Sigurthr
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Review: LasersMan "30mW" 532nm Handheld pointer "Bighead Romisen Look-Alike"
Hey everyone,
When I placed this order I knew I was taking a chance, it may not have even worked, much less been up to spec, but I figured that I'd use the host if it turned out to be a dud, and with a total cost of <$15 for a host + crappy trustfire 16340 + chance of nice laser, I figured it was worth it.
Well,.... it was!
Before I get in to the good stuff let me first say that do NOT order from LasersMan if you expect prompt email replies, tracking numbers, or to get your item in less than a month, as none of those things will happen.
Order Placed: 2/15/12
Order Shipped: 3/5/12
Order Received: 3/23/12
I call this one the "Bighead Romisen Look-Alike" because the lasers on LasersMan are all generically labeled, and they have one host which looks like this, but has a non-protruding side button, called the "Romisen". I labeled it "bighead" because it resembles the BigHead family of hosts from Lazerer and the like. This one is NOT the Romisen labeled one on the site though, which is almost twice the price. This is the knock off version.
Here is the link to this laser: 30mW 532nm Handheld Green Beam Laser Pointer Flashlight (1 x CR123A)
If you are considering purchasing this, make sure to email the staff and wait for a reply, there are constant discount codes ~12% off.
This host is WELL MADE. It is heavy and solid. The threads are nice and clean and deep. It feels like it is a lot more expensive than it really was. The anodization even feels pretty decent. The host is made of >2mm thick aluminium, so no skimping here. It is just over 4 5/8" long and can not fit a 18340, only a 16340 very snugly, so no rattling. It doesn't use a tail spring, but rather requires button topped 16340s. The contact surface is solid aluminium and it relies on a momentary side button, so no tailcap failures here. Looking down the battery barrel you can see the driver cavity is walled off with either rubber or plastic (my fingers can't really reach it to feel it) and the negative spring from the driver is well supported. I like this.
The laser peaks at 85mW for the first minute or so when very cold and on a super fresh 4.19V 16340 cell. I'm using a crappy TrustFire cell with ~300mOhm internal resistance, so it might last longer on a better cell, but all my AW ICR cells are in my expensive builds. I haven't tested the battery that came with the laser, it is charging. After the initial peak it settles to 68/69mW and stays there. I tested for 5 minutes and the output power did not drop from 68mW. The host felt only slightly warm to the touch, this is a LONG duty cycle host. <3.
So; for $15 + >1month this was well worth it and an excellent purchase in my book.
Buyers must know what they are getting in to though. LasersMan does not accept PayPal (only credit card) and you will not get very fast replies or service or shipment. You also take the risk of customs issues as the laser is shipped with battery and is well over 5mW. It comes in an unwrapped box marked laser pointer clearly on it. If they open the tan mailing bag, you can guarantee you're not going to see the laser. The mailing bag's contents were written only in chinese, so no idea what it said. The marked value was $10 though, which isn't off by much in this case. The sender's address was nondescript, so at least it didn't advertise being a laser retailer. Still a gamble though.
UPDATE:
Last night I was shining it around and started thinking "this doesn't look like 60+mW bright in the darkness...", I was thinking the output power dropped. So I checked the battery, it was fine. I then re-LPMd it, still doing 70mW solid. Then it dawned on me to dissassemble it and look for an IR filter. NO IR FILTER INSTALLED. I then LPM'd the IR using my second pair of goggles as an IR pass filter. These goggles ARE OD4 at 532 and you can't see any green through them at all, so even at the very worst the most green getting through would be no where near 1mW.
Sorry about the photo quality, I was using my phone camera since it can see 1064nm. You can kind of see the IR is bar shaped and not focused well, but here's another shot of the laser on a wall with my OD2 green blocking gogges used as the IR pass filter. You can see -some- green get through, about 0.5mW, which is the center round dot in the blob. This gives a better profile of the IR though.
So, even though these are only as bright as a 30mW green, they're as dangerous as a 70mW laser. Not too big of a deal really. I still don't know whether I want to invest probably more money on an IR filter than the laser cost, we'll have to see.
Hey everyone,
When I placed this order I knew I was taking a chance, it may not have even worked, much less been up to spec, but I figured that I'd use the host if it turned out to be a dud, and with a total cost of <$15 for a host + crappy trustfire 16340 + chance of nice laser, I figured it was worth it.
Well,.... it was!
Before I get in to the good stuff let me first say that do NOT order from LasersMan if you expect prompt email replies, tracking numbers, or to get your item in less than a month, as none of those things will happen.
Order Placed: 2/15/12
Order Shipped: 3/5/12
Order Received: 3/23/12
I call this one the "Bighead Romisen Look-Alike" because the lasers on LasersMan are all generically labeled, and they have one host which looks like this, but has a non-protruding side button, called the "Romisen". I labeled it "bighead" because it resembles the BigHead family of hosts from Lazerer and the like. This one is NOT the Romisen labeled one on the site though, which is almost twice the price. This is the knock off version.
Here is the link to this laser: 30mW 532nm Handheld Green Beam Laser Pointer Flashlight (1 x CR123A)
If you are considering purchasing this, make sure to email the staff and wait for a reply, there are constant discount codes ~12% off.
This host is WELL MADE. It is heavy and solid. The threads are nice and clean and deep. It feels like it is a lot more expensive than it really was. The anodization even feels pretty decent. The host is made of >2mm thick aluminium, so no skimping here. It is just over 4 5/8" long and can not fit a 18340, only a 16340 very snugly, so no rattling. It doesn't use a tail spring, but rather requires button topped 16340s. The contact surface is solid aluminium and it relies on a momentary side button, so no tailcap failures here. Looking down the battery barrel you can see the driver cavity is walled off with either rubber or plastic (my fingers can't really reach it to feel it) and the negative spring from the driver is well supported. I like this.
The laser peaks at 85mW for the first minute or so when very cold and on a super fresh 4.19V 16340 cell. I'm using a crappy TrustFire cell with ~300mOhm internal resistance, so it might last longer on a better cell, but all my AW ICR cells are in my expensive builds. I haven't tested the battery that came with the laser, it is charging. After the initial peak it settles to 68/69mW and stays there. I tested for 5 minutes and the output power did not drop from 68mW. The host felt only slightly warm to the touch, this is a LONG duty cycle host. <3.
So; for $15 + >1month this was well worth it and an excellent purchase in my book.
Buyers must know what they are getting in to though. LasersMan does not accept PayPal (only credit card) and you will not get very fast replies or service or shipment. You also take the risk of customs issues as the laser is shipped with battery and is well over 5mW. It comes in an unwrapped box marked laser pointer clearly on it. If they open the tan mailing bag, you can guarantee you're not going to see the laser. The mailing bag's contents were written only in chinese, so no idea what it said. The marked value was $10 though, which isn't off by much in this case. The sender's address was nondescript, so at least it didn't advertise being a laser retailer. Still a gamble though.
UPDATE:
Last night I was shining it around and started thinking "this doesn't look like 60+mW bright in the darkness...", I was thinking the output power dropped. So I checked the battery, it was fine. I then re-LPMd it, still doing 70mW solid. Then it dawned on me to dissassemble it and look for an IR filter. NO IR FILTER INSTALLED. I then LPM'd the IR using my second pair of goggles as an IR pass filter. These goggles ARE OD4 at 532 and you can't see any green through them at all, so even at the very worst the most green getting through would be no where near 1mW.
Sorry about the photo quality, I was using my phone camera since it can see 1064nm. You can kind of see the IR is bar shaped and not focused well, but here's another shot of the laser on a wall with my OD2 green blocking gogges used as the IR pass filter. You can see -some- green get through, about 0.5mW, which is the center round dot in the blob. This gives a better profile of the IR though.
So, even though these are only as bright as a 30mW green, they're as dangerous as a 70mW laser. Not too big of a deal really. I still don't know whether I want to invest probably more money on an IR filter than the laser cost, we'll have to see.
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