davidgdg
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- Joined
- Dec 1, 2008
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Edit: I bought this item which was offered for sale by Daguin recently:
The unit
diode = 8X harvested from an LG (brand) BH08 (model)
driver = flexdrive
lens = 405-G-1 (Jayrob modification)
host = Kryton Groove
Focus adapter = Jayrob
battery = 18650
(info as provided by Dave)
Price and dispatch
US$ 460 including international postage, battery + charger and glow marbles.
Dispatch was ultra-prompt. Order placed on Friday. Posted by Dave via USPS on Saturday. Arrived the following Thursday. Packed in a shrink wrapped cardboard container. The unit was well protected inside in a black flexible zip carry case.
External Appearance
Semi-polished aluminium host with black rubber detailing. Length ~ 6". Very slick professional appearance. A very good looking piece:
The focusing adjustment is smooth and precise. Not too fine, not too coarse. Nice design detail with circular grooved rings:
The on-off button is at the battery end, concealed beneath a green rubberised cap:
I am using my own ultra-fire 3.7v 3000 mAh battery rather than the supplied battery. The ultra-fire fits perfectly. The battery screw cap is precisely machined with no looseness.
Beam
The beam spot is oval and ~ 2mm/4mm at the aperture. This is usual for BRs in my experience. Divergence is minimal. I was not able to detect any measurable divergence for at least 5 metres, so probably < 1 mrad. Beam spot picture below shows the spot shape defocused on a white wall. Ignore the colours which are not accurate.
Power
Edit - The unit was sold as a 410mw set at 310 ma, but I asked Dave to increase the output before shipping, in light of the good results from Igor's 8x testing. Dave did so and advised that he had set the unit to 430mw. However, my laserbee says otherwise ;-)
See below. A truly impressive rock solid 470mw (!!!) over 90 seconds. I have asked Dave what current he set it to but I have not yet heard back on this. I am guessing ~ 330ma but Dave if you are reading this, please tell us....
Burning/visibility
Burning ability is very impressive, bordering on the awewsome. Even with a parallel beam (focused on infinity) the unit will rapidly scorch white paper. When focused, it will make wet leaves smoke in seconds. I have not fully tested it but I suspect that it will easily set things on fire. I had to be careful when testing with the laserbee to ensure that the beam was focused to infinity. Otherwise I risked destroying the laserbee sensor!
The beam and spot are roughly comparable in brightness to a 1mw green. This doesn't sound much but given the human eye's low sensitivity to 405nm, it is pretty good. This is the first BR unit I have owned that is bright enough to project the spot significant distances (at least a couple of hundred feet).
Induced fluorescence on various surfaces is dazzling.
Summary
A beautifully made laser operating at the upper limits of what is possible for a hand-held. Not the cheapest but undoubtedly a case of You Get What You Pay For. Highly recommended.
David
The unit
diode = 8X harvested from an LG (brand) BH08 (model)
driver = flexdrive
lens = 405-G-1 (Jayrob modification)
host = Kryton Groove
Focus adapter = Jayrob
battery = 18650
(info as provided by Dave)
Price and dispatch
US$ 460 including international postage, battery + charger and glow marbles.
Dispatch was ultra-prompt. Order placed on Friday. Posted by Dave via USPS on Saturday. Arrived the following Thursday. Packed in a shrink wrapped cardboard container. The unit was well protected inside in a black flexible zip carry case.
External Appearance
Semi-polished aluminium host with black rubber detailing. Length ~ 6". Very slick professional appearance. A very good looking piece:
The focusing adjustment is smooth and precise. Not too fine, not too coarse. Nice design detail with circular grooved rings:
The on-off button is at the battery end, concealed beneath a green rubberised cap:
I am using my own ultra-fire 3.7v 3000 mAh battery rather than the supplied battery. The ultra-fire fits perfectly. The battery screw cap is precisely machined with no looseness.
Beam
The beam spot is oval and ~ 2mm/4mm at the aperture. This is usual for BRs in my experience. Divergence is minimal. I was not able to detect any measurable divergence for at least 5 metres, so probably < 1 mrad. Beam spot picture below shows the spot shape defocused on a white wall. Ignore the colours which are not accurate.
Power
Edit - The unit was sold as a 410mw set at 310 ma, but I asked Dave to increase the output before shipping, in light of the good results from Igor's 8x testing. Dave did so and advised that he had set the unit to 430mw. However, my laserbee says otherwise ;-)
See below. A truly impressive rock solid 470mw (!!!) over 90 seconds. I have asked Dave what current he set it to but I have not yet heard back on this. I am guessing ~ 330ma but Dave if you are reading this, please tell us....
Burning/visibility
Burning ability is very impressive, bordering on the awewsome. Even with a parallel beam (focused on infinity) the unit will rapidly scorch white paper. When focused, it will make wet leaves smoke in seconds. I have not fully tested it but I suspect that it will easily set things on fire. I had to be careful when testing with the laserbee to ensure that the beam was focused to infinity. Otherwise I risked destroying the laserbee sensor!
The beam and spot are roughly comparable in brightness to a 1mw green. This doesn't sound much but given the human eye's low sensitivity to 405nm, it is pretty good. This is the first BR unit I have owned that is bright enough to project the spot significant distances (at least a couple of hundred feet).
Induced fluorescence on various surfaces is dazzling.
Summary
A beautifully made laser operating at the upper limits of what is possible for a hand-held. Not the cheapest but undoubtedly a case of You Get What You Pay For. Highly recommended.
David
Attachments
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