200mW Wicked Lasers SPYDER I Pro Review

[lasersbee]

Well... It seems it's my turn to do a review of the 200mW Wicked Lasers SPYDER I Pro...
Here goes...

I was contacted by the CEO of WL to do a review if I wanted... I agreed that I would
give an impartial... Fair... and honest review... no holds barred.
I also told Steve that If he wanted me to send back the Review Laser.. I would have
no problems with that...

Here is the SPYDER I Pro on their website....
Green Laser Pointer from Wicked Lasers - Spyder I Pro

A few days later I received a UPS package from WL and found the items well
packed with
bubble wrap and in the PS box... pink foam chips...

Sadly there were no Instructions on how to install the batteries or how long a charge cycle is...

There was a Green sticker over the aperture to keep dust out in transit.
I found a Label on the inside of the barrel that matched the Serial Number on the supplied
Power Graph...

The finish on the barrel appears to be Black Anodizing... with no discernible
marks or
scratches...
This laser doesn't feel like a pointer toy...In your hands you just know you're holding a
powerful "Lasing Machine"...

There is a RED led indicator and a safety interlock pin "Minilock (TM)"...
The Interlock Pin was very difficult to remove...
Once it was removed... I saw why..
The inner mechanism was installed into the End Cap a little off center...
and to fix it... the interlock Pin's plastic head flange was filed down by hand into a cone
shape... making it stick...
I have since fixed this issue.. Not a big deal...

The Laser Measures 1.2" dia. by 8.0" long... It weighs 345 grams without a battery and
390 grams with the battery (yes.. same weight charged or not..:crackup..
You can see what the SPYDER I Pro looks like on the other reviews or on the WL site
linked above...

I asked Steve for all info he could give me pertaining to the accession number and
twice I was directed to the FDA.PDF file here...

http://www.wickedlasers.com/images/fda/0910213.pdf

When asked why it was not signed... he stated that it was a copy and the original was signed...
He also stated that it has been about a year noe that he applied for the FDA accession number...

The label supplied did not have an accession number on it...
maybe only the Production models will..
That all I know... I can't answer anyhing else about the FDA accession number issue...
I just don't know..

THE TEST

The supplied chart indicates an Average of 313.7mW and a Maximum of 354.9mW...
yeah... you read that right...

The single battery charged to 4.29 volts an I placed it into the laser...
I took our shop Deluxe LaserBee I and set up the data logging feature...
On the first 3 minute test I forgot to set a file name and lost that data...
Then on the 2nd 5minute test run (5minutes later)... a strange thing occured that made
my heart sink...

I tested the laser on 3 other LPMs and got the same lower reading...
(still in spec as a 200mW laser..:wtf
Needless to say I was not feeling too great... The Laser was quite warm but not hot...
I put the battery on charge... and left for lunch and some errands..
I returned about 2 hours later...
The Laser had cooled and the battery was fully charged...
I ran a 3rd 5 minute power test...

The Laser seems to work great now... it must have been too hot after the first 2 test
runs with a fully charged battery...

DIVERGENCE

Using some very good goggles I measured the diameter of the beam at the aperture at
about 1mm (or less)...
And at 11.5 meters on a flat black surface.. I measured the visible beam with the goggles
at 12mm..
The beam is impossible to measure without Safety goggles... this beam is "Uber Bright"...
Using the pseudonomen137's calculator...

pseudonomen137's JScript mRad Calculator

I get 0.9565 mRads...

That is a 6" ruler and no goggles in front of the camera... I needed them for myself at
that range...

Here are the specs in condensed form..

Name.............. SPYDER I Pro
Weight............ 345gr (empty)
Weight............ 390gr (with battery)
Diameter.......... 1.2"
Length............. 8.0"
Wavelength...... 532nm
Rated Power..... 200mW
Divergence....... 0.9565 mRads

This Sample

Average power.. 313mW
Max power........ 360mW

As to price... It seems that if you purchase this SPYDER I Pro for $997.97.. you get a
Discount of $255.00 on your next WL Laser purchase..
Escentially bringing the cost of this laser to $742.97...

I'm no expert on High End Lasers... But from what I've read on the Forum... these prices
seem to coincide with competition's prices for the same type of laser...

Because of the power of this SPYDER I Pro... I strongly believe that Safety Googles should
be supplied with the Laser....

All things considered...
I'm Impressed with the Quality and solidness and POWER of this 200mW
SPYDER I Pro.....

A little too big to put in your pocket though...

A few Pics in the shop... no long exposure and no smoke and little dust..
( I'll needs to learn to take better beam shots)

Before I started this Review I said to myself... it would be short and concise...
That didn't happen....:crackup:


Jerry

 

[rangedunits]

Wow im surprised!

edit: the safety pin is annoying.

 

[nikokapo]

Oh my Chuck that is MASSIVE average power!!!

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

Super lenses too. Steve must be refining divergence for portables.

Mike

 

[ixfd64]

Nice review!

It seems your unit is better than mine because it has a higher output and a lower divergence (mine is about 1.8 mrad).

By the way, I think the figure of 25,500 Wicked Bucks may be incorrect. A lot of lasers (including one that costs $97.97) are listed as having a reward of 25,500 Wicked Bucks. :\ I've e-mailed Steve about it; I'll see what he says.

 

[john_lawson]

sweet average , nice review Jerry thanks

 

[ElektroFreak]

Nice review, Jerry! I've noticed a lot of variation in the power output of these Spyders, but yours is the highest so far.. lucky you. Not one has been below spec, though..

 

[gotwake424]

Anyone know if these have the Tec-cooling in them?

 

[lasersbee]

Nice review!

It seems your unit is better than mine because it has a higher output and a lower divergence (mine is about 1.8 mrad).

By the way, I think the figure of 25,500 Wicked Bucks may be incorrect. A lot of lasers (including one that costs $97.97) are listed as having a reward of 25,500 Wicked Bucks. :\ I've e-mailed Steve about it; I'll see what he says.

I don't know about the wicked bucks... but Steve told me that with the
discount... the MSRP will be $747.97... that's another $5.00 off...

@All others...

Thanks .... It took me all day to put this Review together...

Yeah... I was really impressed by the power of this green Laser...
It actually scared me at first... but with good laser safety goggles
for that wavelength I started to feel safe...

The only way to really check the divergence is with a good set of
Laser Safety Goggles... without then the beam measurements will
be skewed..

No there is no TEC Cooling in the SPYDER I Pro....

The only way to know if your laser is up to snuff is with a Laser Power
Meter.... There is no other way.... IMO


Jerry

 

[john_lawson]

Anyone know if these have the Tec-cooling in them?

I believe not doesn't that mean that it has a fan in it or somthiong

 

[lasersbee]

No... it has passive cooling...
The laser is so massive that it cools by it's own surface area..

Jerry

 

[themandalorian]

More pics of the actual laser please?

 

[lasersbee]

You can see the actual laser on the WL website I linked to in the 1st Post
on this Thread... It is exactly the same in all respects....

What the heck.... here is the link...

Green Laser Pointer from Wicked Lasers - Spyder I Pro


Jerry

 

[scopeguy20]

Very Good review! -Glenn

 

[jayrob]

That's a really impressive power reading! Especially for a 5 minute run!

That's a nice laser... :gj:
Jay

 

[lasersbee]

Thanks.. Glenn & Jay....

When I saw those high Power Readings I verified the Laser's power
with 2 other LPMs... a Scientec 365 and a Newport 1825-C and all
three readings were spot on...


Jerry