Review of the High Power Rechargeable 405nm "Purple" Laser Pen

The High Power Rechargeable 405nm "Purple" Laser Pen (hereinafter, just called a "violet portable laser") is a violet-emitting, directly-injected laser. That is, it produces violet laser radiation directly, without the need for messy, fragile nonlinear crystals like those green laser pointers and the amberish-yellow and blue ones as well. It uses a single 18650 rechargeable lithium cell.

And its beam focus is very easily adjustable by simply turning the laser's "business-end".

It produces 98mW of laser radiation at a wavelength (spectrographically measured) of 407nm.

This is the reason I call it a "portable laser" on my website instead of a "pointer". Lasers designated as "pointers" must -- by US law anyway -- have a power output that does not exceed 5mW.

It comes in a handsome aluminum body with a clearcoat finish.

SIZE



To get the laser to turn on, first be certain that there is an 18650 rechargeable cell installed. If there isn't, then install it (see directly below), and THEN it will function.

Now, aim the laser well-away from your face. Press & release the large orange button on the tailcap. The laser should fire up as soon as you do this.

To neutralise the laser, just press & release the orange button again.

To adjust the focus, turn the laser's bezel counterclockwise (as though loosening it) to bring the beam's focal point closer to the aperture, and turn it clockwise (as though tightening it) to bring the beam's focus farther away.




To change the battery in this violet laser , unscrew & remove the tailcap, and set it aside.

Tip the used 18650 rechargeable cell out of the barrel and into your hand, and recharge it.

Insert a new (freshly-charged) 18650 rechargeable cell into the barrel, nipple-end (+) positive first.

This battery installation procedure is the opposite of how batteries are installed in most other laser pointers & portable lasers, so please pay attention to polarity here.

Screw the tailcap of the tube back on, and be done with it.

Current usage measures 232.0mA on my DMM's 4A scale.

To charge the 18650 cell, insert it into a charger made for this size & type of cell (not furnished; you'll have to procure one elsewhere), orienting it so that it's nipple-end (+) positive faces the end marked (+) of the charger, and plug the charger into any standard (in north America anyway) 2- or 3-slot household AC receptacle (wall outlet or even wall socket).

A red LED on the charger should now come on.
When this light turns green, the charge cycle is complete; you should now unplug the charger from AC power and remove the 18650 cell.


This is a directly-injected laser (which by their very nature are more rugged than DPSS lasers!), who's active components are the inverter circuit, the laser diode, and the collimating lens. So it should withstand accidents better than a DPSS (diode pumped solid state) laser - the type of laser assembly found in deep red (671nm), yellow (593.5nm), green (532nm), and light blue (473nm) laser pointers. These lasers have several additional components (crystals, filters, etc.) in the optical train, and you can knock them out of alignment by doing little more than looking at them the wrong way. And if any of these components are knocked out of whack, you'll no longer get your deep red, yellow, green, or blue laser beam.
Though you still do not want to intentionally drop your violet-emitting laser because it's a precision optical instrument.

***EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!***
This laser has a fair amount of {vulgar slang term for male gnards} to it (measured at 98mW), so you ***DEFINITELY*** do not want to shine it into your eyes, other people's eyes, pets' eyes, for that matter, the eyes of any person or animal you encounter. <img src="http://ledmuseum.net/shake.gif[/img] Eye damage can occur faster than the blink reflex can protect them, regardless of what species' eyes you irradiate with this laser. So just don't do it.
And para los motivos de Cristo (and for heaven sakes and for Pete sakes and for your sakes too) do not shine this laser at any vehicle, whether ground-based like a motorcycle, car, or truck, or air-based like a helicopter, airplane, or jet. And if you shoot it at a person in the dark and he turns out to be a police officer, he may think he's being targeted, unholster (whip out) his gun, and hose you down with it.

This laser feels wonderful to hold and use.

TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased on Ebay on 01-27-16 and was received on the afternoon of 02-13-16.



UPDATE: 00-00-00







PROS:
Color is very radiant & unusual for a handheld laser
Easily-adjustable focus
The price is right!
Labelled properly for wavelength and power output
Color is very radiant an unus...o wait, I said that already!!!

NEUTRAL:
Not very water-resistant and definitely not submersible -- this is par for the course with most portable lasers though and will not affect rating

CONS:i
No turn-on delay or emissions indicator that would normally be found on a CDRH Class IIIb laser; this is what nocked that last ½ star off its rating




MANUFACTURER: Unknown
PRODUCT TYPE: Focusable violet-emitting laser
LAMP TYPE: Directly-injected 405nm violet laser diode
No. OF LAMPS: 1
BEAM TYPE: Adjustable; very narrow spot to narrow flood
REFLECTOR TYPE: N/A
SWITCH TYPE: Reverse clicky button on tailcap
CASE MATERIAL: Aluminum
BEZEL: Metal; laser & lens recessed into its end
BATTERY: 1x 18650 rechargeable lithium cell
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 232mA
WATER-RESISTANT: Very light splatter-resistance at maximum
SUBMERSIBLE: No
ACCESSORIES: Nylon holster
SIZE: 142mm L x 25.50mm D
WEIGHT: 123.30g (4.350 oz.) incl. battery
COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE: Unknown, but likely China or Hong Kong
WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated


PRODUCT RATING:

Kudos for great review and making me laugh my .ss off:beer::crackup: You just can't go wrong for $10