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Hello, I am interested in this diode, but I couldn't find any info on here about it, so I decided to gather the information I've found and post it here. Seems like a direct successor to the popular HL63283HD diode which I see used for lots of ~1W red builds. I'm curious about why I can't find...

Nice laser! I also have a Linos beam expander. If you hold the expander by the middle section, you can twist both the front and rear pieces. They can be stiff at first, but they extend quite a bit. The larger front section adjusts the expansion ratio, and the smaller back piece focuses the...

Thanks, I like your picture too! That thing really lights up the room, what power is it?

Welcome! Red lasers are definitely awesome. I only have a 638nm so far, but I would like to add a 650nm to my collection as well. Let us know if you have any trouble finding red-blocking glasses, they can be a bit harder to find than blue-blocking ones.

On Monday I ordered a 1.3W green laser from a US-based seller I hadn't heard of before, "LumenWorks" on eBay, located in Florida. The price was right and I liked the detailed description. After buying it, I got a nice little communication thanking me for the business and telling me when I could...

This color is so cool to compare with other wavelengths! My favorite so far is 495 versus 555. The cyan color reminds me of a mystical pool of enchanted water, containing magic or memories. Meanwhile, the lime green looks like radioactive Pea-and-Plutonium soup that the Grinch puked up! Love em both

Just got a 494.5nm pen in the mail from Barnett's eBay store, and the color is amazing! To my eye it is perfectly between green and blue. Depending on the surrounding lighting, it can look like a rich aqua turquoise, or a deep and minty seafoam green. Thanks Barnett! Spectroscope showing it...

That's interesting that your laser doesn't have much speckle. I feel like mine has a similar amount of speckle to my other lasers. I wanted to take a picture of the speckle and quickly realized it is not easy to capture on camera. After some experimenting, I found that focusing the beam onto the...

Great review! I also bought a 488 Valkyrie, and I agree with everything you said. The color looks sky-blue to me as well, I was expecting more teal, but I love the pure light blue. I find the color looks like a deeper blue at night, but closer to teal during the day. I had the same thoughts...

You're totally right about using a known wavelength, the manual for the spectroscope suggests doing exactly that, and offsetting the readings by the known error value. It's funny you mention cylindrical lenses, I just got a 7mmx5.8mm rod lens this morning, to play around with line-generating...

This thread inspired me to attempt a wavelength measurement using a cheap Amazon spectroscope. I don't think I got an accurate measurement, but it was fun to try. The lasers are 488, 505 and 591 nominally.

Plants and Fungi are fair game too

I love macro photography for that reason, making the small world look giant. I especially enjoy photographing bugs, trying to take their portraits. The best advice I got was "only work with willing subjects" aka, don't waste time chasing fleeing bugs. Despite the cactus thorns, ant bites, and...

Thanks for sharing the info on those specimens! Here's another pic of my vanadinite. Unfortunately I can't find the spessartine pics... The largest crystal is about 12mm, the other chunky ones are about 5 to 8 mm

Here's that Vanadinite!

@CurtisOliver That's an incredible collection! I love how diverse it is. Your fossils are really cool, I would love to add that category to my collection someday. And your fluorescent minerals are awesome too, what's that bright pink one on the right? I'd love to hear more about that meteorite...

Thanks, you have an eye for the good ones! I hadn't heard of Painite, but Google tells me it's rare. Do you like collecting the uncommon ones? Mine aren't rare, but I enjoy finding a nice specimen of each species. I was really inspired by the Gems and Minerals Hall at the Perot Museum in Dallas...

I took a quick pic of my small collection. I have Amethyst, couple Fluorites on Quartz, Prehnite, Sulphur, Spessartine Garnet, Vanadinite, Aquamarine, Dioptase, and a few Opals. My favorite specimen is the Spessartine Garnet cluster, because it has deep orange, gemmy crystals with sharp edges...

Hello! I'm a hobbyist from the Hill Country of Texas. I am interested in RC planes, photography, collecting mineral crystals, flashlights, and lasers! My interest in lasers started with Star Wars, I loved the movies growing up. I used to drool over the Wicked Lasers website, thinking about...