Review of the Sanwu Challenger II- 465 nm 2 Watt multimode

[Pelagius]

Thanks. I was hoping you wouldn't take it as rude, because that was not my intent. It just seemed to be the most expeditious way to say yes.

I generally look for peaceful intent before assuming rude intentions. I've noticed you are fairly literal in your posts-so I took it as dry humor and chuckled.
Although a certain 14 year old was embarrassed when the teacher gave that response. It makes me laugh now.

 

[cistercian]

Hi Paul
I (Pelagius) have the Sanwu Challenger II 2W 465 nm and I am the thread starter/ I do not have a Jet Laser.

Cistercian has the 3.2W Jetlasers 465 nm and he was talking about it on this thread.

I got the new meter today. 3859mw!!!! Yikes! No wonder it burns so well and limited the 3.2 watt meter so quickly!

 

[Pelagius]

I got the new meter today. 3859mw!!!! Yikes! No wonder it burns so well and limited the 3.2 watt meter so quickly!

Nice! That is going to be visible.

 

[cistercian]

Nice! That is going to be visible.

Oh, it is bright. And it burns so well! It figures...I get a 10w LPM and I am completely satisfied
with my power. Divergence at range blows, of course. A nice big projected line. But for close
range...that is another story. It was a real bargain considering the color and power for sure!

It is very fun to use! Damn near 4 watts...wow!!! Jetlasers comes through again!

I have yet to try the beam expander on it, that should be ridiculously fun too!

I tried my 488nm blubby laser at 66mw for burning...it can focus super tiny and does well for initials
on my dark desk. Very impressive actually! The PLE-Pro just ignites stuff that is dark. Quickly, too!
And with a much bigger dot. I am so glad I bought it!

 

[Pelagius]

Oh, it is bright. And it burns so well! It figures...I get a 10w LPM and I am completely satisfied
with my power. Divergence at range blows, of course. A nice big projected line. But for close
range...that is another story. It was a real bargain considering the color and power for sure!

It is very fun to use! Damn near 4 watts...wow!!! Jetlasers comes through again!

I have yet to try the beam expander on it, that should be ridiculously fun too!

I tried my 488nm blubby laser at 66mw for burning...it can focus super tiny and does well for initials
on my dark desk. Very impressive actually! The PLE-Pro just ignites stuff that is dark. Quickly, too!
And with a much bigger dot. I am so glad I bought it!

I'm glad you are enjoying it! Divergence at distance. I've yet to try mine beyond 30-40 feet. I do have a 3X BE. I don't imagine lighting clouds is a good idea in a city any way. I do like the color of the visible beam. It's also easy to def-ocus to shine on objects without out enough "energy density" to cause trouble.
I got a fog machine-but have not tried it yet.
I do like the 3 power settings-but Sanwu released their first continuously variable power model-with a100 mW -5W range.
It would be nice to have low power options for use with fog.

 

[cistercian]

I like cloud base illumination...and this laser is not it! A 112mw 532nm evo pro from (shudder) wicked lasers
paints cirrus clouds. The beam is tiny...and low divergence. 2 AA cells and it is some serious fun!!!
Big diode lasers make fat epic beams...but are not so good at cloud stuff. I should try the 10x expander
and see how well they do then.

I can say with authority the big blue nukes Folgers cans...very fast! Hee Hee!

Trade offs and performance envelopes we all run into...

 

[Pelagius]

The fatter beams look more like SciFi weapon beams anyway. I hope to get an (Original series) Phaser Replica with Laser-hopefully a 1W 465.

I got turned off of 532 nm by eye ache I got from an over spec "Cat toy" that I had hoped to use for presentation pointing.
WAY too bright. No way would I expose anyone to that! I got a certified < 5 mW 505 nm from Laserlands for presentations.


I tested the OBNOXIOUS "Cat Toy"-it for match lighting-no go (no focus ability). And just near exposure to splash off non reflective surfaces caused eye ache (reminding me of sun on snow without sunglasses). Since I was wearing my Eagle Pair I assume it was IR splash-especially since my 1W 520 nm causes NO eye soreness in similar use. It is destined for Landfill-or perhaps destructive dismantling (it's not worth the effort to try and add an IR filter).
Still, a properly filtered 532 nm might be fun for cloud lighting-away from town.
I also am collecting prisms-and a crystal ball is on it's way. I want to try some (low power) light show play. So a red is next.

 

[cistercian]

The fatter beams look more like SciFi weapon beams anyway. I hope to get an (Original series) Phaser Replica with Laser-hopefully a 1W 465.

I got turned off of 532 nm by eye ache I got from an over spec "Cat toy" that I had hoped to use for presentation pointing.
WAY too bright. No way would I expose anyone to that! I got a certified < 5 mW 505 nm from Laserlands for presentations.


I tested the OBNOXIOUS "Cat Toy"-it for match lighting-no go (no focus ability). And just near exposure to splash off non reflective surfaces caused eye ache (reminding me of sun on snow without sunglasses). Since I was wearing my Eagle Pair I assume it was IR splash-especially since my 1W 520 nm causes NO eye soreness in similar use. It is destined for Landfill-or perhaps destructive dismantling (it's not worth the effort to try and add an IR filter).
Still, a properly filtered 532 nm might be fun for cloud lighting-away from town.
I also am collecting prisms-and a crystal ball is on it's way. I want to try some (low power) light show play. So a red is next.

I have not tried match lighting in a long time! I should give it a try with my various powered lasers and report back!

 

[Pelagius]

I have not tried match lighting in a long time! I should give it a try with my various powered lasers and report back!

HAHA! Lets see a pic or two! I use it as a low accuracy LPM. My 532 nm Gatling "200 mW" will light a match in 20-30 seconds as will my 150 mW G7 lens Sanwu 492. The 2W will cut the wooden matchstick in half in that time-or faster. I think any 1W or greater will light instantly. I've seen people say "a 50 mW will light a match if focused properly"- I've yet to see that.

 

[cistercian]

HAHA! Lets see a pic or two! I use it as a low accuracy LPM. My 532 nm Gatling "200 mW" will light a match in 20-30 seconds as will my 150 mW G7 lens Sanwu 492. The 2W will cut the wooden matchstick in half in that time-or faster. I think any 1W or greater will light instantly. I've seen people say "a 50 mW will light a match if focused properly"- I've yet to see that.

My 46mw evo pro 532nm has lit matches. It has a ridiculously tiny beam profile. The dot is very small! I burned my initials into my desk with 66mw of 488nm cyan. I am certain it would easily light a match! Super tight focus works really well! Power density!!!

 

[Pelagius]

My 46mw evo pro 532nm has lit matches. It has a ridiculously tiny beam profile. The dot is very small! I burned my initials into my desk with 66mw of 488nm cyan. I am certain it would easily light a match! Super tight focus works really well! Power density!!!

Evidently none of my "lower power" lasers focus that perfectly!

 

[cistercian]

Evidently none of my "lower power" lasers focus that perfectly!

I have made holes in white paper with 80mw of 405. I am sure it was less power because I used an external lens
and could see the elements florescence where the beam passed through! High OD rating goggles make it easy to
do with single mode lasers! Of course giant multi-mode diodes putting out watts of power are easy...and super tight
focus is not needed. Infinity focus yields big holes in stuff!!!

 

[Pelagius]

I have made holes in white paper with 80mw of 405. I am sure it was less power because I used an external lens
and could see the elements florescence where the beam passed through! High OD rating goggles make it easy to
do with single mode lasers! Of course giant multi-mode diodes putting out watts of power are easy...and super tight
focus is not needed. Infinity focus yields big holes in stuff!!!

Infinity focus. My attempts are from around 8 inches away-trying to get the smallest dot possible.

 

[paul1598419]

I really need to throw one of these together. I have two NDB7675s and an M462 diode. Have plenty of drivers and a few hosts that would work well for this. Just need to get everything out and start. I would still use a short focal length aspheric lens for any of these diodes. I never see the advantage to using multi element lenses on diodes like these.

 

[Pelagius]

I really need to throw one of these together. I have two NDB7675s and an M462 diode. Have plenty of drivers and a few hosts that would work well for this. Just need to get everything out and start. I would still use a short focal length aspheric lens for any of these diodes. I never see the advantage to using multi element lens on diodes like these.

I look forward to seeing it. I requested a G7 lens. I have a 3X expander (stainless steel). Laser gets hot faster so I don't use it much.

 

[paul1598419]

I have some longer focal length lenses like 7mm and 12mm. I still like a focal length around 2.3mm better though. I will do a review of one of these as soon as I get one built. Might be a week or so as I have too many other projects in the way right now.