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FrozenGate by Avery

Kaidomain 50mW CR2 - inital review

I just noticed, that Kaidomain shipped the second two today.

They were surprisingly fast this time..
 





My first one should come on monday at the latest, or if i'm lucky, on saturday..

I will be recieving one package a day from HK, starting tomorrow, and ending on wednesday.. I really hope the customs don't become suspicious.. :)
 
I think it would be interesting to work at customs. I'm sure they get a bazillion (According to Firefox, bazillion is a word!) packages a day, but it seems kind of interesting how so much stuff gets through.
 
Yeah, but here in Slovenia, our Customs officers are crazy sometimes..

When i import stuff for my company, they don't understand, that as a dealer, i get lower prices, than MSRP.. They actually go online, find the highest price, and want to charge me dutys and taxes on that.. Original invoices don't help at all. It usually takes a credit card statement, before they give in.

And it's the same EVERY month. They just don't get it..


So i'm kinda nervous, even when getting something for myself personally. If they open it up, they start complicating, and it never ends. My Blue Rays were stuck for a month, before they finally released them.


Too many people avoided paying custom fees by using fake invoices in the past, and now everybody has to pay the price.. These days, they expect you to pay even for gifts and free samples..


Right now, i want to order a green CNI 150mW (around 165mW), but i'm going to wait untill all the other packets come through before i order it..

So far everything came through unopened, but i'm worriedd, they would start wondering, why i need so many lasers.. :) Actually, i don't know how to answer that even to myself...
 
Lasers are just cool. For hand held lasers, they really serve no useful purpose, but they're just plain awesome.
 
iewed said:
Lasers are just cool. For hand held lasers, they really serve no useful purpose, but they're just plain awesome.
Click to expand...

I agree.. But try explaining this to our customs...


At one time i ordered a dozen pairs of very cheap sunglasses, and they jumped on it, and accused me of having commercial intents with them.

Basically, i feel, like my rights are severely limited sometimes.. Almost every time they open one of my packets actually.
 
I just managed to find my package through a local tracking site, and it says it just arrived at the customs yesturday..

It means i'm either getting it tomorrow, or they'll send me a letter, asking for an invoice or worse...

I shouldn't have looked... :)


A larger package from DX also arrived at customs yesturday.. Two packets from HK for the same address might attract attention. Both say "pending".. I hope this is nothing special and that i get them tomorrow...
 
It's here! I got both packets at once!


The laser was opened, and sealed back by the customs.. For some strange reason, it says "2x FLASHLIGHT" on the envelope, and there is a slip inside, which states exactly what was ordered and the price..

The price was low enough, that i didn't have to pay customs. But if they always include this slip, i will have to pay a small amount for the next two lasers. But i really don't care about that..

I just don't understand, why it says 2x on the envelope.. DX usually includes a slip like that, when something is not shipped. And two are supposed to be in the next package, not this one.. I hope everything turns out fine..



Anyway, the laser is GREAT! I only have one other greenie to compare it to, the DX200, and i have to say the KD50 is pretty much perfect. I don't regret getting it at all. I love it!

The divergence is much better, than with the DX200. The beam does get fat after a few meters, but it's not as bad as with the DX.
It's not mode hopping, the beam is bright, and easily visible inside with some smoke, even now at morning.

The beam is perfectly round and centered. I don't have any dirt on the lense, or speckle around the dot. The output is very clean. It's much brighter, than my ~170mW reds. The DX200 is a lot brighter of course, but it was mode hopping, so i took it appart to repair it and i didn't find the time to put it back together yet, so i can only compare a badly collimated DX200 beam at this moment..


During the first second or two after power on, i can see it getting brighter, as it warms up. After that, it's brightness is constant. Soon my LPM will be done, so i will be able to measure the power, and compare all three KD50s for consistency.

I tried it with both the included battery, and my DX rechargables (3V, not 3.6V) but haven't measured the current yet.


Oh, and this may sound funny, but one thing i like very much, are the threads on the battery compartment. It screws on so smooth! With the DX200, screwing on the battery compartment is a pain. It just keeps getting stuck. This one is a very solid build. The walls of the housing are very thick. And i can feel the head getting warm after a while, so it's good it's so massive. It gets slightly warm, but not hot, even after a long time. And it feels good in the hand as well. I wish the DX200 had such a nice massive body. Instead, it has a gap on the inside, between the module and the body. The DX200 module could have a larger diameter and touch the body, but there's only air instead...


I'm VERY happy with the KD50. And the price is amazing. I mean 18€, it's like free.


There is only one thing that slightly bothers me.. Due to the way the switch works, the laser sometimes blinks once, when you power it on, and once when you switch it off. I hope the caps on the circuit soften this a little. Other than that, it's perfect.


EDIT: Oh, the included instructions show a pen style laser pointer, with two AAA batteries, and recommend alkalines.. :D But at least the polarity is correct.
 
Good to hear you got it in proper order, and that it's working out well!

You seem to have gotten one with good optics - i might just order another one here to see if it is any better.

As for the 2x-flashlight customs stickers: i've seen these on all kinds of items shipped from hong kong, also other vedors besides deal extreme. Here, they usually pass customs no problem, but it is fairly obvious they are incorrect. Especially when you can just feel that there is only one item in the envelope. Perhaps customs here just don't bother with these packages as the value is usually below the duty treshold no matter what is in them.
 
With DX, my laser said "light pen", and i think this is a good idea..

I just don't understand the "2x" part, and the slip inside.. DX only includes slips, when something is missing from the package, so this made me think they sent one, and will send the other one later... But in that case, it only states the SKU, and not the price..

The thing is, i only ordered one, and two in the next order, which was later.


Otherwise i remember you saying you got a dirty output.. Could have been a random problem, or they made them better. I only get a dot, and if i eliminate the dot into a tube, there is nothing around it on the paper.


I'm very happy with this laser. This one took almost a month to get here, but the other two i ordered were shipped almost immediatelly. Looks like they actually do have them in stock at the moment.

Right now, the sun is shining directly into my room, and i can still see the beam from the side faintly, or quite solid, when looking against it. If i had recieved this one sooner, i probably wouldn't feel the need for 200mW of green.. And it would have been better, because that one put all my reds to shame.
 
I hope mine comes today, I really want to compare it to my DX 30mW green. But this laser sounds really impressive, have you tried burning anything with it?
 
Yes, it is impressive.. I mean, my other green is a DX200 for $120, and i like this one much more.

The DX200 is brighter, and can easily burn a floppy disk or light a match, but it was mode hopping. When it split in two beams, it lost some brightness, and all burning power.. I am currently repairing that one, and i got rid of mode hopping, but it'll take aligning in front of a power meter, to get it to full brightness again.



This one can not really burn anything, since it is only around 50mW.. Maybe with a magnifying glass. Haven't tried yet..

The good ones go up to 70mW, and since i'm recieving two more in about a week, i have a good chance of getting one like that.

It would appear, they are also set up slightly differently, since they draw different currents.

I measured 0.32A in 20A range on my DMM and 0.288A in the 2A range, so it would seem mine is in the usual range. Can't wait to compare it to the other two..


I would also like to hear how it compares to the DX30.. Let us know, as soon as you test it.. :)
 
Oh, it's evening here, and i went to the store an hour ago, when it still wasn't completelly dark.

I was very surprised, when i noticed, that the beam is actually visible outside at dusk. Even more so if you're looking towards it. I immediatelly decided to go to my best friend, and show it to him, before it would be dark, and when i told him it's only 18€, he immediatelly wanted one.

I'll try burning a sharpied match now through a magnifying glass, but i wouldn't expect too much.. I didn't buy it for burning, i can do that with my DIY reds. And i don't really do it that often.


EDIT: Nope... The beam has such a low divergence, that a magnifying glass doesn't really do much. But a collimator lens managed to focus it down to a pinprick. The sharpied match started smoking immediatelly.. Then it continued smoking, and after that it smoked some more.. Then... It just continued smoking.

It's either one of the weaker ones, or there's simply not enough power. I'll put a completelly fresh battery in now, but i don't think it'll be any different.

But if this one really is one of the weaker ones, well, then it can only get better with the second two..


EDIT EDIT: It smoked a little more, but it didn't light up. It's a huge match tho.. Maybe with one of those paper ones, i don't know..
 
Benm..

I'm sorry, i think i was wrong, when i said, that the output is completelly clean.

Now, that it's dark, i noticed a "star" around the dot on the wall. But it's much smaller, than it was with my first DIY red, where i used a scratched up lens from a chep laser pointer..

If this is what you have, then they are still the same.. Don't want you to buy one on false hopes..


But this doesn't really affect my oppinion of it. I still love it. :)
 
It looks just like there is some dust on the lens, but cleaning (the outside at least) has no effect - perhaps these lenses just arent good quality. I still like it despite that though, its a fairly reliable litte laser that puts out a lot of light for its size and price. Never gave me any problems with being to cold or warm to function properly either.

But this laser sounds really impressive, have you tried burning anything with it?
Click to expand...

Well, burning, not really. It does the usual tricks like melt holes through plastic foil, pop (sharpied/black) balloons and such. Not enough power to light a match, but that's hardly expected from a 50 mW. I reckon it'll work on a fresh match with a lens, with a bit of effort...

Green lasers are to look at though, red ones to set stuff on fire ;)
 
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