- Joined
- Sep 16, 2007
- Messages
- 3,658
- Points
- 113
Every purchase I've made from Flaminpyro has been a good one.
This last one is no exception. Jeff always delivers quality work and is a good guy to deal with. You can count on superb craftsmanship even when he is backed up with orders and busy with life's obstacles.
Thanks again, Jeff, I appreciate the hard work you do.
Click the thumbnails for larger size.
I'm not a big fan of "flashlight" lasers, to be honest. Nor am I a big fan of kits that are offered regularly since I like "uniqueness." However, the Stainless Steel SH-032 is a pretty good looking host. It is compact, runs on a single 18650, the finish is solid, and the body offers enough room for a big heat-sink. As a bonus, it features double O-rings for weather-proofing as an option.
Now, SS is not the best metal when it comes to thermal conductivity but I wanted an "outdoor" laser that could serve as a backup wind-proof lighter, signal "flare," or whatever else it could be used for on my hiking adventures (besides plain ol' fun). The SS SH-032 fit the bill and I have no doubts it will stand up to the elements without issue.
I asked FP to make up a heat-sink for me that is a bit shorter in the front so I can make use of the glass window to keep moisture out. Of course, with the window installed, focusing is not an option, but when your laser is pumping out so many photons it doesn't really matter.
For the time being I'm using the Aixiz 3-element glass lens without waterproofing. In order to get everything to fit in the host with the window in place, a 405-G-1 is used with a shortened lens nut so that it is recessed in the Aixiz module. This keeps the module flush with the heat-sink so that nothing protrudes, making enough room for the window.
This one uses a Cu heat-sink. It is one solid piece of copper bored out for an Aixiz module. Two set screws are used to keep the module in. The module fits nice and snug with almost no air gap between it and the heat-sink. The heat-sink fits just as snug inside the host.
In order to expedite the transfer of heat from the driver to the heat-sink, I made a brass heat-sink for the driver. It makes contact with the “hot” components on the Flex-drive and is attached with some thermal adhesive. I made it just the right size so that the back of an Aixiz module can slip right over it. With the module assembled this way a lot of space is saved and there is no messing around with wires, shrink tubing, or coins. Not that DTR’s “coin mod” is any less ingenious.
So how does this laser perform?
The copper heat-sink does a great job of sucking up heat from the diode. I haven’t owned a portable 445nm in excess of 300mW for a while since it is “too much” power for casual use, so I forgot just how hot these diodes like to get. I tested this laser for 2 minutes flat. It gets warm but power is maintained between 1200-1400mW throughout the cycle. As it warms up the power slowly drops (as is the nature of these diodes). At the end of 2 minutes, the laser is pretty warm and needs a few minutes to cool off. As I mentioned earlier, stainless steel is not the best conductor so I don’t run this laser too hot. Short on cycles are best.
Since my LaserBee I measures only up to 1050mW I use a beam splitter to measure the output and then calculate for losses for a close estimate of the actual power. I might have to pick up one of Jerry’s new 2.5W meters soon.
Here is a shot of a leaf viewed through goggles that block blue and violet light allowing fluorescence to be very visible:
I even made a special label for this Class IV laser:
In sum, this purchase was another good one. I love the host and although this won’t be an “every-occasion” laser for me it is definitely one of my favorites. While it is limited in its ability to dump all the heat that is generated, it is certainly not a hindrance and the performance is excellent for a rugged, compact Class IV.
As far as the customer service part of the transaction goes… I would recommend Flaminpyro without hesitation.
Thanks for reading and stay safe.
This last one is no exception. Jeff always delivers quality work and is a good guy to deal with. You can count on superb craftsmanship even when he is backed up with orders and busy with life's obstacles.
Thanks again, Jeff, I appreciate the hard work you do.
Click the thumbnails for larger size.
I'm not a big fan of "flashlight" lasers, to be honest. Nor am I a big fan of kits that are offered regularly since I like "uniqueness." However, the Stainless Steel SH-032 is a pretty good looking host. It is compact, runs on a single 18650, the finish is solid, and the body offers enough room for a big heat-sink. As a bonus, it features double O-rings for weather-proofing as an option.
Now, SS is not the best metal when it comes to thermal conductivity but I wanted an "outdoor" laser that could serve as a backup wind-proof lighter, signal "flare," or whatever else it could be used for on my hiking adventures (besides plain ol' fun). The SS SH-032 fit the bill and I have no doubts it will stand up to the elements without issue.
I asked FP to make up a heat-sink for me that is a bit shorter in the front so I can make use of the glass window to keep moisture out. Of course, with the window installed, focusing is not an option, but when your laser is pumping out so many photons it doesn't really matter.
For the time being I'm using the Aixiz 3-element glass lens without waterproofing. In order to get everything to fit in the host with the window in place, a 405-G-1 is used with a shortened lens nut so that it is recessed in the Aixiz module. This keeps the module flush with the heat-sink so that nothing protrudes, making enough room for the window.
This one uses a Cu heat-sink. It is one solid piece of copper bored out for an Aixiz module. Two set screws are used to keep the module in. The module fits nice and snug with almost no air gap between it and the heat-sink. The heat-sink fits just as snug inside the host.
In order to expedite the transfer of heat from the driver to the heat-sink, I made a brass heat-sink for the driver. It makes contact with the “hot” components on the Flex-drive and is attached with some thermal adhesive. I made it just the right size so that the back of an Aixiz module can slip right over it. With the module assembled this way a lot of space is saved and there is no messing around with wires, shrink tubing, or coins. Not that DTR’s “coin mod” is any less ingenious.
So how does this laser perform?
The copper heat-sink does a great job of sucking up heat from the diode. I haven’t owned a portable 445nm in excess of 300mW for a while since it is “too much” power for casual use, so I forgot just how hot these diodes like to get. I tested this laser for 2 minutes flat. It gets warm but power is maintained between 1200-1400mW throughout the cycle. As it warms up the power slowly drops (as is the nature of these diodes). At the end of 2 minutes, the laser is pretty warm and needs a few minutes to cool off. As I mentioned earlier, stainless steel is not the best conductor so I don’t run this laser too hot. Short on cycles are best.
Since my LaserBee I measures only up to 1050mW I use a beam splitter to measure the output and then calculate for losses for a close estimate of the actual power. I might have to pick up one of Jerry’s new 2.5W meters soon.
Here is a shot of a leaf viewed through goggles that block blue and violet light allowing fluorescence to be very visible:
I even made a special label for this Class IV laser:
In sum, this purchase was another good one. I love the host and although this won’t be an “every-occasion” laser for me it is definitely one of my favorites. While it is limited in its ability to dump all the heat that is generated, it is certainly not a hindrance and the performance is excellent for a rugged, compact Class IV.
As far as the customer service part of the transaction goes… I would recommend Flaminpyro without hesitation.
Thanks for reading and stay safe.
