Half of G-ball lenses on NUBM06/8 are as good as G-2 (do you agree?)

[Light superglue]

Many times on LPF there was a discussion how good Gballs are compared to G-2 and other collimators. The main point was that it was chance of a draw to get an LD with Gball producing a beam properly collimated to infinity (a thin line on a wall 5-10m away) like it can be achieved with G-2.

During last 6 months I was buying many NUBM05/6/8 with original Gball lenses from DTR for testing them with Blue-blue Dichro mirror and have statistically proved comparison not from one but 3-4 tests. So now I can share my opinion on Gballs which is:

- from three NUBM05 none of the spots looks like thin line produced from NUBM44 with G-2 lens on the wall 5m away (they all are rectangular more or less thin lines).
- from four NUBM06 two of the spots look even shorter than 44/G-2 combination (picture 1).
- from three NUBM08 two (so more than half!) look only a bit longer than 44/G-2 (picture 2).

Both pictures taken through protection googles show spots on the wall 5m away with NUBM44/G-2 on the bottom, current through each LD was 3A.

Fazit: there is a good (50+%) chance to obtain a 06/08 with good fixfocus to infinity (at least from DTR) without paying an additional price for G-2 or like. This I mean is good for combining multiple LDs because fixfocus helps to avoid troubles of fixing the collimators in solid position with teflon tape, external springs or other whatever ways one can find.

Do you agree? If anyone has statistics on this issue please respond!

Thank you all.

 

[Alaskan]

I am very interested in this too, thank you for the report. +rep soon.

 

[dden4012]

I'll have to compare them through my laser shades. On my 01T and 06 there is a decent amount of spray noise past 25 feet. Definitely not the results your showing. Maybe I'll get lucky the next time around. The 07 is my favorite but it doesn't seem to work out as nicely as the 05 06 maybe 08. Maybe the 07 would work well going into a 3x BE as the 01 and 06 are too thin for my liking.

 

[BobMc]

Do you agree? If anyone has statistics on this issue please respond!

Thank you all.

Thank you for comparing the same diodes to themselves never thought there might be a difference? Interesting??? :gj:

I did a comparison of some diodes here~ http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/beam-comparsion-05-06-07-08-044-7475-a-99742.html. If it helps your research you can compare my results also. Hope it helps.

 

[Light superglue]

Hi BobMc,

Yes I saw your comparison but you did not compare with Gballs there (except on 1st picture), but different diodes with various lenses.
However, many times we discussed with RC that on N. LDs there may be at least 3 kinds of Gballs which you can get by chance which produce:

1-thin line like G-2
2-thick line like here on the picture of the upper 07E spot
3-rectangular spot like several 05/06/07 have

4-and even the last type with first focusing at 20-30cm, then diverging into rectangular spot (I have it on one of 06).

So I tried to obtain some statistics on this question and fortunately it looks like the 1st case is prevailing over other three. But if anyone has more statistics on that issue please feel free to add your data!


Hi Dden,

I also like 07E but only have one with Gball which you see on this comparison with another 07E + G-2.

But when I combined them (one with Gball and another with G-2) to build this toy:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f40/making-6-6w-blaster-465nm-97587.html
the spot after correction with cylindricals was less than 1cm in diameter on same wall 5m away (pics are down in that thread).

 

[BobMc]

LDs there may be at least 3 kinds of Gballs ~~~~

That's why I liked your thoughts. Didn't know there were different gballs. Will be paying attention, am curious to know the difference.

 

[badboybilly]

I agree with you mate, I did it a while back with a 06 gball reduced and pressed into a brass threaded barrel and I was sure it produced a tighter line than a G2 on my 47 A1 7w diode. I'll try find the thread.

 

[paul1598419]

I'm glad to see you have done this with multiple diodes of the same type as I have heard it is the luck of the draw which will give you a better divergence. If you can, it might be useful to try this same experiment out to 15 meters. I have been unwilling, so far, to decan these diodes as they do seem to have shorter lives than the intact diode with the Gball attached. + rep.

 

[RedCowboy]

I have been buying a few 06's and they vary from a good focus to not so much, no doubt the OEM's spec, so some are good and yes you can even see it in DTR's power test of a GBall in the nugm02 vs a G2, even with it's longer FL the GBall is efficient, and I would expect it to be, the trick is to keep buying them until you get a good one, so far out of 4 nubm06 two have been really good.

Here's one I got a few days ago with a 3X BE, the color is prettier than the 445, It looks 450 ish from a layman's observation.

The tightest I can get with the 3X BE is a line about 1/8 by 1/2 or 3mm x 12 @ 20 feet and it ignites paper bags in the pit that's 20 feet away.

Just the diode with GBall lights paper bags at 6 feet like a champ and it's a strong diode with a pretty color, would love to have these with a can/window.

The diode I got before this one was not quite as focused but was still good, I had 1 that was awesome and 1 that was not so great, luck of the draw.

EDIT-----The first one I de-canned and it made a line with a G2 at 15 feet that was 1.25 inches long, a NUBM44 with G2 at the same distance is 2 inches long, so the divergence is 2/3 of a nubm44 and the power looks to be as good, DTR did a test a while back that put the 06 at 5.7 and the 44 at 6.8 or there abouts, but I think that was a poor diode, these are strong and prettier in color. We need a lens kit so we can re-order by number, we need a lens expert.

I just dump the guts out of a 3 element and use the lens barrel as a connector, big end towards thr GBall, I put a spacer around the lens barrel to keep it from hitting the Gball, simple.

p.s. The 06 seem to be the better focused, typically better than the 07 and 08 but I need to test more 08 now that the price is reasonable.

 

[dden4012]

The g2 lens barrels can thread all the way down if your diode can is set right in the module. Could probably find them cheap on eBay.

 

[Light superglue]

Hi RC,

You said: "so far out of 4 nubm06 two have been really good".

So your statistics on Gballs is exactly as mine - 50% at least are well collimated, right?

BTW lately I have purchased one NUGM02 from DTR (tempted by cheap price), but the spot is rectangular and similar to "bad" NUBM06, not a line as I expected, so yesterday I have ordered a NUGM01 to compare (other greens I still find to expensive).

 

[RedCowboy]

1 watt greens DPSS I would pay a few hundred dollars for, but by the time you buy a NDG7475 and module and lens and driver and host you have spent a few hundred dollars on a multi mode diode, I will wait, they started at 1000.00 now they are 180.00, in a year I will still prefer a DPSS, but that's just me, but maybe the single mode 515nm diodes will get stronger, I would like to have a 500mw 515nm single mode.

Seems it's just luck of the draw, different OEM companies order with different focus settings is my bet, but half of the NUBM06 diodes I get from China kick azz, the GBall if it's focused pretty well work with the sanwu 3X BE half way across my yard at 35 feet they burn holes in green leaves and with dam good power, like NUBM44 with a G2 power.

The NUBM44's I get from DTR are great, but these NUBM06 diodes are a bargain, there has to be an additional lens we can use to correct the less focused without removing the cans, it might take a lens kit with an assortment of lenses.

Here's one at 6 feet straight out of the GBall.

 

[GSS]

Hi RC,

You said: "so far out of 4 nubm06 two have been really good".

So your statistics on Gballs is exactly as mine - 50% at least are well collimated, right?

BTW lately I have purchased one NUGM02 from DTR (tempted by cheap price), but the spot is rectangular and similar to "bad" NUBM06, not a line as I expected, so yesterday I have ordered a NUGM01 to compare (other greens I still find to expensive).

I just got the same new M02 offering from Dtr. It my first Gball diode so I can't compare.
I am no way displeased as to what I put it in but thought it would be a bit tighter.
It sure is a tricky one as on one axis its pretty tight and looks good but on the other a turn of your wrist and it spreads out kinda significant.
Light S just maby the way they mostly are?:thinking:

 

[RedCowboy]

Hey GSS, do you own any NUBM44's?
They are the same way with a G2 or a 3 element, one axis looks good and when you turn it a quarter turn it looks like a Chinese fan.

If that's what you're getting from that 02 GBall that may be correctable with that 12x12 mm pair of 6X cyls from OPT.

What size spot are you getting at 15 feet?
Is it a big rectangle or a line, or a fat line?

 

[GSS]

Hey GSS, do you own any NUBM44's?
They are the same way with a G2 or a 3 element, one axis looks good and when you turn it a quarter turn it looks like a Chinese fan.

If that's what you're getting from that 02 GBall that may be correctable with that 12x12 mm pair of 6X cyls from OPT.

What size spot are you getting at 15 feet?
Is it a big rectangle or a line, or a fat line?

I have one NUM44 with a G2 and about to order another.
Its somehow different though with M02. The only thing I can think of is i'm not twisting the 44's host as much and just turning the focus knob as I always hold it the same way as its a side clicky?
I got the M02 specific for its set focus as I put it in a phaser build and to not have keep taking off the phasers nozzle. So correction optic's wouldn't make it look like a prop anymore Also don't want to decan it for a 3 element.
I'm actually kinda seeing a oval type spot?? maby 3+in. wide at maby 15 to 17ft.
I can't take the 44 or M02 out now to measure but I will try in a bit for a better explanation..

 

[GSS]

Ok as for my new M02 520 Gball,
it sure is looking like an oval spot.
At 15 ft. its hitting just about 3 in. by 2 in. on a white door. It is brutal on the eye's looking at the spot WOW! so I looked at the spot through my glasses and its still just about an oval but a bit more rectanglelish and to what I see through my glasses its cut to about 2 in. by 1 in.
Sorry for my lame stats