It's the DX 30mW again

[Grix]

I just got my very first real laser, the DX 30mW. It took 1 month from order to delivery. Not too bad, considering it's DX. It came with two batteries, a manual, and a neat gift box. The laser is kind of heavy, but somehow it doesn't feel very solid, and I'm afraid it would break if I drop it.

The beam was very dim inside at first, but I'm used to it now and I can see the beam easily in normal lighting. The beam is thin, and has decent divergence (about 1.4 mrad?) The dot is very bright, visible in daylight 500 meters away, and at night the beam is impressive. It works much better with fresh batteries. The warm up time is kind of annoying, but it's usually at max after 10 seconds.
I haven't noticed any mode hopping/other bad stuff yet.

I was VERY surprised at the burning powers. I can pop balloons with a black dot, and I even managed to smoke black rubber, and ignite a firework fuse (!) (see below), with only a magnifying glass as help. The dot does not feel warm on the palm.

The price is insane, it's 17 bucks now. I even got it for 15 since I ordered three. (my friends wanted one too). Worth it +++.

UPDATE:
The laser still works after a month, but the lense is VERY dirty now, the laser is like a flashlight. I'm ordering some lense cleaning stuff, and hopefully that helps. Q-tips etc. does not. I've also learned that batteries lasts a long time, but it dims long before it runs out.
My laser does not dim in the cold (0 degree celsius) until after a few minutes. The price has also dropped another dollar.

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICzsSyBSWv4 (Igniting firework + balloon popping)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEfO5rzqXAA (Nice beamshots + effect/show)

 

[Benm]

Nice to hear you got a good one

The warm up thing probably isnt that bad - i have a dx30 here that takes a minute or more to warm up to full power, but after that it puts out very well over 30 mW and keeps doing so until the batteries go flat.

I had a DX20 with the opposite problem: bright beam initially, but dimmed to near nothing after 10 seconds or so as it warmed up.

 

[realista]

it's the true 30mw............mmmh.. you got a lucky unit!!! maybe at 40/50 mw!!!

 

[Benm]

Lucky indeed.. after it warmed up it maintains about 50 mW for some time, at least until the batteries fail or it heats further.

 

[Andrewajt62]

Are you using safety goggles with it? It seems like if you screw around with that you'll get a blind spot. Did you get it straight from DX or do you not live in the U.S.?
(I ask because they won't sell U.S people >5mW)

 

[Grix]

Updated, fixed links and added some info

 

[MysteryNotes]

Very nice.
My DX true 30mw died after 2 weeks.
And it was VERY underpowered.
Oh well.

 

[kendon]

i have a dx true100 and a true50. the true100 is nearly invisible when it is cold (like when i come home after work and my room has <20°C). i usually put it next to the fan of my laptop for a few minutes to warm it up, once it has room temperature it works fine (concerning brightness).

the lens is really dirty too, after a few weeks of light usage, didn't try to clean it yet.

what is really annoying me is the focus. it wasn't that focused from the beginning (slight difference to the true50), but i wasn't that bad. now i have a huge spot already after a few meters.

the true50 has the same problem concerning temperature, with the difference that it takes ~1sec to go to full brightness even if it is warm, but then it is bright and has a nice, small dot even over several meters.

i don't have lpm, and i don't have access to metered green, so i don't have the slightest comparison, so all i can say is both are ridicously bright