Most Powerful Green Laser

[Nordhavn]

16.438356164384 years to be exact

I'd take MTBF ratings with a grain of salt though. Ever see what MTBF ratings are for these days for PC hard drives? How many have you had fail? ALL of the failures I've seen were MUCH sooner than half a million hours!

With diodes those TALL ratings are based on continuous use in controlled conditions. A pointer has much much harder conditions! Namely operating temperature, frequent ON/OFF operation, ambient environments that can subject it to harsh electrical exposure from RF (do you set your pointer next to a cell phone, for example?) Even though these things seem feeble in comparison it's the cumulative damage that adds up to the day it dies or changes output suddenly.

Good thing these diodes have 1000 hour+ advertised lifetimes.
Then when you factor in the geek factor of over driving it does not go for long.
Fortunately for pointers our eyes say uncle and they are not turned on for very long. So it may seem like they are lasting longer than they really are!
I'm surprised no one has come up with an hour meter for their portable laser system! That would be neat to have just as cars have an odometer.

You would be surprised at how seemingly a little use adds up! I just bought a diesel ATV over the summer (end of August) and cannot believe I have over 150 miles/34 hours on the clock just from riding around the ranch doing chores and hitting the trails! It's nuts! No wonder tractor tires don't seem to last that long but they do because of the mileage that goes on them from going 'round and 'round like the cool RATT song.

 

[Gryphon]

YouTube - 1st Force Recon in Mosul Iraq

That was SWEET!

 

[jeffd]

I just got an RPL 450 that's a member of the Class IV club. These things are nothing to sneeze at!

Pics and video coming soon I promise!

As for most powerful green well you can modify an RPL/PGL fairly easily into a 2W+ monster. If you wear IR goggles it will be green! Cheating perhaps but here you go!

YouTube - 1st Force Recon in Mosul Iraq

That was awesome! I cant tell is that a green laser or an IR laser?

 

[Gryphon]

^ I think it would be ir, but im not sure. Only reason being is that i think
your target might be tempted to run if they are being painted with a green
laser for targeting purposes

 

[Nordhavn]

That was awesome! I cant tell is that a green laser or an IR laser?

It's IR. You can even hear a soldier mention IR spotlight in the beginning. Also notice the flashing personnel lights on their helmets. These only show up with IR imaging goggles. A green RPL would reveal your location immediately! Not something you'd want when engaged in a conflict! The double boom at 0:57 sounds awesome!

 

[Gryphon]

Thats wicked awesome collimation on an ir laser

 

[laze_doctor]

Yeah I can relate to that, I was just making a point that the Opto laser has a much better heat sink and possibly better laser components. I am sure the Laserglow is nice, but it is Soooo long, hard to take it anywhere.

Given that they both have nLight diodes, I wouldn't read too much into that diode life figure. And as for heat dispersion, the Herc is actively cooled so really no comparison there.

I will agree on your last point though. The Herc is insanely huge and damn heavy too. It kind of adds to the cool factor in a way, but it's certainly nowhere near as convenient as the RPL for taking on a hike or something.

 

[RA_pierce]

Given that they both have nLight diodes, I wouldn't read too much into that diode life figure. And as for heat dispersion, the Herc is actively cooled so really no comparison there.

I will agree on your last point though. The Herc is insanely huge and damn heavy too. It kind of adds to the cool factor in a way, but it's certainly nowhere near as convenient as the RPL for taking on a hike or something.

I don't think either were intended for use on a hike. The Herc was built as a stable and compact alternative to a lab laser.
The RPLs are more hobby based. I don't think they have much use in the professional applications where I would think a 100% duty cycle would be preferred.

The two are in different classes and can't really be compared since their intended purposes are clearly different.

Also, the Aries series (or PGL-III) is comparable to the RPL. My PGL-III-C does >650mW average and peaks in the high 700s... and has hit >800mW.
LG only sells up to 250mW models but they're rated for 100% duty cycle.

 

[Nordhavn]

As far as hikes go I can say I've had RPLs in lots of different places. From volcanic mountains in the Caribbean, to snow covered hills and HUMID wet conditions in between at sea they've held up well. I've killed my fair share of lasers too.

Heck my first RPL was so roughed up I decided to strip the paint off it and make it bare so it looked better. When it was sent in for repair later after failing due to being exposed to high sound levels Jack liked the bare look so much he decided to offer them that way!

I've never used a Hercules but I've used CNI's equivalent and while I find both CNI and Viasho make comparable products my preference is Viasho. Neither is perfect but will give you the goods without too many problems as long as you don't throw it out the window when driving down the highway!