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COMPLETE* 1/7 Destructive Gear PYRO 100 Review

L

LarryQ

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Well...this really is an interesting world we live in folks...

I just received notice that I am the winner of Destructive Gear's forum contest, and I have a New 55mW Extreme heading my way.

http://forums.destructivegear.com/index.php?showtopic=281


If you have been looking around..you will see that I have been quite outspoken about Destructive gear's decision to decline every attempt to get a sample laser for review.

Recently, This thread:

http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1192910522

Got me thinking to start  this thread:

http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1192999308


Still with me???  :D

I was Looking for any info out there to be able to compile some information about Destructive gear as a company, and about their products..

Now with a New DG laser heading my way, I have contacted Senkat, and he has agreed to co-author the first review of a DG laser here on Laserpointerforums!

A BIG THANK YOU TO SENKAT FOR LENDING NOT ONLY HIS TIME AND EFFORT TO THIS PROJECT, BUT ALSO HIS EXPERTISE AND OBJECTIVITY!!!

I will do my best to keep everyone informed as things progress!

I'm very excited about this!!!

LarryQ
 





Re: Destructive Gear Extreme 55mW Review.

Nice :D

I can't wait to see the results.
 
Re: Destructive Gear Extreme 55mW Review.

Congrats on winning it. Hope it is a beast and you have tons of fun with it.
 
**UPDATE** Destructive Gear PYRO 100 Review.

Ok...
Here is the status thus far.

I have been thinking about this laser quite a bit lately (as you can imagine), and I felt that the real interest for most people here would fall on Destructive Gear's Flagship Model, the Pyro 100 and not the 55Mw Extreme.

Most people are interested in burning abilities, lighting matches, and popping balloons.

I felt that the Pyro 100 was the laser that most people wanted to see reviewed.

So.....
I contacted DG and thanked them for the "Free" Extreme 55Mw that I won, but...asked If I could "Trade Up" to a Pyro 100.

They were perfectly fine with that!
I was concerned that it might appear that I was "Looking A Gift Horse In The Mouth", but they were happy to accommodate my request.

They calculated the cost of each laser taking into consideration the 25% discount code and told me that I could have the Pyro for $123.75 out of my pocket, Plus the Extreme 55mW that I won.

That seemed like a No-Brainer to me, and I accepted the offer.

They suggested that to speed up the process, that I place an order for the 40mw unit (160.00) and not apply the discount code.

They said they would intercept the order, exchange the Pyro 100 for the 40mW and the 55mW, and refund my credit card for the 32.25 that I paid over the $123.75 that I owed.

So....
This morning, that is exactly what I did!

First Impressions of my dealings With Destructive Gear:
Communications have been very good thus far.
Given the time zone difference, we are getting a good flow of information back and fourth.

Google checkout went smoothly (though this is more a praise of Google checkout).

They seemed interested in making a customer feel important, and were quick to accept my proposal to "Trade Up" to a Pyro 100.

At checkout, I also changed my ship to Info, to have it shipped to me at work.

They use EMS shipping...and I know that this has been an issue with some people here!
This is the first thing that I did not like.
There was no way to change my shipping options.

On the plus side, they state on their web page that they have guaranteed DELIVERY.
If the package is lost or intercepted, they will replace the order, or issue a full refund.

So..that's the story up to this point.

More to come!!

LarryQ
 
Re: **UPDATE**Destructive Gear PYRO 100 Review.

ooo that's nice
can't wait to read your review
 
Re: **UPDATE**Destructive Gear PYRO 100 Review.

More news....

It has shipped....
EMS... :P.... Oh well..this should be interesting...

Anyway, here is the e-mail I received:


Dear Larry,

Congrats on winning the 55mw Extreme - and thanks for upgrading to the
Pyro. Your order has shipped from Taiwan via EMS. You can track it at
USPS.com using this tracking number: xxxxxxxxxxxx.

Attached is a 20 second test report for your Pyro to certify it meets the
minimum standard of 100mw during the entire test. As you can see, it
ranges between 107mw and 127mw throughout the test.

Please note the laser is shipped without a battery and you'll need to
provide a SINGLE 123A battery to operate your Pyro. The battery will need
to be inserted plus side out to work. All of our high powered lasers are
constant on/off and operate similar to a flashlight; click once to turn it
on and it will stay on until you click it again.

We recommend you do not operate the laser for longer than 90 seconds
straight at a time to prevent overheating. And please remember, DO NOT
point your laser at aircraft, vehicles, animals or people.

Thanks again, and please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Regards,



Pyro1.jpg

Pyro2.jpg




I have also confirmed that, True to their word, they have already credited my account for the 30 or so dollars extre that I Paid when I ordered the 40mW laser to cover the cost of the "Upgrade".

One thing that does POP out at me, is that on their website they state a 120 second On 10 second OFF duty cycle, Yet in this e-mail they say that runtimes should be kept to 90 seconds.  Hmmmmmmm

Also on the website they say state:

"Destructive Gear is committed to providing you the most powerful and destructive laser possible. While other retailers list their laser powers as the maximum or average output over a given time, our advertised output power is the MINIMUM power your laser with output over a period of two minutes.

In other words, if you run your 100mW Pyro for two minutes, the power will not drop below 100mW. In fact, during most of this run-time, power will be well above this level."

The test pictures sent show only a 20 second test.



Well...that is the latest.
See you all next time...

Same Bat time...Same Bat Channel!

LarryQ
 
Re: **UPDATE**Destructive Gear PYRO 100 Review.

if you have a laser meter, graph it yourself, at least over 90 seconds? :) i'd email them and tell them of their inconsistencies, if they are a decent company who want customers to be satisfied, i'm sure they'll make changes to what their website reads.
 
Re: **UPDATE**Destructive Gear PYRO 100 Review.

Small Update...

The tracking info shows as it has cleared Customs...

It's in Fort Worth, TX. and should be in my Grubby Mitts soon!

Truth be told, I was sure there was going to be a problem with EMS shipping......But I was proven wrong. 8-)

More info to come!!!

LarryQ
 
Re: **UPDATE**Destructive Gear PYRO 100 Review.

The Pyro 100 by Destructive gear.

The laser arrived in Oklahoma at my place of work on Tuesday October 30’th at @1:30 PM central time.

As you have already read in my earlier post, the laser was shipped from Taiwan Via EMS shipping on the 25’th of October.

It arrived in a simple cardboard envelope, the same kind that you would get at the Post Office for a Priority Letter.
The package was in good shape, and appeared, to not have been opened at any point on its journey from DG.

Opening the package revealed the laser in its case.

The case is a “Soft” type case, which feels like a stiff form of foam rubber.
It has cutouts for the Laser, and a spare battery.
There is a longer cutout as well, that would seem to lend itself nicely for a Lens Pen Micro, or some other lens assembly.

The case is held closed by two “Snap” buttons.
The case is perhaps the weakest part of the total package.
It seems to provide ample protection to the laser; however it is plain that the case isn’t going to go long without tearing.
A metal case is definitely in this laser’s future!

The laser has a silver sticker applied near the aperture end that reads “Destructivegear.com”
There was also a “Loose” Laser Warning sticker that was not yet applied to the laser in the case.

The warning sticker stated that this laser was a class IIIb with an output >100mW.
It also gave the wavelength (532nm) and had the laser’s serial number.

The serial number on the sticker DOES NOT MATCH the serial number of the TEST that Destructive Gear sent in the pictures.

I have an e-mail into DG asking if they know which laser I actually have, and if they can send me the reports for this serial numbered laser.
I will post their response once it arrives.

So, let’s see what this laser is all about.
The painted finish of this laser is a rough, flat black paint that seems to be easily marred.
The fit and finish of the laser seems to be just about perfect otherwise.


The laser has a Pushbutton On/Off switch on the tail of the laser.
The tail cap is removed to install the single CR-123A battery it requires.

I scrounged up a new Energizer E2 Lithium CR-123, and installed it (Negative side in first), and while safely pointing the laser away from anyone or anything, screwed the tail cap back into place.

Now was the moment of truth!

I pressed the power button, and a beautiful green beam appeared!
The beam and dot are visually bright in the ambient light of this room, and appears very close in intensity to my Nova Lasers X-105 (128.2mW Peak, 114.8mW avg.)

Actual meter testing is still to come.

The beam exits the aperture of the laser at a slight angle. This was confirmed by carefully rolling the laser on a table top, and watching the dot trace a Circle on the wall across the room.
While in the hand, this angle is not noticeable to me at all.

The constant on switch of this laser was one of those features that most attracted me to DG. Now I can say that it truly is a nice feature! It will make experiments much easier to perform!
The actual Pushbutton of the switch is also recessed slightly from the end of the Tail cap to prevent it from turning on while in its case.

There is a small “rattle” sound that comes from the Tail cap / switch, but this is common even on flashlights that have tail cap switches. I believe that it comes simply from the design of a switch of this type.
The switch is easily operated, and has a nice positive action to it.

There is also an LED built into the side of the laser that illuminates green when the laser is powered on.

The Dimensions of the laser are:
Length = 4.5 Inches
Diameter= .780 Inches
Weight (With Battery) = 3.1 Ounces (Measured with a Digital Postal Scale)

Unfortunately there is a serious flaw in this laser.
It is Mode Hopping.

It is actually putting out 2 beams side by side.
I have confirmed this visually, at a distance, and up close.

I have changed batteries 3 times with New Energizer E2 Lithium cells.

When cool, it seems to start up with One "Dot"...but within 10 seconds a "Tail" begins to develop off of the original beam that turns into a second distinct beam.
This new beam appears within @ 15 seconds, and runs parallel to the original.

Typical TEM00-TEM01 mode hopping.

I am going to need to RMA this laser for another Pyro 100 and have already sent another E-mail to DG explaining the problem.

That is where we are at this point.

More to come!

LarryQ
 
Re: **UPDATE**Destructive Gear PYRO 100 Review.

Hopefully this is just one unit that you got that wasn't up to standards. :( We don't want DG to get an actual bad rap already, so everyone, keep your mind open and remember that every lasers has flaws!
 
Re: **UPDATE**Destructive Gear PYRO 100 Review.

Rhith said:
Hopefully this is just one unit that you got that wasn't up to standards.  :( We don't want DG to get an actual bad rap already, so everyone, keep your mind open and remember that every lasers has flaws!
Click to expand...


YES!!!!!

Remember that RMA's happen!!!
If you think just how critical the crystal alignment of Green lasers really is..it's a Miricle that any of them Come throught the shipping process at all!!

I Do NOT want anyone to think I am drawing any conclusions at this time!!!!

I am just reporting a Blow By Blow..develpoment by development ....

Each individual reading this review will have to make up their own minds in the end.

Actually we will have a chance to see DG's customer service in full view now!~!!

I have tried to be completely transparent and objective in this review!

AND I truly hope I am helping the members of this forum!..That has been, and remains, my main concern!


LarryQ
 
Re: **UPDATE**Destructive Gear PYRO 100 Review.

Yup, I am keeping an open mind too and this will let us know how good their CS is. But it's still a shame you received a defective unit. The fact the serial number of the test does not match the laser is a bit disturbing. I guess we will just have to wait and see what they have to say. But thanks for the review...I am sure when all is said and done you will end up with a very good Pyro... ;)
 
Re: **UPDATE**Destructive Gear PYRO 100 Review.

Nice review thus far ! I SEEM to recall that the winner of their previous contest was shipped a DOA unit...this is a disturbing trend on their part. I am all for giving folks the benefit of hte doubt - until they COMPLETLY screw up...I don't think DG is at the 100% completely part yet, although in my mind they are rapidly approaching it. Sorry, If it quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck....know what I mean ? Anywho - I will be watching this space for developments....
 
Re: **UPDATE**Destructive Gear PYRO 100 Review.

No reply from DG on this issue, or the serial number issue yet.

This time has given me more time to test the laser.

THe Mode shifting seems to be tied directly to heat.
Folowing the 90 second at a time, with 10-20 seconds betweeen uses rule.

When the laser is first fired up..it will instantly light a match at @ 2 feet.
As the laser heats up..it will not even light a match at 2 inches.

I thought it may be voltage related..but swapping to a new battery while the laser is warm, does not gain any power.

It is @ 85'F in the room I am testing the laser.

Just now I had the laser "Warmed Up" and it would NOT light a match at any distance.
I left the laser on the open window sill where a light 60'F breeze could get to it.
I left it there for @ 2 miniutes, and then tried the match again...
It ignited instantly.

When warm, It is easy to see 2 seperate dots on the match head!

Here are some Pictures of the laser.

DSC00768.jpg

DSC00770.jpg

DSC00771.jpg

DSC00772.jpg
 
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