Hi to all of you
First of all: Newb alert... I am very new to this laser thing, and I am also new to this forum (sent here courtesy of google). If I'm in the wrong place or otherwise have fouled up, please let me know
I just recently purchased a cheapo "50mw" (at about $45) greenie from an online store here in Norway and have a few questions about this thing. After placing my order from this seemingly serious online shop, I started to have a few suspicions when I discovered the pointer was sent to me directly from Hong Kong. No company name, not even on the shipment, only an address. Rather quick (and free) delivery though, and since it isnt a huge amount of money I decided not to cancel the order and just see what I got.
First thing I noticed out of the box, was the complete lack of any classification information or any other of the usual "approved for use" info you normally find on any electronic equipment. As a matter of fact, there is no marking whatsoever on the pointer itself other than the words "Laser Pointer" on the pocket clip. It did come with a short leaflet and a sticker that basically said "be careful" (that's about all it said actually, not much shortened by me...) To be honest, knowing what these things can do, I had expected a lot more hooplah about safety. Also, there's no delay on it, no safety measure whatsoever basically. It does feel solid though, it has a metal casing, it feels heavy and solid in your hands, nothing loose and overall not a cheap feel at all.
Problem with this thing is that it doesnt seem all that bright to me, at least not anymore and only periodically seem like anything I would classify as a "laser" (more accurately a really narrow and weak green flashlight). At first (first day) it was really powerful and lived up to the expectations I had from the videos on youtube and other info I read before buying. Then I could easily tag a mountain that is 4 kilometers away from my house (no people to harm there, dont worry, safety first). But then, on the second day, it seemed to die down a lot. Now when I light it, it can barely outperform a regular flashlight, with no more than 2 meters range, at least at first. If I leave it on for a while, it does get a little better, but only slightly. To get it to perform as it did the first day, I now first have to keep it lit for 4-5 minutes. When that is done, it will still be really weak, but now if I press hard(er) down on the button it will eventually go from what looks like a really weak green flashlight, into a laser. Unfortunately, to achieve the powerful green beam I know it can produce, I have to press so hard on the button it hurts my finger. And even then it's very unstable, I can have a powerful beam pressing hard down on the button and then for no reason (without me moving a muscle) go back to being a bad, narrow green flashlight. This usually means I have to fiddle about with it for a while, and all of a sudden it starts working again. Also, if it means anything at all, when it is in "low mode" it sometimes looks like it has split, when i point it at the palm of my hand I can make out two distinct dots instead of just the one. This is not permanent tho, if I turn it off and back on again, the "split" might be gone and I am back to the one (very weak, unless I press hard down) green dot. When I press down hard and it's on "full mode", it's too bright to look directly at, and at least I cant tell if then is split or not.
Being very new to this and having read both in the half a page leaflet that came with it, and around the net, that it can take some time for these things to heat up before they reach max output, I'm really uncertain whether I got a faulty unit, or if I am simply doing something wrong or have the wrong expectations...
Anyone able to shed some light on this for me? If this really is (as I suspect) some kind of defect (bad connection somewhere?) I am not completely adverse to having a look myself, but I thought I'd ask here first
//n0s
First of all: Newb alert... I am very new to this laser thing, and I am also new to this forum (sent here courtesy of google). If I'm in the wrong place or otherwise have fouled up, please let me know
I just recently purchased a cheapo "50mw" (at about $45) greenie from an online store here in Norway and have a few questions about this thing. After placing my order from this seemingly serious online shop, I started to have a few suspicions when I discovered the pointer was sent to me directly from Hong Kong. No company name, not even on the shipment, only an address. Rather quick (and free) delivery though, and since it isnt a huge amount of money I decided not to cancel the order and just see what I got.
First thing I noticed out of the box, was the complete lack of any classification information or any other of the usual "approved for use" info you normally find on any electronic equipment. As a matter of fact, there is no marking whatsoever on the pointer itself other than the words "Laser Pointer" on the pocket clip. It did come with a short leaflet and a sticker that basically said "be careful" (that's about all it said actually, not much shortened by me...) To be honest, knowing what these things can do, I had expected a lot more hooplah about safety. Also, there's no delay on it, no safety measure whatsoever basically. It does feel solid though, it has a metal casing, it feels heavy and solid in your hands, nothing loose and overall not a cheap feel at all.
Problem with this thing is that it doesnt seem all that bright to me, at least not anymore and only periodically seem like anything I would classify as a "laser" (more accurately a really narrow and weak green flashlight). At first (first day) it was really powerful and lived up to the expectations I had from the videos on youtube and other info I read before buying. Then I could easily tag a mountain that is 4 kilometers away from my house (no people to harm there, dont worry, safety first). But then, on the second day, it seemed to die down a lot. Now when I light it, it can barely outperform a regular flashlight, with no more than 2 meters range, at least at first. If I leave it on for a while, it does get a little better, but only slightly. To get it to perform as it did the first day, I now first have to keep it lit for 4-5 minutes. When that is done, it will still be really weak, but now if I press hard(er) down on the button it will eventually go from what looks like a really weak green flashlight, into a laser. Unfortunately, to achieve the powerful green beam I know it can produce, I have to press so hard on the button it hurts my finger. And even then it's very unstable, I can have a powerful beam pressing hard down on the button and then for no reason (without me moving a muscle) go back to being a bad, narrow green flashlight. This usually means I have to fiddle about with it for a while, and all of a sudden it starts working again. Also, if it means anything at all, when it is in "low mode" it sometimes looks like it has split, when i point it at the palm of my hand I can make out two distinct dots instead of just the one. This is not permanent tho, if I turn it off and back on again, the "split" might be gone and I am back to the one (very weak, unless I press hard down) green dot. When I press down hard and it's on "full mode", it's too bright to look directly at, and at least I cant tell if then is split or not.
Being very new to this and having read both in the half a page leaflet that came with it, and around the net, that it can take some time for these things to heat up before they reach max output, I'm really uncertain whether I got a faulty unit, or if I am simply doing something wrong or have the wrong expectations...
Anyone able to shed some light on this for me? If this really is (as I suspect) some kind of defect (bad connection somewhere?) I am not completely adverse to having a look myself, but I thought I'd ask here first
//n0s
