Hey there guys, I'll update my review with pictures in just a bit, need to find a camera as my phone is in the shop 
After being interested in lasers for a great deal of time and reading over information including this forum to a great extent, I decided I wanted to make my first purchase. Being from the UK, most of the typical concerns about customs and the like weren't applicable to me; however as I was very eager to get hold of my first laser as soon as possible, most of the information about suppliers to the US which take 7-14 days and charge an awful lot for postage did not apply to me.
My main problem was finding a supplier in the UK. I didn't want to go for an ebay laser unless I was looking to pot mod, so that left me with very few choices. I'd read a bit about MegalaserUK, however most of the information was very brief and originated from a single user here on the forums. The main things I wanted from the laser are most of the things every new user wants; to have visible beams and to be able to do at least a couple of the "tricks" we all know and love. The consensus for MegalaserUK even being able to provide me with a legitimate product wasn't exactly great, but I sucked it up and purchased their 125mW 532nm at 1AM on the morning of Thursday the 18th.
The purchasing process didn't leave me with very much confidence. Their checkout consists of a very sketchy pure-HTML page with no confirmation of purchase costs before you checkout. It has SSL... which is something? I even transferred some money into an alternate account just in case my card details were stolen. Safe to say this leaves a lot to be desired. On completion of the purchase I was told I'd receive a confirmation email from them within 24 hours. I wasn't so sure I'd even hear any more from them...
...but at 10:30AM on the 18th I received a personalised confirmation email from Jo, one of their reps, telling me the laser would be sent out on the day. Very pleased, I waited until today, the 19th, and at around 3PM sure enough a package from Herts arrived through the letterbox; didn't even need to be there for the delivery. Delivery is 10/10 to the UK; thanks guys!
The laser arrived in a reasonably standard presentation case with two alkaline batteries, it was a nice touch I guess Instructions and Safety Guidelines were included and sticking the batteries in and operating the laser couldn't have been easier. I've waited until night to post the full review of how it performs. So here it is.
I don't have a meter to check the output unfortunately, however I do not believe that I am getting anything close to 125mW. On the MegalaserUK site there is a claim about the laser coming with an integrated IR filter which may explain away some of the pitfalls but whether or not this is genuine? Well, I can't quite say. During the day, the beam is invisible, fine. During the night there's a clear, visible beam. In a dimly lit room you get a dim beam too; not too shabby. It pops black balloons just fine but matches, both safety and read-headed cheap ones; not even smoke. Colouring the heads of the matches results in nothing too; a bit disappointing as I'd expect "125mW" to be able to at least produce some feedback.
Perhaps its divergence, which I'll check as soon as I have goggles and equipment. I'll also test the actual power output as soon as I get a meter and report back here.
Otherwise; all that's left is to drop you the details from the site:
Range: 50 miles
Continuous output power: 125mW class 3B
Power: 2 X AAA 1.5v batteries (included)
Dimensions: 13 X 143mm
Battery duration: 3 hours
Laser life: Up to 10000 hours
Wave length: 532nm
Weight: 65gm
PRICE: $120/£69 + £6 UK Postage
In all, I'm 6/10. For a first laser, its very nice, with a little fiddle I might be able to get a bit more from it. But for the price? I'm not too pleased, I do think I could have got a better laser for the same price from overseas. However; I didn't want to wait and that was the main selling point here for me. Delivery was spectacular; I'd recommend these guys to anyone in the UK who wants to get a reasonable model quickly.
I'm probably going to try their 200mW at a later date; first, time to go buy some equipment.
Again, I'll update with pics and tested specs as and when I get hold of them. Cheers guys!
After being interested in lasers for a great deal of time and reading over information including this forum to a great extent, I decided I wanted to make my first purchase. Being from the UK, most of the typical concerns about customs and the like weren't applicable to me; however as I was very eager to get hold of my first laser as soon as possible, most of the information about suppliers to the US which take 7-14 days and charge an awful lot for postage did not apply to me.
My main problem was finding a supplier in the UK. I didn't want to go for an ebay laser unless I was looking to pot mod, so that left me with very few choices. I'd read a bit about MegalaserUK, however most of the information was very brief and originated from a single user here on the forums. The main things I wanted from the laser are most of the things every new user wants; to have visible beams and to be able to do at least a couple of the "tricks" we all know and love. The consensus for MegalaserUK even being able to provide me with a legitimate product wasn't exactly great, but I sucked it up and purchased their 125mW 532nm at 1AM on the morning of Thursday the 18th.
The purchasing process didn't leave me with very much confidence. Their checkout consists of a very sketchy pure-HTML page with no confirmation of purchase costs before you checkout. It has SSL... which is something? I even transferred some money into an alternate account just in case my card details were stolen. Safe to say this leaves a lot to be desired. On completion of the purchase I was told I'd receive a confirmation email from them within 24 hours. I wasn't so sure I'd even hear any more from them...
...but at 10:30AM on the 18th I received a personalised confirmation email from Jo, one of their reps, telling me the laser would be sent out on the day. Very pleased, I waited until today, the 19th, and at around 3PM sure enough a package from Herts arrived through the letterbox; didn't even need to be there for the delivery. Delivery is 10/10 to the UK; thanks guys!
The laser arrived in a reasonably standard presentation case with two alkaline batteries, it was a nice touch I guess
Instructions and Safety Guidelines were included and sticking the batteries in and operating the laser couldn't have been easier. I've waited until night to post the full review of how it performs. So here it is.I don't have a meter to check the output unfortunately, however I do not believe that I am getting anything close to 125mW. On the MegalaserUK site there is a claim about the laser coming with an integrated IR filter which may explain away some of the pitfalls but whether or not this is genuine? Well, I can't quite say. During the day, the beam is invisible, fine. During the night there's a clear, visible beam. In a dimly lit room you get a dim beam too; not too shabby. It pops black balloons just fine but matches, both safety and read-headed cheap ones; not even smoke. Colouring the heads of the matches results in nothing too; a bit disappointing as I'd expect "125mW" to be able to at least produce some feedback.
Perhaps its divergence, which I'll check as soon as I have goggles and equipment. I'll also test the actual power output as soon as I get a meter and report back here.
Otherwise; all that's left is to drop you the details from the site:
Range: 50 miles
Continuous output power: 125mW class 3B
Power: 2 X AAA 1.5v batteries (included)
Dimensions: 13 X 143mm
Battery duration: 3 hours
Laser life: Up to 10000 hours
Wave length: 532nm
Weight: 65gm
PRICE: $120/£69 + £6 UK Postage
In all, I'm 6/10. For a first laser, its very nice, with a little fiddle I might be able to get a bit more from it. But for the price? I'm not too pleased, I do think I could have got a better laser for the same price from overseas. However; I didn't want to wait and that was the main selling point here for me. Delivery was spectacular; I'd recommend these guys to anyone in the UK who wants to get a reasonable model quickly.
I'm probably going to try their 200mW at a later date; first, time to go buy some equipment.
Again, I'll update with pics and tested specs as and when I get hold of them. Cheers guys!
