daguin
0
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2008
- Messages
- 15,989
- Points
- 113
When I saw Rick's "special" I decided to take the plunge
Since the price difference was not really significant, I decided to go with his highest powered unit
I ordered a 3+W; two battery laser
At this point, Rick had no idea who I (the buyer) was
I prefer to buy my review lasers anonymously
It prevents my getting a "cherry picked" laser and I don't "owe" the seller anything
Communication from Rick was good
We decided to go with the grey host, so I could use the 26650 batteries if I chose
The laser came with two, 18650's (with adapters), but it will hold the 26650's if I want to buy some
The laser arrived quickly via Priority Mail
The package was a bit "crowded", with little padding, but most of the contents are solid with no loose or moving parts
The laser and components arrived in fine condition
The package containd the host, two 18650 batteries, two adapters, the laser module, a charger, and some goggles
In this picture the module is still wrapped in the bubble wrap
Removing the bubble wrap shows the module in an ESD baggie
This is the module
The rear of the module shows that the contact disc is too small for the module. You can see that it is held in place by what appears to be epoxy. In addition, the soldering is a bit rough and extended beyond the threading a bit. One thing that Rick can do to improve the assembly is to change the size of the disc or the size of the hole to eliminate these gaps. Also, he should consider using a brass or copper adapter ring to solder the disc into. That would eliminate the messy soldering. It is almost impossible to solder to a large piece of aluminum. The heat is sucked away too fast to allow a good hot solder flow and joint
While this is not "pretty" looking, it is functional
For me, I don't care much about if something INSIDE is ugly as long as it works well
Once the laser is assembled, no one will see this part
The front of the module looks clean and already contains the lens
You can see that Rick has this module marked at 3.2W
Here you can see the 9mm diode and how Rick has to grind down the rear of the lens nut to allow the lens to get close enough to the diode
I had to clean up a bit of the solder to get the module to screw into the host
The module does not screw down into the host very far
Its progress is stopped when the rear of the module contacts the inside of the host's bell
I understand that Rick has changed the design of the heat sink so that it is beveled on the rear shoulder. That change will allow the module to be screwed in a bit deeper
The laser looks and feels good in my hand. I would like the module to be deeper, but that is truly just a personal preference.
I topped off the batteries and did some initial testing to make sure that the laser survived the shipment.
It did.
I charged up a pair of AW 18650's over night so I could do the serious testing in the morning
I use a Scientech 365 LPM
My testing with the lens that came with the laser showed a solid 3.18W.
This difference is well within the normal variance when going between one LPM and another LPM.
I tested the output with a G-1 lens as well.
I had to put the G-1 lens into Rick's lens nut so that the G-1 could get close enough to the diode to focus the beam
I metered no significant difference between the T-1 (stock) lens and the G-1 lens
Overall, except for some minor aesthetic preferences and the bit of sloppy looking soldering, I am well pleased with the laser and with Rick's communication.
Glenn (Scopeguy20) even came by last night and liked the look and feel of the host.
Of course he was also impressed with the 3+W output
+1 for Rick Trent
Peace,
dave
Since the price difference was not really significant, I decided to go with his highest powered unit
I ordered a 3+W; two battery laser
At this point, Rick had no idea who I (the buyer) was
I prefer to buy my review lasers anonymously
It prevents my getting a "cherry picked" laser and I don't "owe" the seller anything
Communication from Rick was good
We decided to go with the grey host, so I could use the 26650 batteries if I chose
The laser came with two, 18650's (with adapters), but it will hold the 26650's if I want to buy some
The laser arrived quickly via Priority Mail
The package was a bit "crowded", with little padding, but most of the contents are solid with no loose or moving parts
The laser and components arrived in fine condition
The package containd the host, two 18650 batteries, two adapters, the laser module, a charger, and some goggles
In this picture the module is still wrapped in the bubble wrap
Removing the bubble wrap shows the module in an ESD baggie
This is the module
The rear of the module shows that the contact disc is too small for the module. You can see that it is held in place by what appears to be epoxy. In addition, the soldering is a bit rough and extended beyond the threading a bit. One thing that Rick can do to improve the assembly is to change the size of the disc or the size of the hole to eliminate these gaps. Also, he should consider using a brass or copper adapter ring to solder the disc into. That would eliminate the messy soldering. It is almost impossible to solder to a large piece of aluminum. The heat is sucked away too fast to allow a good hot solder flow and joint
While this is not "pretty" looking, it is functional
For me, I don't care much about if something INSIDE is ugly as long as it works well
Once the laser is assembled, no one will see this part
The front of the module looks clean and already contains the lens
You can see that Rick has this module marked at 3.2W
Here you can see the 9mm diode and how Rick has to grind down the rear of the lens nut to allow the lens to get close enough to the diode
I had to clean up a bit of the solder to get the module to screw into the host
The module does not screw down into the host very far
Its progress is stopped when the rear of the module contacts the inside of the host's bell
I understand that Rick has changed the design of the heat sink so that it is beveled on the rear shoulder. That change will allow the module to be screwed in a bit deeper
The laser looks and feels good in my hand. I would like the module to be deeper, but that is truly just a personal preference.
I topped off the batteries and did some initial testing to make sure that the laser survived the shipment.
It did.
I charged up a pair of AW 18650's over night so I could do the serious testing in the morning
I use a Scientech 365 LPM
My testing with the lens that came with the laser showed a solid 3.18W.
This difference is well within the normal variance when going between one LPM and another LPM.
I tested the output with a G-1 lens as well.
I had to put the G-1 lens into Rick's lens nut so that the G-1 could get close enough to the diode to focus the beam
I metered no significant difference between the T-1 (stock) lens and the G-1 lens
Overall, except for some minor aesthetic preferences and the bit of sloppy looking soldering, I am well pleased with the laser and with Rick's communication.
Glenn (Scopeguy20) even came by last night and liked the look and feel of the host.
Of course he was also impressed with the 3+W output
+1 for Rick Trent
Peace,
dave
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