50mW aiXiz Green Labby

[zelig]

Hi all. Back to the plot for a quick question. My Green Unit arrived safely from Aixis this morning - (packaging could be a little better but not damaged so what they heck.) As someone from the UK has already had issues with power I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on wether it might be prudent to use a step down power converter to run this unit at 110AC if youre (like me) in the UK with the usual 240ac domestic.
Any input or thoughts would be most welcome. Nice site by the way; very informative and, as is amply demonstrated above, most amusing also.
Best wishes, Doc Z.

 

[MarioMaster]

don't bother, the psu is universal (according to the auction page) so you simply need an ac line cord and the power supply will adjust itself to run on 240v

 

[Frechy]

don't bother, the psu is universal (according to the auction page) so you simply need an ac line cord and the power supply will adjust itself to run on 240v

Exactly, even if you had a 110V line it would still be the same power (give or take a few % because of the difference in frequency- 50/60Hz).
The better part about 240V devices (i have 230V, but actually 236V constant) is that they need less current compared to 110V and thus are less expensive in theory. But this depends on the kWh costs in your country ofc...

I read an article about a month ago how computer PSU's are actually more efficient on 230/240 then on 110. The difference was over 7% in some of the cases. Just thought that would be informative

 

[brtaman]

Got my labby today, I am really happy with the output, just as powerful as I imagined it, well I spent no time installing it in a module, now I have a semi-portable laser "pointer" hehehe

 

[brtaman]

Sorry for the double post, but I dont know how to post two pictures at once, if thats even possible?!

Well here is a pic of the guts

I couldn't be more happy for the money that I spent on it, very good quality, also the pcb which I was skeptical off, seems to be very well made, so no compaints from my side!

Highly recommended buy for the money...now I just goto get that LPM, and I am all set to give a true review, some have been getting modules that max out at 100mw while climbaks went up to almost 150mw IIRC. Either way a great deal...

Had a good time putting it together.


brtaman

 

[docjohn]

Correct me if I am wrong. The driver that overheated and smoked had no blower on top of it like the one Daquin got. Maybe the driver needs to be cooled by fan? What you think Daquin?

Docjohn

 

[brtaman]

Yeah, daguin seems to have gotten a different driver, due to the fact that he ordered much earlier than me for instance.

I do believe that the driver does indeed need extra cooling (atleast some air flow), as it got very hot in 3 minutes of use when I was testing it before installation. After installation, I drove the laser for a good 1-2h opened it up to see what kind of heat it was producing, it was barely luke warm. So a small fan or basically anything promoting the flow of air, would have a HUGE effect on driver stability/life. This is my personal experience with this labby and I think others who own it would agree.


Thanks
brtaman

 

[daguin]

Yeah, daguin seems to have gotten a different driver, due to the fact that he ordered much earlier than me for instance. brtaman

The unit I got (and the first few others got) does NOT have a fan. The driver board is just enclosed in a vented box and the power cord (for 110) is already attached.

I haven't tried running mine for over a hour

Peace,
dave

 

[brtaman]

oh, I automatically assumed that your came with a fan due to the way it was enclosed, sorry for the misinformation then.

Daguin did you turn yours up fully, if so what power did you get from it? Climbak got 140 mw fully turned while another member got 100mw when turned all the way up, I think I have the 100 mw one, seems that they are not all capable of producing the same 140mw power?


Thanks
brtaman

 

[daguin]

oh, I automatically assumed that your came with a fan due to the way it was enclosed, sorry for the misinformation then.Daguin did you turn yours up fully, if so what power did you get from it? Climbak got 140 mw fully turned while another member got 100mw when turned all the way up, I think I have the 100 mw one, seems that they are not all capable of producing the same 140mw power?Thanks
brtaman

I have two. One went to 130mW the other went to 110mW. I have one of the styles you got coming from Snoctony (the pictures are the same anyway). He had a 24 hour auction on 4th of July. I got it for $31 I'll try to remember to let you know the comparison when it arrives.

Peace,
dave

 

[brtaman]

Ok great daguin, I am really interested in the range of power these labby's are outputting, you got an excellent deal btw, but why would someone put a 24h auction on a day where almost no one uses a computer, all i did for 4 july was relax in the sun eating burgers and steaks waiting for the fireworks to start, kind of doesn't make sense to me?

On a side note customs got me had to pay an extra 20 bucks to get mine -.- so it cost me almost a 100 beans...I have some words that would express my sentiments on customs, yet I am afraid of getting a perm ban from the internet... :-X


Thanks
brtaman

 

[daguin]

Ok great daguin, I am really interested in the range of power these labby's are outputting, you got an excellent deal btw, but why would someone put a 24h auction on a day where almost no one uses a computer, all i did for 4 july was relax in the sun eating burgers and steaks waiting for the fireworks to start, kind of doesn't make sense to me?

On a side note customs got me had to pay an extra 20 bucks to get mine -.- so it cost me almost a 100 beans...I have some words that would express my sentiments on customs, yet I am afraid of getting a perm ban from the internet... :-X
Thanks
brtaman

You'll have to ask Snoctony, "Why?" He's Chinese - -in China -- Maybe he just thought sales would be down or he just happened to have too many lying around. I hate import and VA fees. Can't we all just get along?

Peace,
dave

 

[brtaman]

Oh hes chinese from the nickname I thought it was more american or british dunno why... maybe the tony...if its a chinese seller I usually expect a nick like: dragonpower, besthobbysite (not joking a seller from HK), top_products or something more market driven that draws attention.

On a side note how are the import fees in the US, (i cant remember paying them at all, and I ordered quite a few things from HK), its pretty bad here in europe...VAT+a couple percent, im pretty sure you guys got it better.


brtaman

 

[zelig]

Got mine up and running, Haven't had the output checked but judging it against the last good quality handheld I had checked, which came in at a healthy 64mw (for a stated 50mw green pointer), I would say that this Laser is about 20-30% brighter. That is; out of the box no modifications or tweaking.
As I write this I am watching pretty patterns from my junk scanners with the new green labby installed - otherside just a DX red (nice effect though).
Someday I will post a set of plans for my junk scanners as I think a lot of folk here might get some satisfaction from building them. I think the entire project, minus lasers, came to around £15-20 (around $40). We were just running Lissajous shapes from tone generators running on soundcard Oscilloscopes but got bored and knocked up some really good software (it helps having a friend who Lectures in software design onboard)
Anyhow if anyone's interested we'll be posting the results, including free open source software that'll drive any souncard driven home made effects, on his Work Website at Bournemouth University shortly. Gotta go as I'm servicing a ton of lighting for Swanage Jazz Festival starting tomorrow and running all weekend. My Friend'c company does Pro Light and Sound if anyone's in the area come on down and we'll smuggle you in dressed as a DMX desk.
Sorry for the off-topic ramble. It is a great Laser for the money though. Buy one - buy two - I'm going to.

Regards, Doc. Z

 

[Bionic-Badger]

brtaman: Probably depends on the value of the item, though generally very low, especially if it's below $2000 in value. Below $200 generally doesn't require any duty.

 

[Bionic-Badger]

Just got mine. Same as the one in the first post. Nice little power supply box, power cord, and everything.

Using an IR camera at 8 and 16 ft away from the wall, the IR dot is pretty strong, and much more collimated than those laser pointers, though the actual green beam could be better. Are these things able to be focused?

Photo of the IR output: