H
Hanshotfirst.kc
Guest
Let me start off by saying that Nova Lasers absolutely ROCKS! Awesome company! So glad that I found this forum and read the reviews. I was reading all the hype on WL, and didn't hear anything negative until I came here. So GLAD I went with Nova. ;D ;D ;D
Towards the end of October, I ordered an Alpha 105. I decided on that laser because of the combination of high power, fairly small size, and that it had the many safety features.
Unfortunately, when the laser arrived, there was a screw in the laser head that had come loose. This screw apparently acted as a stop for the aperture shutter. I spoke with Magdalena at Nova, and she recommended an RMA. Bummer.
But, for my troubles, and I did not request this, they upgraded the laser to an Alpha 125. Awesome! More power!
About two weeks later (allowing for shipping both ways) the 125 is in my hands. Only, it's not a 125...it's a 148.5 mW, per Nova's measurements! Woohoo! More power! More power!
It's really solid feeling. I like it. Finish is a "satin" black. Not matte, not gloss, somewhere in the middle. Feels like it can take some rough handling without scratching. Not that I plan on dropping it.
On the end cap, there's a safety key interlock, which you can leave in the "on" position. There's also a spot for a safety dongle (speaker plug) on one side of the tail cap. On the opposite side of the tail cap, there's what appears to be a slot for attaching a lanyard. Not a bad idea.
Approx. 3/4 way up the laser, is a silver button. On/Off switch. There's a 3 second delay from the time one depresses the switch to the time it comes on. There's also a red LED indicator to the left of the button that indicates when the laser is on.
The business end has an aperture shutter. Front, rotating section has a single green dot. Back section of the aperture has one red and one green dot. combo of Green/Red = Safe. Combo of Green/Green means laser will be coming out.
Note: While I understand the meaning, I'd recommend changing this: In our society, Red = Danger. On a firearm with a cross-bolt safety, when you see red, that means the firearm is ready to discharge. I would change the color coding to one white, one red, one green. White/Red = Danger, ready to fire. White/Green = Safe, Aperture closed.
Carrying case: Great! Place for the safety key, dongle, batteries, and/or a difraction grating or two. Oh, and a nice spot for the laser. Case is sturdy and very attractive. Drawback: No handle. A handle would be nice.
Power
Wow, this thing is bright. Like, hurts my eyes to look at bright. I shined this on a sign about 2 miles away and could CLEARLY see where the dot was at. Dot showed up clearly on houses 100 yeards away in full sun conditions. Indoors, in normal lighting conditions, the beam is visible. My cat thinks it's a piece of string and bats at the light. In darkened rooms, the beam is very solid. outdoors, it's like I'm touching stars.
Burns: Yes, it does. I have: Etched my initials into a black plastic pen clip and my coffee pot. I've popped balloons from several feet. I've lit matches, melted candle wax, burned through a sheet of typing paper (focused on a period on the page), smoldered a candle wick, scared a bird, and incinerated two ants to a fine carbon powder.
Regarding balloons: I've popped blue balloons and red ones. it could be battery power, wavelength of the light, or my aim, but, the blue ones took a few (sometimes up to 10) seconds to pop at a few feet. The red one, well, it wasn't inflated all the way, and I turned the laser on it from about 8 feet. Nothing. Or so I thought. I stopped, steadied my hand and did it again. Nothing. then, i noticed that the balloon wasn't as big as it was before. i'd burned about 4 pinholes in it! while it was still deflating, I quickly stepped back, and did it again. After less than 1 second, there was a 5th pinhole in the balloon.
In short, this is a great product from a great supplier. Thanks, Nova, for making this purchase (my first green laser!) a great experience.
I'll try to post pictures this weekend!
Towards the end of October, I ordered an Alpha 105. I decided on that laser because of the combination of high power, fairly small size, and that it had the many safety features.
Unfortunately, when the laser arrived, there was a screw in the laser head that had come loose. This screw apparently acted as a stop for the aperture shutter. I spoke with Magdalena at Nova, and she recommended an RMA. Bummer.
But, for my troubles, and I did not request this, they upgraded the laser to an Alpha 125. Awesome! More power!
About two weeks later (allowing for shipping both ways) the 125 is in my hands. Only, it's not a 125...it's a 148.5 mW, per Nova's measurements! Woohoo! More power! More power!
It's really solid feeling. I like it. Finish is a "satin" black. Not matte, not gloss, somewhere in the middle. Feels like it can take some rough handling without scratching. Not that I plan on dropping it.
On the end cap, there's a safety key interlock, which you can leave in the "on" position. There's also a spot for a safety dongle (speaker plug) on one side of the tail cap. On the opposite side of the tail cap, there's what appears to be a slot for attaching a lanyard. Not a bad idea.
Approx. 3/4 way up the laser, is a silver button. On/Off switch. There's a 3 second delay from the time one depresses the switch to the time it comes on. There's also a red LED indicator to the left of the button that indicates when the laser is on.
The business end has an aperture shutter. Front, rotating section has a single green dot. Back section of the aperture has one red and one green dot. combo of Green/Red = Safe. Combo of Green/Green means laser will be coming out.
Note: While I understand the meaning, I'd recommend changing this: In our society, Red = Danger. On a firearm with a cross-bolt safety, when you see red, that means the firearm is ready to discharge. I would change the color coding to one white, one red, one green. White/Red = Danger, ready to fire. White/Green = Safe, Aperture closed.
Carrying case: Great! Place for the safety key, dongle, batteries, and/or a difraction grating or two. Oh, and a nice spot for the laser. Case is sturdy and very attractive. Drawback: No handle. A handle would be nice.
Power
Wow, this thing is bright. Like, hurts my eyes to look at bright. I shined this on a sign about 2 miles away and could CLEARLY see where the dot was at. Dot showed up clearly on houses 100 yeards away in full sun conditions. Indoors, in normal lighting conditions, the beam is visible. My cat thinks it's a piece of string and bats at the light. In darkened rooms, the beam is very solid. outdoors, it's like I'm touching stars.
Burns: Yes, it does. I have: Etched my initials into a black plastic pen clip and my coffee pot. I've popped balloons from several feet. I've lit matches, melted candle wax, burned through a sheet of typing paper (focused on a period on the page), smoldered a candle wick, scared a bird, and incinerated two ants to a fine carbon powder.
Regarding balloons: I've popped blue balloons and red ones. it could be battery power, wavelength of the light, or my aim, but, the blue ones took a few (sometimes up to 10) seconds to pop at a few feet. The red one, well, it wasn't inflated all the way, and I turned the laser on it from about 8 feet. Nothing. Or so I thought. I stopped, steadied my hand and did it again. Nothing. then, i noticed that the balloon wasn't as big as it was before. i'd burned about 4 pinholes in it! while it was still deflating, I quickly stepped back, and did it again. After less than 1 second, there was a 5th pinhole in the balloon.
In short, this is a great product from a great supplier. Thanks, Nova, for making this purchase (my first green laser!) a great experience.
I'll try to post pictures this weekend!