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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

šŸ”‹Battery Help, Please!šŸ”‹ I ordered a Sanwu 1.6w 525nm Ranger and 492nm Red Guardian!šŸ¤˜šŸ˜†

Joined
May 28, 2021
Messages
51
Points
18
Iā€™m ordering a laser today. Iā€™ve gone back and forth so much on these my head is spinning, but Iā€™m pulling the trigger today.

I need help deciding though, and a big part of that is I need some context on just how powerful/bright these >1w lasers are. What is safe/permissible, what is not. What are the recreational limitations of these powerful lasers? How scared should I beā€” as someone in the Spring of their laser obsessionā€” of these powerful lasers? That is, how much respect is due them?

There are two hosts I will own, without a doubt, in the near future, both from Sanwu:
ā€¢The Red (Cu) Guardian
ā€¢The Ranger

The thing is, I canā€™t decide which to get first, and what combination of wavelengths and wattages I should get for the two. I do know I want a Blue/Cyan and a Green laser.

I will almost certainly be purchasing the 1.6w 525nm Sanwu Ranger (although there is a combination I can think of where I wouldnā€™t). I canā€™t even imagine what it will look like in the sky, but I REALLY want to see it. There is something extremely attractive about the idea of having the worldā€™s brightest pocketable laser (that Iā€™m aware, please correct me if Iā€™m wrong though) at your fingertips.

Here are the combinations/configurations I canā€™t decide between of the two lasers I will be purchasing (one will be purchased today, and the other in the near future, i.e., < 3 months):

Combination #1
1st- Red Guardian 492nm 150mw
2nd- Ranger 525nm 1.6w

Combination #2
1st- Ranger 525nm 1.6w
2nd- Red Guardian 565nm 2w

Combination #3
1st- Red Guardian 525nm 1w
2nd- Ranger 470nm 4w

So, as you can see, the last combination would be the only combo where I donā€™t end up getting the 1.6w 525nm. The first combination is the only one where one of the two lasers Iā€™d be getting (specifically the first, which is significant) would be substantially less powerful. Getting that Red Guardian at some point is very important to me because I think it would be really cool to EDC with the ā€œCopper Olight Warrior Miniā€ I just ordered (pictures below):
DCE8CA8B-B0D9-4010-80C9-EABBF162F3B0.jpeg
54EDAF79-ACCF-4ACD-8AEF-8A73AA338B52.jpeg

So I want to know just how powerful the >1w lasers I listed are. What does that number mean for me? Can I look at the dot on non-reflective surfaces safely? Are they safe to use inside? Etc etc. I just need some context. I really like the idea of the continuously adjustable power on the Ranger for the powerful wattages. If I get one of the more powerful diodes in the Red Guardian host, I think I would get the multi-mode version so that I could turn it down if I wanted. If I get the 150mw 192nm in the Red Guardian Iā€™ll just get the single mode, since Iā€™d prefer the simplicity of it.

I want to know what yā€™all think I should get. I have a feeling the recommendation will probably be to start with the 150mw laser til I get a feel for them, but it seems like a waste to get that low of wattage in a beautiful host that can handle a lot more. With that said, the plus side would be that I could run that 192nm continuously until the battery ran out if I wanted, and not have to worry about duty cycles, since that host was made with much more powerful lasers in mind. Still, I

Let me know what yā€™all think. Iā€™m all ears. No matter what, Iā€™m buying a laser TODAY.

Thanks in advance for the help/insight. I know Iā€™ve been going on about this purchase for the past few days, but theyā€™re not cheap, and I want to get it right.

Grace and peace,
Ryan
 
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Sowee7

Active member
Joined
Feb 1, 2021
Messages
439
Points
43
1w lasers are VERY dangerous, just looking at a 1w laser on a wall can give you eye damage. even getting a reflection in your eye for a fraction of a second can give you bad eye damage. i suggest that you get a lower powered laser i would say less than 100mw but its your choice tbh. if you really want an interesting laser, look for a lower-powered, uncommon wavelength laser pointer. if you have quite alot of money to spend, you can try to buy a cni glp 473nm or 589nm laser ($300 and $500 respectfully on average). if you want to look for something more affordable, i suggest you make your own laser pointer with some yellow/yellow green modules from lasence they have 575nm yellow lasers ($65 for multimode 8mw, $80 for TEM00 8mw and $200 for 20mw), 561nm yellowish green lasers ($25 for 6mw, $85 for 20mw) and 545nm lime lasers ($15 for 8mw and $50 for 40mw) note : those are modules not pointers so you will have to build the rest yourself, the modules do come with a driver board though also those are dpss modules and they cant be used in to cold/hot environments.

hope this helps!
 
Joined
May 28, 2021
Messages
51
Points
18
Thank you for the insight, @Sowee7 ! It does in fact help, and I appreciate it.

Ok guys. So I couldnā€™t decide what to do. My solution is to blitz and buy both lasers at once.
I took a screenshot of my shopping cart but the file size is too big to upload, and I canā€™t figure out how to shrink the files (easily/quickly) šŸ¤¦ā€ā™‚ļø

So hereā€™s the list:
ā€¢Red Guardian in 492nm 150mw
***$220
ā€¢Ranger in 525nm 1.6w šŸ˜®šŸ˜¬šŸ¤©
***$450
ā€¢1x (cuz that sh*tā€™s expensive!) green tritium vial to go in the power adjustment section of the Ranger
***$15
ā€¢X3 Beam Expander
***$55
ā€¢Orange Eagle Pair OD6 190nm-540nm
***$50
____________________
= $790

So, thatā€™s a fat chunk of grip, at least for me. But Iā€™m ready to do this. Iā€™m extremely excited. But before I pull the trigger, I needed to ask just a few questions:

I didnā€™t get batteries because Iā€™ve heard that can increase the chances of your lasers being confiscated. I could not stomach it if that parcel was confiscated and I was out all that money. Is this still true, about not ordering batteries with your lasers? If so, do yā€™all have any recommendations on specific batteries or websites?

Do those laser safety goggles look correct? As in, will these keep me safe from the lasers Iā€™m purchasing?

Does Sanwu ever offer any coupons/promo-codes/discounts? I signed up for the newsletter in hopes I would get like a 5% off coupon or something, but no luck. This is a really expensive order and anything would make a big difference to me. @Podo ?

Do yā€™all see anything Iā€™m doing wrong, or that you would do differently? And recommendations in general?

Any input is exceedingly and wholeheartedly appreciated. I want to make sure my ducks are in a row here.

Iā€™m sofa king excited, yā€™all!

Grace and peace,
Ryan
 
Joined
May 28, 2021
Messages
51
Points
18
I finally said ā€œscrew itā€ and placed the order! Got the Sanwu 1.6w 525nm Ranger in host style #8, and the Red Guardian 150mw 492nm. I also the X3 Beam Expander and one green tritium vial for my Ranger. Oh yeah, and I also got some PPE to make sure Iā€™m safe while operating that Ranger:
8BF1A293-51DE-4FB5-A73A-772D6F7B9497.jpeg

Canā€™t wait to get ā€˜em in the mail and fire them bad boys up. Iā€™ll be sure to (attempt to) write a good review on them. Just know itā€™s going to be more qualitative than quantitative.

Thanks for the help.
Ryan

Edit: fixed the erroneously listed Red Guardian wavelength. I had written it as 592nm instead of the 492nm it actually is. Thanks for the catch, @farbe2 šŸ‘
 
Last edited:

Sowee7

Active member
Joined
Feb 1, 2021
Messages
439
Points
43
ŠÆъ
I finally said ā€œscrew itā€ and placed the order! Got the Sanwu 1.6w 525nm Ranger in host style #8, and the Red Guardian 150mw 592nm. I also the X3 Beam Expander and one green tritium vial for my Ranger. Oh yeah, and I also got some PPE to make sure Iā€™m safe while operating that Ranger:
View attachment 72920

Canā€™t wait to get ā€˜em in the mail and fire them bad boys up. Iā€™ll be sure to (attempt to) write a good review on them. Just know itā€™s going to be more qualitative than quantitative.

Thanks for the help.
Ryan
Hope you enjoy your New lasers!
 

farbe2

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 3, 2018
Messages
298
Points
63
150mW at 592nm would be nice, nice deep Yellow!
However i doubt that you ordered that!
 
Joined
May 28, 2021
Messages
51
Points
18
Guys, I am in major need of assistance with ordering some batteries for these two lasers I just purchased! Please help!

Thereā€™s a lot more to these batteries than I first realized.

So I need an 18350 for my Guardian, and an 18350 and an 18650 for my Ranger (in case I want to use the extension sometimes and sometimes go without it).

Im pretty sure I need the 35mm unprotected 18350 for the Guardian. But what about discharge rating and capacity? I noticed that the more you go up in discharge rating, the lower the mAh capacity is.

Iā€™m shopping on 18650batterystore.com right now because I saw it listed on @ArcticDude ā€™s Guide. In my cart currently I have 4x Epoch 9A 1100mAh 18350ā€™s. Is this a high enough discharge rating? The only other 18350 they carry is the Vapcellā€™s, and apparently those have gone downhill. At least in their 18350 offerings.

Will these work for the Ranger as well? I cannot find anything that states how long of 18350ā€™s I need for the Ranger (again, the Epochā€™s in my cart are 35mm). Honestly I donā€™t even know if they make protected 18350ā€™s like they do the 18650ā€™s. That may be a stupid question.

and on to the 18650ā€™s-
In my cart currently I have 2x Molicel 35A 2600mAh 18650ā€™s as well as 2x Epoch 15A 3000mAh 18650ā€™s. Both kinds are the 65mm unprotected ones, and not the 70mm protected ones, but I donā€™t know if Iā€™m supposed to be using the longer ones instead. Does the Ranger use the 65mm unprotected 18650ā€™s? Also, what kind of discharge rate do I need for that thing? 35A is waaay higher than most everything else I was seeing, and so of course the mAh reflects that. Would I be better off with the 15A ones that have higher capacity? Also, is it true you can use 2x 18350ā€™s instead of 1x 18650? What would be the benefit of that? Also, is Epoch a good brand? I didnā€™t see it mentioned in the guide, but it seems pretty highly rated/reviewed.

Also, I was going to purchase the Opus BT-C3100 V2.2 4-Bay Digital Battery Charger to charge my batteries. Is this a good charger? Will it serve me well?

So to recap:
ā€¢ what size 18350ā€™s do I need for my Ranger? (Is 35mm unprotected ok?)
ā€¢ what size 18650ā€™s do I need for my Ranger? (Is 65mm unprotected ok?)
ā€¢ what kind of discharge rate should I be shooting for for the 18350ā€™s for my Guardian?
ā€¢ what discharge rate so I need for the 18350ā€™s and 18650ā€™s for my Ranger?
ā€¢ is Epoch a good battery brand?
ā€¢ is 18650batterystore.com still a good site to buy from?
ā€¢ is the Opus C3100 a good charger?
ā€¢ anything else I forgot?

Thank yā€™all so much in advance. Iā€™m trying to do my own homework on this stuff but good golly thereā€™s a lot of info to dig through. Itā€™s dizzying!

Grace and peace,
Ryan
 




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