5mW Pen laser inquiry!

[Dzarren]

I just bought this, because I bought earlier a set that was a "red green violet" combo pack, but the red host didnt match the other 2.

so i bought this 5mW RED Laser Pointer PEN Powerful Beam Light Lamp Presentation 650nm G6 | eBay

so i could get a matching set of red violet green.

this is the original purchase i made with the Non matching red

3X High Power 5mW Green Blue Voilet RED Lazer RAY Laser Pointer PEN | eBay

Are either of my purchases over spec? Or will they just be all regular <5mW lasers?

I've read a lot on this forum about lasers that look the same as the ones i purchased but are seriously over spec.

Thank you for your time! You guys really are a community of nice people!

 

[Tmack]

If those pens were really 5mw you would hardly see the 405 and 650 . I'm sure they will be overspec but by how much I can't say without metering.

 

[ZRaffleticket]

Its hard to say with feebay lasers. Hit or miss usually... though, ones listed at 5mW will very likely be >5mW.

It's also hard to find a pen seller that everybody goes to, considering the thousands out there. I dunno if any member here has bought from your seller.

 

[Tmack]

Pman is the guy to talk to about where to buy those from. But even he is having trouble with consistency lately

 

[NightExplorer96]

One thing is for certain...

None of the ebay Green Lasers have any kind of IR filters. :beer:

 

[Pman]

Don't really see the point in spending twice as much for the IR filter than a standard ebay 532nm pen
For that amount of $ you could buy a low IR 532nm like this one:
$8.54 5mW 532nm Stars Light Show Green Laser Pen - 3-mode laser effects at FastTech - Worldwide
Free Shipping

OR replace the crappy module in the pen with one of these that have low IR. Mod it with a spring and run it off a single 10440.

http://www.fasttech.com/products/1620/10001030/1088900-new-wish-5mw-green-laser-module

Better than that would be to buy the above module and this light as a host and drill out from the light end in the tube with a 15/64 bit under water for a nice fit. Jumper the module button and add spring.

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10000618/1057212-mxdl-xt7224-3w-50-lumen-led-flashlight-with-clip

 

[Pman]

Understand. I'm curious as to why the IR thing seems to have become a big deal to a couple members especially since we are generally talking about a very inexpensive unit.

 

[Tmack]

Too many members want to give horror stories about how dangerous."their hobby" is lol. Something like "are you sure you can handle the stuff I'm down with"

 

[NightExplorer96]

Too many members want to give horror stories about how dangerous."their hobby" is lol. Something like "are you sure you can handle the stuff I'm down with"

In truth, the IR isn't a big deal on a laser like this one. Just use it responsibly(which I'm sure you will) and keep it stored when not in use.

Hint:Take the batteries out when not using it

 

[Tmack]

Be careful of corrosion my friend. The corrosion from batteries is laser cancer . If they are charged and examined regularly there is no worry. But leaving batteries in slowly discharges the batteries and increases the chances of corrosion spreading to the laser. Just a friendly warning. Like I said , if you use the laser often then no worries

 

[Frankie9011]

OP; I purchased the 3 pack you linked about 2 weeks ago. The 405nm laser was way overspec, it pops balloons and smokes dark surfaces. The beam is nearly comparable to the green laser from the 3 pack.

The green one however is most likely 5mW. I don't have an LPM but I do have a 30mW 532nm to compare it to and the "5mW" pen is about half as bright to me, so I would guesstimate between 5-10mw. But of course take it with a grain of salt.

As for the red one with the different host, it is extremely dim. Small dot, hardly visible, really unimpressive. But great as a cat toy haha. Can't promise yours will be overspec, but the violet pen most likely will be.

 

[NightExplorer96]

Dude the lasers I own drain batteries so fast anyways, I go through batteries like a heavy smoker goes through cigarettes.

I buy my batteries off Amazon because It's cheaper.

Why don't you just buy rechargeable batteries? Im sure Amazon.com has 3-packs or 10-packs of them.

 

[NightExplorer96]

OP; I purchased the 3 pack you linked about 2 weeks ago. The 405nm laser was way overspec, it pops balloons and smokes dark surfaces. The beam is nearly comparable to the green laser from the 3 pack.

The green one however is most likely 5mW. I don't have an LPM but I do have a 30mW 532nm to compare it to and the "5mW" pen is about half as bright to me, so I would guesstimate between 5-10mw. But of course take it with a grain of salt.

Is you're laser from Ebay? If so watch out for that IR man :beer:

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

The deal with the IR on these cheap lasers is that it can be as much as 30mW, and the glasses don't
always block it. Griainde did a thread on it not long ago.

http://laserpointerforums.com/f45/532-collimated-ir-output-85390.html

 

[Pman]

^absolutely agreed^
I've been surprised at how every once in awhile I get a unit that is over 50% IR. These are the ones that I tend to remove the module from and replace with a Fasttech one as they are low IR (usually less than 10% from my testing). That is why I push their modules as well as their single AAA 532nm pens. Best bargain I've ever seen for low IR 532nm units.
I change the module out because I am not satisfied with the output and not because of the amount of IR. Just solder on a spring of the correct length and run it off a single 10440. Those modules and units will put out anywhere from 25 to 140+mw depending upon the pot setting and LUCK.
I am VERY disappointed in their 405nm module as every one I've purchased has a clear glue securing the board to the brass and the glue always touches the pot and I haven't figured out a way to get it off without ruining it. If I remember correctly, they put out around 90mw as is but I want to be able to mess with it

10440 and charger is more than enough. Add a spacer/placeholder or make your own. Every once in a while a unit won't like the extra voltage of a 10440
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1420/10000930/1078100-ultrafire-10440-36v-600mah-rechargeable-li-ion-bat

http://www.fasttech.com/search?placeholder

You could buy LiFePO4 batteries for the "proper" voltage but their mAh rating is really bad on the AAA.

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

I am VERY disappointed in their 405nm module as every one I've purchased has a clear glue securing the board to the brass and the glue always touches the pot and I haven't figured out a way to get it off without ruining it. If I remember correctly, they put out around 90mw as is but I want to be able to mess with it

Even the strongest epoxy is susceptible to heat if there is enough of it. They taught us all
about it during my PACE training back in college. All you need is a wood burning kit, an old
junk soldering iron you don't care about, the LapFlo if you can afford it. Sometimes
they come up on eBay for the price of several wood burning kits.