Rayfoss 150mW Green 632nm Modules Review

First, allow me to say that the level of response and customer service from Rayfoss has been amazing! As many of you are aware of, I buy many (in some cases, WAY too many) different lasers and components for resale from various vendors, always looking for better service and higher quality vs price ratios, and rarely if ever have I been so impressed with a companies attention to communication. That said, I"ll get on with the review:

On the 23rd of June, I ordered (2) 150mW modules from Faona after several Email communications. The easiest way I have found to order from Rayfoss is to communicate your needs with Faona and have her send you a payment request via PayPal, and this order was done in this fashion without a hitch. The modules were shipped out on the 25th (after several interim Emails appraising me of their progress) and arrived here in the Midwest at 3PM on July second - 1 week front to back!

The packaging was good, a heavily padded envelope with a customs declaration as "gift" preprinted on the envelope (good thinking!) held a pair of modules in an anti-static bag wrapped in not 1, not 2, but 3 individual bubblewrap pouches - needless to say they arrived in pristine condition. Also included was an instruction sheet as well as a handwritten note from Faona explaining that they were redesigning the PCB's (drivers) and could also make any neccessary changes on future orders, and would I be kind enough to test both styles and inform them of the results for their own use. I was very impressed, the simple instruction sheets had a simple block wiring diagram and were easy to understand, and as stated, the modules were of identical overall size with slicht differences in the housings and the drivers (see photos below).

On to testing (Woo Hoo!) - I set up my trusty LaserBee I LPM along with my module holder, test leads, and freshly charged and tested CR123 battery... And fired up the first module - which climbed steadily to 95-96mW and stayed there for about a minute before dipping to 85mW and slowly climbing back to the same 96mW peak. After rechecking all connections, etc, I decided to put the module in a host and retest it (just in case there was a problem with the testing procedure) - 96mW, dip tp 92mW, 96mW.

The second module I decided to test in a host right from the start, so I went to put it in one of my trusty "Mini-RPL" hosts I use for testing modules, and found it wouldn't fit by a few thousandths. Afraid to pressfit it for fear of not being able to remove it, I went ahead and set it up on the test bench setup, Lightning-fast rise to 118mW, and only after a minute or so did it slide slowly back to 105mW, then rise back to 110mW-113mW, back and forth. Both tests were then repeated on the testbench with a 3.6v rechargeable, and the results were almost identical to within 7-10mW with module 1 hitting 102mW and module 2 hitting a peak of 124mW.

On to the beams - both were VERY nice, far nicer than almost any module I've tested for myself or others (including O-like and SXD, of which SXD have been my favorites so far) - When I get a chance tonight in the darkness after the show I will measure the beams and edit with divergence specs, but I can say at this point these put out REALLY nice, tight beams, and both have NO troubles with matches at a foot, none. The switches are solid feeling and have a more positive "click" than most, and overall with the exception of the power output, I really like the design of these modules.

NOW - onto the problem at hand, meaning the power issue. I Emailed Faona expecting to hear back tomorrow or possibly Monday (considering it's like 3AM in China) and had a reply within 15 minutes apologizing for the specs. I don't want to post the proposed resolution that Faona offered, but I will say it was incredibly simple and VERY generous, and I gladly accepted it - Again, this outfit is GOOD BUSINESS, in my opinion and based on my experiences.

Here's pix of the modules:



Overall, I was quite satisfied with this purchase after the power issue was resolved, and I will definitely use Rayfoss in the future (although possibly not for modules until Faona can assure me the powers will be confirmed prior to shipment). I heartily recomment this company, and I also am incredibly happy with the quality of the lasers, if not their output (again, these modules have the best beams I've seen in awhile from a Chinese supplier).

Just Added: I just recieved another apology Email from Faona, and the proposed resolution has been completed - WOW does this lady never sleep or what? Rayfoss has just removed the 150mW module from their site and will only restore them once she has either a testing method of her own or can get written confirmation of output on each module, she has explained - now THAT's pretty darn cool, IMHO. Also, there evidently is another LPF member awaiting one of these modules to test and she has assured me that in the event they have any troubles, she is already aware of the potential problem and is ready to work with them - pretty slick, Thanks Faona!

In conclusion, the quality of the Company and the Modules is a definitive "two thumbs up" - but at this time, the power output, while excellent, is not up to the rated specs. Once Rayfoss returns the 150mW module to their product lineup, I am confident that they will be an excellent product (and yes, I plan on testing another one when they're available!).

Any questions, feel free to post em!

horray!! good review!! good for rayfoss! atlast!!

Hey BCM,

thanks for the great review :topic:

BrewCityMusic said:

First, allow me to say that the level of response and customer service from Rayfoss has been amazing!

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Agreed, Faona's no.1 priority is the customer - she even gives Susie serious competition!

BrewCityMusic said:

...modules in an anti-static bag wrapped in not 1, not 2, but 3 individual bubblewrap pouches

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Yes, that's how I like it! I once commented on O-Like's mediocre packaging policy and the second module shipped proved my comments were in vain...

BrewCityMusic said:

...found it wouldn't fit by a few thousandths.

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Who placed those warning labels on the module(s)? That's certainly not a good idea for thermal transfer to the host and will certainly hinder the fit. I've never seen a module with a warning label... :thinking:

BrewCityMusic said:

On to the beams - both were VERY nice, far nicer than almost any module I've tested

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I'm looking forward to your measurements! My chic 70mW LP has a divergence of 1~1.2mrads and my O-Likes both measured 2.0mrads... While we're at it, maybe you could filter IR and report the true 532nm output?

BrewCityMusic said:

...there evidently is another LPF member awaiting one of these modules to test and she has assured me that in the event they have any troubles, she is already aware of the potential problem and is ready to work with them -

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That would be me & yes, she sent me an email last night on this very subject. I thanked her for her honesty & willingness to do "good business" :beer:


Unfortunately my personal goal of finding a "true" 150mW module with reasonable divergence at a reasonable price is starting to look rather bleak... :cryyy:

Unfortunately, you're probably right, even Susie only guarantees the minimum (as peak) on her 120-150mW modules, and I believe the record so far from a reputable forum member with a real live LPM to test was 140mW peak, 122avg from Dave (Daguin)...

I have one nice SXD module I've been saving that puts out 165mW peak and only drops to 157mW or so after a bit as well as a "no-name" module from another supplier that screams up to 170 but also drops to that 155-157 rather quickly. I'm having Ehegmus (sp?) make me a couple of custom Kryton-style aluminum hosts that those two are going in, but seriously after all the modules I've bought myself, tested for others, etc those are the ONLY 2 that have hit 150 or more as a peak and not had absolute shit divergence (the first one in the review, btw is the best laser I've seen other than my Hercules even though the power isn't quite there, 1.2mm at the aperature and 1.7 at 50ft - NICE!)

As to the physical diameter difference, that was after removing the power sticker/warning label, the actual module diameter is a couple of thousandths over 12mm (enough to be seem with the eye next to an Aixiz or other green modules I have) - it isn't the entire module though, just the front part so I'm figuring it was built possibly for a specific host to slide in from the rear up against a lip or ??? and then get held in place with a retaining ring or something to that effect, like Romisen does with their modules/lasers.

Lastly, as to IR I'm in a dilemna as I lost my G&^*%$$( IR filter somewhere in the last few days (it was just one of those crappy little Opto ones but worked well for basic testing anyhow). The last time I used it was when I tested these modules but like an idiot I didn't graph them when I ran them with the IR filters, the lower-powered one had very little IR (3 or 4mW IIRC) while the other had almost 10 or 12mW, again though, until I find that little SOB I can't run another test, Grrrrr....

Please keep me posted as to how the module plays out for you - I forwarded Faona the power graphs for her to share with her supplier and she's promised to keep me appraised of the progress on these higher-powered modules, we'll see what happens.

It seems do be very difficult to find something good that does >150 mW reliably at resonable cost. I suppose one option could be to get something rated as 200 (such as the whole lasers rayfoss has too) and take the module from that. They are $150ish, but would need proper cooling to function obviously.

Great review, also, great approach at company reviewing, thanks for letting us know dealing with Rayfoss is easy and good.

I too, liked the Rayfoss order experience.

I bought a 50 mw adjustable green to do some lens testing.

Stock out-of-the-box laser had very low divergence and met power specs.

LarryDFW

Well, I had to keep the thread going for accuracy's sake - I finally got around to installing one of these in a host this morning, and almost immediately (within 5-6 "on-off" cycles) the laser began to go into TEM01 and within another 3-4 cycles the pushbutton switch actually came off the board (I'm assuming the poor connection was what was causing the mode-hopping, or at least I hope so!)

I've Emailed Faona to see what she can do - I don't want to risk voiding my warranty by soldering on the driver so I'm going to see if it's OK for me to solder a jumper on the board (I'll just use it in another tailclick-style host) instead of having to return it to China, wait for a replacement, etc - otherwise I'm definitely going to ask for a replacement.

Details to come as the story unfolds!

hmmm well atleast the o-like module does not do like that. But after seing the picture of the rayfoss module i can see a solution. the driver is messing up the output of the diode.

@matricks: I'm not sure what you're seeing in these pix that I didn't, but more power to you Amigo - I'm taking the old-fashioned way out and shipping the module back for replacement. Faona was immediate with the response (as always) and has offered an exchange with her apologies, as always, updates to come!

BMC, I think he's referring to the solder job on this pic. I could be wrong though:


the second pics solder looks suspicious maybe ground fault

Yeah, I noticed that but the module in pic 2 (module #1) works just fine - it's the module #2 that went screwy on me (the switch had a big blob of solder on one side as you can see in the pic #3, that's where it broke off) ...

Faona wants me to ship it back instead of attempting a repair, and normally I'd say "screw the hassle" but the TEM01 problem kinda makes me just say "oh well" and have it replaced - it's not like I don't have other stuff to play with!

Well the module is on its' way back to the laser motherland for a proper burial, now it's the waiting game to see what condition the replacement arrives in ... On the downside, the customer I wanted to use this one for needed a laser NOW so I had to build his with a really nice SXD module I had that was running a solid 138mW after peaking at 150-ish, on the upside I talked him into letting me use one of my KD50 hosts so as not to dip into my miniscule stash of Ehgemus' customs (actually, "pair" is a better word than stash, now I don't have to break up the family, whew!).

I trust Faona will expedite the process, and I'll keep everyone posted as to the final resolution!

Uhm, looking at the pics, the module 1 (that i suppose it's the 150 mW), looks identical at the o-like one i received ..... included the "ROhS - GB027" printed on the pcb and the thermal grease on the diode )

by the way ..... ..... "Rayfoss 150mW Green 632nm Modules Review" ..... Green 632nm ? .....