cheap violet laser pointers on ebay

hi, newbie here lol

so i thought i'd get into lasers again after a long hiatus. was searching for violet lasers on ebay and found a few sources. i've read how some designated <5mW turned out to be much more powerful and i'm hoping to score a hit with that particular one but i'm not sure which type it is.
there is this one with the screw on beam diverger and another one without it. both use 2 AAA batteries and i found a pair of the latter selling at 13$ and the former at 7$ per piece. how much does one of these made in china violet lasers really cost?
there's also this one using an 18650 currently at a bid price of 15.50$. i've never heard of 18650 fed ones but which one is more credible and least likely to fail?

Pretty much all "5mW' ebay pointers are at least 30mW. The rest of it is luck of the draw, sometimes you get a 30mW one, sometimes you get a 90mW one.

This seller has pretty consistently overspec 405nm lasers.
Newest 5mW 405nm Violet Purple Blue Ray Blue Laser Pointer Pen | eBay
Typically 50mW or over.

They are all around the same build quality, cheap lasers are hit & miss, if you're looking for a reliable pointer expect to spend around 100$, check out laserglow.

ok cool thanks! so can we expect the same out of those 18650 fed ones too? what is their efficiency on average in terms of visible light output vs IR and how long can i epect them to last on fresh batteries and overall lifespan? i don't have my lasers on for more than 20 secs generally

R10500 said:

what is their efficiency on average in terms of visible light output vs IR

Click to expand...

405nm lasers do not emit IR. Each diode differs in efficiency and can be tested using an LPM, DMM and some simple math.

and how long can i expect them to last on fresh batteries and overall lifespan? i don't have my lasers on for more than 20 secs generally

Click to expand...

Battery life is estimated on current draw of the driver and the battery capacity. If you want a long life go get some Energizer Lithium. I recommend the Sanyo Eneloops if you want to buy rechargeables

Zeebit said:

405nm lasers do not emit IR. Each diode differs in efficiency and can be tested using an LPM, DMM and some simple math.


Battery life is estimated on current draw of the driver and the battery capacity. If you want a long life go get some Energizer Lithium. I recommend the Sanyo Eneloops if you want to buy rechargeables

Click to expand...

that's good. haha big terms. going to do some reading up then.

ok but are there any instances in which lithiums overdrive the lasers or something? how long can we expect the laser itself to last light usage?
as a sidenote, are those red and green laser pens also overdriven typically?

The energizer lithiums have around 1.7v while fresh and quickly drop to 1.5V. The small overvoltage should be no problem. Some lasers will do fine and some may poop and die. There is no way to tell unless you try it.

Life expectancy depends on the overall build quality. Some die randomly and some may last a while. One thing I do not like with these pens are the pesky buttons. They just seem to die after a few hundred cycles and it is very difficult to pull the laser apart and replace the switch.

Given any wavelength(color), most eBay pen lasers are typically overspec.

ok. how is this seller overspeccing his lasers anw is he not sure about the true output or is he sticking 5mW indication stickers on them? i see that he does not ship to some countries that allow 5mW. do you know if other sellers also sell overspecced 5mW like this one?

not trying to derail your thread but.....
we can always give better help if you please take the time to fill in your personal profile page- we need to see your location show under your name- to do that you need to add it.
its also nice when a newcomer makes an intro thread in the welcome section- shows respect and good manners- its a much nicer way to get to know some members as they will reply with 'welcomes' and good links in their posts in your thread- YOU need to read these links BEFORE asking for help


we like to know first names too and a bit about your general goals with lasers. how you make your living etc.
you may have a great member living nearby and w/o your location- you would never know..

--






lastly you could have found ALL your answers by your self using our search-

welcome--- len

edit update new member is here with 10 questions in first few hours--

break out the big spoons

hakzaw1 said:

not trying to derail your thread but.....
we can always give better help if you please take the time to fill in your personal profile page- we need to see your location show under your name- to do that you need to add it.
its also nice when a newcomer makes an intro thread in the welcome section- shows respect and good manners- its a much nicer way to get to know some members as they will reply with 'welcomes' and good links in their posts in your thread- YOU need to read these links BEFORE asking for help


we like to know first names too and a bit about your general goals with lasers. how you make your living etc.
you may have a great member living nearby and w/o your location- you would never know..

--






lastly you could have found ALL your answers by your self using our search-

welcome--- len

edit update new member is here with 10 questions in first few hours--

break out the big spoons

Click to expand...

well yes i just read now how annoying it can be to have to answer the same questions a hundred times over and i'd be if i were in that circumstance but not everybody would flock to the introductions forum first, not me leastways. i came here to look for any helpful reviews and tips regarding violet lasers but i'm not used to having pop-up browsers everytime i decide to scour through so many threads. moreover i was intending to make my questions short since i needed quick advice on a purchase i was going to make immediately and this forum was the obvious one to go to.
so i'm sorry that i wasn't familiar with the custom on LPF and will update my profile so that i don't appear just another come and go drifter and i assure you that i understand the efforts of veterans involved in making this forum a reality but i believe that you've already made your point here. you do not need to remind me again on my profile to update it in my first few hours of being here. that just makes me feel persecuted.

i thank the helpful members who still offer me the help i need nevertheless.

R10500 said:

ok. how is this seller overspeccing his lasers anw is he not sure about the true output or is he sticking 5mW indication stickers on them? i see that he does not ship to some countries that allow 5mW. do you know if other sellers also sell overspecced 5mW like this one?

Click to expand...

The seller is not the one who "overspecs" the laser. They are just retailers and there is not enough reason to get an LPM for generic pen lasers. Most of them might not even know that they are selling overspc lasers or what mW even means.

For less thsn 5 bucks a pop, these are well worth the money. If it dies, just grab another one.

I do not think Singapore has any restriction to importing lasers. Just look that up to be sure. Most of the time it won't be a problem though. The seller will label it as a "flashlight" and "gift" so it should go through just fine.

Zeebit said:

The seller is not the one who "overspecs" the laser. They are just retailers and there is not enough reason to get an LPM for generic pen lasers. Most of them might not even know that they are selling overspc lasers or what mW even means.

For less thsn 5 bucks a pop, these are well worth the money. If it dies, just grab another one.

I do not think Singapore has any restriction to importing lasers. Just look that up to be sure. Most of the time it won't be a problem though. The seller will label it as a "flashlight" and "gift" so it should go through just fine.

Click to expand...

gee someone sure is making a loss unknowingly lol yeah there are no restrictions but what i worry about is if they somehow decide to open the package up and find an over 5mW laser and i'll be in hot soup and getting jail time for this, not to mention being treated as guilty before being proven innocent, is just ridiculous. i've found other singaporeans on LPF with said lasers and they seem fine but i just dunno really.

is it just this seller or is it every seller who label it as such?

The labels are just a matter of copying and pasting.

Even if the customs will open up the package they still won't be able to test it's true output unless they have an LPM which they likely don't. You said there are no restictions so why worry?

If you do not feel safe, ask a fellow Singaporean here on the forums if they would like to be your middleman. You buy the laser and have it shipped to the middleman and he will then send it to you/

THANKS for updating your profile- welcome- enjoy the forum- good to have you here-
check your rep. --gave you a little 'kick-start'

many sellers hope we have no laser power meters-or friends with them-
and they can use '<' meaning less than -- which means nothing -- we see 50 mW lasers sold as <100mW all the time..

yeah i mean anything <5mW are allowed here but that probably doesn't mean that they won't open up everything and check.

yeah i guess its difficult to trust made in china stuff. who knows whether we'll be getting a dud or an eye dazzler/blinder lol.

has anybody wondered why some of the 5mW those ebay sellers have on sale are not for shipping to certain countries while others listed ship to said countries? could they possibly know that they are selling overspecced lasers?

They may just not sell them in certain countries that have laser restrictions.
For example, Australia has a <=1mW restriction. The US is <=5mW, although there may be other countries with a restriction of below 5mW.