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FrozenGate by Avery

Review: Aurabuy 301 100 mW 532 *PIC HEAVY*

Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
3,163
Points
113
Ill start this review by saying Im really impressed with Aurabuy. They asked me to do a review on a 532 laser and suggested I pick one from their site. I opted for a 200 mW 301 laser. After receiving the laser, they requested I confirm its max output and advise them as to when I intended to post a review. I duly contacted them a couple of days before posting and not only did they correct the advertised power of the laser, they also decided to offer a $20 discount to LPF members with the code: LASER20OFF !! (Without exclamation marks...;))

Mia also said:

If buyers want to get coupon for other laser pointers or flashlight, you can let them send the email to cooperate@aurabuy.com Then i will offer them.

This is really fantastic news and very generous of them! :wave:

So on to the review. ;)


1_5625.jpg


In this review Ill go through the list of specifications and compare them to actually measured values where appropriate. Ill also give a run down of the functionality and use of the laser. A number of stars will be given * out of 5 for each category.

Specifications ***

Model: 301
Material: aluminum alloy
Laser Color: green
Max. Output Power: 1.00mw
Wavelength: 532nm
Power Supply: 1*18650 Battery (not included)
Battery Capacity: 3.7V/2400mAh
Irradiated Range: 1000m
Switch Location: mid
Others: safety key lock
Dimensions: 15 cm * 2.5 cm
Weight: 0.1kg

Package Contents:
1 x Laser Pointer Pen
2 x Key​

Above are the specifications listed on their website. The battery capacity, isnt really relevant, as the laser does not come with a battery ;) and irradiated range is clearly wrong. The divergence is very good and I measured it at 0.75 mRad (measured over 8 m), so the beam will obviously go a lot further. They also havent listed that this laser can be used with 18650 and 18350/16340 batteries respectively! This was definitely a pleasant surprise. The host comes with a small extension section which can be removed to accommodate the smaller batteries. :yh: (see pics)


Price *****

With the discount code, the price is excellent for a complete 532 laser of this power. Admittedly the laser does not incorporate an IR filter, but Im not aware of many cheap 532's that actually do come with a filter. There seems to be mixed views on the IR component of DPSS lasers with some claiming that the 1064 nm and 808 nm light is not collimated and so less likely to be of concern. Others however, have reported collimated light from their lasers and taken pics to prove it... Either way it would be safer to err on the side of caution, especially if your safety glasses are limited to the visible spectrum.


Shipping, Delivery and Communication *****

Well shipping was quick and took around 2 weeks. It looks like the laser was actually shipped from Switzerland - possibly a depot?

As with all packages I have received from Aurabuy the laser was well protected with several layers of bubble wrap. I didnt actually take pictures of the packaging, but if you'd like to have a look here is an example from my last review with them: http://laserpointerforums.com/f66/review-ultrafire-c8-cree-q5-pic-heavy-83891.html

The whole time I was in contact with Mia and she was exceptionally helpful and friendly, so I can happily give them full stars in this category. :)


Build ****

The laser dimensions are 147 mm long - normal (and 114 mm in 16340 mode), ID 19 mm (ie for an 18xxx battery) and OD 23 mm. The extension tube is 33 mm long. The key switch is found on the bottom of the host and has a red mark for off and a green one for on. The switch works perfectly and the push button/temporary on button, obviously only works when the key has been turned to the correct position.

REMEMBER the battery, as with almost all 532's, must be inserted NEGATIVE FIRST ie the host is case positive! I do not know whether the laser has reverse polarity protection.

Below are some pictures of the laser:

In 18650 mode.
301Review-1_zps2c74b801.jpg

In 16340 / 18350 mode.
301Review-2_zps8128e936.jpg

This is the key switch showing the on / off positions.
301Review-3_zps9f10b326.jpg

Here the laser has been defocused. The laser has been setup so that infinity is completely screwed in.
301Review-4_zpsb55c3eae.jpg

This is a close up of the head showing the lens and aperture.
301Review-5_zps825c0f3b.jpg

Here is the driver you can see how it has been installed with the push button switch.
301Review-6_zpsf5d7d955.jpg

The driver is more than likely a simple linear. I didnt dismantle the laser to check the current at the diode, as that would have been too risky, but the current at the tail cap was 0.33 A.

Below are a few measurements of the output for this laser on my Laserbee 2.5 W USB LPM. The measurements were taken using an AW IMR 18350 battery. No real difference was seen between the results obtained for this battery and either an AW IMR 18650 or an AW IMR 16340 battery.

The first measurement was taken over 10 mins and as you can see, the output fluctuates quite a lot whilst the laser is warming up. This is normal for DPSS lasers and the output stablises once the laser has warmed - second graph (5 min run). The ambient temp was around 24 degrees and the laser host warmed to 34.5°C. The max reading obtained was 98 mW.

Laser301AuraBuy200mW18350cold10min_zps7f8b0b2d.jpg


Laser301AuraBuy200mW18350_zpsa0a8d2e2.jpg


The last graph shows the IR component of the 532 beam. Here I used a B+W 093 IR filter which blocks 100% of all visible light but which allows approx 15 % transmission at 810 nm and 90 % at 1064 nm respectively.

Laser301AuraBuy200mWVISFilterBW093IR_zps774411ee.jpg

This can now be compared to a basic IR filter from a web cam camera which, unlike the IR pass filter above, blocks the IR components and allows the 532 to pass.

Laser301AuraBuy200mW18350IR_zps640e3529.jpg

As you can see the laser hits 72 mW with the filter and then reaches 91 mW when it is removed. This suggests, ignoring losses to internal reflections and scattering, that there is around 19 mW of IR. As these filters have near to 0% transmission from 750 nm onwards and the result is almost identical to the result obtained above, it can be concluded that the IR component is composed almost exclusively of 1064 nm light.

These next 2 pictures (taken at approx. 3 m) show the dot profile, which is very good. The second simply shows a diffuse reflection of the dot. The photos were taken with an old iphone, as I didnt want to risk using my good camera.:tinfoil:

8370-301-review-9.jpg


8371-301-review-8.jpg



Conclusion and Overall Rating ****

Well Im very happy with this laser. The output is a little less than claimed, but its not wildly inaccurate. Its hard to say exactly, as the output was temperature dependent and fluctuated somewhat, but if we take the 19 mW as the total IR contribution we have a laser with approximately 70 - 75 mW of 532. For $20 I think thats quite reasonable.

Finally here are some beam pics, hopefully you can see how good the divergence really is. ;)

8369-301-review-10.jpg


8368-301-review-11.jpg


8367-301-review-12.jpg


8366-301-review-13.jpg


This tower is about 3-4 km away so clearly the laser light travels further than the 1 km estimated in the specs...;)

8365-301-review-14.jpg

Hope you enjoyed reading! :beer:
 
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Re: Aurabuy 301 100 mW 532 *PIC HEAVY*

A comprehensive personal review of a "generic" 532nm laser, grainde:).

Certainly not a bad buy for the money this "greener" represents. I must admit, beam shot pics are very nice, too. The fact lpf.com members can get 20% discount if bought off aurabuy.com makes it a nice opportunity for those who'd like to get a starting laser capable of good visibility and I assume at 100mW some burning possible as well.

A side note: I'm not sure if it's just me, but the pics of the actual laser only won't display, rest is fine:thinking:.

Would rep you, but must spread some first, lol.

:gj:
 
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Re: Aurabuy 301 100 mW 532 *PIC HEAVY*

Thanks Gizmo! :beer: What do you mean the pics of the laser wont load? Its working fine for me? :thinking:

Edit: Just uploaded the photos to Photobucket and redirected the links, so hopefully it should all be working now? :beer:
 
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Re: Aurabuy 301 100 mW 532 *PIC HEAVY*

^works fine now! Cheers for that:beer:
 
Nice review once again, LPM tests by LPF vets add great credibility to any laser product.

Hmm... did they change the value of the laser to 1.00mW? That's certainly a nice overspec laser. :)

301 Authentic 1.00mW 532nm Green Laser Pointer Pen with Lock - Black

I hope the outputs of the 301's are consistent from one unit to another. :beer:

Thanks Ryansoh! Yup its definitely overspec haha ;) I hope they are, but maybe someone else has experience with this laser and can chime in with their output power?

To be honest though I dont think they cherry picked the laser, because:

1) They had absolutely no idea how powerful their lasers are (they even changed the advertised power after I told them...)
2) The power (of actual 532) was around 20 - 25% below the advertised 100 mW. The total power, including IR, was about right and within 2 -5 % of advertised. If they selected one, it would have probably been over 100 mW total power. This isnt conclusive however and I do agree that more data is needed...Maybe you can offer to do a review! ;) :beer:
 
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For 20$ seems solid. Just a module of ~100mw would be about the same if not more expensive last time I checked :)
 
Man I keep wanting to do reviews, but am way to lazy.
Great job on this one!

I would have got this laser, but I just got a TI-B 170mW and my green envy has been satisfied... For now :) the that is some good divergence for so cheap. I wonder how long it will last though. That is always my big question on these cheaper laser that pop in and out of the scene.
+1 for that
 
Im sure you could do a review if you wanted. Just write an email to Mia and ask. ;)

Fair point, Ill let you know how this one continues to perform and Ill update the thread should it start to have problems. Have fun with your new Ti-B, Jet lasers make a really classy product! Cheers :beer:
 
Has anybody else purchased this laser? I am curious if the specs are unique to the reviewer's pen or if they are fairly standard for this unit.

Thank you!
 
Has anybody else purchased this laser? I am curious if the specs are unique to the reviewer's pen or if they are fairly standard for this unit.

Thank you!

Yes, I would like to know that also.
Was it a fluke or are these 301's really that powerful............
 
Im sure most will be similar in output. TBH 75 mW of 532 isnt that powerful or expensive.;) :beer:
 





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