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- Sep 16, 2007
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I acquired a brand new PGL-III-C 532 400mW.
It was purchased through Glenn's (scopeguy20) CNI group buy.
Updated Re-Review here: http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/400mw-pgl-iii-c-updated-re-review-new-photo-video-44458.html
First, I would like to make it known (not that we all don't already know) that Glenn is a great guy. It is a pleasure to communicate with him and he makes a great effort to ensure satisfaction to those participating in his GBs.
The laser:
I paced around the house all day... The wait was unbearable...
And a little after noon the doorbell rang. I ran to the door, signed for my package, and proceeded to unwrap it.
It was packed well (5 layers of bubble wrap) in a large box.
Once the laser was free, I inspected it. The body was flawless.
My first impression was that it was heavier and larger than I expected... this is a good thing in my opinion. The black anodized surface is smooth, the shutter opens with the perfect amount of resistance, and the threads are smooth, not squeaky or rough.
It was time to play with it. I was excited after weeks of waiting...
I inserted a fully charged Sanyo 18650 battery, replaced the tail-cap, inserted and turned the key, inserted the audio jack thing, opened the shutter... and turned on my Laserbee I.
I took aim at the sensor on the thermopile and pressed the PGL's blue button (he switch is of high quality).
I waited...
No output...
5 seconds later I was shocked by an enormous flood of green light.
The color was beautiful (I hadn't seen a green beam since the death of my DX200 module).
I watched the output climb... fluctuate... climb... bounce back an forth a little more...
The rated minimum output power of this laser is 400mW.
To my surprise and horror, this unit did not test anywhere near the specified output...
Rather, this chunk o' metal missed the mark by 245mW...
But this is by no means a bad thing.
Here are some pictures of my first power test with this laser:
Ten seconds after power up
30 seconds after power up
45 seconds after power up
60 seconds after power up
As I was playing with the laser some more and admiring the bright-as-hell beam, I noticed that the spot wasn't that bright... this was strange as the laser was pointed at a light tan colored sheet hanging on the door. I turned off the laser to find out what the problem was and immediately realized what had happened to the beam. It burned a hole clean through 2 layers of the sheet which was charred black and smoldering at the burned area. This sheet was 7 feet from the laser and not even a dark color. I realized I needed a beam stop... so I spray-painted a slab of stone tile flat black and let it dry.
Beam dump:
Here are some more pictures- the review will continue...
Size comparison: Pen laser, 18650 battery, mini GI Joe action figure.
Appearance, design, functionality:
This laser is big and heavy. In my opinion, this is a good thing. The black anodized aluminum gives it scratch resistance and a nice look. The size also is good... It looks dangerous and impressive even before it powers up. I love all the safety features. They also contribute to the "dangerous" look. The threads are smooth, and there are no defects.
The LED indicator light is not overwhelming and is just bright enough to be noticeable in daylight. The switch is firm, but easy to depress. Nothing rattles or shakes, other than the key, which is a little wobbly.
While this laser is very large compared to a pen or flashlight pointer, it is not over-sized or too heavy to "wield" comfortably.
The battery will last about an hour on a full charge.
Beam characteristics and power:
The beam is well centered with the body of the laser, which I like very much. The power readings have already been provided (it's a shame, though, that I can't get the data logging on my LBI to work) but this laser always peaks above 500mW.
It burns very well, as you would expect, and is extremely bright. Goggles are a must for close range experimentation. The beam at night is simply marvelous. It is by far the brightest laser I have ever seen.
Divergence is good at less than 1.2mRad. I haven't measured exactly, but in comparison to a 1.2mRad sized target across the yard the beam is about 10% smaller. (Divergence was measured at ~0.8mRad).
The laser operates in TEM00 but as it warms up, the mode switches to something like TEM01. To be honest, I expected this from such a small, high powered unit. It doesn't get too messy, and the dot does not separate or bounce off the aperture, so for now it is not a big problem. The instability is caused by heat, so as long as it stays cool it works like a champ. Even after the mode switch the burning power and brightness is the same. The weather here is quite hot ~90 during the day and ~80 at night so once it cools off it will be much better. Once the warranty expires I will turn down the current a bit. ~450mW and a stable beam would be better than a 600+mW peak in my opinion.
Other than this heat-induced mode switch, the beam is perfect.
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
GREAT price
Great build quality
Portable
Safety features
Looks good
Good divergence
High battery capacity
POWERFUL
It's green!
Cons:
Duty cycle
Unstable beam with thermal build up (although all portables require duty cycles so It's not a real con)
More pictures:
The hill is about 0.9 miles from where I am standing. My camera is just a point-&-shoot Sony Cybershot 8Mp. No exposure tricks were used.
You can see that the beam is visible even when it is still light outside.
(clickable thumbnails)
Bottom Line:
I am very happy with this laser. As stated earlier, the only problem is the mode switch when it gets warm. I understand that it is difficult to build such a powerful laser into such as "small" body.
I may send it back before the warranty expires if the problem gets worse, but as of now it's perfect when it's cool.
This laser is impressive and powerful. I look forward to showing this off to my friends.
Video coming soon!
It was purchased through Glenn's (scopeguy20) CNI group buy.
Updated Re-Review here: http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/400mw-pgl-iii-c-updated-re-review-new-photo-video-44458.html
First, I would like to make it known (not that we all don't already know) that Glenn is a great guy. It is a pleasure to communicate with him and he makes a great effort to ensure satisfaction to those participating in his GBs.
The laser:
I paced around the house all day... The wait was unbearable...
And a little after noon the doorbell rang. I ran to the door, signed for my package, and proceeded to unwrap it.
It was packed well (5 layers of bubble wrap) in a large box.
Once the laser was free, I inspected it. The body was flawless.
My first impression was that it was heavier and larger than I expected... this is a good thing in my opinion. The black anodized surface is smooth, the shutter opens with the perfect amount of resistance, and the threads are smooth, not squeaky or rough.
It was time to play with it. I was excited after weeks of waiting...
I inserted a fully charged Sanyo 18650 battery, replaced the tail-cap, inserted and turned the key, inserted the audio jack thing, opened the shutter... and turned on my Laserbee I.
I took aim at the sensor on the thermopile and pressed the PGL's blue button (he switch is of high quality).
I waited...
No output...
5 seconds later I was shocked by an enormous flood of green light.
The color was beautiful (I hadn't seen a green beam since the death of my DX200 module).
I watched the output climb... fluctuate... climb... bounce back an forth a little more...
The rated minimum output power of this laser is 400mW.
To my surprise and horror, this unit did not test anywhere near the specified output...
Rather, this chunk o' metal missed the mark by 245mW...
But this is by no means a bad thing.
Here are some pictures of my first power test with this laser:
Ten seconds after power up
30 seconds after power up
45 seconds after power up
60 seconds after power up
As I was playing with the laser some more and admiring the bright-as-hell beam, I noticed that the spot wasn't that bright... this was strange as the laser was pointed at a light tan colored sheet hanging on the door. I turned off the laser to find out what the problem was and immediately realized what had happened to the beam. It burned a hole clean through 2 layers of the sheet which was charred black and smoldering at the burned area. This sheet was 7 feet from the laser and not even a dark color. I realized I needed a beam stop... so I spray-painted a slab of stone tile flat black and let it dry.
Beam dump:
Here are some more pictures- the review will continue...
Size comparison: Pen laser, 18650 battery, mini GI Joe action figure.
Appearance, design, functionality:
This laser is big and heavy. In my opinion, this is a good thing. The black anodized aluminum gives it scratch resistance and a nice look. The size also is good... It looks dangerous and impressive even before it powers up. I love all the safety features. They also contribute to the "dangerous" look. The threads are smooth, and there are no defects.
The LED indicator light is not overwhelming and is just bright enough to be noticeable in daylight. The switch is firm, but easy to depress. Nothing rattles or shakes, other than the key, which is a little wobbly.
While this laser is very large compared to a pen or flashlight pointer, it is not over-sized or too heavy to "wield" comfortably.
The battery will last about an hour on a full charge.
Beam characteristics and power:
The beam is well centered with the body of the laser, which I like very much. The power readings have already been provided (it's a shame, though, that I can't get the data logging on my LBI to work) but this laser always peaks above 500mW.
It burns very well, as you would expect, and is extremely bright. Goggles are a must for close range experimentation. The beam at night is simply marvelous. It is by far the brightest laser I have ever seen.
Divergence is good at less than 1.2mRad. I haven't measured exactly, but in comparison to a 1.2mRad sized target across the yard the beam is about 10% smaller. (Divergence was measured at ~0.8mRad).
The laser operates in TEM00 but as it warms up, the mode switches to something like TEM01. To be honest, I expected this from such a small, high powered unit. It doesn't get too messy, and the dot does not separate or bounce off the aperture, so for now it is not a big problem. The instability is caused by heat, so as long as it stays cool it works like a champ. Even after the mode switch the burning power and brightness is the same. The weather here is quite hot ~90 during the day and ~80 at night so once it cools off it will be much better. Once the warranty expires I will turn down the current a bit. ~450mW and a stable beam would be better than a 600+mW peak in my opinion.
Other than this heat-induced mode switch, the beam is perfect.
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
GREAT price
Great build quality
Portable
Safety features
Looks good
Good divergence
High battery capacity
POWERFUL
It's green!
Cons:
Duty cycle
Unstable beam with thermal build up (although all portables require duty cycles so It's not a real con)
More pictures:
The hill is about 0.9 miles from where I am standing. My camera is just a point-&-shoot Sony Cybershot 8Mp. No exposure tricks were used.
You can see that the beam is visible even when it is still light outside.
(clickable thumbnails)
Bottom Line:
I am very happy with this laser. As stated earlier, the only problem is the mode switch when it gets warm. I understand that it is difficult to build such a powerful laser into such as "small" body.
I may send it back before the warranty expires if the problem gets worse, but as of now it's perfect when it's cool.
This laser is impressive and powerful. I look forward to showing this off to my friends.
Video coming soon!
Last edited:
but Glenn being well Glenn made it good and the laser is at CNI being fixed as we speak!!! he lent me a few lasers as a kind jesture... a led shoppe 50 and a 135mW blu ray!!!
) Oh and yes, I have also seen your update - nice touch to review the laser after time in the field, particularly the power output :beer:
