- Joined
- Nov 28, 2013
- Messages
- 123
- Points
- 18
I haven't found any good info on this laser. So I am posting as much info as I can here just in case someone should need it. My laser experience is light. So take my comments with a grain of salt. Also, sorry for the large pictures. I haven't figured out how to resize them.
I won this laser in a giveaway contest on another forum that was hosted by EachBuyer. The product is supposed to include a charger, but the package I received did not include one. So that part of the product is not included in the review.
As indicated by the inclusion of the words "High Performance" in the product title, this is no 5mW laser. I measured output several times at around 114mW.
Has a pretty cool look for a mass produced laser. It has decent heat sinking for it's output level. In tests lasting several minutes, no signs of thermal sag were evident. Here is a chart of one test. The laser was on about 30 seconds (a guess) before the meter warmed up to the 110mW threshold I had for recording to start:
The reading was consistent with beam viability. The beam is visible in dark conditions. It was also consistent with burn attempts. 114mW's is not strong enough to ignite matches or cardboard. At least, not with my level of patience.
Set up for the measurement. Laser about 25cm away from meter. Card board box is to reduce effect of air movement in the room. Current measured at the tail with the originally supplied cell was 187mA. Current with an IMR14500 was 189mA.
Beam Shots:
Pointing at a tree top about 80 feet away:
Beam across the room to a brick wall about 15-20 feet away:
Similar shot but had exhaled from a e-vape:
Tear down Shots:
The aluminum pill is pressed against the ledge in the tub by a thick, fine-thread retaining ring. The ring has a nice tight fit. The pill is loose enough to slide in an out of the tube without pressing. No obvious wiggle room. So some heat gets to the tube that way too.
Tube threads into this heat sink nicely. Based on testing, it appears to do the job for the power level of this laser.
Lens assembly not quite straight. I currently don't know how to disassemble the pill from the diode and lens assembly. The focusing mechanism has some thread lock or something to keep focus set. I believe the beam is just a tad off focus. I haven't tried to adjust it yet though.
Without retaining ring:
Some driver pictures:
A linear driver. Current could be increased with a resister mod (1.25 volt reference). But until I am able to get to the diode and verify a good thermal path to the heat sinking, I don't want to attempt it.
Battery orientation:
Warning Label:
Tail of light.
Cell:
We all are leery of these blue wrapped Ultrafire cells for good reason. I charged this cell, used it a bit and then measured internal resistance at 229mR. After several cycles the internal resistance is still quite high (lowest measurement has been 169mR). Capacity has measured it under 200mA each time (usually around 170mA).
Conclusion:
Excluding the cell, this laser appears to be better built that the typical mass produced "5mW" lasers available in the market.
If anyone has any suggestions for how to tear down the pill portion of the light, I will consider doing it to identify the diode, quality of the thermal path, etc.
I won this laser in a giveaway contest on another forum that was hosted by EachBuyer. The product is supposed to include a charger, but the package I received did not include one. So that part of the product is not included in the review.
As indicated by the inclusion of the words "High Performance" in the product title, this is no 5mW laser. I measured output several times at around 114mW.
Has a pretty cool look for a mass produced laser. It has decent heat sinking for it's output level. In tests lasting several minutes, no signs of thermal sag were evident. Here is a chart of one test. The laser was on about 30 seconds (a guess) before the meter warmed up to the 110mW threshold I had for recording to start:
The reading was consistent with beam viability. The beam is visible in dark conditions. It was also consistent with burn attempts. 114mW's is not strong enough to ignite matches or cardboard. At least, not with my level of patience.
Set up for the measurement. Laser about 25cm away from meter. Card board box is to reduce effect of air movement in the room. Current measured at the tail with the originally supplied cell was 187mA. Current with an IMR14500 was 189mA.
Beam Shots:
Pointing at a tree top about 80 feet away:
Beam across the room to a brick wall about 15-20 feet away:
Similar shot but had exhaled from a e-vape:
Tear down Shots:
The aluminum pill is pressed against the ledge in the tub by a thick, fine-thread retaining ring. The ring has a nice tight fit. The pill is loose enough to slide in an out of the tube without pressing. No obvious wiggle room. So some heat gets to the tube that way too.
Tube threads into this heat sink nicely. Based on testing, it appears to do the job for the power level of this laser.
Lens assembly not quite straight. I currently don't know how to disassemble the pill from the diode and lens assembly. The focusing mechanism has some thread lock or something to keep focus set. I believe the beam is just a tad off focus. I haven't tried to adjust it yet though.
Without retaining ring:
Some driver pictures:
A linear driver. Current could be increased with a resister mod (1.25 volt reference). But until I am able to get to the diode and verify a good thermal path to the heat sinking, I don't want to attempt it.
Battery orientation:
Warning Label:
Tail of light.
Cell:
We all are leery of these blue wrapped Ultrafire cells for good reason. I charged this cell, used it a bit and then measured internal resistance at 229mR. After several cycles the internal resistance is still quite high (lowest measurement has been 169mR). Capacity has measured it under 200mA each time (usually around 170mA).
Conclusion:
Excluding the cell, this laser appears to be better built that the typical mass produced "5mW" lasers available in the market.
If anyone has any suggestions for how to tear down the pill portion of the light, I will consider doing it to identify the diode, quality of the thermal path, etc.
Last edited:
Good review, enjoy that thing!