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Ok, I am not usually one to post a lot of reviews... Mostly because I only have 3 lasers at the moment, blue heres my review of a 100mW Blue Ray pointer from Jake21.
Starting off, delivery was incredibly quick, I have been saying for some time that I am going on holiday on Tuesday and I will need it delivered before I go. Sure enough I woke up today and there it was at my door, that was sent from America to England in just under seven days! Packing was good as well, a nice padded envelope covered in possibly a mile of sticky tape.
It seamed all ok and passed through customs with no trouble at all, although from what I can only assume, there is a 5mW 532nm sticker on the laser which would have helped it pass through customs if it was opened.
No real issue with that, anything that helps is good.
The laser came with a few little extras that I was not expecting, especially from my past experiences with DIY lasers. It came with a nice, almost white, fabric box. I am not actually sure where this box came from, it looks like it was used for another laser in the past going by the fact the laser does not fit properly in length and it is a little tight to fit it in there. I also got a nice glow tile, I have yet to test this properly though as it is rather hard to see in day light.
The laser is powered by, what look like, AAA batteries. They work well enough but I have tried using the same AAA Duracell batteries I use in my 75mW Viper. I was surprised to find that AAA Duracells did not work in this laser, I will try again with new ones but for some strange reason they do not work and they work in my greenie.
Just as a styling comparison, I placed it alongside my DL Viper 75, obviously it isn't the best looking in the world but I don't think it looks that bad. The Blue Ray is inside an all metal housing which does help with cooling as I have used the laser for 5 mins now and have started to feel the tip getting warmer.
Ok, onto the most important now, the laser itself. Now, I must admit this is my first blue ray so I cannot really tell if it is actually 100mW from looking at it and I do not have a power meter to test it on. Although compared to my 75mW viper it does seam rather bright.
I have only noticed two downsides to this, the first being the beam colimination is terrible from two meters away the dot is already 1.5cm big, from what I can see the optics used in this laser are adjustable so I may have a play around with this. The second downside is from time to time I get a 'double dot' I had this with my Viper a while back when the batteries were really low and it was mode hopping, for some strange reason if I turn the laser off and point it somewhere else at another angle it does fix itself. Perhaps the diode is loose inside? I have also noticed that sometimes when it does this, the dot turns into a rather dim blob, but as said if I move it about a bit then it does sort itself out.
Heres a shot of the dot side by side to my Viper, as you can see the blue ray has turned into a nasty looking blob. (note: the Viper was on used batteries in this shot)
...and a shot of the beam when it has fixed itself.
The actual beam itself is, almost, visible in daylight depending on which angle you look at it. I have yet to test it in the dark yet but I can only assume the beam will be visible in the dark.
Overall, this laser is not bad at all. I have had experiences in the past with lasers not even working when they turned up at my door. Obviously there are a few bad points about this laser but lets face it, it is a DIY laser so I wasn't expecting professional quality or anything. The box and glow tile are a nice little extra, and I am sure I will be spending the next few weeks playing around with it.
Starting off, delivery was incredibly quick, I have been saying for some time that I am going on holiday on Tuesday and I will need it delivered before I go. Sure enough I woke up today and there it was at my door, that was sent from America to England in just under seven days! Packing was good as well, a nice padded envelope covered in possibly a mile of sticky tape.
It seamed all ok and passed through customs with no trouble at all, although from what I can only assume, there is a 5mW 532nm sticker on the laser which would have helped it pass through customs if it was opened.
No real issue with that, anything that helps is good.
The laser came with a few little extras that I was not expecting, especially from my past experiences with DIY lasers. It came with a nice, almost white, fabric box. I am not actually sure where this box came from, it looks like it was used for another laser in the past going by the fact the laser does not fit properly in length and it is a little tight to fit it in there. I also got a nice glow tile, I have yet to test this properly though as it is rather hard to see in day light.
The laser is powered by, what look like, AAA batteries. They work well enough but I have tried using the same AAA Duracell batteries I use in my 75mW Viper. I was surprised to find that AAA Duracells did not work in this laser, I will try again with new ones but for some strange reason they do not work and they work in my greenie.
Just as a styling comparison, I placed it alongside my DL Viper 75, obviously it isn't the best looking in the world but I don't think it looks that bad. The Blue Ray is inside an all metal housing which does help with cooling as I have used the laser for 5 mins now and have started to feel the tip getting warmer.
Ok, onto the most important now, the laser itself. Now, I must admit this is my first blue ray so I cannot really tell if it is actually 100mW from looking at it and I do not have a power meter to test it on. Although compared to my 75mW viper it does seam rather bright.
I have only noticed two downsides to this, the first being the beam colimination is terrible from two meters away the dot is already 1.5cm big, from what I can see the optics used in this laser are adjustable so I may have a play around with this. The second downside is from time to time I get a 'double dot' I had this with my Viper a while back when the batteries were really low and it was mode hopping, for some strange reason if I turn the laser off and point it somewhere else at another angle it does fix itself. Perhaps the diode is loose inside? I have also noticed that sometimes when it does this, the dot turns into a rather dim blob, but as said if I move it about a bit then it does sort itself out.
Heres a shot of the dot side by side to my Viper, as you can see the blue ray has turned into a nasty looking blob. (note: the Viper was on used batteries in this shot)
...and a shot of the beam when it has fixed itself.
The actual beam itself is, almost, visible in daylight depending on which angle you look at it. I have yet to test it in the dark yet but I can only assume the beam will be visible in the dark.
Overall, this laser is not bad at all. I have had experiences in the past with lasers not even working when they turned up at my door. Obviously there are a few bad points about this laser but lets face it, it is a DIY laser so I wasn't expecting professional quality or anything. The box and glow tile are a nice little extra, and I am sure I will be spending the next few weeks playing around with it.
