine? since ive seen a few less mw n similiar powered lasers going from $500 as much as $1000

@$299 thinking bargain
but now im all confused
can some1 enlighten me on this topic

cheers

r1lazer said:

hi all

after playing with a mates green 50mw laser last week thought i must get one asap
then i got shattered by finding out that its damn illegal in sydney so i thought i might as well buy one and see what happens...

anyways started looking on ebay one thing led to another found the WL arctic s3 which made me think WOW i must have one now!!!!:drool:
then further seraching many sites on handheld 1w lasers im starting to think is it genuine? since ive seen a few less mw n similiar powered lasers going from $500 as much as $1000

@$299 thinking bargain
but now im all confused
can some1 enlighten me on this topic

cheers

Click to expand...

First please state your question in english. Lets look at your title....neewbie qs bout handheld lazers. You spelled handheld correctly.

Maybe you should learn grammer before you purchase a dangerous laser.

A some users on this site use translators to read this site.

There are plenty of reviews/opinions and the like all over the review, 445, and green sections. Please research before posting.

Well, I'm new to lasers too, but ill try to help. Most people on this forum think badly of Wicked Lasers. Check the "Laser Pro Shop" or the "Buy Sell Trade" section of these forums for some great deals. I would assume that your customs will not take parts of lasers if you ordered some. If you are willing to spend $300 for the Artic, I would HIGHLY suggest getting a Jayrob "Hot option" kit(~$100) and a 445 140 diode from Daguin (~$50) or other sellers. I believe some users have gotten 1.6-2.0W (that's W for watts ) from these diodes. The hot option kits from jayrob only need the diode installed, which is pretty dam easy, especially if you get a diode that is already pressed into the module. Note: the Artic only gets 700-900 mW, assuming you get it and it works... If you still want a premade laser... check company suggesting in these forums, or buy from a user that has a reputation. If you want to "test" out your chances of getting a laser through customs, I would buy a 50mw cheapy Green laser from Priceangels that actually is rated at 50-70 mW without a IR filter hereTRUE 50mW Green Laser Pointer Pen $9.75 Free Shipping Finally, glasses are a must.

PersonGuyDude said:

Well, I'm new to lasers too, but ill try to help. Most people on this forum think badly of Wicked Lasers. Check the "Laser Pro Shop" or the "Buy Sell Trade" section of these forums for some great deals. I would assume that your customs will not take parts of lasers if you ordered some. If you are willing to spend $300 for the Artic, I would HIGHLY suggest getting a Jayrob "Hot option" kit(~$100) and a 445 140 diode from Daguin (~$50) or other sellers. I believe some users have gotten 1.6-2.0W (that's W for watts ) from these diodes. The hot option kits from jayrob only need the diode installed, which is pretty dam easy, especially if you get a diode that is already pressed into the module. Note: the Artic only gets 700-900 mW, assuming you get it and it works... If you still want a premade laser... check company suggesting in these forums, or buy from a user that has a reputation. If you want to "test" out your chances of getting a laser through customs, I would buy a 50mw cheapy Green laser from Priceangels that actually is rated at 50-70 mW without a IR filter hereTRUE 50mW Green Laser Pointer Pen $9.75 Free Shipping Finally, glasses are a must.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend priceangels.com. I've orderred 3 lasers from them. The 2 green ones I have from them mode hop very badly and the 405nm laser i received from them was under powered by nearly 1000 times it listed power. I would never recommend or buy anything from them again.

udanis said:

I wouldn't recommend priceangels.com. I've orderred 3 lasers from them. The 2 green ones I have from them mode hop very badly and the 405nm laser i received from them was under powered by nearly 1000 times it listed power. I would never recommend or buy anything from them again.

Click to expand...

Normally I would agree with you. I would NOT buy a laser from them that has not been reviewed by this forum. However, priceangels does state that some of there lasers are underspec. I only bought that laser because Jeffreythe00 and the owner of priceangels metered it at 50-70 mW. I will also review it when I receive it (just ordered it today). Although I don't have a LPM it should be easy to tell if it is near spec...
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/price-angels-review-58487.html

@udanis lol no need to be harsh!
I personally was not aware grammer was such and important factor on a site like this!
(ill take note)
im quite sure most people reading would understand what is meant by the title.
ok priceangels are not recommended but will still look into the site.


@personguydude
At this stage of being new to the world of lasers, i really dont want to build one,
maybe sometime down the future. i'll start checking into company profile stated on this site

cheers

r1lazer said:

hi all

after playing with a mates green 50mw laser last week thought i must get one asap
then i got shattered by finding out that its damn illegal in sydney so i thought i might as well buy one and see what happens...

anyways started looking on ebay one thing led to another found the WL arctic s3 which made me think WOW i must have one now!!!!:drool:
then further seraching many sites on handheld 1w lasers im starting to think is it genuine? since ive seen a few less mw n similiar powered lasers going from $500 as much as $1000

@$299 thinking bargain
but now im all confused
can some1 enlighten me on this topic

cheers

Click to expand...

Since your mate had a 50mw green laser, your best bet is to get a similar laser for your 'first' since it appealed to you so much. If you're as new to lasers as you seem to be, a 1W laser is not the best 1st laser to get. It's like selling someone a cannon after they fired their first bb-gun and want more. An accident can be devistating, no kidding.

As Udanis says, read up on this forum not only about 1W lasers & what they're capable of - but also about 445nm (blue) lasers and how they're more dangerous than green lasers before considering going all out for your first purchase.

thanks, will start looking into something more less powered.

but my question was regarding authenticity of such a high powered laser selling for a very small fee compared to others.

cheers

r1lazer said:

thanks, will start looking into something more less powered.

but my question was regarding authenticity of such a high powered laser selling for a very small fee compared to others.

cheers

Click to expand...

Can you be more specific from your first post? Forgive me, I have a short attention span & I'm not sure what high powered laser you're referring to.

you dont want an arctic. for $300 the arctic is a POS. for $300 you could buy or build 2 WAY BETTER and even more powerful lasers than that one.

the arctic is junk such is wicked lasers and all of there schemes, business methods(or lack there of), and everything about their company and products,

once again WL and arctic. JUNK

I get what you're asking. You want to know why some lasers that are 1W are like 1000$ while others aren't?

Basically, it comes down to a few things. Some lasers, like Green lasers, make their light in a way that is more expensive. Red lasers are usually pretty cheap for pretty high power. 200mw for 40-50$ USD isn't unreasonable. The same 200mw green laser with appropriate IR filter (because of how it makes the light) can be closer to 200$. Seems generally the rule to follow is 1mw per 1$ for greenies.

Some people on ebay DO overprice everything, hoping to make a buck. I can't say I blame them. It's ebay lol

But for Blue (445nm, or 405 which is Blue and Violet respectively) it's a direct diode application. This means there's no special crystals, magic conversion process or whatever the case is. With blue, it's a single diode that just puts out 445nm in high powers. Because of that, and because of the availibility of the diodes themselves, you can get 1W in 445nm for 200$ pretty reasonably.

That is why there are different prices. Some very high quality green lasers that are 500mw cost in upwards of 1200$ and higher, because of the quality of the pump diode, crystals used for light conversion, optics, cooling, etc etc.

About your endeavor though, I personally would recommend starting off small. 1W is exactly like a previous poster mentioned: Wanting to buy a cannon after firing a BB gun. That lack of experience is a huge accident waiting to happen.

My recommendation would be something a little smaller. And if you want bright, something green. Try something like a 100 or 150mw green. I would also recommend that anything above 5 mw you get safety goggles for. I mean, I personally use goggles for anything above 10mw-15mw... but accidents can and do happen and your vision is something that doesn't heal.

Anyway - with all of that being said, take it slow man. Start with something cheap, and isn't TOO bright.

Some people don't recommend priceangels, deal extreme, focalprice, etc. (Chinese drop shippers)

I will personally vouch FOR priceangels, and against focalprice. Just my personal experiences.

And if you do want to start out a little slower but have something bright that will start burning stuff, consider this first (TRUE 50mW Green Laser Pointer Pen $9.75 Free Shipping) Once you have one or two of these, start moving up but please don't jump right into a 1W laser. It's too much power too fast

The main problem your going to have is getting a laser through customs in Australia. It's safer for you to just buy the parts and build one yourself.