Just received RF532-50mw-QGT, not great.

I just bought a new green laser from rayfoss

www.rayfoss.com

I got it last week and had a chance to play around with it a bit over the weekend. Unfortunately, it seems like this laser is no more powerful than the cheapo model I got on amazon. The beam at night looks exactly the same (please pardon a laser noob for lack of technical jargon) the dot size on the wall exactly the same, the point was not even warm on my skin.

Has anyone else bought this particular model? Or a similar 50mw laser from rayfoss that at least had a noticeable increase in power over their cheapy?

Thanks

It's only 50mW.

There'll be some visibility improvements against a 5mW pointer, but most of them are overspec, or your laser is underspec.

I can't feel my 50mW on my skin either- I haven't tried out how well it burns, though.

Ok I just wanted to post this info as an FYI for anyone considering buying this model or from this company.

I gave the battery a full charge and set out on a few quick tests...

With black electrical tape this unit was only able to make small impressions but not burn through. On a black sharpie square on an inflated balloon it only made small impressions on the ink, again not burning through. And I did try with the cap on and the cap off incase that made any difference...

Regarding the waterproofing, it was nice and it was fun using it in the pool. If you're a person who scubas or snorkels it has sufficient power to point things out underwater.

Regarding customer service, I emailed rayfoss with my concern over the perceived lack of power and they were very quick to respond with troubleshooting tips and solutions for me if I was just dissatisfied with the laser. I'm sure it was a general email template but it was nice to have the response anyway.

Regarding shipping, I paid them on June 9th and did not receive my lasers until June 29th. Just stating the timeframe, I figured it'd take a while coming from China.

The beam is not visible in daylight but bright like you would expect at night. I think this would make a great gift for a friend which is exactly what I'm opting to do with this one. I'd like to have a laser than can burn things so I'm just going to buy something with more juice.

I hope this info helps anyone interested in buying a laser of this strength or interested in doing business with this company.

I attached a few pics of what I'm working with but couldn't get any beam shot with my lowly DROID camera.

Thanks

Those are some pretty good pics for a phone camera. If you want to get the exact power on it, find a reputable LPF member with a laser power meter who lives nearby. Most members will test your laser for free if you pay return shipping.

If you want serious burning power for cheap, check out the 445nm diodes that the forum has gone crazy over. Talk to some of the builders here such as Daguin, Yobresal, IgorT, etc and have them build you one or build one yourself.