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This is a thorough review of the customer service, shipping, and EnVee 100-120mW 532nm portable laser from LucentOptics.com
http://lucentoptics.com/
Customer Service
Before I purchased the product from them I had communicated with their owner/representative Gary through email asking general questions about their products, policies, and procedures and also how they advertise the power of there lasers on their site. He was very prompt with his responses. At one point we were able to exchange emails within ten min of each other. He told me that the given mW range of their lasers on their products page is the averaged sustained output in mW. When I asked about shipping he replied that they are shipped USPS Priority Mail and for my location, San Diego CA, and it should arrive in three days. They are located in Norman, Oklahoma. A 3 month warranty is standard.
Shipping
Shipping is $8 domestic. After I had placed the order, Dec 9, through PayPal for the EnVee he sent me an email telling me they were all out of the Otterboxes and he would refund me $10, which he did. He also said he would ship it the next day on Wednesday Dec. 10. As promised the next day I receive an email from him informing me that my order was shipped and he provided me with the tracking number. I checked the tracking number and it was indeed shipped from Norman, Oklahoma, USPS Priority Mail. My order arrived on Monday Dec. 15 (3 business days). The package was the envelope type with plenty of bubble wrap. The keys and interlock were placed in a small plastic zip bag.
EnVee 532nm 100-120mW $225
Now to the good stuff! As most of you here will able to tell the EnVee is a CNI model PLG-III-A-532nm. CNI is known here for making great products and this one is no exception.
Build:
It is about 7.5 inches long and just under an inch wide. It feels sturdy, heavy, and well-built. It requires two AA batteries. The button is a momentary switch, it must be held down during operation. At the business end of the laser there is an aperture shutter indicated by colored dots. When the two green dots align the aperture is open. The laser has a red LED indicating when the laser’s button is pressed. The LED is recessed flush with the surface and is located to the left of the button. There is a 2-3 second delay from the time the button is pressed to when the laser beam is emitted. There is an interlock on the tail cap of the laser. It is a 2.5mm audio jack with its connection shorted. It must be in place for it to operate. Finally there is a key switch on the end of the tail cap. On and off positions are indicated by two red and green dots. The key can be removed in ether position.
Preformace:
This laser is bright!!! The beam diameter is 1.5mm. It is quite narrow compared to my other pen lasers. The beam divergence stated by CNI is <1.5mRad full angle. I would agree with this. Roughly 100 feet away the beam was about the size of a nickel.
I received the laser before my power meter so here are some experiments I did to help generalize of the light intensity. The beam itself is visible indoors with the lights on. On a dark clear night the beam is very visible. On a foggy night I play Star Wars! It lights black matches in one second at a distance of 12 inches. It was able to melt/burn through thin black plastic in 6-8 seconds. Electrical tape and balloons stands no chance.
I received my Laser Bee 1 today, Friday Dec 19, and put the EnVee to the test with 2 new Energizer e[sup]2[/sup] Ultamate Lithium batteries. This laser is overspec!!! Peak power is a scorching 158mW! Average power is about 145mW! I know what your thinking and I thought so too at first. After testing all my other lasers some turned out to be underspec than I thought and others were spot on. Had all of my other lasers preformed at overspec values I would have thought the LaserBee 1 is not calibrated well. But that is not the case I am pretty certain the accuracy of the power meter is fine. LaserBee is a member here who can justify this.
Verdict
Lucent Optics has outperformed in every aspect of my experiences with them. ;D Gary is quick and informative through emails. They ship from the US! No worries about customs! Shipping was quick with USPS Priory Mail (International may be longer of course). The EnVee 100-120mW is amazing! CNI products will not disappoint. It is averaging 25mW above advertised power! I hope that for future buyers this was not a rare case.
Bottom line
It is a great price for a great laser! I would diffidently buy from them again and most likely will (I’m gonna buy my brother one).
I hope you found this review to be unbiased. I do not have any affiliations or agreements with Lucent Optics as a result of posting this review. Any opinions made by me are based off of my experiences and my order.
-Tony
Below is the graph from the data logging capabilities of the LaserBee 1. The test was run for one minute and 45 seconds.
Note: the steep climb in the graph in the beginning does not reflect the power climb of the laser. That is the thermopile sensor stabilizing. Refer from 8 seconds on for power vs. time of the laser. The laser it self appears at full intensity at startup.
http://lucentoptics.com/
Customer Service
Before I purchased the product from them I had communicated with their owner/representative Gary through email asking general questions about their products, policies, and procedures and also how they advertise the power of there lasers on their site. He was very prompt with his responses. At one point we were able to exchange emails within ten min of each other. He told me that the given mW range of their lasers on their products page is the averaged sustained output in mW. When I asked about shipping he replied that they are shipped USPS Priority Mail and for my location, San Diego CA, and it should arrive in three days. They are located in Norman, Oklahoma. A 3 month warranty is standard.
Shipping
Shipping is $8 domestic. After I had placed the order, Dec 9, through PayPal for the EnVee he sent me an email telling me they were all out of the Otterboxes and he would refund me $10, which he did. He also said he would ship it the next day on Wednesday Dec. 10. As promised the next day I receive an email from him informing me that my order was shipped and he provided me with the tracking number. I checked the tracking number and it was indeed shipped from Norman, Oklahoma, USPS Priority Mail. My order arrived on Monday Dec. 15 (3 business days). The package was the envelope type with plenty of bubble wrap. The keys and interlock were placed in a small plastic zip bag.
EnVee 532nm 100-120mW $225
Now to the good stuff! As most of you here will able to tell the EnVee is a CNI model PLG-III-A-532nm. CNI is known here for making great products and this one is no exception.
Build:
It is about 7.5 inches long and just under an inch wide. It feels sturdy, heavy, and well-built. It requires two AA batteries. The button is a momentary switch, it must be held down during operation. At the business end of the laser there is an aperture shutter indicated by colored dots. When the two green dots align the aperture is open. The laser has a red LED indicating when the laser’s button is pressed. The LED is recessed flush with the surface and is located to the left of the button. There is a 2-3 second delay from the time the button is pressed to when the laser beam is emitted. There is an interlock on the tail cap of the laser. It is a 2.5mm audio jack with its connection shorted. It must be in place for it to operate. Finally there is a key switch on the end of the tail cap. On and off positions are indicated by two red and green dots. The key can be removed in ether position.
Preformace:
This laser is bright!!! The beam diameter is 1.5mm. It is quite narrow compared to my other pen lasers. The beam divergence stated by CNI is <1.5mRad full angle. I would agree with this. Roughly 100 feet away the beam was about the size of a nickel.
I received the laser before my power meter so here are some experiments I did to help generalize of the light intensity. The beam itself is visible indoors with the lights on. On a dark clear night the beam is very visible. On a foggy night I play Star Wars! It lights black matches in one second at a distance of 12 inches. It was able to melt/burn through thin black plastic in 6-8 seconds. Electrical tape and balloons stands no chance.
I received my Laser Bee 1 today, Friday Dec 19, and put the EnVee to the test with 2 new Energizer e[sup]2[/sup] Ultamate Lithium batteries. This laser is overspec!!! Peak power is a scorching 158mW! Average power is about 145mW! I know what your thinking and I thought so too at first. After testing all my other lasers some turned out to be underspec than I thought and others were spot on. Had all of my other lasers preformed at overspec values I would have thought the LaserBee 1 is not calibrated well. But that is not the case I am pretty certain the accuracy of the power meter is fine. LaserBee is a member here who can justify this.
Verdict
Lucent Optics has outperformed in every aspect of my experiences with them. ;D Gary is quick and informative through emails. They ship from the US! No worries about customs! Shipping was quick with USPS Priory Mail (International may be longer of course). The EnVee 100-120mW is amazing! CNI products will not disappoint. It is averaging 25mW above advertised power! I hope that for future buyers this was not a rare case.
Bottom line
It is a great price for a great laser! I would diffidently buy from them again and most likely will (I’m gonna buy my brother one).
I hope you found this review to be unbiased. I do not have any affiliations or agreements with Lucent Optics as a result of posting this review. Any opinions made by me are based off of my experiences and my order.
-Tony
Below is the graph from the data logging capabilities of the LaserBee 1. The test was run for one minute and 45 seconds.
Note: the steep climb in the graph in the beginning does not reflect the power climb of the laser. That is the thermopile sensor stabilizing. Refer from 8 seconds on for power vs. time of the laser. The laser it self appears at full intensity at startup.
