Laser power output test

[walcen]

Hi Forum members.

I have a newbie question regarding the correct procedure for testing a lasers output.

I purchased this laser pointer

Wholesale Product Snapshot Product name is Burn Match Professional Powerful 10000MW Focusable Burning Green Laser Pointer Pen lazer pointer 10000m

knowing full well that it wouldn't be 10.000mw but compared to my 50mw the beam is not as bright. So I measured the current draw of both lasers using the same 18650 4.2 volt battery,
The 50mw draws 260mA and the 10000mw draws 240mA same host same heat sink.
The 10000 will burn stuff but if I put the same lens on the 50mw, it will too.

So the question is, when testing a laser using a power meter what is the correct procedure?

Do you measure it at it's smallest focal point where the beam is at it's greatest intensity?

Or do you just measure the straight beam?

And would you get a different result use each method?

regards to all

Walt

 

[BurningLaserGuy]

LOL, 10W for 15$...this is scam. You were really expecting this power?

 

[grainde]

Do you actually have a power meter? If you do, do not focus the laser onto the sensor! If you do you may burn it. Just make sure the entire visible beam is on the sensor, but not focused to the smallest point.

If the 2 identical 532 lasers, mentioned above, have similar current draws they are likely to be similar in power, but this will depend on many factors; did they use the same IR pump diode and do they have the same efficiency (identical bins), how efficient is the KTP crystal, is the driver the same, is the lens the same, is there an IR filter on one of the lasers, etc...

Comparing two lasers visually is not very informative, as exactly how much a little bit brighter equates to a power difference also depends on many factors: The sensitivity of your own eyes to a particular wavelength - everyone is different, the divergence of the beam, the exact wavelength of the laser and so on. Burning is also not a very good indication and will depend to some extent on wavelength, which is directly related to the colour of material being burnt, the divergence and focusable dot size, which will be in turn related to the raw output and lens used etc...

As you can see, there are many factors to consider and thats why an LPM is recommended to measure the power. :beer:

 

[walcen]

LOL, 10W for 15$...this is scam. You were really expecting this power?

Wow!!! that was helpful. I guess you missed the part where I said ''knowing full well that it wouldn't be 10.000mw'' and if you wanna laugh that's fine but lets not forget the real question here, Thanks.

regards to all

 

[grainde]

Just a friendly word of advice; if you dont like what people post in your thread, just ignore it. If you come across as argumentative and insistent that people must help, you wont get far! ATB :beer:

 

[walcen]

Do you actually have a power meter? If you do, do not focus the laser onto the sensor! If you do you may burn it. Just make sure the entire visible beam is on the sensor, but not focused to the smallest point.

If the 2 identical 532 lasers, mentioned above, have similar current draws they are likely to be similar in power, but this will depend on many factors; did they use the same IR pump diode and do they have the same efficiency (identical bins), how efficient is the KTP crystal, is the driver the same, is the lens the same, is there an IR filter on one of the lasers, etc...

Comparing two lasers visually is not very informative, as exactly how much a little bit brighter equates to a power difference also depends on many factors: The sensitivity of your own eyes to a particular wavelength - everyone is different, the divergence of the beam, the exact wavelength of the laser and so on. Burning is also not a very good indication and will depend to some extent on wavelength, which is directly related to the colour of material being burnt, the divergence and focusable dot size, which will be in turn related to the raw output and lens used etc...

As you can see, there are many factors to consider and thats why an LPM is recommended to measure the power. :beer:

Thank you Sir that answers my question.

regards

Walt

 

[BurningLaserGuy]

Wow!!! that was helpful. I guess you missed the part where I said ''knowing full well that it wouldn't be 10.000mw'' and if you wanna laugh that's fine but lets not forget the real question here, Thanks.

regards to all

, sorry!

 

[grainde]

Glad to hear it. If you want an LPM there are quite a few on offer on LPF. Have a look for (from cheap to expensive) Laserbee/Bluefan, Rubicon. Some also pop up second hand in the BST section of the forum for a decent price. Good luck :beer:

 

[walcen]

, sorry!

Ahh forget it man I'm just messing with ya LOL

thank for the help guys.

 

[walcen]

Just a friendly word of advice; if you dont like what people post in your thread, just ignore it. If you come across as argumentative and insistent that people must help, you wont get far! ATB :beer:

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. :thanks::beer: