LaserGlow Electra 405nm Unboxing + Review!

[BowtieGuy]

Glad to see that you received the last piece of your high quality pen rainbow!
Like the others have said, <5mW in 405nm is a bit low for my tastes, but it completes your set, and matches the output of your other pens, and most importantly, you're happy with it! Have fun.

 

[NightExplorer96]

Glad to see that you received the last piece of your high quality pen rainbow!
Like the others have said, <5mW in 405nm is a bit low for my tastes, but it completes your set, and matches the output of your other pens, and most importantly, you're happy with it! Have fun.

Thank you Bow tie!

Expect rainbow shots tonight!!

-Alex

 

[Nute]

I'm glad you finally got it! Nice review and great looking collection! +rep

 

[olympus mons]

Nice looking 405 laser. I think my favorite laser of your collection is the Aquarius 473nm. I would like to buy one of those some day. How much did you pay for yours?

 

[NightExplorer96]

Nice looking 405 laser. I think my favorite laser of your collection is the Aquarius 473nm. I would like to buy one of those some day. How much did you pay for yours?

Thanks nwfreefly!

IIRC I payed about $349. I purchased it during the New Year sale, which saved me almost $100!

@Nute

Thank you very much!

-Alex

 

[clansley]

improved beam specs from what?!

Sorry. I thought I had set the context with my previous post; compared to a cheap ebay pen.

405 diodes(barring those MM sneaksters that are waiting in the wings) are the knees(bees or otherwise) on beam specs,

I thought most diodes had fairly poor beam specs (excluding DPSS). Sam's FAQ section on diode lasers says "Optical performance is usually not equal to that of other laser types."

My questions are because I'm trying to learn what the benefits of such a high quality pen are. Do any of these beam specs differ from the cheap pen: beam width, beam quality parameter M^2, divergence, astigmatism, jitter, etc

the reason I picked this up due to it being eye safe.

IIRC 5mW is considered eye safe due to the blink reflex - [update: it seems 1mW is considered eye safe due to blink reflex - so rest of comment may not apply, although laserpointersafety.com states upto 5mW is eye safe due to blink reflex]
With 405nm being on the edge of whats visible to us, I wonder if there has been any research to see if 5mW of 405nm is enough to trigger the blink reflex. [So far sources I've found only say blink reflex works for 400nm-700nm - but unclear how well researched that is]

 

[trencheel303]

405nm is single mode so has a tight beam and less divergence than a multimode 445 or 635. The easiest way to tell is a multimode beam has one axis noticeably longer than another and at a distance is a line or rectangle rather than a dot.

 

[Robert S]

Nice review Alex, i actually saw it before i saw your PM haha

Now you have to do beamshots and dot comparison in complete darkness, because thats probably where most of us have the fun with lasers.

I wish they wouldnt use cr2 batteries though, they are expensive and not as easy to get as AAA or AA, and not rechargeable either but on the other hand, the runtime of the pens is crazy long anyway.

Glad to see that you received the last piece of your high quality pen rainbow!
Like the others have said, <5mW in 405nm is a bit low for my tastes, but it completes your set, and matches the output of your other pens, and most importantly, you're happy with it! Have fun.

Well, i think he is missing one expensive piece.

 

[starlight]

I wish they wouldnt use cr2 batteries though, they are expensive and not as easy to get as AAA or AA, and not rechargeable either

cr2 are available in rechargeable form and as easy to get as other rechargeable batteries.

 

[NightExplorer96]

Thanks Robert S for your comment! Agreed, CR2's are pretty pricey! I ended up paying $8 for another one just so I could do beamshots, a pack of 4 AAA's are about $4

I'll take a comparison shot during the day and night today so be on the look out.

-Alex

 

[Robert S]

cr2 are available in rechargeable form and as easy to get as other rechargeable batteries.

Uh, well.. yes, maybe that wasnt the best statement, i just found them as rechargeables, but how do you charge them?
Can my nitecore d4 do it?

Because even the opus c3100 doesnt state that it can load those batteries.
In other words i would need an extra charger for it, i guess?

Its more like, i dont want to have those batteries just because i need them in a single device.

Thanks Robert S for your comment! Agreed, CR2's are pretty pricey! I ended up paying $8 for another one just so I could do beamshots, a pack of 4 AAA's are about $4

I'll take a comparison shot during the day and night today so be on the look out.

-Alex

Yea, thats what i thought.

Ill wait for it.

 

[starlight]

i just found them as rechargeables, but how do you charge them?
Can my nitecore d4 do it?

Absolutely. rechargeable cr123's have a "R" in front

The Nitecore D4




Products > ACCESSORIES > Charger
Digicharger D4


The Nitecore D4 is a universal smart charger compatible with almost all cylindrical rechargeable batteries, thus eliminating the need to own several chargers. The D4 automatically detects Li-ion, Ni-MH and Ni-Cd batteries, and through manual selection is also capable of charging LiFePO4 batteries. Intelligent charging circuitry selects the optimal charging mode (CC, CV and dV/dt) for a given battery and each of the D4’s four microcomputer-controlled charging slots then monitors and charges the battery independently. Furthermore, an integrated digital LCD screen clearly displays charging progress, voltage, current and time while an intelligent automatic power-off function terminates current when charging is complete. The Nitecore D4: The world’s most advanced fully-automatic digital charger. It’s as simple as insert, detect and charge.

Features
• Capable of charging 4 batteries simultaneously
• Each of the four battery slots monitors and charges independently
• Compatible with and identifies Li-ion (26650, 22650, 18650, 17670, 18490, 17500, 18350, 16340(RCR123), 14500, 10440), Ni-MH and Ni-Cd (AA, AAA, AAAA, C) rechargeable batteries
• Optimized charging design for IMR batteries
• Integrated LCD panel clearly displays charging parameters and progress
• Two conveniently located side buttons allow easy selection of specific battery types and charging parameters
• Intelligent circuitry detects the battery type and status before entering automatic charge mode (CC, CV, dV/dt)
• Automatically detects battery power status and selects the appropriate voltage and charge mode (with the exception of LiFePO4 batteries which require manual selection)
• Compatible with LiFePO4 batteries
• Compatible with small capacity batteries
• Automatically stops charging when complete
• Features over-charge prevention to protect batteries
• Features temperature monitoring to prevent overheating
• Made from durable ABS (fire retardant / flame resistant)
• Features reverse polarity protection
• Designed for optimal heat dissipation
• Certified by RoHS, CE, FCC and CEC
• Insured worldwide by Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.

 

[NarwhalZ]

Absolutely. rechargeable cr123's have a "R" in front

The Nitecore D4




Products > ACCESSORIES > Charger
Digicharger D4


The Nitecore D4 is a universal smart charger compatible with almost all cylindrical rechargeable batteries, thus eliminating the need to own several chargers. The D4 automatically detects Li-ion, Ni-MH and Ni-Cd batteries, and through manual selection is also capable of charging LiFePO4 batteries. Intelligent charging circuitry selects the optimal charging mode (CC, CV and dV/dt) for a given battery and each of the D4’s four microcomputer-controlled charging slots then monitors and charges the battery independently. Furthermore, an integrated digital LCD screen clearly displays charging progress, voltage, current and time while an intelligent automatic power-off function terminates current when charging is complete. The Nitecore D4: The world’s most advanced fully-automatic digital charger. It’s as simple as insert, detect and charge.

Features
• Capable of charging 4 batteries simultaneously
• Each of the four battery slots monitors and charges independently
• Compatible with and identifies Li-ion (26650, 22650, 18650, 17670, 18490, 17500, 18350, 16340(RCR123), 14500, 10440), Ni-MH and Ni-Cd (AA, AAA, AAAA, C) rechargeable batteries
• Optimized charging design for IMR batteries
• Integrated LCD panel clearly displays charging parameters and progress
• Two conveniently located side buttons allow easy selection of specific battery types and charging parameters
• Intelligent circuitry detects the battery type and status before entering automatic charge mode (CC, CV, dV/dt)
• Automatically detects battery power status and selects the appropriate voltage and charge mode (with the exception of LiFePO4 batteries which require manual selection)
• Compatible with LiFePO4 batteries
• Compatible with small capacity batteries
• Automatically stops charging when complete
• Features over-charge prevention to protect batteries
• Features temperature monitoring to prevent overheating
• Made from durable ABS (fire retardant / flame resistant)
• Features reverse polarity protection
• Designed for optimal heat dissipation
• Certified by RoHS, CE, FCC and CEC
• Insured worldwide by Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.

I think most if not all Nitecore chargers can charge RCR123.

 

[Pi R Squared]

Thanks Robert S for your comment! Agreed, CR2's are pretty pricey! I ended up paying $8 for another one just so I could do beamshots, a pack of 4 AAA's are about $4

I'll take a comparison shot during the day and night today so be on the look out.

-Alex

Alex if your talking about the disposable 3V CR2 batteries, don't buy those in a store, you are getting robbed! Buy them on Amazon, just search "CR2 battery" and you will see different brands in several different quantities, for example you can buy a 10 pack for $16.50.

I have 2 lasers that use button cells and both also have an led light and they each use a different size button cell. One is a cheap cat toy type of laser and the other one is more expensive and well made, I have had to replace the batteries several times and had been buying them in a store, one day that store stopped selling them so I got on Amazon to see if I could just order some and found they are a small fraction of the price I had been paying so I ended up buying a pack of 50 of each size cell, probably now a lifetime supply.

Great laser you have there. The Rolls-Royce of pen lasers.

Alan

 

[Robert S]

Absolutely. rechargeable cr123's have a "R" in front

The Nitecore D4




Products > ACCESSORIES > Charger
Digicharger D4


The Nitecore D4 is a universal smart charger compatible with almost all cylindrical rechargeable batteries, thus eliminating the need to own several chargers. The D4 automatically detects Li-ion, Ni-MH and Ni-Cd batteries, and through manual selection is also capable of charging LiFePO4 batteries. Intelligent charging circuitry selects the optimal charging mode (CC, CV and dV/dt) for a given battery and each of the D4’s four microcomputer-controlled charging slots then monitors and charges the battery independently. Furthermore, an integrated digital LCD screen clearly displays charging progress, voltage, current and time while an intelligent automatic power-off function terminates current when charging is complete. The Nitecore D4: The world’s most advanced fully-automatic digital charger. It’s as simple as insert, detect and charge.

Features
• Capable of charging 4 batteries simultaneously
• Each of the four battery slots monitors and charges independently
• Compatible with and identifies Li-ion (26650, 22650, 18650, 17670, 18490, 17500, 18350, 16340(RCR123), 14500, 10440), Ni-MH and Ni-Cd (AA, AAA, AAAA, C) rechargeable batteries
• Optimized charging design for IMR batteries
• Integrated LCD panel clearly displays charging parameters and progress
• Two conveniently located side buttons allow easy selection of specific battery types and charging parameters
• Intelligent circuitry detects the battery type and status before entering automatic charge mode (CC, CV, dV/dt)
• Automatically detects battery power status and selects the appropriate voltage and charge mode (with the exception of LiFePO4 batteries which require manual selection)
• Compatible with LiFePO4 batteries
• Compatible with small capacity batteries
• Automatically stops charging when complete
• Features over-charge prevention to protect batteries
• Features temperature monitoring to prevent overheating
• Made from durable ABS (fire retardant / flame resistant)
• Features reverse polarity protection
• Designed for optimal heat dissipation
• Certified by RoHS, CE, FCC and CEC
• Insured worldwide by Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.

Are you sure about that?
Because CR2s are much smaller than CR123 (CR123A,16340) or RCR123 (RCR123A,17340)
Also, i have no idea what the difference between CR123 and RCR123 is, but i know CR2 is much smaller.

And somehow, they all seem to be available as Lithium and Li-ion.
Thats also how i killed my fathers surefire C2 xenon. I accidently put in li-ions instead of lithiums...

 

[NightExplorer96]

@Pi

Thank you very much, I appreciate it!

It certainly is a beauty.

-Alex