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Need Help Choosing First 532nm Beast.

ArJuna

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May 25, 2013
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I just bough my son a LaserGlow Galileo-5 that arrived today. It seems like a fairly well made product, although it does seem to vary in power noticeably with little use (less than a minute) and occasionally flicker on and off. It may be defective and I have already reported it to LaserGlow.

I have been reading this forum and a thousand other sites to try and decide where to spend my money on a powerful 532nm portable pointer. I am willing to go up to $1500, but would rather not as I am not a wealthy man. The reason I say $1500 is I am looking at the LaserGlow Hercules-375 and accessories, such as a couple pairs of their glasses, a X10DR-Hercules 532nm 10x Beam Expander, etc, which total $1532.

It seems there are other units out there with far more power for the money or less money for the same power. I am always one to buy quality, but it does seem that LaserGlow products are very expensive.

So my question that I'd like to pose to seasoned experts in this forum is whether or not I am making the right choice. I am extremely technical and would have no trouble building a unit from parts if I knew what to get. It does seem rather simple a device. The problem seems to be navigating through the plethora of parts available, many from Chinese junk merchants. The Chinese con artists can be hard to identify as they have become quite adept at disguising their identity. I do not want to risk getting ripped off.

I'll take any advice with gratitude.

I've got my cart filled at LaserGlow and I just can't quite bring myself to click "Checkout".
 





ArJuna

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What are you using this laser for?

Pointing at the sky mostly.

ETA:
I noticed you have both a Hercules-325 and a JetLaser PL-E 800mw, which I was looking at. I have concerns about the Chinese JetLaser company. Would you consider that laser equal in quality to the Hercules? What is the duty cycle on that PL-e 800? At twice the power and nearly half the price it is appealing.
Thanks
 
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There's no need for a LaserGlow then. Now don't get me wrong, they are an amazing device and I love my 325 but for just the hobbyist its pricey. I would recommend JetLasers

Prices are alot more affordable and they have great customer service.
They will be coming out with a 10X BE shortly as well and offer glasses.
 

ArJuna

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There's no need for a LaserGlow then. Now don't get me wrong, they are an amazing device and I love my 325 but for just the hobbyist its pricey. I would recommend JetLasers

Prices are alot more affordable and they have great customer service.
They will be coming out with a 10X BE shortly as well and offer glasses.

Would you expect the JetLaser to last as long, as durable?

Jetlaser does not say if the PL-E 800mw has 100% duty cycle?

Is the 800mw noticeably brighter? That is one thing that could sway me. I like the fact the Hercules has a 0-200hz TTL input and that it takes D-cells.

The JetLaser has 10 min runtime, which seems it would be a pain.

When you say for a hobbyist the Hercules is pricey, if not for a hobbyist, what would it be for then?

Sorry for all the questions. This is a tough call.

If I asked too many questions, i would like the one answered about 800mw vs. 400mw and how they compare in the night sky.

Thanks for your help.
 
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Optotronics RPL/LaserGlow Hercules

Here is a thread I did with my Herc vs Optotronics. Another good company.

JetLasers is not 100% duty cycle. I never run my lasers very long regardless though. Why would you need a long runtime?

Youre looking at twice the power of the Hercules youre looking at. It will be brighter. But 532 is a really bright color anyways.

What do you need TTL modulation for? Do you even know what it is?

LaserGlow would be a more professional set up. Like say a classroom or at a university. Something like that. Though works perfectly fine for pointing at the sky too.

D cells have to be replaced whereas lithiums can be recharged.

Youre looking at about twice as strong of a beam in the sky.
 
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ArJuna

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Optotronics RPL/LaserGlow Hercules

Here is a thread I did with my Herc vs Optotronics. Another good company.

JetLasers is not 100% duty cycle. I never run my lasers very long regardless though. Why would you need a long runtime?

I would be leading Astronomy sessions and I would rather not have to deal with a unit cutting off. I have other reasons as well.


Youre looking at twice the power of the Hercules youre looking at. It will be brighter. But 532 is a really bright color anyways.

What do you need TTL modulation for? Do you even know what it is?

If I did not know what it was I would not be worried about it. FYI, I am 50+ years old and am an electronics engineer by training and a computer engineer by trade. I used to tune and repair radio and air search radar equipment back in the 1970's. Back then I also worked on designing the worlds first produce sorters, such as tomato sorters that could see the tomato color and sort them. I did the same for potatoes. That was pretty advanced stuff in the 1970's. I thought it might be fun to design an encoder for the laser and a decoder/sensor that I could send crude data via laser with. I'm kind of thinking ahead to some fun experiments I could design. My lab at home is well equipped to build just about anything electronic and I love to screw around with ideas. With a similar invisible laser you could send covert signals a fair distance.

LaserGlow would be a more professional set up. Like say a classroom or at a university. Something like that. Though works perfectly fine for pointing at the sky too.

D cells have to be replaced whereas lithiums can be recharged.

I have 10,000mah rechargeable D-cells and they now make 11,000mah ones. Three of those in the Hercules would last many times longer than the one 26650 in the JetLaser. That does mean more bulk though. Choices, choices.


Youre looking at about twice as strong of a beam in the sky.

Twice the beam is appealing for sure. So is the price. This is not an easy decision. Thanks for your input.
 
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I would say leading astronomy sessions is a little more than what we typically do with them.

I was unaware of your background so I figured I would ask. People get excited about "options" whether they know what they are or not. Would be pretty neat to send data via laser!

What are the voltage of those cells? If they are 4.2 I don't think you can run 3 in series.

Beware of the size of the Hercules too. Its not a small device. It does have afew second start delay on it. May be a pain to press it and wait for the beam to point out a star. The PL-E Pro has a momentary button as well as a constant on. Both fire the laser immediately.
 
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after having experience in enjoying pointing lasers into the sky id say 100 % duty cycle is not a necessity , there will be plenty of reasons to switch of your laser,, a passing plane ,, someone interested in your laser, battery power switching colors ect. generally most lasers would run better with rest anyway.. also 445nm Blue lasers can look very nice in the sky and if you can spend several hundred you could probably get one for over 3 watts.. and that will really show up well in the sky.. bue actually has the best raylith scattering in the sky (i. the beam) so blue would go great with a powerful green.
 

norbyx

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If your purpose is to do astronomy and pionting stars I think that 300mw are even too much, you should be looking at lower power lasers. I am no expert in astronomy but according to another member that claims he is an experienced astronomer, the lasers used for pointin at stars are 5mw.
I can't say if its true or not but I do have a wicked lasers 532 that in low power gives about 110mw, and it is more than needed for pointing stars at night.
 

ArJuna

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I would say leading astronomy sessions is a little more than what we typically do with them.

I was unaware of your background so I figured I would ask. People get excited about "options" whether they know what they are or not. Would be pretty neat to send data via laser!

What are the voltage of those cells? If they are 4.2 I don't think you can run 3 in series.

Beware of the size of the Hercules too. Its not a small device. It does have afew second start delay on it. May be a pain to press it and wait for the beam to point out a star. The PL-E Pro has a momentary button as well as a constant on. Both fire the laser immediately.

THey are 1.2 volts each for a total of 3.6 with three cells.

That is very good information and very much worth considering for me.
 

ArJuna

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If your purpose is to do astronomy and pionting stars I think that 300mw are even too much, you should be looking at lower power lasers. I am no expert in astronomy but according to another member that claims he is an experienced astronomer, the lasers used for pointin at stars are 5mw.
I can't say if its true or not but I do have a wicked lasers 532 that in low power gives about 110mw, and it is more than needed for pointing stars at night.

Thanks. I know it's more power than I need, but I have been wanting to get a high power laser for years. I'd rather get one I can use for all purposes rather than getting a few of them. I just got a LaserGlow Galileo-5, 5mw 532nm laser today for my son. I went outside and pointed it up and while you can see it, barely, it would be hard for others around me to see it. It seems I can only see it if I am directly behind the beam. Now as I said in my initial post it may be defective and putting out less power than it should. When my son held it toward the sky I could not see the beam. It is a bright moon tonight and we would not be out with our telescopes on nights like these. I still want more power. I do like the idea of being able to vary the power.

For now I am going to be patient and wait a bit. I still need to look around and learn more before I make a decision. I will come back and post on here what I decide.

BTW, for the fellow that asked (kind of rudely I might add), I am in the Washington, D.C. area.
 
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With more power you will be able to see the beam at more of an angle. So better for others viewing it offset to you. I doubt it is deefective if its a laserglow. Although it 532nm its still rated at 5mW and coming from them most likley measure as such. With my 325 I can set it up on a tripod and walk 10 feet away and still see the beam just fine.

As for what hak said, its typical for a new member to post a thread in the welcome section introducing yourself and your background prior to jumoing into the forum. Just how we do business here.
 

ArJuna

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Thanks to all for the expedient help with my questions. This forum is quite an amazing resource with some knowledgeable, high quality folks on it.

Is it just me or are all those text color choices made to closely match most of the laser diodes out there?

T H A N K S F O L K S
 
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welcome to the madhouse- too late for you to turn and run away.

V/R
hak aka Len ( in texas)
 
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ArJuna

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As for what hak said, its typical for a new member to post a thread in the welcome section introducing yourself and your background prior to jumoing into the forum. Just how we do business here.


I forgot to employ my telepathy, sorry.

telepathy.jpg


I'll get to it soon.
 




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