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greenie questions?

seoguy

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OK, I finally got my new "greenie" from China!:) It's definitely heftier, thicker and feels sturdier than my red one! However, I've noticed a few "odd" things about it, and having never owned a green DPSS laser before, I'm not sure if this is normal, so I thought I'd ask all of you experts here!

The spot is definitely bright, particularly at close range! But the beam is not what I was expecting. It is thin (which I figure is good - nice tight focus, right?), but barely visible at night or in a darkened room (but with some intermittent bright speckles along the beam length), and completely invisible in a room lit with even indirect light from another room! Outside at night, it is barely noticeable when horizontal, but more noticeable when pointing upwards towards at a star (damp night).

I'm not sure if I got a wimpy laser, or if I had just oversold myself on how noticeable the beam should be at night?

The other thing I noticed is that when I turn it on, the spot starts out very bright for an instant, then gets noticeably dimmer (still bright, just turned-down a notch), then gets a bit brighter after a few seconds (but not as bright as when it started).

Is this all normal for a DPSS laser?

Thanks!
 





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You haven't said if it was a 1mW or a 1000mw Greenie... :-?

Jerry
 
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I agree with lasersbee, what was the mW rating of the laser you bought?

<5mW is usually the cheapest and most common, if yours was a <5mW that would explain the dimness of the beam. I would start looking into more powerful lasers if youre looking for a brighter beam.

Read up on the forums here on lasers, there is a HUGE amount of information here about lasers and the amount of safety you need to know behind them. If you do get a more powerful laser, i highly suggest you get a pair of goggles meant for use with higher powered DPSS green lasers!
 

seoguy

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bmw328aw, sorry, forgot to mention that, it should be ~10, class IIIb. Just wanted to know if the operation & beam performance I described is typical for a green DPSS of this type, or whether there was something wrong with this laser?

if yours was a <5mW that would explain the dimness of the beam.

If this poor beam intensity is typical of < 5mw as you described, then I need to have a chat with the seller!

But if this dim a beam is normal for a 10mW, and I just need to get something at x-mW before the beam is noticeable at night, then that is OK too.

But I don't know which is which, as this is my first DPSS greenie! Hence my question here, as I figured some of you fine folks in the green forum would be much more familiar with what 532nm beam intensity should look like at various power levels, and could let me know if I over-estimated what it would look like or not?

If you do get a more powerful laser, i highly suggest you get a pair of goggles...

Thanks for the safety tip. I have in fact been reading-up quite a bit on LPF lately, and am familiar with the need for protection when using high-power lasers (along with the on-going argument here about green vs. IR collimination in a high-power DPSS! LOL) I don't have any lasers strong enough to warrant such precautions (Yet!;))

So, did I get ripped-off? Or is the beam performance at 10mW really that poor at night?

Thanks!
 
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seoguy said:
OK, I finally got my new "greenie" from China!:)  It's definitely heftier, thicker and feels sturdier than my red one!  However, I've noticed a few "odd" things about it, and having never owned a green DPSS laser before, I'm not sure if this is normal, so I thought I'd ask all of you experts here!

The spot is definitely bright, particularly at close range!  But the beam is not what I was expecting.  It is thin (which I figure is good - nice tight focus, right?), but barely visible at night or in a darkened room (but with some intermittent bright speckles along the beam length), and completely invisible in a room lit with even indirect light from another room!  Outside at night, it is barely noticeable when horizontal, but more noticeable when pointing upwards towards at a star (damp night).

I'm not sure if I got a wimpy laser, or if I had just oversold myself on how noticeable the beam should be at night?

[highlight]The other thing I noticed is that when I turn it on, the spot starts out very bright for an instant, then gets noticeably dimmer (still bright, just turned-down a notch), then gets a bit brighter after a few seconds (but not as bright as when it started).
[/highlight]
Is this all normal for a DPSS laser?

Thanks!


What you describe sounds about right for that power level. While green lasers do have a much more visible beam than other colors, at 10mW you'll still need some impurities in the air (smoke) or complete darkness to really see the beam.. usually even the ambient light pollution in most cities will interfere with beam visibility at that low power. Outdoors at night, away from light pollution, you'll easily be able to see the beam.

In my experience, at least 50mW is required to begin to see a vivid beam in most darkened places.

Regarding the highlighted portion, check the stickies in this section (green lasers).
 
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Agreed on the 50mW, i had a 50mW and it was considerably brighter than my radioshack greenie that i managed to pot mod (dont ever pot mod your laser). 50mW is pleanty for night time beam brightness. IMHO i would go for 100+ mW due to the fact that you get both an excellent visible pointer at night or in low light, as well as a decent burning laser.

I bought a 100mW module from Susie on her website (o-like) and I am pretty pleased with the output. For 66 bucks its pretty worth it. I must say the divergence is obviously not as good as say a much more expensive laser IE laserglow, optotronics, or dragonlasers. But to me it doesnt matter to have that really good divergence, its all up to your taste.
 

seoguy

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ElektroFreak, bmw328aw, thanks for the useful info!

So it sounds like I got what I paid for, I just need something a bit stronger to get a more visible beam.

On the stability issue, it doesn't appear to be mode-hopping, just varying in brightness. But I can't see running a pen (and off a couple of AAA's) for > 15 minutes duty cycle just to wait for it to warm-up! So getting a stable green beam is only practical if you are running a laby?

In my experience, at least 50mW is required to begin to see a vivid beam in most darkened places.

Agreed on the 50mW...50mW is pleanty for night time beam brightness.

I was thinking about getting one of those o-like 40-50 modules as my next step on the green side of the spectrum. I have also read that they are actually a bit under-spec'd (good :)) on actual power. They already have a driver, so it looks like all I would need would be a switch, some batteries, a case, and perhaps a heat sink.

Any experience with this module - are they pretty good?

IMHO i would go for 100+ mW due to the fact that you get both an excellent visible pointer at night or in low light, as well as a decent burning laser.

bmw328aw, I would, but I'm trying to watch my budget, as I'm pursuing builds in three different parts of the spectrum, plus some other projects right now!

I also came across an interesting reference to the GB that Day is doing for the US - would be able to pick-up a complete 100mw for less than the o-lite module - < $50?!:eek: But it looks like it's going to be a couple weeks before he gets the first ones in and puts them to a meter to check actual power, and perhaps a couple months for wave 3 (as he indicated wave 2 is going to be just empty hosts) to actually get one. And I don't know if I have that kind of patience!:p I am curious, though, what you think of those deals he is offering, if they are up to spec, those seem to be pretty nicely priced, no?
 
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seoguy said:
ElektroFreak, bmw328aw, thanks for the useful info!

So it sounds like I got what I paid for, I just need something a bit stronger to get a more visible beam.

On the stability issue, it doesn't appear to be mode-hopping, just varying in brightness.  But I can't see running a pen (and off a couple of AAA's) for > 15 minutes duty cycle just to wait for it to warm-up!  [highlight]So getting a stable green beam is only practical if you are running a laby?[/highlight]

Yes, lab style systems are far more stable than pretty much any green pointer..

In my experience, at least 50mW is required to begin to see a vivid beam in most darkened places.

Agreed on the 50mW...50mW is pleanty for night time beam brightness.

I was thinking about getting one of those o-like 40-50 modules as my next step on the green side of the spectrum.  I have also read that they are actually a bit under-spec'd (good :)) on actual power.  They already have a driver, so it looks like all I would need would be a switch, some batteries, a case, and perhaps a heat sink.

Any experience with this module - are they pretty good?

I have two of o-like's 40-50mW modules. They're quite well-made, and pretty stable also, so long as adequate heatsinking is present.. I'd definitely buy another, they seem to be a great deal for the price

IMHO i would go for 100+ mW due to the fact that you get both an excellent visible pointer at night or in low light, as well as a decent burning laser.

bmw328aw, I would, but I'm trying to watch my budget, as I'm pursuing builds in three different parts of the spectrum, plus some other projects right now!

I also came across an interesting reference to the GB that Day is doing for the US - would be able to pick-up a complete 100mw for less than the o-lite module - < $50?!:eek:  But it looks like it's going to be a couple weeks before he gets the first ones in and puts them to a meter to check actual power, and perhaps a couple months for wave 3 (as he indicated wave 2 is going to be just empty hosts) to actually get one.  And I don't know if I have that kind of patience!:p  I am curious, though, what you think of those deals he is offering, if they are up to spec, those seem to be pretty nicely priced, no?
 
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Those o-like modules have a switch already on them, theyre basically a leadlight module. To make it work in a push on-off host like the kryton groove (jayrob makes kits for these), you can bypass the switch by soldering a small bridge wire across the switch.

Also the stable green point, I would want a stable green no matter what, so that you don't get mode hopping/jumping or things like that. I had a 50mW and it was bright at night, but NO way was it nearly as bright as my 100mW o-like module i bought, this thing is nuts! For the extra 30 bucks, i have to say its VERY worth it.
 
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I bought a 50mW module from o-like too, and yeap, sure lives up to expectation. A visable beam in a dark room or into the night sky (I live in the sub-urban area, so with some street lamps, its not bad)

The module gets warm after a couple of seconds, and until I get my heat sink, I'm not gonna push the volts. I heard u can go up to 3.6V safely with some heatsinking.

Regarding the switch. No soldering of a wire across to bypass is necessary. Near the spring are two connections, one labeled plus, the other minus. Just connect the minus to the spring with a few drops of solder, and it bypasses the switch automatically. (or u can solder a wire to the - lead directly if u're not making use of the spring)
 

Jaseth

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The behaviour you describe is, as the others have stated, normal for a greenie of that strength.
My best advise would be to buy a 50mW (or several) from [highlight]www ledshoppe com[/highlight] ! Awesome prices and great laser with very visible beam (quite a bit better than my True 50mW Green from DX)
Also, be sure to check out [highlight]www retailmenot com/view/ledshoppe.com[/highlight] (I cannot post links yet, just add the . ) to get coupons for even lower prices. I ordered 3 at the same time (2 for lasercrazy me and one for my friend  :D) and got the 15% reduction.. awesome!

Good luck and stay safe!
 

aleman

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I have a Lyra g5 from LaserGlow and can easily see the beam at night outside.
 

Jaseth

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aleman said:
I have a Lyra g5 from LaserGlow and can easily see the beam at night outside.
Have you tested it for mW though? It is most likely overspec :)
 

aleman

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Came from LaserGlow with a sticker on the box that said it was tested at >4.5mw average.
 




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