Z-Bolt 4-5mW 532nm Pointer (model BTG-6-P)

[DonkeyStonky]

Hello all, this paragraph is a little introduction about me since I am new here, so feel free to skip to the next one for the review. Anyway, a little about me; I’ve just joined LPF after my new laser arrived. I’m DonkeyStonky on here, and I’m a senior in college studying mechanical engineering. I’ve been fascinated by lasers for a long time, since seeing a large but low-powered HeNe laser in a museum when I was about 12. I’ve been a fan of styropyro’s YouTube channel, and I know he’s a forum member here. About a month ago I came across a class IIIa/3R 650nm pointer made by Sean and Stephen Co. at a thrift store for $5 (but it rang up for $2.50 ) and that got me really interested in getting a nice green laser. I decided on DPSS for the generally better beam quality at the cost of reduced efficiency, and began looking to see what I could find.

I decided that I wanted a ~5mW 532nm pen-type pointer as my first nice laser, so I started the weeklong process of finding the most worthy selection. I wanted a true Class IIIa pointer so I wouldn’t cook my retinas. I considered the Laserglow Lyra but the steep $38 shipping to the US and the warnings of FedEx possibly assessing a $22 laser testing fee put me off of that. After seeing that Z-Bolt was well-regarded albeit less known, I decided to go with their BTG-6-P model, which is the same as the BTG-6 except tuned and certified to be between 4-5 mW (the top end of Class IIIa/R as you all know). It also specifically mentions having a glass lens while the BTG-6 does not. At $78 before shipping and tax, this was clearly expensive for a <5mW 532nm pointer, but I wanted a true <5mW with a visible beam, and this has delivered perfectly. Anyway, on to the actual review.

The power certification card accompanying my laser states its power output to be 4.56 mW, so right in the middle of the advertised range. I like that this laser is made in Taiwan. I am extremely satisfied with the performance of this laser, as its relatively narrow beam diameter of approximately 1.1mm means it is quite visible in the dark, and possible to see even in conditions of non-total darkness (see attached picture for beamshot in semi-darkness).

My only gripe with this laser is that the power-on indicator LED (in front of the button) seems unnecessary, but it is very easy to position my thumb so it covers the indicator when pressing the button.

When I was looking at this laser and ordering it, I figured that the wooden box would look and feel super cheap. I was almost expecting to immediately remove the laser from it and cast it into my closet, but I was very pleasantly surprised to find it to be a quite high-quality wooden box indeed, befitting of a high-quality laser. Of course I didn’t buy the laser for its box, but I do like that it seems to match the quality of the laser, and it stores it nicely. I also liked that the two included AAAs were nice Toshiba ones made in Japan.

In conclusion, if I were to do this all over, I would absolutely go with the same choice. Perhaps I just have low standards as a noobie to all of this, but this laser objectively meets all of my requirements and wants as far as what I was looking for.

UPDATE: On Sept 7 my laser suddenly stopped working. I hadn’t dropped it, gotten it wet, installed the batteries backwards, or done anything else wrong. The power on LED still lit up but no laser light. Very rarely (~1/25 times I tried to get it to turn on), it would emit a very brief and dim green light from the laser. I tried replacing the batteries but that made no difference.

I emailed Z-Bolt and they replied a few hours later and said that they would ship me a new one, they just needed my order number. Since then, my laser has been working for a while, but it did briefly resume working earlier and then stop for a while (50 or so attempts to get it to operate), before returning to seemingly normal function.

I’m not sure what caused those problems but I am pleased that they were so quick to make the situation right by sending me a new one. Their warranty for this laser and many others (maybe all) that they sell is two years, so I definitely don’t think this sort of malfunction is typical. It was frustrating that is malfunctioned but they have done the best possible job rectifying the situation, so I appreciate that.


UPDATE 2:
I received my replacement laser a while ago and it has been working perfectly. I measured its divergence to be about 0.45 mrad, which seems pretty good. I’m very pleased with this laser, and if I had to do it again, I would buy from Z-Bolt again.

 

[julianthedragon]

Welcome DonkeyStonky, glad you're happy with your purchase! Any pictures including the box and/or beamshots would be lovely

 

[Gryphon]

Great choice! My first DPSS green was a Z-bolt pen and I was instantly hooked on lasers

 

[DonkeyStonky]

Welcome DonkeyStonky, glad you're happy with your purchase! Any pictures including the box and/or beamshots would be lovely

Thanks! Sorry about the pictures, I meant to include one of the beam, not sure why it isn’t in the post, it should be attached to this message along with some of the box. I kept trying to take pictures of the box but the upload function said “the uploaded file is too large”. In the future do I just need to downgrade the resolution on them or is there a better workaround?

I did notice that the beam is angled a decent amount from the body of the pointer, but that is at least a semi-normal occurrence right?

Edit: I made absolutely certain there were no airplanes in the area before shining it into the sky.

 

[julianthedragon]

In the future do I just need to downgrade the resolution on them or is there a better workaround?

Unown posted a nice workaround here

Looks good! My first laser was a 5mw 532nm but from Radioshack, there’s something awesome about that beam. I can’t tell how much the alignment is off from the host in the picture, what angle would you say it’s off by? It’s normal to be off by a degree or a couple

 

[DonkeyStonky]

Unown posted a nice workaround here

Looks good! My first laser was a 5mw 532nm but from Radioshack, there’s something awesome about that beam. I can’t tell how much the alignment is off from the host in the picture, what angle would you say it’s off by? It’s normal to be off by a degree or a couple

Great, thanks for the info!

I’d say it’s off by less than 3-4° if I had to guess, so it’s noticeable if you’re looking for it but otherwise not really.

Great choice! My first DPSS green was a Z-bolt pen and I was instantly hooked on lasers

It’s a beauty! I’m really enjoying it. I’ve seen and owned very weak red pointers and used a frightening overspec Amazon green laser belonging to a friend of mine, but to have something that both has a visible beam and is relatively safe is fantastic.

 

[RA_pierce]

I did notice that the beam is angled a decent amount from the body of the pointer, but that is at least a semi-normal occurrence right?

I've always been pleased with my purchases from Z-bolt. These days I usually buy the bare modules but their pointers are good.
They do offer a module with better beam centering. It wouldn't be hard to build a pointer with one of those.
Unfortunately, because DPSS lasers have many optical components, it takes a lot of effort to center the beam, so this is a common and inherent problem with this type of laser.
There are ways to mitigate this, which I explored in one of my yellow laser projects. The short version is that if you can accurately measure the angle of deviation from center, you can find a wedge prism that matches this angle (usually not exactly, but close enough) which will steer the beam closer to center. There are drawbacks, of course, but it can be done if you really need to.

 

[DonkeyStonky]

I've always been pleased with my purchases from Z-bolt. These days I usually buy the bare modules but their pointers are good.
They do offer a module with better beam centering. It wouldn't be hard to build a pointer with one of those.

I hadn’t really noticed their section of modules for sale! Not that I would have chosen one as my first nice pointer, but now that I’ve learned some more I am quite tempted to build my next laser myself using one of those. I think I just barely have the machining skills necessary to make a host for it.

As far as beam correction of my new pointer , I’ll probably just leave it as is, since it’s not really off by much, and I’m willing to have the beam be a little crooked in exchange for a high-quality beam.