B&W Tek 473 Lab Laser! :D

[Blarg King]

Just got my B&W Tek 473 nm lab laser in the mail today! Thanks to nkgamer1990 for selling me this awesome laser!


Heres the whole setup laid out on my desk:

HighRes: http://i.imgur.com/5FCwevW.jpg


Close up of the driver, connected to a spare ATX supply I have:

HighRes: http://i.imgur.com/bSuugU3.jpg

Close up of the laser head:

HighRes: http://i.imgur.com/hCop0EQ.jpg

That amazing 473 nm light!:

HighRes: http://i.imgur.com/E5RGbP8.jpg

Heres a video of it powering up:

It doesn't have the optical regulator on it, but as you can see it reaches stability pretty quickly.

EDIT: Anyone know what the LED's on the driver mean?

 

[The Qube]

Nice 473 :beer: Whats the power of it?

 

[trencheel303]

How different does 473 really look from 445? I've been toying with getting one but I'm just not sure if having a "slightly different blue" is worth it. I see almost no difference between 635 and 650 and had I known then what I knew now I'd probably have not even bothered with 650, it's basically just a red that is far dimmer per mW to my eyes, and the slight fiery glow to 635 is much nicer...

 

[Livinloud]

Everyones eyes are different. I see a large difference in 650 vs 638 but you day you cant tell them apart. You could see no difference in 445 vs 473 or you may see a huge difference. Hard for people to say how your eyes will see it, its something you need to see in person

 

[IsaacT]

Direct comparison with my old camera:



473 with my DSLR:



445 with my DSLR:




In my opinion the difference is large enough to warrant the cost. 473 is a beautiful, aqua blue color that 445 cannot ever hope to come close to. 445 is like a magic indigo colored spell and 473 is like an ice blue flame.

 

[Blarg King]

I would have to say 473 is very noticeably different from 445. 445 is a royal blue color while 473 is more has a more teal-ish tint to it. I'll see if I can get a good comparison tonight.

The rated power is 10 mW, but from what I've gathered one of these without the regulator usually stabilizes at around 30 mW.

 

[IsaacT]

I wish I still had a 473. I would get a comparison shot with my Argon and a 450nm laser.

 

[trencheel303]

Interesting, anything with teal or turquoise in it is generally a no no from me. I actually quite like the colour of 445. Think I'll just have to see it in person to decide.

 

[Livinloud]

IMO 473 blows away 445, well at least in photos. I have not had the opportunity to see it in person yet but one day I will own one. Hopefully they will be stronger by that time

 

[Blackwolf]

IMO 473 blows away 445, well at least in photos.

I have not had the opportunity to see it in person yet but one day I will own one. Hopefully they will be stronger by that time

I snagged a 473-glp for 120 and I have the crystals and diode to make a more powerful one. The 473 pointer is my "bring everywhere" pointer because it is just so cool and It has the best color of any of my other lasers. I just need to get better rechargeable CR2's because my 250mah ones last 30 mins.

If you saw off all your limbs and sell all your organs along with creating some form of legitimate company that could use it in mass quantities you could buy the 1W 473/6 diode from Nichia.

 

[IsaacT]

473 is not teal. I will find something to compare it with but yeah. There is no green in the beam at all. No purple either. True blue.

 

[trencheel303]

The 473 pointer is my "bring everywhere" pointer because it is just so cool and It has the best color of any of my other lasers.

That's exactly how I feel about my 593.5. Though I am a DPSS fanatic and in the future I guarantee you I will eventually own 473 and 671. It's not just about the colour for me it's about what goes on inside the cavity to make that colour.

I've always believed 405 through Tonic water to be very similar in appearance to 473, I know there are a few people that have said that including brucemir. perhaps it's closer to 488 though as a 405 through tonic water looks Cyan to me.

 

[IsaacT]

Hmm. I might pick up some tonic water and try that out. Need to make a new 405 though. Mine is weak

 

[bobhaha]

Nice! Happy you got it working!

If anyone is interested I have two for sale. PM me for more info.

-Adrian

 

[ultimatekaiser]

It doesn't have the optical regulator on it, but as you can see it reaches stability pretty quickly.

Some of them the regulator is on the inside, not the outside.

EDIT: Anyone know what the LED's on the driver mean?

The red is power, the green is the stable light. it goes out once it is considered stablized by the driver.

very nice. looks good. make sure you meter it, some of these don't output to spec by default anymore.

2 of the ones I got were underspec, and had to tinker to get them up to where they should've been.

 

[Polonium210]

I see a big difference between 445 and 473. To me 445 is a royal blue and 473 is a sky blue.

I also see a large difference between 650 and 638, and 532 to 520.

I have yet to see the grey everyone speaks of with the 405 beam.. It still looks violet to me.