Hmm. Laserglow Orion-HV VERY divergent...

[aryntha]

I know I come on here checking if things are right, and, hopefully I'm not annoying folks too much but:

Testing my Orion-HV today, its...... the most divergent laser I've ever seen :\

I understand it's supposed to have a rectangular beam pattern (stacked diodes), but at about 20 feet, the beam is 1 inch square. At 45 feet, it's about 4 inches by 4 inches.

Laserglow said that the beam divergence was 2.5mrad ... (that's kind of high, I know) ... though its' said that all stacked diode setups have this kind of divergence.

I'm not sure if this is something that can be focused down inside the laser, or if this is just the nature of diodes of this sort (635nm red ~250mw).

(Good news is - the laser spot can be seen across the mountain - in the mid day sun.)


Does anone have an Orion who can tell me how much theirs diverges?

 

[jeffd]

Yep that is typical of multimode diodes... I think you are the first person on this forum to own that laser. Do you mind posting some pics and videos of it?

 

[aryntha]

Sure. I've been practicing trying to get beamshots right. I'll say this: Though it's divergent, it is BRIGHT.

I'm going to say it again: BRIGHT.

There's a mountain across from me, the peak probably 1/4 mile away. I was able to see the square at noon, on the trees.

... If the square beam is focused (and has sharp edges) at a distance, does that mean it's focused as well as can be?

 

[aryntha]

Here are some shots... Again in reality the beam is much more orange than the Dilda, and much brighter...

jeffd - you say the divergence is normal, so, this is probably operating within spec?

... It's not the square beam i'm concerned about; it's how quickly it diverges. The 'waist' of the beam (narrowest point) seems to only be at 10 feet or so.

I'm just wondering if Laserglow could focus this down a bit or no... Again the 'edges' of the square remain very well defined... If anyone could provide some more information on this, it'd be good.

 

[ElektroFreak]

You're not going to see any better divergence than that from any multimode diode. The more high-order modes are present in a laser beam, the greater the divergence. Each section of output from that diode equates to a high-order mode, and there are several sections inside that rectangle of light, although they may be hard to make out due to the optics used for collimation. As you said previously, as long as the beam is sharp on the edges, it's as collimated as it's going to get.
That's a very nice laser.. 635nm is a great color.

 

[aryntha]

Wow, well, thanks, ElectroFreak. To the rescue again. You make me feel a lot better about these things (repeatedly) and I'm glad you saw my post

... If I could give you more rep points I would.

A lot to learn about this stuff, but, it's pretty cool. I wanted 635 in more than 5mW so I decided to go for this...

It's certainly no slouch as far as output goes, and I wish the camera could render the color properly --- it doesn't do it justice... Compared to the 240mW Dilda its night and day. The output and brightness of the spot it produces even when it's a big and thick square is just incredible.

Laserglow's test has it rated at 353mW average nominal, and 443mW peak.

 

[jeffd]

Well judging from those awesome beam shots, the divergence doesnt look that horrible! I think that is one impressive laser!

 

[yobresal]

Thanks for the photos! that is one sexy laser. i should have bought one during their sale. If you decide to sell it let me know.

 

[Eudaimonium]

copy paste from Laserglow Spec site
Beam Diameter square, ~5 mm Beam Divergence <5 mrad
So, your laser is perfectly fine!

 

[Deleted member 10578]

I know I come on here checking if things are right, and, hopefully I'm not annoying folks too much but:

Testing my Orion-HV today, its...... the most divergent laser I've ever seen :\

I understand it's supposed to have a rectangular beam pattern (stacked diodes), but at about 20 feet, the beam is 1 inch square. At 45 feet, it's about 4 inches by 4 inches.

Laserglow said that the beam divergence was 2.5mrad ... (that's kind of high, I know) ... though its' said that all stacked diode setups have this kind of divergence.

I'm not sure if this is something that can be focused down inside the laser, or if this is just the nature of diodes of this sort (635nm red ~250mw).

(Good news is - the laser spot can be seen across the mountain - in the mid day sun.)


Does anone have an Orion who can tell me how much theirs diverges?

Hi aryntha,
small world, I lived up in Kittridge for many years.
Our 635nm systems are the same way, square beam shape with larger divergence. It's normal for this kind of laser and no they can't adjust it smaller.

Thanks for the pictures. In those last 2 images, are you pointing towards elk meadow park?
I use to hike to the top of that trail everyday during the summers.

 

[Gryphon]

You live in one very beautiful area judging from those pics

 

[aryntha]

Heh, thanks -- I'm in Evergreen, Colorado - at 8000ft ASL. It's kind of funny, the airport I fly out of (KBJC) - our traffic pattern there is a good 1900ft below my house.

We're surrounded by protected national forest, so I gotta say it makes a pretty nice backdrop for beam shooting and laser "testing" without any risk. Not to mention that we get surface level clouds, too.

I've got friends who live on some of the far adjacent peaks that are visible from where I live .... Now if only I could get them into lasers, the mountain-to-mountain beamshots would be awesome.

 

[RA_pierce]

Great pics and NICE laser. Looks like you've got a pretty good collection.
I think these are the first photos I've seen of a 635nm Orion. That thing looks bright!

 

[Justin]

Hey guys. Just to make it clear this is normal performance for any stacked-diode laser. The total emitter size is very large, so this is the best that we can do for divergence. On the other hand, as the OP said this laser is really, really bright so divergence becomes less of an issue since the wavelength is so much more visible than the 650-660 nm version.

I'm glad it's working out for you!