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FrozenGate by Avery

GUIDE: Which company should I buy from?






I've recently purchased a 500 mw green laser pointer from HTPOW, sadly, I read that they were not to be trusted after the purchase. Do you think they will send me a real 500 mw laser? And is there any way to find out once it gets to me?
 
I am not familiar with this company, but looking around the site, it just seems like another Chinese wholesaler. Most of the lasers they sell on sites like this are very low quality, and the power readings may be entirely made up. Sometimes there are higher quality products on these sites, and looking around a little, I found a page listing Sanwu's pocket series, except all the power levels were insanely inflated. The highest power laser sanwu puts in that host is 800mw at 445nm, yet on HTPOW, it is listed as 8000mw. If there was actually that much power in that host, you would probably only get a duty cycle of a few seconds.

What I am trying to tell you is that seeing that is a decent indication that you will not get a 500mw laser, especially green. High power green lasers in general are expensive, especially 532nm dpss lasers. If the laser you bought was dpss, the minimum price you should of paid is probably somewhere around $400. Most of their "500mw" lasers are well below this, and some are in pen hosts which would be very tricky for such a high power dpss laser.

All that being said, that does not mean your laser is safe. It will probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-100mw, and this is most certainly not a safe power level. Lasers between 5 and 500mw are in clas IIIb, which states that any eye exposure to the beam will cause instant and permanent eye damage. This could range from a small dot in your eye to significant vision impairment that may prevent you from doing basic tasks, such as driving. Be aware that this damage could also occur to anyone else nearby, and laser light emitted from your device can also cause dangerous interference to airline pilots.


Also, Before using the laser, you need to get a pair of safety glasses, which should be used at all times when the laser is being viewed nearby, or when the beam has any potential to enter your eye. Ideally, you would use glasses that block both the visible green laser light, and the invisible IR light that often comes with cheap green lasers. Since I don't know a good source for these glasses, I would recommend you buy Eagle Pair glasses from Survival Laser, and just be cautious knowing that you may still be exposed to some amount of invisible laser light with them on. Make sure you get the glasses that protect against the wavelength of your laser. Eagle pair glasses may be expensive, but I believe that you can not put a price on your vision.


There is no way to determine the power of the laser without using a laser power meter, but there are a few reference tests I can give you:

If the laser can pop a black balloon, it is at least 50-100mw. If it can light a match, it is at least 100mw. If it can cut a hanging roll of electrical tape loose, it is at least 300mw. If it can light a candle it is at least 500mw. If it can burn a hole in white printer paper, it is also at least 500mw.

Make sure you do these tests with your glasses on, and please understand that these power tests only give a very rough idea of the power of the laser.



I hope this information helped teach you a little bit about lasers and the safety measures associated with them. Please remember to be careful.
 
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Oof! Seems like I messed up! I will do the tests you recommended to be sure. I probably will try to get a refund. Thank you so much for your input and advice!

Edit: Do you think that the price I got was fair for what I might be receiving? Thank you!
 
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No problem, but don't forget that you need to get safety glasses.

As for the price, what did you pay? There are many "500" mw Lasers on the site with different prices. I would say that if you paid any more than $30, you were ripped off. You can get 50mw green lasers on eBay for $10 That is not to say you will be disappointed. Even a 50mw green laser is very bright, and produces a beam that is clearly visible at night. If this is your first laser, you will probably find it impressive. As for a return, I am unsure. If the company is located in china, you will most likely need to pay $20 just too ship it back. This is assuming they even allow returns.
 
I paid about 37$ for one. It was originally about 90. But it comes with 5 different pattern caps, so I'm guessing I paid maybe 27$ for the laser itself. This is my 2nd laser, my first one was 200mw (Prob actually 20) but I still enjoyed it.

Link to the "500 MW" laser I bought: https://www.htpow.com/500mw-532nm-green-laser-pointer-powerful-best-buy-p-1007.html

Side note: (Would you mind sending me a link to a real powerful laser on eBay? (100Mw+?))

Many Thanks.
 
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You got ripped off, you could’ve gotten one for $10 + the starcaps for $5 on eBay. It won’t be 500mW, let alone 500MW.

Try jetlasers or sanwu lasers for accurate power ratings. They have many options from 30mW-7W.
 
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Keep in mind all those #303 green lasers are made in mass production for everyone in China to sell. They are all basically the same power and the ONLY difference is the price. You can get these for as little as $5.00. I have seen them with star caps, a battery and charger for $11.00 on eBay. If you paid more than that you got screwed. If you paid a lot more you got screwed royally.
 
I just wanted to jump in and say "THANK YOU" for this thread. In general I build my own lasers, but I’ve considered getting a few pre-build lasers for fun. Nice to know who to avoid.
 
This thread is quite old so I’d be surprised if most of the “avoid” sites still exist. I’ll update it sometime when I can get around to it.
 
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This thread is quite old so I’d be surprised if most of the “avoid” sites still exist. I’ll update it sometime when I can get around to it.
Click to expand...

I assume the list of acceptable sellers hasn't changed. In reading several messages, the Laser Pointer Store is OK, correct?
 
Just a quick note, DragonLasers now has their 50mW 589nm Spartan down to $419. That's $81 less than what it used to be. They're getting cheaper:D
 
I just want to add let's tone it down a bit with the "YOU GOT TOTALLY SCREWED" or "RIPPED OFF BRUTALLY" reply's:mad::mad: when we get the new members asking if they paid to much.. It can't be a good feeling to the person adding insult to injury after them over paying..
There ARE nicer way's of saying it.. We can preach all day of doing your homework before buying but it's not like this Forum is out advertising like these pretty formatted over rated store's with their pictures of nice beams and sweet worded 10,000,000W spec's that are all over the place with popups.. It take's paying more than fair market at times to get us to this forum..
Example, paying $27 for a 301 with star caps and charger is paying a bit to much but NOT ROYALLY SCREWED which seems to be the norm response.. Come on use some tact..
When I joined the forum even 2 months in I almost bought a 301 for $40 from "Worlds Coolest Lasers" if it wasn't for Hap warning me..
 
I'm working on a page at the moment that hopefully will help. Hobbyist Laser Encyclopedia - Company Guide
I also agree, that blatantly stating someone has been screwed over isn't the best way to approach members sometimes.
But it is important that they learn this fact early. I've made plenty of mistakes by not doing this. 'Do some research before you buy!'
We are all unfortunately vulnerable; especially when inexperienced, to buy on impulse without checking things out first.
Yep, just as well Alex got there first with that 301. :)
 
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