Experiences with High Power 808nm lasers off eBay?

[styropyro]

Does anybody have any experiences, good or bad, of buying high powered (>10W) 808nm laser diode arrays off of eBay? I'm just looking for some advice on what I need to look for when buying these diodes. I know it's easy to get ripped off with items like this on eBay. Is there anything specific that yells 'scam!'?

I'm just getting into the field of IR lasers, so any help is appreciated! As far as safety goes, I have goggles that are good to the MW range IIRC.

 

[Prototype]

Don't buy from seller '406stinkybob' he has sold bars with dead emitters. Be prepared to pay several hundred dollars for a decent Coherent bar, FAP800 modules are great, but are going for nearly $300 each now. Avoid the usual, SuperTechShop and SVCompucycle. There's a seller that sells 20W bars for <$100.

 

[styropyro]

Are used FAP800 modules a no no? There are some pretty cheap on eBay and are a great price that if I screwed something up, it wouldn't hurt my wallet much.

There's a seller that sells 20W bars for <$100.

Is that this guy?: Opto Power 20w Laser Diode 808nm NdYV04 Pump DPSS Burns - eBay (item 260583408707 end time Aug-07-10 13:04:44 PDT)

Thanks for the help! +1

 

[Meatball]

Ask Mike about the FAPs, he has a couple used ones I know that he has plans for. He may know what to tell you what to do with one.
Most of them probably have a few emitters "popped".
http://laserpointerforums.com/members/hemlock_mike/

 

[Prototype]

Oh the FAP800 modules are great if you can afford one, they're already lined up with a fiber launch, which most bars won't be.

And yes, that's the seller I was told about as being good. Forgot the link, whoops.

 

[qumefox]

Don't buy from seller '406stinkybob' he has sold bars with dead emitters. Be prepared to pay several hundred dollars for a decent Coherent bar, FAP800 modules are great, but are going for nearly $300 each now. Avoid the usual, SuperTechShop and SVCompucycle. There's a seller that sells 20W bars for <$100.

I bought an argon ion tube from svcompucycle at the end of last year and didn't have any problems with them. Maybe I just got lucky.

 

[MarioMaster]

Styro - if you want to jump in with high powered diode bars my 60W is still for sale at $175, tested perfect working order

It's a water cooled Coherent lensed diode brick. It was sold to me as 808nm although apparently they're more towards the 830nm area.