Approximate wattage of "200mw" laser pointer?

[Jombo23]

Hi all, I recently purchased a green laser pointer, just for the sake of maybe i got a bad one, im not going to say from where. Anyways, i spent around $130 for it, it has and adjustable focus that seems to work quite well, but it just does not seem to stand up to what ive seen other 200mw laser pointers do.

It cant light matches, even if theyre colored black, which is supposedly possible at ~100mw

It cant light black fuse, which i read is possible at ~150mw

It CAN sting you, barely (i know skin color plays a factor into this) but it takes around 5-10 seconds if it is kept in exactly the same spot. A while back a friend brought a 35mw laser to school that performed the same way.

It CAN pop balloons, but only right at its focal point and after about 5 seconds of keeping it perfectly still.

It CAN make electrical tape smoke, make black plastic smoke (no matter the thickness) and make a candle wick smoke, but its yet to cut through electrical tape.

I know where the focal point of the laser is, so the problem is not on my side as far as i know.

Its relatively bright, but not eye burning bright, maybe visibly 5 or so times as bright as a 5mw laser pointer i got on ebay a couple years ago.

The laser takes ONE 16850, this had me worried a bit but i went for it anyways as they can put out a good amount of power.

It shipped from china though the seller was in the US

I know there are some extremely knowledgeable people here. So tell me, did i buy a low quality laser, or is this really as powerful as 200mw greens are?

Thanks in advance,

Kyle

 

[Cyparagon]

http://laserpointerforums.com/f70/what-if-i-don-t-have-lpm-82018.html#post1178471

 

[Jombo23]

Thanks for the info, and yes i did read the whole thing. Even still it seems like there would be some sort of way to get an extremely rough estimate, i mean, a 1mw green laser isnt going to melt a hole through a steel beam, right?

I just dont understand how there could possibly be no way at all to determine its wattage other than a lpm device. if a 35mw focused laser can easily light a red match, a 200mw focused laser of the same wavelength should be able to easily light a red black match. Or am i completely wrong.

Ive dealt with a few lasers in the past and they seemed much more predictable. Eg, with a Xmw focusable laser you should expect Y, Amw should do B, etc.


As far as the brightness goes, i didnt mean the beam brightness as thats not too spectacularly important to me, i mean the dot brightness itself. You can basically look at the dot from 5-10 feet away without protection and it wont leave spots on your eyes making it seem to me, fairly unpowerful. I guess a lot of it could be IR? But thats just my speculation.

 

[Cyparagon]

if a 35mw focused laser can easily light a red match, a 200mw focused laser of the same wavelength should be able to easily light a red black match.

What brand of matches? How old are the matches? What is the relative humidity the matches were stored in? What is the initial beam diameter of your pointer? What is the transverse electromagnetic mode of your pointer? How stable is the transverse electromagnetic mode of your pointer? How steady is your hand? How reliably can you keep the target in the focal point? You cannot account for these (and MANY other) variables.

 

[Jombo23]

What brand of matches? How old are the matches? What is the relative humidity the matches were stored in? What is the initial beam diameter of your pointer? What is the transverse electromagnetic mode of your pointer? How stable is the transverse electromagnetic mode of your pointer? How steady is your hand? How reliably can you keep the target in the focal point? You cannot account for these (and MANY other) variables.

You make wonderful points. Thanks. I'm going to start exploring my options of getting the laser rated.

Also for the record, diamond strike anywhere kitchen matches, 5 to 8 years, 30 percent, 2mm, not sure, not sure, mounted, mounted.

To be honest I haven't even tried lighting one on the box yet.

*edit

Just tried it. They were extremely hard to ignite and I broke 2 matches in the process

 

[icecruncher]

http://laserpointerforums.com/f70/what-if-i-don-t-have-lpm-82018.html#post1178471

Perfect

The finer it is able to focus the better the burning abilities.

Good example in vid

I've been amazed a couple times at 405's that will burn on VERY low power. Whereas I have a BLM-100 473 that is stubborn about not wanting to burn at 100mw (DPSS of course)

 

[alessnilsen]

Try to paint the match black, my green laser can't burn red or brown ones. Most low powered lasers are overspec, so the 35mW can be putting out easily more than 50mW.

I think you bough a classical Chinese laser, Chinese lasers are rated at 100mW , but usually output no more than 100mW (IR green).

 

[Jombo23]

Try to paint the match black, my green laser can't burn red or brown ones. Most low powered lasers are overspec, so the 35mW can be putting out easily more than 50mW.

I think you bough a classical Chinese laser, Chinese lasers are rated at 100mW , but usually output no more than 100mW (IR green).

Thanks for the info, i just tried a few different boxes of matches, starting out red or white, touched them up with a sharpie (didnt soak them with it) and went for it. They smoked but i didnt get any fire, which is pretty crazy seeing how matches light extremely easily..

I believe you are probably right though. I pmed livinloud asking if he had an LPM before i read his laser thread where he says hell do it for free, oops.

If it turns up severely under what it was sold for, ill dispute the charges, etc, etc then spend a bit more and maybe buy something from laserbtb.

A little off topic, does anyone have a suggestion for a nice portable ~200+mw 532 or 520nm laser with a focus. Everything ive found either has a flashlight style button, like the 501b or a toggle button. Id be looking for a momentary switch if at all possible.

Id take a short duty cycle for a smaller laser. Im completely fine with 30-60s on/off.

Maybe i should just build my own, a couple people on here make very nice hosts.

 

[starlight]

I believe you are probably right though. I pmed livinloud asking if he had an LPM before i read his laser thread where he says hell do it for free, oops.

If it turns up severely under what it was sold for, ill dispute the charges, etc, etc then spend a bit more and maybe buy something from laserbtb.

Lots of members will meter your laser for free. We enjoy it
http://laserpointerforums.com/f70/map-members-access-laser-power-meters-92373.html

 

[Podo]

You can just provide a link or picture of your "200mw" laser but even without those I believe you should definitely go for a dispute. People always make this mistake to spend a LOT of money to buy a cheap SD303-like laser with fake claims on the output and they wonder why it can't set off matches/paper.... blah blah blah when they got it.

Sanwu sells 520nm 200mw laser with one of the coolest copper host and it got a tail button too:

http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/f...held-lasers-guardian-series-update-93166.html

-Podo

 

[Jombo23]

Lots of members will meter your laser for free. We enjoy it
http://laserpointerforums.com/f70/map-members-access-laser-power-meters-92373.html

Thanks. I have seen this before. The reason i chose livinloud is because i live in sarasota, so i was thinking maybe possibly i could take the laser there myself rather than deal with mailing/shipping it. id spend 8 dollars on gas, but whatever.

You can just provide a link or picture of your "200mw" laser but even without those I believe you should definitely go for a dispute. People always make this mistake to spend a LOT of money to buy a cheap SD303-like laser with fake claims on the output and they wonder why it can't set off matches/paper.... blah blah blah when they got it.

Sanwu sells 520nm 200mw laser with one of the coolest copper host and it got a tail button too:

http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/f...held-lasers-guardian-series-update-93166.html

-Podo

Ha, yeah i had seen the sd303 and the reviews for it and decided to try and steer clear of it. apparently i "missed it by that much".

I actually ordered from biglasers, though i kinda half knew they had bad rep, but at the same time some people said they were relatively reputable. Ive emailed them since, not nailing them for anything. Havent gotten a reply in two days, when before i was getting emails back within the hour about purchasing..... nice.

Ive never had to go through the process of reversing a charge. Is it best to forewarn them that you may be disputing it, or wait till i get it tested then go to them saying i have proof that its not what it was sold as.

Also i really like the look of the sanwu ones. I see that theres some sort of attachable lens? The website is a bit confusing...

Also i see the ability to have custom wavelength/output. Whats the highest output 520nm diode you have that would still be sub $200 and would fit in the challenger series hosts?

 

[starlight]

Thanks. I have seen this before. The reason i chose livinloud is because i live in sarasota, so i was thinking maybe possibly i could take the laser there myself rather than deal with mailing/shipping it. id spend 8 dollars on gas, but whatewhatever

not a problem. IIRC he sold his LPM but I could be wrong.

 

[Jombo23]

Thanks for the heads up

 

[Podo]

Around $200, you should really check out the 200mw version of 520nm, if you use a G lense it will go for 250mw+ and even 300mw as we always sell overspec units. There are 1W 520nm build but they are go for $500+.

-podo

Edit: just found it:http://biglasers.com/military-green-laser-pointer, no way this thing going for 200mw, even it does must be tons of IR. Don't waste your time to test it.

 

[Jombo23]

Around $200, you should really check out the 200mw version of 520nm, if you use a G lense it will go for 250mw+ and even 300mw as we always sell overspec units. There are 1W 520nm build but they are go for $500+.

-podo

How well does it burn with/without the lens? as far as burning plastics, matches, fuse, etc? (dark of course) Also id like to know the beam diameter and divergence.

 

[Podo]

This diode(Osram PLP520-B1) have a pretty good divergence and beam diameter so no problem burning plastics, matches and fuse.

See it here: http://laserpointerforums.com/f45/osram-plp520-b1-520nm-green-laser-diode-87212.html