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Wicked Lasers Beam Expander, retail $149.95 (www.wickedlasers.com...)
Manufactured by Wicked Lasers (www.wickedlasers.com)
Last updated 01-19-14
This is my Wicked Lasers Spyder 3 Arctic G2 445nm 1W Blue Diode Laser
with the Beam Expander affixed to it.
Manufactured by Wicked Lasers (www.wickedlasers.com)
Last updated 01-19-14
This is my Wicked Lasers Spyder 3 Arctic G2 445nm 1W Blue Diode Laser
with the Beam Expander affixed to it.
The Beam Expander is a nifty little gadget that screws onto the end of your S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser (any vintage), Krypton, or any other Spyder III series laser that expands the laser's beam by 10x.
This at first may appear to be counterproductive, but in this case, looks really ` ***ARE*** deceiving.
What the beam expander does is increase the laser's range by reducing the beam divergence (a value usually expressed in milliradians or mrad) by ten times; this allows the laser's beam to stay narrower, longer.
To use your spiffy new (or corroded old
Adjust the focus by turning the knurled (texturised) ring near the base of the Beam Expander.
Photo of an uninhabited structure approx. 275 feet (~83.8M) away that I used as a target.
The albedo of this structure is ~15.
Photograph of the Wicked Lasers Spyder 3 Arctic 445nm 1W Blue Diode Laser (2)'s beam terminus spot without the beam expander in place.
I increased the camera's zoom to 24x to obtain a decent picture of the beam terminus.
Photograph of the Wicked Lasers Spyder 3 Arctic 445nm 1W Blue Diode Laser (2)'s beam terminus spot WITH the beam expander in place.
I increased the camera's zoom to 24x to obtain a decent picture of the beam terminus.
Photograph of the Wicked Lasers Spyder 3 Arctic 445nm 1W Blue Diode Laser (2)'s beam itself WITH the beam expander in place.
Photograph was taken on 10-21-13 at 6:49am PDT.
Note the moderately dense fog; this was the sole reason that this photo was taken.
Photograph of the 2 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser w/SmartSwitch™'s beam itself WITH the beam expander in place.
Photograph was taken on 12-22-13 at 6:13am PST.
Photograph of the 2 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser w/SmartSwitch™'s beam itself WITH the beam expander in place.
Some camera movement occurred; that's why there appears to be a bit of a 'double beam'.
Photograph was taken on 12-22-13 at 6:14am PST.
Beam terminus photograph of the 2 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser w/SmartSwitch™ WITHOUT the beam expander in place.
Some laser movement occurred; I'm attempting to obtain a tripod from Wicked Lasers in effort to mitigate this.
Photograph was taken on 12-22-13 at 8:45am PST.
Beam terminus photograph of the 2 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser w/SmartSwitch™ WITH the beam expander in place.
Some laser movement occurred; I'm attempting to obtain a tripod from Wicked Lasers in effort to mitigate this.
Photograph was taken on 12-22-13 at 8:43am PST.
Beam terminus photograph of the 2 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser w/SmartSwitch™ WITHOUT the beam expander in place.
Some laser movement occurred; I'm attempting to obtain a tripod from Wicked Lasers in effort to mitigate this.
Photograph was taken on 12-22-13 at 1:07pm PST.
Beam terminus photograph of the 2 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser w/SmartSwitch™ WITH the beam expander in place.
Some laser movement occurred; I'm attempting to obtain a tripod from Wicked Lasers in effort to mitigate this.
Photograph was taken on 12-22-13 at 1:08pm PST.
Photograph (in broad daylight) of the beam from my 2 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser w/SmartSwitch™ WITH the beam expander in place.
Photograph was taken on 12-26-13 at 8:37am PST.
Photograph of the Wicked Lasers "Krypton" Green DPSS Portable Laser's beam terminus spot without the beam expander in place.
I increased the camera's zoom to 24x to obtain a decent picture of the beam terminus.
Photograph of the Wicked Lasers "Krypton" Green DPSS Portable Laser's beam terminus spot WITH the beam expander in place.
I increased the camera's zoom to 24x to obtain a decent picture of the beam terminus.
You can see in the beam itself that it starts out significantly wider as it exits the laser.
The Beam Expander vignettes (cuts off) the Krypton's beam by ~55%, which is why the beam appears "flared out".
This is a fault of the Krypton laser itself, not the beam expander; the beam appears to emerge from the Krypton slightly off-center.
Photograph of the Wicked Lasers "Krypton" Green DPSS Portable Laser's beam terminus spot without the beam expander in place.
I decreased the camera's zoom to 16x.
Photograph of the Wicked Lasers "Krypton" Green DPSS Portable Laser's beam terminus spot WITH the beam expander in place.
I decreased the camera's zoom to 16x.
You can see in the beam itself that it starts out significantly wider as it exits the laser.
Video on YourTube showing the Beam Expander being stowed and then deployed again.
The laser beam was originating in the upper right during most of this video.
Taken on the evening of 01-16-14 in Federal Way WA. USA; conditions were light fog (I wanted to wait until we had light fog so that the laser's beam could be seen) with temperature in the upper 30s Fahrenheit.
This video is approximately 515.8997425212 megabytes (516,519,720 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than two thousand five hundred seventy nine minutes (!!!) to load at 48.0Kbps.
This video is definitely ***NOT*** dial-up friendly!!!
TEST NOTES:
Test unit was sent by Jeice of Wicked Lasers on 05-06-13 (or "2013 06 May" if you prefer), and was received on 05-16-13 (or "2013 16 May" if you prefer). However, it was defective so a replacement was sent at once -- the replacement was received at 11:12am PDT on 06-03-13.
UPDATE: 06-14-13
I measured the beam diameter at aperture both with and without the Beam Expander in place.
They are as follows:
(Arctic; no beam expander):
2.0mm fast axis
5.50mm slow axis)
(Arctic; beam expander in place):
4mm fast axis
30mm slow axis
(Krypton; no beam expander):
2.0mm
(Krypton; beam expander in place):
28mm*
* Beam is being truncated; beam diameter at aperture may be a bit innacurate as a result.
The following photograph shows this:
PROS:
Very cool accessory for your Spyder III laser
Increases the laser's visible range
Nice looking -- especially when affixed to your Spyder III laser
NEUTRAL:
CONS:
Beam must emerge from the laser perfectly centered
MANUFACTURER: Wicked Lasers
PRODUCT TYPE: Self-contained beam expander lens set
LAMP TYPE: N/A
No. OF LAMPS: N/A
BEAM TYPE: N/A
SWITCH TYPE: N/A
CASE MATERIAL: Hard-anodized aluminum
BEZEL: Metal
BATTERY: N/A
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: N/A
WATER- AND DIET MT. DEW-RESISTANT: Yes (when affixed to laser)
SUBMERSIBLE: ¡¡¡PARA LOS MOTIVOS NO DE CRISTO!!!
ACCESSORIES: Hard-sided storage box
SIZE: 103mm L (incl. threads) x 59mm Dia.
WEIGHT: 181.70g (6.410 oz.)
COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE: China
WARRANTY: 1 year (plus a 30-day money back guarantee)
PRODUCT RATING:
I'm uncertain just how I should rate this product, as I do not have access to a laser test facility with significantly longer range than what I currently have (~275 feet {~83.8M}}
Update 06-06-13: Added a pair of beam terminus photos.
Update 06-12-13: Measured beam dia. both with & without Beam Expander in place; added photo showing how the Krypton's beam is being truncated.
Update 12-23-13: Added two pics of the 2 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser w/SmartSwitch™'s beam itself WITH the beam expander in place.
Update 12-25-13: Added two pics of the 2 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser w/SmartSwitch™'s beam terminus spot both WITH and WITHOUT the beam expander in place.
Update 12-26-13: Added two more pics of the 2 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser w/SmartSwitch™'s beam terminus spot both WITH and WITHOUT the beam expander in place.
Update 12-27-13: Added a pic of the 2 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser w/SmartSwitch™'s actual beam as seen in broad daylight WITH the beam expander in place.
Update 01-19-14: Added a video on YourTube showing the Beam Expander being stowed and then deployed again.
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