Red 200mw 650nm not doing much... am I just being stupid?

[YurokLatoniah]

Probably yes. Very new to this but did a little reading and went for the Sanwu 304 range - got the 650nm at 200mw. It arrived today, and after I finally realised how to take the pattern cap off (lol) I took it for a test run. The beam shows as a dot far away at night, but certainly no "beam" to speak of. I've seen videos of 650nm 200mw lasers burning paper etc (and was under the impression that 200mw would even in the red range) but this thing does absolutely **** all.

Am I just being moronic and have gone for an insufficient power/wavelength combo, or is this a faulty laser?

Thanks!

 

[paul1598419]

It really depends on the actual power of your 304 650nm laser. I got a couple from a different seller for $9.95 each. One is over 300 mW and the other is 257 mW. Both have a pretty good beam coming at you in a dimly lit room.

650nm is not a terribly visible wavelength as it is getting close to the end of the visible spectrum at 700nm. It looks deep red to my eyes, but the 635nm or 638nm lasers are better for seeing the collimated beams.

 

[RedCowboy]

If you focus it to a tight spot it should light a blackened match head and make a tiny hole in dark paper, also you should be able to see the beam at night, not like a 200mw green but it should be at least faintly visible and clearly visible in fog or smoke.

As for pictures a camera will often see 650-660nm red beams better than we do.

Make sure to wear your laser safety glasses with any laser over 5mw

 

[lasersbee]

You will see the beam more readily if the beam passes
through smoke or fog.

Jerry

 

[YurokLatoniah]

It really depends on the actual power of your 304 650nm laser. I got a couple from a different seller for $9.95 each. One is over 300 mW and the other is 257 mW. Both have a pretty good beam coming at you in a dimly lit room.

650nm is not a terribly visible wavelength as it is getting close to the end of the visible spectrum at 700nm. It looks deep red to my eyes, but the 635nm or 638nm lasers are better for seeing the collimated beams.

I heard Sanwu were metered so I was hoping it would be accurate, but to be honest I have no way of checking at all the actual output. One thing that comes to mind is that I haven't charged it since receiving in the post - perhaps it's just a little low on power but the dot is super bright. Just no beam and no burning capacity as far as I can tell.

If you focus it to a tight spot it should light a blackened match head and make a tiny hole in dark paper, also you should be able to see the beam at night, not like a 200mw green but it should be at least faintly visible and clearly visible in fog or smoke.

I've twisted the focus as far as it goes so I assume I'm fully focused to the extent I can be. Sadly no dark paper at hand or matches - tried with blue cardboard but not even a singe.

As for pictures a camera will often see 650-660nm red beams better than we do and produce an image where it shows better than live.

You will see the beam more readily if the beam passes
through smoke or fog.

Jerry

I'll see if I can get a picture in the dark shortly and see what you guys think!

 

[paul1598419]

Oh, you bought your batteries with the laser? I would not do that as you will get much better batteries buying them from someone like liionwholesale.com. That is where I buy all my 18650 batteries now.

 

[YurokLatoniah]

OK perhaps I was rash. In a pitch black room there is a faint beam, just not as impressive as I'd hoped. I think I got mixed up thinking 200mw was sufficient for a red laser - seems a higher wattage needed for a better beam comparable to the greens/violets.

Still no ability to test burning but I assume if I can find some of the right kind of paper it will probably work.

Time to invest in something a little cooler I reckon

Oh, you bought your batteries with the laser? I would not do that as you will get much better batteries buying them from someone like liionwholesale.com. That is where I buy all my 18650 batteries now.

Aha, righto not sure if I can order from there to the UK but I'll have a look for some reputable 18650 suppliers here. Didn't realise they'd ship shitty batteries but good to know!

 

[paul1598419]

Didn't know you were in the UK. We used to have locations under our avitars, but no longer. You might want to find someone there that can deliver top quality batteries to you.

 

[YurokLatoniah]

Didn't know you were in the UK. We used to have locations under our avitars, but no longer. You might want to find someone there that can deliver top quality batteries to you.

Will give that a shot, thanks for the reassurance anyway!

 

[RedCowboy]

Here's a better clip, the beam shows up better in smoke.

 

[YurokLatoniah]

Here's a better clip, the beam shows up better in smoke.

Thanks! Time to buy me some matches and a smoke machine...

 

[Frozenferrari]

Your issue is absolutely the power output. 200mw, especially in a dim part of the spectrum will be laughable compared to the big power stuff.
A 200mw 532nm green is ONLY FAINTLY visible in clean air in a dark room, better in fog BUT NOT STUNNING.

200mw of anything is a JOKE for someone who wants to see brilliant beams, even in fog. See my attached image for a comparison of 1W 520nm versus 100mw 532nm in steam.

Sounds like you are a lot like myself - we want to be absolutely blown away by the beams. Your answer lies in the 1W-5W range depending on what wavelength you get. I will never order or build any laser under 1W anymore, even greens.

Greens will be the brightest, a stunning beam can be had at $290 shipped for the PLE mini 1W.

445 Blue will be the cheapest. I have three of these units and theyre pretty fantastic, and ship fast. https://www.bestlaserpointers.com/3...ng-laser-pointer-adjustable-focus-5-lens.html

465-488 will be a very pretty color and quite bright in the 1-4W range, but expensive.
A $30 trip to walmart will get you a fog machine which will really help you achieve great beams, and set off fire alarms lol.

How much money are you trying to spend? You will not get *stunning* beamers for under $100. Your best bet >$100 is to hit Amazon and pick up a 303 clone in the 532nm range, but beware of IR output and get a proper set of safety glasses. Laserpointerstore also sells a 500mw 532 gatling, but it probably has a short duty cycle due to minimal heat sinking - just an assumption. DO NOT buy any class 4 laser without first buying a pair of eagle safety glasses. $48, or your vision for the rest of your life.

Also anything under 1W starts to stray away from exciting burning capabilities. I mean, it will work... if you have a sharpie.. If you want to burn with authority get a 3W+ blue.

 

[paul1598419]

I wouldn't say 200 mW of 532nm green laser light is faint. It aint. I have several of these and they all produce a very visible beam even in well lit rooms.

 

[RedCowboy]

I wouldn't say 200 mW of 532nm green laser light is faint. It aint. I have several of these and they all produce a very visible beam even in well lit rooms.

I agree, 200mw of 532 is very visible, the beam indoors and at night is quite obvious and even in daylight you can see the spot 100+ feet away.

Maybe todays new laser hobbyist has it so much better than we did that a 1/5 watt of green seems dim........lol.

Years ago a 200mw green laser was a multi hundred dollar laser and a bare 200mw 532nm module used to be 200.00, I think I paid over 200.00 for a 55mw 532 from WL and it was something special at the time.

 

[icecruncher]

I want to reiterate something said earlier that bears repeating..
Good Batteries can make a HUGE difference in output, especially if it is a bottom quality battery vs top quality.
trustfire and ultrafire are very much at the bottom.

Remember also, you need a lot less power to burn something black than something white.

My 200mw green will light up a small indoor room in the dark.
IMHO, my 1W green is scary in a small room, even though all the walls are a Flat finish.

As far as seeing beams, normal indoor dust will light up beams well down into the single digit milliwatts at times.
Looking square at the beam it will usually be harder to see, but the closer your eyes are with the beam path the brighter it will be.
Outdoors, during the day, prepare to be disappointed with almost anything.

How much money are you trying to spend? You will not get *stunning* beamers for under $100.

I bought a pocket 1W+ 445 on here for $65.00 a couple months ago - my new favorite carry around. (10440) They can be had.

 

[paul666]

Probably yes. Very new to this but did a little reading and went for the Sanwu 304 range - got the 650nm at 200mw. It arrived today, and after I finally realised how to take the pattern cap off (lol) I took it for a test run. The beam shows as a dot far away at night, but certainly no "beam" to speak of. I've seen videos of 650nm 200mw lasers burning paper etc (and was under the impression that 200mw would even in the red range) but this thing does absolutely **** all.

Am I just being moronic and have gone for an insufficient power/wavelength combo, or is this a faulty laser?

Thanks!

thats from sanwu $25
200mw 650nm Laser Pointer

With 200mw of power, our red laser pointer is powerful enough to ignite matches and dark color paper easily when focused. The red beam goes much further across the skys horizon, good for measuring long distances.

thats what it says , i also have ordered same one plus green and violet

the green was or is broken, so they sending me the red and violet for £20

lets see what happens when i try it


i got this from Francis from Sanwu

the green laser pointer is the best for partying, it's the brightest laser amount the red and violet laser pointers. Although you can engrave with the violet laser but the violet beam is extremely dim and barely visible.

Maybe you should try our 200mW red laser pointer which able to engrave on things and has a quite visible beam?

FYI, you will need to adjust the focusing of the laser beam to pop balloon, our laser pointers CANNOT pop balloon with a STRAIGHT UNFOCUSED laser beam or burn...

Here is the video demonstrating how to focus a laser to burn:

hope this helps.


PS I HAVE 2 BATTERIES one free with cheap laser very light called a BK
the other is a XTAR heavy battery cost £20 i think or £15
to me they do the same job , but i just got them so lets see i 3-6 months

im also in uk by the way u can see where people are from if u set preferences if you hover over the name on the left by the way

do this
click on ur name at the top of this page
click on account details on left
, look down right hand side for LOCATION , add where your from
save
done

Also yuro what do you want to do with it ? just burn or what?
IF ITS BALLOONS buy some black ones [ have fun]




REMEMBER TO WEAR SAFETY GLASSESS