I haven't seen anyone review the 808nm from O-like so here goes...
Date Ordered: Thursday 17 March, 2011
Date Shipped out: Wednesday 23 March, 2011
Date Received: Saturday 16 April, 2011
808nm 220mW laser torch /adjustable/burning [OL808-200] - $39.00 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
So the idea of a focusable 220mw burning laser for only $39 before shipping totally lured me into buying this thing. My logic was that this thing should still be able to burn even if the power was 50% of what the rating says. I also read other forum members suggesting that o-like has good customer service from "Susie" and rest assured they are a reliable source. Sadly my first experience with O-like has been a bit frustrating and less than satisfying.
I was real excited when the item finally arrived but not too happy with the packaging. Upon opening it, everything looked exactly like what was pictured on their website with the exception that everything felt of poor quality and $39 hardly felt like a deal anymore...Anyway, the instructions kinda sucked because the diagram of the laser had the polarities crossed out and re-written with a pen. The problem was, they re-drew the polarities on the batteries in the picture not the unit, so I was confused which way the batteries were suppose to correctly sit because I doubted that the polarities can physically be reversed on the actual battery itself. Not knowing if the batteries were protected, I carefully charged them approx. 3hrs until the led on the charger turned green. I put the batteries in opposite orientation to what the original diagram instructions said, assuming that's what they meant. Nothing happened. Now I am aware 808nm is near infrared and may have a faint red dot but nothing appeared so I took a night vision camera and tried to see if a beam showed up. Nothing. I replaced the batteries into the laser in reverse to see if that was the cause for it not turning on. No luck so I email them this:
> 2011/4/17
>> I have finally received the package but just as I was afraid of, this item
>> (focusable 220mw 808nm laser) was dead on arrival. i've checked the
>> polarity
>> of the batteries before putting them into the laser, I tried burning things
>> with it, I also used an IR video camera to check if it emitted light but
>> nothing worked Let me know what my options are, I would really hate to pay anymore money while risking another DOA...
>> ------------------------------------------------------
> Hello
>
> It is performing well before shipped out
> Battery is power ,pls charge it
>
> Susie
----------------------------------------------------------
It took me 3 more additional loooong emails to convince them that they had in fact sent me a dead laser or because of the poor packaging, it broke while in transit. This was the most frustrating part for me.
So they agreed to send me a replacement if I sent the dead one back to their distributor in China. Luckily USPS charged me $9 from CA and only takes 10 days to reach China. It took my initiative to notify them 13 days later that they should have received the package rather than they notifying me. So finally 2 days after my email, Susie gets back to me and says they found a package from me and that a new one will be sent out in 2-3 days. I have since emailed twice asking for a confirmation # and an ETA but have not gotten a response back yet.
I will write a follow-up once the replacement comes.
To conclude:
-The casing is cheap aluminum that feels like it could be crushed if stepped on (compared to say a WL E3 that does not crush when stepped on)
-Buy new batteries, these seem like they might blow up
-Poor instructions on how to input the batteries
-Looks are deceiving
-Know what you are paying for relative to the specs. If it sounds too good, it probably isn't true
-$hit happens. DOAs & Cheap quality should be expected from something relatively inexpensive
-$39 for an 808nm laser / $36.99 for 808nm goggles
-Good practice to not look into an 808nm turned on even if its dead
-I can't tell you much about how the laser operates yet...
To Be Continued...
Date Ordered: Thursday 17 March, 2011
Date Shipped out: Wednesday 23 March, 2011
Date Received: Saturday 16 April, 2011
808nm 220mW laser torch /adjustable/burning [OL808-200] - $39.00 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
So the idea of a focusable 220mw burning laser for only $39 before shipping totally lured me into buying this thing. My logic was that this thing should still be able to burn even if the power was 50% of what the rating says. I also read other forum members suggesting that o-like has good customer service from "Susie" and rest assured they are a reliable source. Sadly my first experience with O-like has been a bit frustrating and less than satisfying.
I was real excited when the item finally arrived but not too happy with the packaging. Upon opening it, everything looked exactly like what was pictured on their website with the exception that everything felt of poor quality and $39 hardly felt like a deal anymore...Anyway, the instructions kinda sucked because the diagram of the laser had the polarities crossed out and re-written with a pen. The problem was, they re-drew the polarities on the batteries in the picture not the unit, so I was confused which way the batteries were suppose to correctly sit because I doubted that the polarities can physically be reversed on the actual battery itself. Not knowing if the batteries were protected, I carefully charged them approx. 3hrs until the led on the charger turned green. I put the batteries in opposite orientation to what the original diagram instructions said, assuming that's what they meant. Nothing happened. Now I am aware 808nm is near infrared and may have a faint red dot but nothing appeared so I took a night vision camera and tried to see if a beam showed up. Nothing. I replaced the batteries into the laser in reverse to see if that was the cause for it not turning on. No luck so I email them this:
> 2011/4/17
>> I have finally received the package but just as I was afraid of, this item
>> (focusable 220mw 808nm laser) was dead on arrival. i've checked the
>> polarity
>> of the batteries before putting them into the laser, I tried burning things
>> with it, I also used an IR video camera to check if it emitted light but
>> nothing worked Let me know what my options are, I would really hate to pay anymore money while risking another DOA...
>> ------------------------------------------------------
> Hello
>
> It is performing well before shipped out
> Battery is power ,pls charge it
>
> Susie
----------------------------------------------------------
It took me 3 more additional loooong emails to convince them that they had in fact sent me a dead laser or because of the poor packaging, it broke while in transit. This was the most frustrating part for me.
So they agreed to send me a replacement if I sent the dead one back to their distributor in China. Luckily USPS charged me $9 from CA and only takes 10 days to reach China. It took my initiative to notify them 13 days later that they should have received the package rather than they notifying me. So finally 2 days after my email, Susie gets back to me and says they found a package from me and that a new one will be sent out in 2-3 days. I have since emailed twice asking for a confirmation # and an ETA but have not gotten a response back yet.
I will write a follow-up once the replacement comes.
To conclude:
-The casing is cheap aluminum that feels like it could be crushed if stepped on (compared to say a WL E3 that does not crush when stepped on)
-Buy new batteries, these seem like they might blow up
-Poor instructions on how to input the batteries
-Looks are deceiving
-Know what you are paying for relative to the specs. If it sounds too good, it probably isn't true
-$hit happens. DOAs & Cheap quality should be expected from something relatively inexpensive
-$39 for an 808nm laser / $36.99 for 808nm goggles
-Good practice to not look into an 808nm turned on even if its dead
-I can't tell you much about how the laser operates yet...
To Be Continued...
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