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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Which laser should I buy?

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Nov 29, 2013
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I am looking into buying a new laser specifically for the use of burning while having a clear, visible beam in the night sky. I have heard that dragonlasers is legit so that is where I will be viewing products at. The green Spartan 200mW laser, the green Hulk Ultra 200mW laser, and the blue 1W Spartan laser all have caught my interest and are in my spending zone with $240 being the max amount that I am willing to spend on a laser (price excludes safety goggles).

I have a few questions about the lasers that I may purchase. The first being why are both the green spartan and the green hulk ultra the same price($199)? My second question is does dragon lasers ship to the US without being seized in the Customs? As stated earlier, which one of the lasers that I have mentioned would be best for simply burning, pointing in the night sky, and MAYBE creating cool little mini light shows?

I have also viewed an interesting "thing" from dragonlasers called "Laser Beam Splitters - Diffraction Gratings." (Laser Beam Splitters - Diffraction Gratings) I am wondering if those items would be useful for creating cool photographs and doing my own mini light shows for friends and family.

I may also consider getting the Wicked Lasers Nano. Which one can BURN while still being clearly visible in the night sky, the purple 75mW, the red 100mW, or the green 15mW? If you ask why Wicked Lasers, my answer is because of the lens attachments to create a mini light show :p I will not get it though if there rep is THAT bad. So I am also wondering if wicked lasers is terrible.

Lastly, is the 200mW green laser noticeably more visible than the 1W blue laser?

*EDIT/
Do any of the lasers I listed have inbuilt features of focusing or will they burn things just fine without the feature of focusable unit/lens?
 
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Hello.

The answers to question 2 and 3 are below

2) DO NOT GET WL, you will be paying More $ then you need too for a unit which is possibly underspec and isn't going to last you as long as much of other "quality" units.

3) Both will average out about the same(I think so)
You can check out "styropyro's" video's on youtube. He has one comparing a 150mW 532nm to a 1W 445nm :)
 
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WickedLasers has a pretty bad rep on these here forums. I don't have personal experience with them, but they're supposed to be generally underspec (putting out less than advertised) and have terrible shipping.
There's some truth in that, I guess, but WickedLasers is accepted to have some nice hosts, and some good quality lasers, as long as you overlook the underspec bit and the lousy shipping times.

About the Spartan and the Hulk Ultra, I've looked at the site and to be honest they seem to have identical specs, which I suppose explains the price. If you were to choose between them, I'd say the only difference is the host. So pick the one that you think looks nicer, because that's going to be the only difference.

Can't say too much about customs either. Most of the time, customs seizing lasers is hit and miss, but you wouldn't really want to take a chance with $199, would you? My advice would be to request that dragonlasers ship it in two separate halves, without batteries included (do dragonlasers normally include batteries anyway?) and declared as flashlight parts or something.

Oh, and I forgot. Generally, go green for best visibility. Red is dimmer for the same power, and violet can be hardly visible at lower powers.

Good luck, and remember to always keep those eyes safe.
 

NO4H99

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Ok, so this might be easier to answer in list format.
1) Yes, Dragon Lasers is a very good company with great customer service. The only problem is that if your laser goes bad, you will have to pay shipping to China and back, which will be $48.

2) Dragon Lasers garuantees that they will make it through customs, or you will get a refund.

3) If you want a blue, I would buy it from a member. For a green DL (dragon lasers)n is a great place to buy.

4) For burning, go for a blue. If you wanted to do "mini light shows", star pointing, etc, I would suggest the green because of the better divergence and the fact that it is a similar brightness at a much lower power.

5) A 200mw green will be jut a tad brighter than a 1w blue. The green beam is MUCH thinner though.

6) For wicked lasers as a company: their lasers are fine or even good, but their products are overpriced and their customer service is lacking.

7) A WL nano will not be able to burn most things because it is not focusable. The beam of the 15mw green will be visible at night though.

8) I have a 300mw Hulk Ultra that I just sent back to DL because it had an issue. They are sending me a brand new one, and with it, I am ordering some diffraction grating for various members (see the Group buy link in my signature). I would be willing to sell you the laser as well as some diffraction gratings if you are interested and can wait a few weeks. I also have a WL E2 host that I am currently building a 120mw green into. If you are interested, just let me know or send me a PM.

Hope this answers all your questions!
 
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The way dragonlasers's site is set up now is different than it used to be. I see they claim the divergence specs are all the same, but they usedto declare the spartan as <1.5mrad and the hulk ultras as <1.2mrad. now they call them all <1.5mrad. Between those two, I suppose I'd go for the hulk ultra, it has a shutter rather than a screw on cap
 
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Ok, so this might be easier to answer in list format.
1) Yes, Dragon Lasers is a very good company with great customer service. The only problem is that if your laser goes bad, you will have to pay shipping to China and back, which will be $48.

2) Dragon Lasers garuantees that they will make it through customs, or you will get a refund.

3) If you want a blue, I would buy it from a member. For a green DL (dragon lasers)n is a great place to buy.

4) For burning, go for a blue. If you wanted to do "mini light shows", star pointing, etc, I would suggest the green because of the better divergence and the fact that it is a similar brightness at a much lower power.

5) A 200mw green will be jut a tad brighter than a 1w blue. The green beam is MUCH thinner though.

6) For wicked lasers as a company: their lasers are fine or even good, but their products are overpriced and their customer service is lacking.

7) A WL nano will not be able to burn most things because it is not focusable. The beam of the 15mw green will be visible at night though.

8) I have a 300mw Hulk Ultra that I just sent back to DL because it had an issue. They are sending me a brand new one, and with it, I am ordering some diffraction grating for various members (see the Group buy link in my signature). I would be willing to sell you the laser as well as some diffraction gratings if you are interested and can wait a few weeks. I also have a WL E2 host that I am currently building a 120mw green into. If you are interested, just let me know or send me a PM.

Hope this answers all your questions!
Thanks! Are any of the lasers I listed focusable? (Spartan and Hulk Ultra)
 

Tmack

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Nope. The spartan used to have a beam expander available for 95$ . But they haven't had it in stock for a long time now. The hulk has the lens shudder and that's it. The greens have less need to be focused. The blue high power is where you want to be able to fine tune the spot.
 
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Nope. The spartan used to have a beam expander available for 95$ . But they haven't had it in stock for a long time now. The hulk has the lens shudder and that's it. The greens have less need to be focused. The blue high power is where you want to be able to fine tune the spot.
So how would you be able to burn stuff with either the 200mW Spartan/Hulk Ultra green or the Spartan 1W blue?
 

Tmack

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My really doing much burning with 200mw especially not focused. Lighting matches or popping balloons is about it. The 1w spartan will burn just because of its power. 1000mw will burn unfocused but only at short distances. If you could focus it you could burn much faster and further bateaux you can focus it to a point at a larger range. If your fancy is burning green is not for you. Get the hulk ultra 532 for long range and visibility . The 1w spartan will have a beautiful beam but not travel as far as the green, but it will be able to burn much better.

Look in the buy sell trade section. You will find much better options for blues there.


Click this link for the on of your best options

http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/s...-501b-lasers-copper-heatsink-100-a-78452.html
 
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My really doing much burning with 200mw especially not focused. Lighting matches or popping balloons is about it. The 1w spartan will burn just because of its power. 1000mw will burn unfocused but only at short distances. If you could focus it you could burn much faster and further bateaux you can focus it to a point at a larger range. If your fancy is burning green is not for you. Get the hulk ultra 532 for long range and visibility . The 1w spartan will have a beautiful beam but not travel as far as the green, but it will be able to burn much better.

Look in the buy sell trade section. You will find much better options for blues there.


Click this link for the on of your best options

http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/s...-501b-lasers-copper-heatsink-100-a-78452.html
The link that you gave me is great! How exactly do I buy one of those lasers though? Are all of them blue? Are they focuasable? Lastly:
"500mW 405nm laser in 501B casing --> $120
100mW 520nm laser in 501B casing --> $160
300mW 660nm laser in 501B casing --> $80
200mW 638nm laser in 501B casing --> $110

1+ Watt 445nm laser in 501B casing --> $100
1.5+ Watt 445nm laser in 501B casing --> $130
2.4+ Watt 445nm laser in 501B casing --> $200, this laser has a G2 lens and the bigger 9mm diode."
Are the first options(the ones in mW) green or why are those ones more expensive for less power? Sorry for all the questions :p
 

NO4H99

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The XXXnm part refers to color. 405nm is a purple, 520 is a deep/forest green, 660 is red, and 638 is a bright/orangish red. The ones on the bottom (445s) are blue.

All the lasers will be focusable. To buy them, just private message Blord or post in the thread. He will most likely use paypal.
 

Tmack

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Some nm or colors are more expensive. The 445nm or blue is the cheapest for the most power. The 520 are pretty pricey, the 445 are cheaper and lots of variations in the middle.

Yup just post that you want one on that thread and Blord will walk you through the process. Or you could message him. Either way, Blord will get you set up. He is a very trusted member so no worries.

If you want a nice 100mw green. Talk to the guy above this post Noah. Right now he has some great lasers for sale for a great price, and you would have it in the next few days! Blord is in Belgium so it will take a bit longer, but the wait is well worth it.
 
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"I am looking into buying a new laser specifically for the use of burning while having a clear, visible beam in the night sky. '

'clear beam'?? IR is 'clear' but mostly invisible- the 'brightest ' beam is a green-
what ever-- its NOT good to start two threads with the same questions-AND if you use the search you will find most of your answers- Your question has been asked 2167 times so far.

no location no help
 
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if you want a great buy on a green check out offroadfreak's skylasers group buy here
http://laserpointerforums.com/f55/open-taking-orders-round-4-skylaser-laserbtb-groupbuy-86275.html
last round i purchased the hl532 300. it is wildly overspec (>500mW) burns well, is focusable and has an Extremely bright beam. for only $147. for a few dollars more you can pick up the diffraction grating set to do the light shows. while it doesn't burn as well as my 2W blue kryton the brightness of their beams is roughly equal.
 




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