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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Wicked Lasers Sonar Elite Review

Joined
Feb 19, 2009
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879
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SONAR ELITE LASER REVIEW
I received my Sonar Elite yesterday to review and I must say, I am shocked by how amazing this laser is. I never expected to find out that this laser, could be so fantastic even though its pretty low powered. I am truly impressed by the creativity and simplicity of this laser.
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SHIPPING
What I found to be extremely impressive was the shipping. The laser shipped Monday 16. I received the tracking number the same day. And i receive the package THE VERY NEXT DAY. LESS THAN 48 HOURS it was by my doorstep.
The package was very good because it kept the laser very maintained so it wont shake around and stay safe. It came in a gorgeous black Wicked Lasers box with a sweet laser insignia on the bottom left of the top part of the box.
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BUILD QUALITY

  • The build quality of this laser blows my mind.

  • It has a perfect, smooth, and heavy enough body.

  • Once you put it in your hand, it has a very nice sturdy feeling were its not like its weighted to much on one side were it would fall out of your hand.
  • Its has a very good weight to it. It is measured at 68g.
  • Its made from 6061-T6 Aircraft-Grade Aluminum.
  • It had an LED indicator which I found to be really cool but its not as bright as I thought it would be. Its a very dim orange.
  • It also has a Safety Pin on the end to ensure safety. If its not in, the laser wont work, when it is in, magic happens.
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OUTPUT POWER

  • The listed output of this laser is <20mW @ 405nm and it peaks at about 22mW and doesnt really seem to go under 19mW.
  • Even though its a pretty low powered laser, it still does some very cool things when you write over glow paper or anything with a glowing principle. It wont burn anything but when it is very dark outside, and you point it into the night sky, there is a faint trace of a beam.
  • That is only because its low powered. Obviously it wont be like a lightsaber. But for its output, its still a great laser.
  • Be cautious, even at 20mW, you can still blind yourself!
Batteries: 2x 1.5v AAA batteries
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DIVERGENCE

  • The divergence of the beam is 1.2mRad

  • The diameter of the laser dot is 1mm.
  • The first pic is from 10 feet away and the second is at 15 feet.
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STABILITY

  • The battery lifetime of the Sonar Elite will laser about 48-50min.
  • The duty cycle is continuous which I personally enjoy with this laser.
  • The expected lifetime of this laser as listed is >5,000 hours.
  • I wouldn't be surprised if I dropped it and it would still be in perfect condition with a few scuffs.
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DIMENSIONS

  • The size of this laser is 170mm x 16mm
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PROS

  • Good weight
  • Pretty color
  • Size
  • Safety Pin on the end
  • Build Quality
  • Stability
  • Sexiness
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  • Shipping
  • Amazing packaging
  • Comes with power graph
  • Laser Warning Label

CONS

  • Dim LED indicator
  • low push-button which gets a little frustrating to keep holding
  • VEERRYY EXPENSIVE......$597.97
CONCLUSION
All in all, I would definitely recommend this laser to anyone who would like a 20mW violet laser. People may be thrown off by the price, but if I were a millionaire, I would buy 20 of these cause I just love them so much.
Any questions- please post below.

Note: The laser dot may seem a little fuzzy and large but thats because it was hard taking the picture while holding the camera. There arent actually any "splashes" like there is shown in picture 1 under output power.

Thanks and I hope you enjoyed.
 





Joined
Feb 23, 2009
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Very nice review!
I should have mine up sometime soon.
I completely agree with you about the dim led indicator
 
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Dec 27, 2008
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how can it have 1mm initial beam diameter???... it uses more than one lense to focus the laser out... i suppose!
 
Joined
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how can it have 1mm initial beam diameter???... it uses more than one lense to focus the laser out... i suppose!

honestly, im not sure why but i suppose that there would only be one lense if that makes a 1mm diameter dot.
 
Joined
Oct 9, 2009
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That is a very nice update to the older sonar. How does the switch button feel ?
 
Joined
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That is a very nice update to the older sonar. How does the switch button feel ?

thanks and thats a great question. its pretty easy to hold for a little while but after like 1 min or 2 it starts to get tiring because its one of those buttons that are in the host instead of sticking out but its not that bad.
 
Joined
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Don't you think that the dim LED is for the better? Would you rather have a bright annoying LED indicator like in RPL style lasers?

Adding to RT!
 
Joined
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Messages
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Don't you think that the dim LED is for the better? Would you rather have a bright annoying LED indicator like in RPL style lasers?

Adding to RT!

well im not saying i would want i want an overly bright indicator that would distract me from the laser, but a nice clear red light because what it is now is just a dim orange tint of light and if i had to choose between the indicator now and no indicator, i would choose none. its like there isn't even light coming from the indicator because its just that hard to see.
 

Rob

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Great review! Always wanted to see one done on of WL's 405nm models.

Wish they'd give someone 473nm to review, I'd like to see how they do theirs...
 
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Great review! Always wanted to see one done on of WL's 405nm models.

Wish they'd give someone 473nm to review, I'd like to see how they do theirs...

I'm still waiting for mine to arrive.. :cryyy:
 

Rob

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You got one of these to review as well?

That's great, I can't wait to see your review. :D
 
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You got one of these to review as well?

That's great, I can't wait to see your review. :D

No, I was going to get a Spyder III 473nm to review but it seems they're still in production & testing.
 




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