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- Jul 25, 2008
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[highlight]EDIT:[/highlight] Nova's site states that the model has a divergence of 1.5mRad. I just measured; [highlight]1.2mm at aperture, and 2.2mm at 1m[/highlight] Divergence is calculated to be [highlight]0.999999666666867mRad[/highlight]. 
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfMS7-2e9k8[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WNoNP2kJ-I[/media]
I email NOVA about the glasses, and got this reply:
The laser: price: $230-plus $10 shipping
After a long wait, I finally recieved my X100 with the lens holder and optics. The price was around $250. It arrived in a cardboard box, which contained the case and the optics holder. Inside was the laser, sleek and beautiful. I read the sheet with the output on it; 102mW average, 108mW peak. Good, but somewhat below what I expected. I took it outside, put the batteries in, walked to my backyard, and turned it on. The beam was piercing in the night sky. I pointed it at a tree around half a mile away, and my dad started laughing, as he was probably expecting it to not go all the way to the tree. I walked back and put on the optics holder and the line generating lens. I turned it on, and it was kind of bright, but was only visable at the aperture. I then took the batteries out, and came in to type this. Pictures will be added tomorrow, or perhaps the next day.
Pro's:
good quality
VERY bright
somewhat inexpensive, compared to baton styles
shipping was pretty fast
pops red balloons within a second at medium range
Con's
somewhat hyped up power rating
line generator isn't very bright, but this was expected, and will be more visable with fog
somewhat dangerous, although this may be a pro for some people
short duty cycle (although it's a pen style, so this is expected)
It was about as bright as I expected. I wish I would have been sent a higher powered unit. Oh well, I'll probably just buy an RPL when I get enough money. Overall, it was good, but I'm not sure that I would order from them again, unless it was for a diffraction grating or something.
Burning wise, it's okay for 102mW. It lights matches up close in about ten seconds, and smokes electrical tape within a second. With the lens, it lights matches in less than a second, and smokes the electrical tape instantly, with ALOT of smoke.
The Goggles: Price: $70-plus $10 shipping (NOVA shields-pro)
The goggles came two days later, in a black plastic case. They came with a micro fiber cleaning cloth. I pointed the laser at it, and no green light was transmitted. Pretty good. When looked through, they reduce the dot to a dim yellow-orange spec. When closing them, I noticed it was very difficult to close, as you had to bend the plastic around the little joint where the other thing is connected, or else one arm would lever against the other. This turned out to be fatal. (To the goggles, that is) Over the next few days, the joints cracked, and finally, today, what I feared happened: I was carefully closing them, and the arm just snapped off. :'( Now I'm left with three pieces of expensive plastic. I will either try to glue them back together or construct a makeshift strap to hold the lenses on my face.
pro's
SAFETY
comes with a case
con's
expensive
fragile
The lens holder: price: $22 (includes optics)- plus $10 shipping
This screws on too the aperture, once you take off the cap. No tools are needed. To put in a lens, you loosen the screws with your fingers, slip the optic in, and tighten the screws. With the collamination optic (included) in, it burns like a beast! [smiley=evil.gif] It instantly smokes electrical tape and a black pack of gum, while I have no means for comparison, it burns maybe half as well as a small ( about 4 inches in diameter) magnifying glass. Like a magnifying glass though, it has a focal point which is at the point which is within a millimeter of the end of the lens holder. It also comes with a line generating optic. However, for every positive, there's a negative. After screwing the aperture cap on and off a few times, the warning label on the laser starts to peel off.
pro's
inexpensive
makes the laser burn better
cool effects with the liquid sky
no tools needed
con's
makes the warning label peel off
doesn't fit in the case well
The case for the laser: ^free^ (note: I get into alot of minor things here)
The case is solid aluminum, with the NOVA lasers logo on the top. It does not have a handle, and opens with a neat little lock mechanism. The sticker is noticably off center, at around 30 degrees off.
It is top heavy, so every time you open it, the case falls forward. It has a space for the laser, batteries, lenses, and two small accessories.
pro's
good to protect your laser
looks good
con's
top heavy
no handle
sticker off center
Eye candy: A little smoke (from burnt electrical tape) was used.
And lastly, a group pic of my three major hobbies:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfMS7-2e9k8[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WNoNP2kJ-I[/media]
I email NOVA about the glasses, and got this reply:
EDIT: A beamshot in my basement is added. I can't figure my camera out. It's taken with flash, and no exposure. It's not accurate, but it's the only picture that turned out.
The laser: price: $230-plus $10 shipping
After a long wait, I finally recieved my X100 with the lens holder and optics. The price was around $250. It arrived in a cardboard box, which contained the case and the optics holder. Inside was the laser, sleek and beautiful. I read the sheet with the output on it; 102mW average, 108mW peak. Good, but somewhat below what I expected.
I took it outside, put the batteries in, walked to my backyard, and turned it on. The beam was piercing in the night sky. I pointed it at a tree around half a mile away, and my dad started laughing, as he was probably expecting it to not go all the way to the tree. I walked back and put on the optics holder and the line generating lens. I turned it on, and it was kind of bright, but was only visable at the aperture. I then took the batteries out, and came in to type this. Pictures will be added tomorrow, or perhaps the next day.Pro's:
good quality
VERY bright
somewhat inexpensive, compared to baton styles
shipping was pretty fast
pops red balloons within a second at medium range
Con's
somewhat hyped up power rating
line generator isn't very bright, but this was expected, and will be more visable with fog
somewhat dangerous, although this may be a pro for some people
short duty cycle (although it's a pen style, so this is expected)
It was about as bright as I expected. I wish I would have been sent a higher powered unit. Oh well, I'll probably just buy an RPL when I get enough money. Overall, it was good, but I'm not sure that I would order from them again, unless it was for a diffraction grating or something.
Burning wise, it's okay for 102mW. It lights matches up close in about ten seconds, and smokes electrical tape within a second. With the lens, it lights matches in less than a second, and smokes the electrical tape instantly, with ALOT of smoke.
The Goggles: Price: $70-plus $10 shipping (NOVA shields-pro)
The goggles came two days later, in a black plastic case. They came with a micro fiber cleaning cloth. I pointed the laser at it, and no green light was transmitted. Pretty good. When looked through, they reduce the dot to a dim yellow-orange spec. When closing them, I noticed it was very difficult to close, as you had to bend the plastic around the little joint where the other thing is connected, or else one arm would lever against the other. This turned out to be fatal. (To the goggles, that is) Over the next few days, the joints cracked, and finally, today, what I feared happened: I was carefully closing them, and the arm just snapped off. :'( Now I'm left with three pieces of expensive plastic.
I will either try to glue them back together or construct a makeshift strap to hold the lenses on my face. pro's
SAFETY
comes with a case
con's
expensive
fragile
The lens holder: price: $22 (includes optics)- plus $10 shipping
This screws on too the aperture, once you take off the cap. No tools are needed. To put in a lens, you loosen the screws with your fingers, slip the optic in, and tighten the screws. With the collamination optic (included) in, it burns like a beast! [smiley=evil.gif] It instantly smokes electrical tape and a black pack of gum, while I have no means for comparison, it burns maybe half as well as a small ( about 4 inches in diameter) magnifying glass. Like a magnifying glass though, it has a focal point which is at the point which is within a millimeter of the end of the lens holder. It also comes with a line generating optic. However, for every positive, there's a negative. After screwing the aperture cap on and off a few times, the warning label on the laser starts to peel off.
pro's
inexpensive
makes the laser burn better
cool effects with the liquid sky
no tools needed
con's
makes the warning label peel off
doesn't fit in the case well
The case for the laser: ^free^ (note: I get into alot of minor things here)
The case is solid aluminum, with the NOVA lasers logo on the top. It does not have a handle, and opens with a neat little lock mechanism. The sticker is noticably off center, at around 30 degrees off.
It is top heavy, so every time you open it, the case falls forward. It has a space for the laser, batteries, lenses, and two small accessories.
pro's
good to protect your laser
looks good
con's
top heavy
no handle
sticker off center
Eye candy: A little smoke (from burnt electrical tape) was used.
