bobhaha
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This is the review for the upgraded version of the CNI PGL-III-M, that I did for JETLASERS
Link to the laser LINK HERE!
First off I would like to say, this is an unbiased review and I will only give factual, observed information about this company and MY experience with them.
I was given the opportunity to review JETLASERS handheld Lasers D and CE certified 190-540nm OD 4+ goggles.
In my eyes this laser is very special, this laser is a CNI made laser in an upgraded host. JETLASERS have taken a high quality laser direct from the manufacturer and added much desirable added features to an amazing host.
One of the things JETLASERS have done with this host is to waterproof it, which is a great thing. The waterproofing reaches IPX-5 waterproof standards, which by definition means it has successfully passed an international standards test in which, water is projected by a nozzle against the host from any direction, and the test has concluded that the water shall have no harmful effects. JETLASERS have informed customers that the host was designed to work well in rainy or humid conditions though it was not designed for diving (For Diving, please check Handheld A, B, E. ) .
The way JETLASERS have waterproofed this host is by using high quality rubber o-rings, sometimes up to 4 in one o-ring groove. This provides a seal and sort of barrier to keep water and contaminants out. Which can be seen in the picture of the laser break down, below.
JETLASERS have also redesigned the laser head and equipped it with a focusable lens mechanism, so that the beam diameter can be easily adjusted, by screwing the top portion of the host. The focusing portion of the laser head can be seen below.
As you can see there are two large o-rings on the focusing assembly, they are pressed into grooves that have been machined into the aluminium. The screw threads of the laser head are amazingly smooth and no crunching, hard spots or wobble were detected.
The optics assembly sits inside of an aluminium tube that is press fit inside the focusing assembly. The glass of these optics look to be AR coated, and reflect back a dark purple colour <update needed on type of optics used> The purple tinge could not be captured by my camera, but you can see a close up, of the face of the laser and the glass front lens in the picture below.
The laser itself, as I said comes direct from CNI. The laser is rated on the CNI website with the following data:
Transverse mode: TEM00
Operating mode: CW
Beam divergence, full angle (mrad): <1. 5
Beam diameter at the aperture (mm): ~1. 5
Range in darkness (m): 2000~5000
Power supply 1דNo. 18650” Li batteries
Expected lifetime (hours) 5000
Link to PDF for specs from CNI LINK HERE!
I have run my own tests on this test unit and have concluded my own results as can be seen below.
Peak output power: 105mw (50mw version tested)
Average output power: 76mw (output averaged after 30seconds of use, tested 10 times, 5 from cold start, 5 while warm… average output 76mw)
Observed divergence: 1.279mRad (1.5mm at 1m and diverge to 13.02mm at 10m, giving 1.279mRad)
Beam diameter at aperture: 1.33mm
Current draw: Steady 540ma
Estimated battery life: 3.62 hours
*Note all measurements were measured with calibrated digital callipers, and your results may vary.
The internals of the laser are all CNI, so as far as I can tell the laser should be IR filtered. JETLASERS have claimed it to be IR filtered, and I have preformed a quick test to verify those claims and it was true. The laser is IR filtered.
The inside of the head has a large brass ring to stop the focusing assembly from screw down into the host too far. Below this there is a large aluminium disk which seems to house the optics (probably the IR filter). Since it is positioned with the use of an optics screwdriver it was glued in place, with a small amount of white glue, similar to what they use in prebuilt red keychain lasers, to support the PCB board. There are two images below depicting everything I just spoke about.
The look of the laser is quite similar to the Spartan 447nm laser, also produced by CNI. What differs between the two is that the Spartan has two palm grip pads, where as the JETLASER upgraded host has the one grip pad (easy way to tell the difference), as well as the added features mentioned above.
The laser is coated in an anti-skid layer on an aircraft grade Aluminium body. The laser is heavy and feels good to hold, and personally looks like a military grade laser and feels like it would be up for the job. A picture can be seen below depicting the laser in its assembled state.
The end cap, just like the focusing assembly has superb threads and waterproofing. No wobble, crunching or hard spots were detected. The button is firm which I personally prefer, because of safety reasons. The positive contact point is almost flush with the base of the end cap, which I thought would be a problem, but apparently not, since I have tested it both with unprotected GTL and ultrafire 18650 batteries, with no problems at all. Picture of the end cap can be seen below.
The only real suggestions I have with this laser is that when the focusing assembly is removed, it is quite hard to align and screw back into place. I would suggest positioning the lower o-ring (closest to the laser assembly when screwed in) further down the assembly to allow of more wobble so aligning the threads would be easier. Also I would like to see more features that CNI make available with this host, in particular adding the feature for a LED indicator and also key switch.
This is a LPM graph of the laser over a 2 min time period.
The glasses that I have received came in a soft cover carry bag (not pictured) and a cleaning cloth.
The goggles are rated at OD 4+ for 190-540nm and are available at JETLASERS.net as well as other laser accessories.
I did a few tests with these goggles and have concluded the following results:
85mw 532nm (JETLASERS PGL-III-M laser) was reduced to <5mw for the 1min test
65mw 405nm CNI GPL-405 was reduced to <5mw for the 1min test
>1.1W 445nm was reduced to <5mw for the 1min test at focus for metering
>1.1W 445nm was sustained at <5mw for the 1 min test at pinpoint focus, burning of the goggles did occur, but power transmissive power sustained at <5mw for the whole test.
Since my meter cannot measure anything with high enough resolution above 1W and less then 5mw, the most I can say is these goggles are they relatively safe for use with a maximum of 1.1W of 445nm light. I feel the rating of OD 4+ is very realistic corresponding with the test results shown above. Since no graphs are available on the JETLASERS website, conclusions about other wavelengths are unable to be made. My personal opinion, based on the test results are that the glasses should be fine with <300mw of both 532 and 405nm. But further testing is needed.
My overall satisfaction with the company and laser can be summarised in the ratings below.
Product quality: 9/10
Customer support: 9/10
Email notifications: N/A
Packaging: 8/10 (shipping of glasses in a hard case to prevent damage should be considered)
Shipping time: 8/10 (7 days shipping, average from china)
Overall rating 8.5/10
VIDEOS ARE HERE!!
This is a quick physical review of the PGL-III-M by JETLASERS
This is the more in depth review including metering and testing the goggles on a laser power meter.
-Adrian
Link to the laser LINK HERE!
First off I would like to say, this is an unbiased review and I will only give factual, observed information about this company and MY experience with them.
I was given the opportunity to review JETLASERS handheld Lasers D and CE certified 190-540nm OD 4+ goggles.
In my eyes this laser is very special, this laser is a CNI made laser in an upgraded host. JETLASERS have taken a high quality laser direct from the manufacturer and added much desirable added features to an amazing host.
One of the things JETLASERS have done with this host is to waterproof it, which is a great thing. The waterproofing reaches IPX-5 waterproof standards, which by definition means it has successfully passed an international standards test in which, water is projected by a nozzle against the host from any direction, and the test has concluded that the water shall have no harmful effects. JETLASERS have informed customers that the host was designed to work well in rainy or humid conditions though it was not designed for diving (For Diving, please check Handheld A, B, E. ) .
The way JETLASERS have waterproofed this host is by using high quality rubber o-rings, sometimes up to 4 in one o-ring groove. This provides a seal and sort of barrier to keep water and contaminants out. Which can be seen in the picture of the laser break down, below.
JETLASERS have also redesigned the laser head and equipped it with a focusable lens mechanism, so that the beam diameter can be easily adjusted, by screwing the top portion of the host. The focusing portion of the laser head can be seen below.
As you can see there are two large o-rings on the focusing assembly, they are pressed into grooves that have been machined into the aluminium. The screw threads of the laser head are amazingly smooth and no crunching, hard spots or wobble were detected.
The optics assembly sits inside of an aluminium tube that is press fit inside the focusing assembly. The glass of these optics look to be AR coated, and reflect back a dark purple colour <update needed on type of optics used> The purple tinge could not be captured by my camera, but you can see a close up, of the face of the laser and the glass front lens in the picture below.
The laser itself, as I said comes direct from CNI. The laser is rated on the CNI website with the following data:
Transverse mode: TEM00
Operating mode: CW
Beam divergence, full angle (mrad): <1. 5
Beam diameter at the aperture (mm): ~1. 5
Range in darkness (m): 2000~5000
Power supply 1דNo. 18650” Li batteries
Expected lifetime (hours) 5000
Link to PDF for specs from CNI LINK HERE!
I have run my own tests on this test unit and have concluded my own results as can be seen below.
Peak output power: 105mw (50mw version tested)
Average output power: 76mw (output averaged after 30seconds of use, tested 10 times, 5 from cold start, 5 while warm… average output 76mw)
Observed divergence: 1.279mRad (1.5mm at 1m and diverge to 13.02mm at 10m, giving 1.279mRad)
Beam diameter at aperture: 1.33mm
Current draw: Steady 540ma
Estimated battery life: 3.62 hours
*Note all measurements were measured with calibrated digital callipers, and your results may vary.
The internals of the laser are all CNI, so as far as I can tell the laser should be IR filtered. JETLASERS have claimed it to be IR filtered, and I have preformed a quick test to verify those claims and it was true. The laser is IR filtered.
The inside of the head has a large brass ring to stop the focusing assembly from screw down into the host too far. Below this there is a large aluminium disk which seems to house the optics (probably the IR filter). Since it is positioned with the use of an optics screwdriver it was glued in place, with a small amount of white glue, similar to what they use in prebuilt red keychain lasers, to support the PCB board. There are two images below depicting everything I just spoke about.
The look of the laser is quite similar to the Spartan 447nm laser, also produced by CNI. What differs between the two is that the Spartan has two palm grip pads, where as the JETLASER upgraded host has the one grip pad (easy way to tell the difference), as well as the added features mentioned above.
The laser is coated in an anti-skid layer on an aircraft grade Aluminium body. The laser is heavy and feels good to hold, and personally looks like a military grade laser and feels like it would be up for the job. A picture can be seen below depicting the laser in its assembled state.
The end cap, just like the focusing assembly has superb threads and waterproofing. No wobble, crunching or hard spots were detected. The button is firm which I personally prefer, because of safety reasons. The positive contact point is almost flush with the base of the end cap, which I thought would be a problem, but apparently not, since I have tested it both with unprotected GTL and ultrafire 18650 batteries, with no problems at all. Picture of the end cap can be seen below.
The only real suggestions I have with this laser is that when the focusing assembly is removed, it is quite hard to align and screw back into place. I would suggest positioning the lower o-ring (closest to the laser assembly when screwed in) further down the assembly to allow of more wobble so aligning the threads would be easier. Also I would like to see more features that CNI make available with this host, in particular adding the feature for a LED indicator and also key switch.
This is a LPM graph of the laser over a 2 min time period.
The glasses that I have received came in a soft cover carry bag (not pictured) and a cleaning cloth.
The goggles are rated at OD 4+ for 190-540nm and are available at JETLASERS.net as well as other laser accessories.
I did a few tests with these goggles and have concluded the following results:
85mw 532nm (JETLASERS PGL-III-M laser) was reduced to <5mw for the 1min test
65mw 405nm CNI GPL-405 was reduced to <5mw for the 1min test
>1.1W 445nm was reduced to <5mw for the 1min test at focus for metering
>1.1W 445nm was sustained at <5mw for the 1 min test at pinpoint focus, burning of the goggles did occur, but power transmissive power sustained at <5mw for the whole test.
Since my meter cannot measure anything with high enough resolution above 1W and less then 5mw, the most I can say is these goggles are they relatively safe for use with a maximum of 1.1W of 445nm light. I feel the rating of OD 4+ is very realistic corresponding with the test results shown above. Since no graphs are available on the JETLASERS website, conclusions about other wavelengths are unable to be made. My personal opinion, based on the test results are that the glasses should be fine with <300mw of both 532 and 405nm. But further testing is needed.
My overall satisfaction with the company and laser can be summarised in the ratings below.
Product quality: 9/10
Customer support: 9/10
Email notifications: N/A
Packaging: 8/10 (shipping of glasses in a hard case to prevent damage should be considered)
Shipping time: 8/10 (7 days shipping, average from china)
Overall rating 8.5/10
VIDEOS ARE HERE!!
This is a quick physical review of the PGL-III-M by JETLASERS
This is the more in depth review including metering and testing the goggles on a laser power meter.
-Adrian
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