Can someone suggest the right, perfect laser for me?

[EpicHam]

Can't say how many times I've heard people wanting 1W of 532 for under $200, but there was a Time we were all noobs. I remember looking at wickedlasers' (who I thankfully ended up not going with) site and wondering, how come the "1W" krypton is $1000 and the 1W arctic is "only" $450?

Up to 500mW, 532nm lasers are pretty reasonable in price, but past 500mW and especially past 800mW they jump in price. DPSS in general will cost a pretty penny, especially in high powers. just wait till you see the prices on 589nm and 594nm.

I broke lots of rules as a noob. my first laser was 5mW, then I jumped to 1W and thought I woundn't need safety glasses if I was just careful. I was wrong. I did not own the laser long before I realized the glasses were vital. I didnt blind myself or anyone else, but this is a most real possibility without glasses. some "safety glasses" out there suck (cough cough lazerer), so make sure to get good ones, rated OD4 for the wavelength you end up getting

finally, in your shoes, i'd recommend getting a builder member on the forum here to build you a 1W 445nm. there are builders within the U.S. In this manner, shipping will be faster, cheaper, and your laser need not pass through customs, risking siezure. in say, a SF501B host with an aluminum heat sink, this laser shouldn't be much over $100.

the best bang for buck I've seen is offered by ricktrent. Here is a link to his site: Most powerful Hand Held Laser

each laser kit can become 3.2-3.5W 445nm, 3W 445nm, 2W 445nm, 1.3-1.5W 445nm, or 1W 638nm

these prices will be hard to beat. once more, glasses. please be safe, your actions could effect the hobby for all, these are by nature high profile devices, so it can be hard to be low-key

Ohhhh... they DO look good.

Any chance for miniaturization of the 6W 445?

I remember seeing Multimode from a LOOOOOOOOOOoooong time ago doing a handheld RGB laser with 3 diodes housed in a custom machined aluminium unit.

It was pretty damn wicked. (no, not THAT wicked)
http://laserpointerforums.com/f40/rgb-hand-held-laser-77311.html

Ohhh imagine that.
If we can get 6W out of 2 445 diodes.
We are gonna be pumping 9W out of 3 of those puppies.
That's entry CO2 laser POWER :drool:

And with the new 5W 635nm diodes.
Thats 15W. RIGHT in the CO2 laser domain

Why isn't anyone doing that????

 

[Shakenawake]

Well If you mean the C mount diodes 5W, they are really 650nm, and they require much more current and heatsinking than other diodes. haven't you been watching the contest Lazerbeak started? some people are trying to combine two c mounts in a "handheld" (using the term loosely here), as some I've seen are bulky, like CDBEAM777's Lawgiver II. I think thats what it's called

@OP another good place is the Buy sell trade section, just looked through and found this. here are some 1W 445 and others for a good price, though used:

http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/nick-s-clearout-sale-86478.html#post1256468

 

[EpicHam]

Well If you mean the C mount diodes 5W, they are really 650nm, and they require much more current and heatsinking than other diodes. haven't you been watching the contest Lazerbeak started? some people are trying to combine two c mounts in a "handheld" (using the term loosely here), as some I've seen are bulky, like CDBEAM777's Lawgiver II. I think thats what it's called

@OP another good place is the Buy sell trade section, just looked through and found this. here are some 1W 445 and others for a good price, though used:

http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/nick-s-clearout-sale-86478.html#post1256468

Huh. I didn't know that .
I really have been out of the know haven't I hehe.
Thanks mate. Gonna check it out.

 

[Shakenawake]

For EpicHam:

http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/final-stage-battle-royale-85625-4.html

http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/i-c-red-battle-royale-lpf-contest-84208.html

 

[EpicHam]

For EpicHam:

http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/final-stage-battle-royale-85625-4.html

http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/i-c-red-battle-royale-lpf-contest-84208.html

Reminds me of the Google Glass from Prototype to Retail development cycle :yh:
Can't wait to see what the future holds