Looking out for some answers about olike/opto pointers

Hey there!

So this should be my first post on this forum, was reading it for the last past hours and there are some questions left which I hope you guys could help me out with

First of all, I am looking for an affordable laser since I am very new to this and discovered my interests in lasers just a few days ago
Now what I have learned from reading this forums, is the following.

Lasers that would fit into my budget and seem to be of quite high quality are

http://www.optotronics.com/proddetail.php?prod=glp-150

http://www.o-like.com/b2b_cpinfo.asp?id=930

Now my first question would be, are those ~30mw difference between them clearly visible concering the beam's brightness and visibilty?
Which batteries would perform best with them? I've read that the opto one should not be fed with more than 3.2v? Are there some accumulators out there that would be best to squeeze out the last ouze of power out of those pointers? Or am I fine with some alkalines?
What happens if those become to hot? Do they turn themselves off or du I have to watch the temp by myself to not destroy them?

Depending on which pointer I choose, I'd order some protection goggles right away from one of those shops.

That would either be

http://www.optotronics.com/proddetail.php?prod=lg-001

or

http://www.o-like.com/b2b_cpinfo.asp?id=1022

do they both perform well?
Those goggles don't block IR, right? But according to some posts, IR is not bad for your eyes, unless you point the beam directly into them, of course.

Ah and what the hell ist this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mF8JKwzxMI This beam is sooooo bright, is that normal?

Thank you very much!

Go for the O-like one, aswell as the googles. I don't think 30mW are going to make any difference. Alkalines are Ok, but are those powers you better get recharbeables AAA or you are going to spend more in batteries than inthe laser itself. About the temperature, you shouldn't worry, if it gets very hot consider turning it off for a while and you are ready to go again.

About the video, there's clearly some smoke there and then yes, it's normal.

Buying from O-like the both units will save you some cash in the shipping ande also, O-like is the best laser seller in my opinion.

Welcome to the forums!

Yours,
Albert

Thanks!
And what battery, rechargeable or not, would squeeze the last out of those o-like modules? I've read that the olike ones work best with 3.6v, but 2 AAA batteries only give 3v, don't they?

i bought the olike PEN :=) i am waiting it!! yes... i think that olike modules work best with lion batteries. SO....use a lion 10440 and a spacer. i heard that with lithium...you can have about 140 mw or more... with 2 alkalines about 130 ( susie told me this.. and she test laser with alkalines)....BUT i don't know how could work the driver with 2 rechargeable nimh.. that have about 1,3 volt. i will tell you!

i will test burning capability with 2 nimh and one 10440.....

realista said:

i bought the olike PEN :=) i am waiting it!! yes... i think that olike modules work best with lion batteries. SO....use a lion 10440 and a spacer. i heard that with lithium...you can have about 140 mw or more... with 2 alkalines about 130 ( susie told me this.. and she test laser with alkalines)....BUT i don't know how could work the driver with 2 rechargeable nimh.. that have about 1,3 volt. i will tell you!

i will test burning capability with 2 nimh and one 10440.....

Click to expand...

So the o-like module is really capable to handle 3.6v+? Thats quite much compared to the opto one!

olike can be uset at 3.6 volt... but i prefer optotronics driver. so i could use 2 nimh. also with olike i will use nimh.. but only if the burning power does not decrease too much.

realista said:

olike can be uset at 3.6 volt... but i prefer optotronics driver. so i could use 2 nimh. also with olike i will use nimh.. but only if the burning power does not decrease too much.

Click to expand...

Something I'm sure that is going to happen

Also important to consider this: I don't believe the O-like laser is IR filtered, so the 120mW rating would include IR in addition to green. I know for a fact that the Opto laser IS IR filtered and the 150mW rating is the rating for the green wavelength.

I think IR contributes only a minor amount to the output (perhaps maybe 4 to 5 mW......someone chime in here?).

So the difference in power output for the green wavelength between the two lasers may be a little more than reported.

Also note that the Opto laser may likely have better divergence characteristics to the beam and is guaranteed to be under 1.2 mrad. O-like does not have such a guarantee and can be as wide as 1.6 mrad or more.

But obviously, O-like is much cheaper so it's a trade-off. You have to figure out what's more important to you and decide if the trade-off is worth while.

I'd say the reputation of both companies are top-notch, so no concern there. Also O-like is overseas and Opto is American.....if that matters to you (gotta support your local economy right..... ).

Anyhow, I think you'd be very happy with either laser! Plenty of power and good beaming fun! Enjoy whichever laser you decide to choose!

WP

WAVE_PARTICLE said:

Also important to consider this: I don't believe the O-like laser is IR filtered, so the 120mW rating would include IR in addition to green. I know for a fact that the Opto laser IS IR filtered and the 150mW rating is the rating for the green wavelength.

I think IR contributes only a minor amount to the output (perhaps maybe 4 to 5 mW......someone chime in here?).

So the difference in power output for the green wavelength between the two lasers may be a little more than reported.

Also note that the Opto laser may likely have better divergence characteristics to the beam and is guaranteed to be under 1.2 mrad. O-like does not have such a guarantee and can be as wide as 1.6 mrad or more.

But obviously, O-like is much cheaper so it's a trade-off. You have to figure out what's more important to you and decide if the trade-off is worth while.

I'd say the reputation of both companies are top-notch, so no concern there. Also O-like is overseas and Opto is American.....if that matters to you (gotta support your local economy right..... ).

Anyhow, I think you'd be very happy with either laser! Plenty of power and good beaming fun! Enjoy whichever laser you decide to choose!

WP

Click to expand...

their low power lasers are not filtered

Hallucynogenyc said:

their low power lasers are not filtered

Click to expand...

Sorry about that.....I guess I might be reading Opto's website incorrectly. According to the website, they do mention that the "Green Pen Pointer" series lasers are IR filtered: "Coatings block >96% of all IR"

If this is untrue, then I strongly advise Jack to remove this statement from his website, because part of the reason why I bought my laser from him was the knowledge that most of the IR is removed from this particular laser. I don't particularly like being misinformed....


WP

WAVE_PARTICLE said:

Sorry about that.....I guess I might be reading Opto's website incorrectly. According to the website, they do mention that the "Green Pen Pointer" series lasers are IR filtered: "Coatings block >96% of all IR"

If this is untrue, then I strongly advise Jack to remove this statement from his website, because part of the reason why I bought my laser from him was the knowledge that most of the IR is removed from this particular laser. I don't particularly like being misinformed....


WP

Click to expand...

Yea take a look at the table on the bottom of THIS page. There you get this information about IR.

Man the opto pointer really looks good, you get a guaranteed output of pure green light, you get a pointer/driver that works perfect with 3-3.2v, IR filtering? and a really great divergence.
I think I'll choose the opto pen

greetings

WAVE_PARTICLE said:

Sorry about that.....I guess I might be reading Opto's website incorrectly. According to the website, they do mention that the "Green Pen Pointer" series lasers are IR filtered: "Coatings block >96% of all IR"

If this is untrue, then I strongly advise Jack to remove this statement from his website, because part of the reason why I bought my laser from him was the knowledge that most of the IR is removed from this particular laser. I don't particularly like being misinformed....


WP

Click to expand...

Hi Wave_particle,
You were not misinformed by us; however you were misinformed by another member of the forum.
We stand by our specs and they are listed in the table at the bottom of the page that Jaffi pointed out.

I'm sorry if i gave false information, but I think I heard here that some of the pointers or the pointers or the low poer pointers or something like that were not filtered. If that's false kindly correct me

Hallucynogenyc said:

I'm sorry if i gave false information, but I think I heard here that some of the pointers or the pointers or the low poer pointers or something like that were not filtered. If that's false kindly correct me

Click to expand...

You may be going on some old information, about a year and a half ago when we 1st came out with our 30mw, it did not have IR filtering. As soon as we learned this, it was corrected in subsequent builds.

Thanks for chiming in, Jack!

All is now well! I got a laser that is as advertised. Actually, scratch that. I got a laser that is more than advertised! It is a terrific laser!


Jaffi, I think you made a great decision! You will be VERY happy. Spec-for-spec, I believe it is the better laser of the two. Value-wise, I believe they are similar, because the Opto laser is has a higher price tag. It all depends on what's important to you.

To me, divergence is a big thing because it's a significant determinant in how far the beam can be thrown....which is why I wish I can afford an RPL....lol!

hey boy. i have a problem. i received my olike 120+.. but it is not so powerfull. the brightness is almost the SAMe of my dealextreme 30mw kaleidoscopic Xd doh. now i emailed susie.. and i am waiting for a response. i nthe pachage susie wrote 140mw..... i expected a WOW FACTOR.... instead... nothink. also with one 10440 lion the bright is max 10% better.. and the beam is a BIT better. but surely not a 140!!i am quite disappoined. i asked my MOM... hey.. that is the best? she told me... they are the same XD ;( ;( ;( i don't know if susie can refund me... or if i must use the credit in your store for another laser.... but surely this laser is not good as expected. in the first 0,5 second it PEAKS......in brightness. then go down.. like my 30mw kaleidoscopic. naturally it burns... but not as i expected from a 140.

EDIT: i discovered that the BEAM is worste than my dx... after 20 seconds.... why XD and the diode gets hot A LOT BEFORE my dx 30mw. i think it is abad unit.. i am waiting for a susie response