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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

A Noob's Review of his Laser purchases

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Mar 10, 2014
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Starting with this post I will review as best I can my first two purchases of constructed lasers. As these are my first reviews I'm sure I will miss things & my pictures aren't great but I will surely learn from your comments and will try to improve.

As for beam shots they unfortunately will for the most part be confined to indoor ones since I live in Los Angeles but I love going out to the desert every once in a while and there I look forward to safely handling my lasers outside.

The LPM for the test is my LaserBee 3.7W USB on my Windows Vista laptop. To focus the beam for the TEC sensor I have my lab surplus 3.5lb brick of graphite I aquired for $23.95 ($14.95 price & $9.00 shipping) on eBay.



Here are the two I'll be reviewing today:



Top is the (Larger host) Rayfoss 1.6W 445nm Blue Laser & below the Lazerer 532nm 100mW Focusable Green Laser Pointer.

We'll start with the Rayfoss 1.6W 445nm Blue Laser


Acquiring this unit was rather smooth with Rayfoss. I ordered it from rayfoss.com on March 4th and had it in my hands March 18th so not too bad (2 weeks exactly). They also had good communication every time I contacted them.

It is constructed well and has a nice feel. Opening the shutter & adjusting focus can be an issue sometimes because it you are not careful as to what ring you are on (and they are small and right next to each other) you can end up closing the shutter when you meant to focus and vice versa..

From the listing:
Item Name: High Power Focusalbe 445nm Blue Laser Torch (RF445-1.6W-FMK )
Wavelengh 445nm
Duty Cycle 30 seconds (recommended)
Working Current I<800mA
Power Supply 2x16340 3.7V Li-on battery
Battery Direction: Case positive. ie. "+" ve toward tail cap.
Size 35mmx180mm
Safety keys/Beam shut windown/Working LED indicator
Price: $215

Upon testing it is stable at 1736mW



Beam shot at my brick of graphite:



Next is the Lazerer 532nm 100mW Focusable Green Laser Pointer



Acquiring this unit was anything but smooth. First of all their listing for this unit stated then (as it still does now) "In stock" and that they may take up to 7 business days to process & ship the order, I ordered on March 10th. After over two weeks and the status of my order still said "processing" I tried contacting them but I didn't get one response to my emails. That is until I went to their Credit processing site they use and started an issue ticket. Then I suddenly got a response after 19 days and received it a week later (I paid extra for expedited shipping). A rather frustrating experience I don't intend to ever repeat with them.

This unit also seems well constructed and is nice. As for adjusting the focus & opening or closing the shutter is not an issue as the rings for each are an inch apart. Though focus is a bit stiff at times.

From the listing:
Model LZBH532-100
Wavelength: 532nm ( Green )
Labled Power: <100mW
Minimum Power Guarantee: 80mW~100mW ( As you'll see below they actually did come within range )
Operating Current 400mA
Dimensions: Φ30mm×142mm
Material: Aluminum
Recommended Duty Cycle: 120 seconds on, 30 seconds off
Working Voltage: 3.7v
Battery: 1 x 18650 li-ion Battery
Battery Direction: Case positive. ie. "+" ve toward tail cap.
Price: $59.99

Upon testing it is stable at 93mW


Beam shot at my brick of graphite:



In the end I am happy with both lasers but as to a return visit to Lazerer.com I think that totally unlikely to ever happen again.
 





IsaacT

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Great job on this review! A good amount of content, yet concise and to the point. +3 from me!

That Rayfoss looks one hell of a lot like a Laserbtb laser.
 
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That laser is exactly the same as the one sold at Laserbtb.com for $150

As for the lazerer, well. Yeah, they kinda went *poof this last year.

nice reviews
:beer:
-Matt
 
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Good reviews there Shadowsix. Looks like you have a good setup started there.

For any other Noobs coming here and reading this it is worth mentioning that you NEED to do your homework before purchasing, well ANYTHING! As you can see Shadowsix could have saved himself $65 by shopping somewhere else and also would have KNOWN Where the best lasers are and also where NOT to shop. He would not have had the worries with the second purchase. Many people here in these forums have plenty of knowledge and freely post and even offer one on one advice if you can't find it on here somewhere, so new here or not so new have a search and take note, nobody is trying to lead you astray!
 
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nice review but i dont understand why does the rayfoss host look like the one laserbtb are using ?
 
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Because they are the same host. Same laser, actually. LaserBTB doesnt manufacturer the lasers they sell...
 
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Nice review :)

Q:

How does the 532nm perform after or close too the Duty Cycle of 120 seconds on.
 
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Thank you wannaburnstuff & everyone. I'll try to work on the pictures to improve them.

You are correct busman2 if I had searched here first I could've saved $65 & avoided Lazerer altogether.

Well Smeerworst I haven't run the 532nm from Lazerer for more than a minute at a time and I've only done that once or twice so far. I'll experiment with it's limits soon to see if it's output is affected.
 
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Well Smeerworst I haven't run the 532nm from Lazerer for more than a minute at a time and I've only done that once or twice so far. I'll experiment with it's limits soon to see if it's output is affected.

Would be nice and fun for me to know, and good to know for people who consider buying one :)
 
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Because they are the same host. Same laser, actually. LaserBTB doesnt manufacturer the lasers they sell...

Yes they do.

I'm not sure if it was you or someone else that I talked with, but I know I've been through this before...

Look at the laserbtb website, they categorically state that they manufacture their own lasers. They may work with CNI for modules and diodes, but the product is assembled by them which is, in their own words, why they can pass the savings directly onto the customer as they are not a reseller.

It's worth noting (although I'm sure most know this) that laserbtb is the online shop division of skylaser. I'm guessing rayfoss just buy in bulk and resell at profit.
 




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