IgorT 140mw Blu-ray SF-AW (Picture heavy-ish) - Laser Pointer Forums

Inequality · 02-07-2010, 03:44 PM

Alright, welcome to my first attempt on making a laser-review. It will also contain, maybe you can call it a little "story-mode" of the process :P. Fasten your seatbelts for a bumpy ride

(The pictures in the thread has been reduced in size down to 20%). Hopefully it's good.

Ordering from Igor(T?)

So, I got more and more into blu-ray lasers. And it wasn't too hard to understand that IgorT is one of the guys to look for when wanting a custom-made one here on the forums.
I'm not sure how he would like you to order from him, but hell, I just added him on skype and got instant responces on all my questions. Professional, but with a really friendly tone in the conversation.

I know that I'm not the best on lasers and how they work etc. But it didn't matter what I asked, I always got a friendly responce and maybe a link or a picture, followed by an explination over skype. All I knew when I orderd the laser was that I wanted it around 130mw-ish. And a PHR laser running inside it.
I quickly learned that I had a bunch of options, from lenses to what kind of host I wanted. I picked the "standard" host. I was also told that It's rather unnessesary to use the glass lens for this laser since it's only a PHR diode. So hell, an aixiz (spelling) plastic lens it was. Also, it was suppose to be a "freak", higher wavelenght and a more lasting diode. Once again, IgorT helped me with everything I didn't understand.

A users-manual was also sent to me by IgorT.

Diode-change! - A couple of days later I was contacted by IgorT. We already had made the deal and the money was already in his account. He told me that my laser was going to have a SF-AW diode instead, due to some "bad history" with phr's setting too high. This free of charge (deal was already made).

Shipping/receiving

The shipping went smooth, I was also given a tracking number so I could track the laser online.
When it arrived, it was packaged really well. Had some bubble-wrap around everything, and extra bubble-wrap around the laser itself.
I was really surprised when I first held the package.
I actually thought "IgorT, dude. You forgot to ship the laser and only sent me the batteries or something"

. Why?
Because it was so damn small, really.

Here comes some pictures of the packaging.

The package itself, and the laser

The original packaging:

On the picture, you see the ->two<- rechargable 14500 TrustFire batteries. Two extra "lens-protective-glow-in-the-dark" caps and the laser itself:

The box it came in was really nothing fancy. But it's not ment to be kept in that anyhow. Now you maybe understand why I thought he forgot to send the laser :P:

The laser itself (two pictures)

The very nice safty-lable (required here in Sweden). Sorry for the small out of focus here.

The Overall-feel to it

As mentioned before, it was smaller than I thought. The quality of the host seems very good and sturdy (in metal). It has a very nice and solid weight too it when loaded with the battery.
The focusing ring is easy to turn and will not un-focus by any means if I don't turn it with my own fingers. Nice feel to it.
One thing I noticed tho was that when I wanted to get it back to "infinitry" (turning it left), it didn't stop at infinity and became very unfocused again. So basicly you need to find that infinitry-spot. But it's easy after a little playing around with it.

The on/off switch feels rather good quality and I'm sure that it wont break. Has a nice klicky-sound to it.

The Duty-cycle Quoted from the Laser Instructions sent by IgorT:
"The laser can be left on for 3-5 minutes, altho it doesn't overheat, even if left on longer than 30 minutes at once. If it gets warm, it can be left to cool off for a few minutes, before using it again, but it is made in a way, that it never overheats." Awesome stuff ^^

The beam/dot and burning

So, we've come to the look-up of the laserbeam/dot and the lasers burning capabilities.

The laser dot is not close to visible compared to any of my green lasers. But I didn't really expect that eather. For a blu-ray though, I feel it's quite visible anyways =). (I did ask IgorT to get a more visible wavelenght one).
The beam itself is visible during the night and in the day (only a little, if watched from behind). In smoke, the beam is very visible

.

Comparing the 140mw blu-ray to a 150mw Aurora. The Aurora has low batteries but still dosn't compare:

Beam-shot of the Blu-ray (with some smoke in a semi-lit room):

Burning with the laser is damn easy. It burns everything but metal and diamonds :P.
No, but really. The lasers goes straight through white paper instantly with proper focus. Matches (light-brown) melts away at the momeny you point it to them, also able to burn the wooden part of the match. I'm yet to try baloons with it, aswell as long-range match-burning.. (How far away you think I'll be able to burn them?

). Longest match-burn yet was a 2.5 meter (match held in hands) and laser on the table. The match lit very fast

.

One thing I noticed that was a bit bad is that the host has a "round-connection" to whatever flat surface you lay it down on. So it can start rolling away if you place it and walk away. The little "wristband-safty" thing in the back stops it from moving too much though.

I also noticed that there will be a green "track" or "trail" behind the laser when moving it around in snow (pointing at snow).
Many more discoveries to be made

That's it for my first laser-review. I hope you like it and I appologize for any incorrect spelled words. But I hope you all understand it pretty good =).

Greetz,
- Nicklas

roddenberry · 02-07-2010, 04:02 PM

Well done, Very nice review! Thanks!
... you have fluorescent snow in your neighborhood?

- Robert

mdjd07 · 02-07-2010, 04:26 PM

That thing looks sweet!

Svensson · 02-07-2010, 04:27 PM

Nice review and pics! The laser looks top quality, I'm sure you'll enjoy it

IgorT · 02-07-2010, 06:08 PM

Thanks for the review, Nicklas!

Before i go back to work, i just want to elaborate on two things:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inequality

I was also told that It's rather unnessesary to use the glass lens for this laser since it's only a PHR diode. So hell, an aixiz (spelling) plastic lens it was.

Actually, what i was trying to tell you was, that it made more sense to reach a higher power with a higher power diode first, rather than using a PHR.

But a glass lens would still make a difference on your laser in terms of power. This is true regardless of the diode. But it does make more sense to use glass on higher power ones.

As for the duty cycle, i don't recall mentioning either 3 or 5 minutes for your laser.

I ran my first GGW at 193mW for half an hour straight once, measuring the power, it dropped 3mW as it warmed up, and then remained stable for the remainder of the time - heat was not increasing anymore. And that was in an older heatsink model, you have the latest one.

At this power there are no duty cycle restrictions, only thing that matters is total diode life in hours, and at 140mW a SF-AW should last a very long time. Definitelly longer than a PHR.

Glad the laser reached you so quickly, if you need any help, just let me know!

Inequality · 02-07-2010, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IgorT

Thanks for the review, Nicklas!

Before i go back to work, i just want to elaborate on two things:

Actually, what i was trying to tell you was, that it made more sense to reach a higher power with a higher power diode first, rather than using a PHR.

But a glass lens would still make a difference on your laser in terms of power. This is true regardless of the diode. But it does make more sense to use glass on higher power ones.

As for the duty cycle, i don't recall mentioning either 3 or 5 minutes for your laser.

I ran my first GGW at 193mW for half an hour straight once, measuring the power, it dropped 3mW as it warmed up, and then remained stable for the remainder of the time - heat was not increasing anymore. And that was in an older heatsink model, you have the latest one.

At this power there are no duty cycle restrictions, only thing that matters is total diode life in hours, and at 140mW a SF-AW should last a very long time. Definitelly longer than a PHR.

Glad the laser reached you so quickly, if you need any help, just let me know!

"The laser can be left on for 3-5 minutes, altho it doesn't overheat, even if left on longer than 30 minutes at once. If it gets warm, it can be left to cool off for a few minutes, before using it again, but it is made in a way, that it never overheats."

Quoted from the Instructions you sent me. I miss-read what was written in there and thought it said a 3-5 min duty cycle. But now I see the last sentince in that quote. Sorry about that

.
I'll correct it now =).

Thanks everyone for the kind words about the review

Inequality · 02-08-2010, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roddenberry

Well done, Very nice review! Thanks!
... you have fluorescent snow in your neighborhood?

- Robert

Haha. Apparently I do have that ^^. Doesn't all snow react in that way? Or is it something special?

.
Greetings,
- Nicklas

Traveller · 02-10-2010, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inequality

I also noticed that there will be a green "track" or "trail" behind the laser when moving it around in snow (pointing at snow).

Nice review

About laying tracks in the snow... it's going to snow all night long in Vienna tonight so I will be sure to check our snow's fluorescing levels and report back

DJNY · 02-10-2010, 09:37 PM

I tried it out 2 days ago, Vienna´s snow is fluorescing, but nothing special

The nicest and simplest blu-ray colour changing effect is pointing on a wall, yellow+white sheet of paper!

Traveller · 02-11-2010, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJNY

...Vienna´s snow is fluorescing, but nothing special...

Agreed, I was not impressed. Maybe the OP is currently testing his IgorT near the Black Sea coastline in the Ukraine (you know... with the submerged U-boats with armed *nuclear* warheads...)

What I can recommend are those 1" crackled marbles from JayRob

DJNY · 02-11-2010, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Traveller

What I can recommend are those 1" crackled marbles from JayRob

Dankschön fürn Tipp, hoff der Versand nach Ö. ist auch nur $1,50

Inequality · 02-11-2010, 02:56 PM

The snow-thing was just something i noticed. It is my first blu-ray, so I found it rather cool ^^.
Thanks for all the comments people. Really love to get response om how you all liked it.

.
Greetings,
- Nicklas

IgorT · 02-14-2010, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Traveller

Agreed, I was not impressed. Maybe the OP is currently testing his IgorT near the Black Sea coastline in the Ukraine (you know... with the submerged U-boats with armed *nuclear* warheads...)

What I can recommend are those 1" crackled marbles from JayRob

Speaking of radiation and nuclear warheads, did i ever mention, that one of my lasers was delivered by helicopter to USS Shiloh, at that time sailing somewhere near Japan - a missle intercept ship, i was told could shoot nuclear missles down from outer space?

I had the officer promisse he won't strap the laser to a missle and shoot it up, but was unable to find out if nuclear warheads fluoresce, as he was unable to confirm nor deny that they have such a thing there.

Hope i didn't say too much, but the Shiloh is now also armed with a BluRay laser among other things...

EDIT: Why doesn't our snow here fluoresce in any way? I'm guessing it could depend on various impurities that get embeded into it from air....

daguin · 02-14-2010, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IgorT

Hope i didn't say too much, but the Shiloh is now also armed with a BluRay laser among other things...

Can peace in the world be far behind now?

Peace,
dave

IgorT · 02-14-2010, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daguin

Can peace in the world be far behind now?

Peace,
dave

The thing i was thinking about is how cool a blu laser beam must look from the deck of a ship in the middle of an open ocean at night.

02-07-2010, 03:44 PM	#1
Inequality Class 1 Laser Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 63 Rep Power: 3	IgorT 140mw Blu-ray SF-AW (Picture heavy-ish) Alright, welcome to my first attempt on making a laser-review. It will also contain, maybe you can call it a little "story-mode" of the process :P. Fasten your seatbelts for a bumpy ride (The pictures in the thread has been reduced in size down to 20%). Hopefully it's good. Ordering from Igor(T?) So, I got more and more into blu-ray lasers. And it wasn't too hard to understand that IgorT is one of the guys to look for when wanting a custom-made one here on the forums. I'm not sure how he would like you to order from him, but hell, I just added him on skype and got instant responces on all my questions. Professional, but with a really friendly tone in the conversation. I know that I'm not the best on lasers and how they work etc. But it didn't matter what I asked, I always got a friendly responce and maybe a link or a picture, followed by an explination over skype. All I knew when I orderd the laser was that I wanted it around 130mw-ish. And a PHR laser running inside it. I quickly learned that I had a bunch of options, from lenses to what kind of host I wanted. I picked the "standard" host. I was also told that It's rather unnessesary to use the glass lens for this laser since it's only a PHR diode. So hell, an aixiz (spelling) plastic lens it was. Also, it was suppose to be a "freak", higher wavelenght and a more lasting diode. Once again, IgorT helped me with everything I didn't understand. A users-manual was also sent to me by IgorT. Diode-change! - A couple of days later I was contacted by IgorT. We already had made the deal and the money was already in his account. He told me that my laser was going to have a SF-AW diode instead, due to some "bad history" with phr's setting too high. This free of charge (deal was already made). Shipping/receiving The shipping went smooth, I was also given a tracking number so I could track the laser online. When it arrived, it was packaged really well. Had some bubble-wrap around everything, and extra bubble-wrap around the laser itself. I was really surprised when I first held the package. I actually thought "IgorT, dude. You forgot to ship the laser and only sent me the batteries or something" . Why? Because it was so damn small, really. Here comes some pictures of the packaging. *The package itself, and the laser* The original packaging: On the picture, you see the ->two<- rechargable 14500 TrustFire batteries. Two extra "lens-protective-glow-in-the-dark" caps and the laser itself: The box it came in was really nothing fancy. But it's not ment to be kept in that anyhow. Now you maybe understand why I thought he forgot to send the laser :P: The laser itself (two pictures) The very nice safty-lable (required here in Sweden). Sorry for the small out of focus here. The Overall-feel to it As mentioned before, it was smaller than I thought. The quality of the host seems very good and sturdy (in metal). It has a very nice and solid weight too it when loaded with the battery. The focusing ring is easy to turn and will not un-focus by any means if I don't turn it with my own fingers. Nice feel to it. One thing I noticed tho was that when I wanted to get it back to "infinitry" (turning it left), it didn't stop at infinity and became very unfocused again. So basicly you need to find that infinitry-spot. But it's easy after a little playing around with it. The on/off switch feels rather good quality and I'm sure that it wont break. Has a nice klicky-sound to it. The Duty-cycle Quoted from the Laser Instructions sent by IgorT: "The laser can be left on for 3-5 minutes, altho it doesn't overheat, even if left on longer than 30 minutes at once. If it gets warm, it can be left to cool off for a few minutes, before using it again, but it is made in a way, that it never overheats." Awesome stuff ^^ The beam/dot and burning So, we've come to the look-up of the laserbeam/dot and the lasers burning capabilities. The laser dot is not close to visible compared to any of my green lasers. But I didn't really expect that eather. For a blu-ray though, I feel it's quite visible anyways =). (I did ask IgorT to get a more visible wavelenght one). The beam itself is visible during the night and in the day (only a little, if watched from behind). In smoke, the beam is very visible . Comparing the 140mw blu-ray to a 150mw Aurora. The Aurora has low batteries but still dosn't compare: Beam-shot of the Blu-ray (with some smoke in a semi-lit room): Burning with the laser is damn easy. It burns everything but metal and diamonds :P. No, but really. The lasers goes straight through white paper instantly with proper focus. Matches (light-brown) melts away at the momeny you point it to them, also able to burn the wooden part of the match. I'm yet to try baloons with it, aswell as long-range match-burning.. (How far away you think I'll be able to burn them? ). Longest match-burn yet was a 2.5 meter (match held in hands) and laser on the table. The match lit very fast . One thing I noticed that was a bit bad is that the host has a "round-connection" to whatever flat surface you lay it down on. So it can start rolling away if you place it and walk away. The little "wristband-safty" thing in the back stops it from moving too much though. I also noticed that there will be a green "track" or "trail" behind the laser when moving it around in snow (pointing at snow). Many more discoveries to be made That's it for my first laser-review. I hope you like it and I appologize for any incorrect spelled words. But I hope you all understand it pretty good =). Greetz, - Nicklas __________________ 75mw Green 532nm DL(CNI) Viper (working) Thanks to Phoenix77 (rob), love ya! 150mw Green 532nm DL(CNI) Aurora (working) 140mw Blu-ray SF-AW, "Higher WL", IgorT build. <-- http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/ig...ish-47974.html <- sold. Last edited by Inequality; 02-07-2010 at 07:51 PM.

02-07-2010, 04:02 PM	#2
roddenberry Class 2 Laser Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Montreal Posts: 340 Rep Power: 13	Re: IgorT 140mw Blu-ray SF-AW (Picture heavy-ish) Well done, Very nice review! Thanks! ... you have fluorescent snow in your neighborhood? - Robert

02-07-2010, 04:26 PM	#3
mdjd07 Class 1M Laser Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: PA Posts: 153 Rep Power: 6	Re: IgorT 140mw Blu-ray SF-AW (Picture heavy-ish) That thing looks sweet! __________________ 1st Build - 5mw Red Water Pistol Second Build In Progress - PHR-803T, Custom Machined Host With Fan

02-07-2010, 04:27 PM	#4
Svensson Class 1 Laser Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 97 Rep Power: 5	Re: IgorT 140mw Blu-ray SF-AW (Picture heavy-ish) Nice review and pics! The laser looks top quality, I'm sure you'll enjoy it __________________ - DX <200mW 532nm green NewWish pen - DX <200mW 660nm red Dilda

02-10-2010, 09:37 PM	#9
DJNY Class 3R Laser Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Austria Posts: 1,245 Rep Power: 31	Re: IgorT 140mw Blu-ray SF-AW (Picture heavy-ish) I tried it out 2 days ago, Vienna´s snow is fluorescing, but nothing special The nicest and simplest blu-ray colour changing effect is pointing on a wall, yellow+white sheet of paper!

02-11-2010, 02:56 PM	#12
Inequality Class 1 Laser Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 63 Rep Power: 3	Re: IgorT 140mw Blu-ray SF-AW (Picture heavy-ish) The snow-thing was just something i noticed. It is my first blu-ray, so I found it rather cool ^^. Thanks for all the comments people. Really love to get response om how you all liked it. . Greetings, - Nicklas __________________ 75mw Green 532nm DL(CNI) Viper (working) Thanks to Phoenix77 (rob), love ya! 150mw Green 532nm DL(CNI) Aurora (working) 140mw Blu-ray SF-AW, "Higher WL", IgorT build. <-- http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/ig...ish-47974.html <- sold.

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