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I'm looking to buy a higher power 532 (hundreds of mW). Narrowed it down to Dragonlasers and Skylasers. Very interested in Sky. After reading reviews here and e-mailing Skylasers I have some questions. As you know green appears brightest, and a high power one will complete my collection:
* SciFi 445 1.6W = for burning & appreciating seeing the beam (Rayleigh Scattering)
* Dragonlasers 637 90mW = for thin beam & great divergence
* SciFi 650 with 3-element lens = not purchased yet, but should have best beam & divergence.
* HIGH POWER GREEN = for supreme brightness visiblity and awesomeness.
I'll have lasers for crazy burning & a killer beam, lasers for extremely good beam specs, and the green for pure brightness. I'll also own all basic colors & be satisfied...for some point. :san:
After owning cheap 532s and my own research, I'm familiar with DPSS, stability/temperature issues, and TEM modes. I am looking at 200mW-300mW+ 532. Have narrowed it down to:
* Skylasers (laserbtb) HL/PL series
* Dragonlasers Spartan
For me, the Dragon 300mW is too expensive to justify another 100mW of brightness compared with the 200. So it's down between the Dragon 200 or Sky HL 200/300.
DRAGON
+ fantastic support, dealt with them before & fully trust them
+ 7-day no-questions refund policy
+ uses 18650, not 16340
+ ???better quality???
- higher price
- forced ~$25 shipping
SKYLASERS
+ great prices
+ high quality host with safety features
- 16340
As for Skylasers, I emailed them with host questions and got an immediate response. Sent another email and have not gotten a response in almost a week. I really want to pull the trigger on Skylasers. I want more power (200-300mW) but want to be be aware of a sacrifice in stability or divergence. So I'm trying to understand the internal differences.
1. When comparing 200mW to 300mW, is there a larger 808 diode used or are the DPSS crystals simply better quality? At what point is a larger 808 used, and at what point does divergence/stability suffer? Are the components in the HL vs PL series different? Would a 300mW PL give better beam than the HL?
I understand each company is different but curious your thoughts. I asked the 808 size question to Optotronics a while ago (green pen pointers); he told me the same 808 is used, just different driver settings and better DPSS crystal quality as you "increase" in power. But they go to ~175mW. Here we are talking 200, 300, etc. I know at some point the internals have to get beefed up, and I'd hate for that point to be 300mW, then I buy that laser and get a worse beam, where if I got the 200 it would have been better. In that situation the 100mW brightness increase wouldn't be worth the worse beam (I think).
Both have the same beam diameter at aperture. Dragon divergence is <1.5, Sky is <2.0. Dragon duty cycle is 2min, Sky says 8min... :thinking:
***Overall they both look like great lasers, with Dragon maybe being a step above in quality? It also uses an 18650 which I like.
2. I have searched the FDA Red List and not found anything for lasers. Talk on LPF seems like a grey area...I'm thinking it should pass? They declare them as "flashlights" or "gifts" etc. And I have not found a single post that said their Sky got siezed. Just wondering your thoughts.
Thanks very much guys. It's a tough choice. I am itching to buy the Skylasers 300. The brightness must be KILLER.
* SciFi 445 1.6W = for burning & appreciating seeing the beam (Rayleigh Scattering)
* Dragonlasers 637 90mW = for thin beam & great divergence
* SciFi 650 with 3-element lens = not purchased yet, but should have best beam & divergence.
* HIGH POWER GREEN = for supreme brightness visiblity and awesomeness.
I'll have lasers for crazy burning & a killer beam, lasers for extremely good beam specs, and the green for pure brightness. I'll also own all basic colors & be satisfied...for some point. :san:
After owning cheap 532s and my own research, I'm familiar with DPSS, stability/temperature issues, and TEM modes. I am looking at 200mW-300mW+ 532. Have narrowed it down to:
* Skylasers (laserbtb) HL/PL series
* Dragonlasers Spartan
For me, the Dragon 300mW is too expensive to justify another 100mW of brightness compared with the 200. So it's down between the Dragon 200 or Sky HL 200/300.
DRAGON
+ fantastic support, dealt with them before & fully trust them
+ 7-day no-questions refund policy
+ uses 18650, not 16340
+ ???better quality???
- higher price
- forced ~$25 shipping
SKYLASERS
+ great prices
+ high quality host with safety features
- 16340
As for Skylasers, I emailed them with host questions and got an immediate response. Sent another email and have not gotten a response in almost a week. I really want to pull the trigger on Skylasers. I want more power (200-300mW) but want to be be aware of a sacrifice in stability or divergence. So I'm trying to understand the internal differences.
1. When comparing 200mW to 300mW, is there a larger 808 diode used or are the DPSS crystals simply better quality? At what point is a larger 808 used, and at what point does divergence/stability suffer? Are the components in the HL vs PL series different? Would a 300mW PL give better beam than the HL?
I understand each company is different but curious your thoughts. I asked the 808 size question to Optotronics a while ago (green pen pointers); he told me the same 808 is used, just different driver settings and better DPSS crystal quality as you "increase" in power. But they go to ~175mW. Here we are talking 200, 300, etc. I know at some point the internals have to get beefed up, and I'd hate for that point to be 300mW, then I buy that laser and get a worse beam, where if I got the 200 it would have been better. In that situation the 100mW brightness increase wouldn't be worth the worse beam (I think).
Both have the same beam diameter at aperture. Dragon divergence is <1.5, Sky is <2.0. Dragon duty cycle is 2min, Sky says 8min... :thinking:
***Overall they both look like great lasers, with Dragon maybe being a step above in quality? It also uses an 18650 which I like.
2. I have searched the FDA Red List and not found anything for lasers. Talk on LPF seems like a grey area...I'm thinking it should pass? They declare them as "flashlights" or "gifts" etc. And I have not found a single post that said their Sky got siezed. Just wondering your thoughts.
Thanks very much guys. It's a tough choice. I am itching to buy the Skylasers 300. The brightness must be KILLER.