ok all i'm saying is look around for RPL's purchased from Jack
ask the person how was thier experiance with jack-my first laser a RPL 260
averaged 288 peaked at 320 somthing but jack upgraded me to a RPL 375
as for duty cycle Glenn i have ran my rpl 375 for at least 7 minutes a few times
no problems havent had the need for any longer than that -now my blue is touchy -most are from what i hear pointer wise does jack need a group buy no i thought i would try to get one going but after pp fees shipping and possible getting nailed by the man
for not follwing guidlines i am out but of you guys interested I give my word go to Jack and you wont be disapointed any other argument is NULL & VOID ROFLMAO

Hey Folks, if you are interested either in getting items from Optotronics, or getting gear from Viasho, please send an email or PM and maybe post if you feel it adds to the discussion. Thanks! -Glenn E-mail: scopeguy20@gmail.com

Hey glenn what's your aim? Also One member on here has said 4 viasho's have died, maybe that extended warranty is owrth it

My aim is to basically to find out if 1/2 dozen lasers or more are wanted, and if more folks would rather go to Optotronics, although, I am still not getting any positive response from Viasho directly as yet. -GH

lmao no AIM instant messenger. Lol glenn that made me laugh

Oh, that aim, I don't really like to im, it keeps my too busy to get anything else done. -GH

Like I said Glenn, if you get a groupbuy going from Optotronics, I intend to get myself a 150mw pen style......

Hi quadcam,
I'm not sure if John relayed this to Glenn or not, but the 150mw pen pointer won't be included in any groupbuy in the near future. They are in too high demand and it's difficult to keep them in stock as it is at the current low price on them when compeared to Nova and others who charge much more. At some point in the future as demand for them decreases they could then be offered in a groupbuy.

Well, that's worth knowing... thanks lol

...Still interested here.
However, I'm waiting to hear what the final price/discount will be and a full disclosure/discription on exactly what components will make up these lasers (including from whom) included in this GB. Also, if any "extras" are thrown into the mix, it would be nice to know exactly what they, what they do, etc.
Mark
Feel free to PM me with any specifics...

Scope I am deffinatly intreseted and hope that this GB works out. PM me if you find out what the discount % is and i can re-do the price estimates i already put up. you do enough work as it is already!

Thanks again

Another email sent to Viasho asking for the best prices for our GB's today! -Glenn

Any news? I'm working now and am even more interested.

I might be interested in this. I may be getting a permit to import a laser, exchange rates are awesome and I have 2 grand to blow. Still not 100% decided, but depending on what kind of a discount you guys end up getting on the RPL I might be convinced.

Check the other thread from CNI some new news, some good some bad. Frank said they might have new lasers and even offer a 600mw now

So many choices.....What's a newbie to do?...

Well, I'm trying to decide which one of these to purchase via the various group buys going on:

1. CNI PGL-III-C-532nm 500mW ($930ish)

OR

2. Optotronics/Viasho 425mW RPL Portable Green Laser ( $1159.20ish)

Is there a noticable quality difference between the CNI and Optotronics green lasers?

Experts, which one would be the "best" buy....And why?

Mark

Well from all the rave reviews Optotronics is better, however optotronics uses a different diode than Viasho, they aren't the same!!! I'm sure the Viasho units are still better than CNI though, I talked to frank today and he's very confident in his product and is easy to talk to.

Btw the viasho units should be cheaper than optotronics

I sure do like the Optotronics quality! And I don't claim to be an expert, but the CNI lasers gets you more mW per $ and I am usually budget constrained -Glenn

Thanks for the info guys.

I hear you about the budget concerns...

If possible, could you give specifics about the quality differences between the two companies models? Does one use higher grade materials then the other?

I'm wondering if the "guts" and performance of the lasers are similar, then the main price difference can be attributed to fancier packaging...? Or am I off base with that assumption?

I honestly think that neither company is "better" than the other.
Both Viasho and CNI produce great products.

My opinion is this:
Even if Viasho uses "higher quality" (more expensive) components, it doesn't make their lasers any better when performance is taken into account.
Both companies produce lasers that exceed the advertised specifications, so what kind of diode is used is irrelevant if the cheaper unit works just as well and lasts just as long as the more expensive one.
Using "better" components does not necessarily make the end product (or it's performance) superior.

Anyway, I'm sure CNI uses good components too... but saying your company is better than another is just marketing in this case.

Oh... another thing that might account for Opto being more expensive than CNI...
Opto is a distributor of Viasho... CNI is a manufacturer of their own products.
The manufacturer's price is always lower than the distributor's price.

Makes sense...Thanks for the info and insight RA_pierce. I appreciate it.

Avoiding "Buyer's remorse" is a concern for me here since I'm not an expert and still in the learning stage about what makes these lasers tick.

...Seems that I wouldn't be disappointed with the products of either Opto/Viasho or CNI.

If given the choice between the CNI PGL-III-C-532nm 500mW and the Optotronics 425mW RPL green laser, which one would you choose and why?

I sent you a PM... I didn't want to back up this thread with my opinions. :P

Gotcha...

I was just concerned since I've never heard of a CNI with under 1 mrad. I know that portable PGL III was nice at 600mw but I wouldn't be happy if it had over 1 mrad if I saw optotronics with such low divergence.

I have to say CNI's beam expander is a neat way to lower divergence for cheap, 5x beam expander for 50 dollars!