My experience with Sanwu

[cakeba]

Bought a Pocket 520nm 150mw and a Challenger II 60mw 488nm with batteries and a charger from Sanwu. Both worked great for two weeks, but the Challenger developed an issue in week 2. The eam was dim with freshly charged batteries. I emailed Sanwu and got in touch with Francis, who suggested some things to try to troubleshoot my problem. (He suggested using a penny to turn on the laser, buying a new battery from orbtronic, etc.) With no luck trying any of the suggestions, Francis agreed that it was time to send the laser back. This is the first good thing that was done; troubleshooting before returning the product. If this were Apple and I was having a problem with my phone, Apple would surely just have me trade the phone in for a replacement. Not Sanwu. Francis stuck with me and tried to help me out in any way possible before resorting to returning the laser. Anyways, we agree that it's beyond me to fix the laser (I'd much rather not void the warranty trying to take it apart myself, it's been years since I took apart a laser and I only have experience with cheap DPSS green lasers.) Francis sends me detailed instructions on how to ship just the module back to Sanwu HQ, including typing out the shipping information in English and then Chinese for the shipping label. I cannot stress enough how thankful I am for this, since I would be completely lost without the extra help. It took USPS quite a while to finally ship the module to Sanwu, but it did eventually get there and it wasn't just fixed, it was fixed and pushed from 60mw to 150mw! Talk about going above and beyond! And it gets better; since I live in the US and used USPS as the shipping service, I couldn't print a return label to ship the module back into the states. Instead, I ordered a simple accessory from Sanwu and asked if the module could be put into the same package and shipped at the same time to avoid making Sanwu eat the cost of shipping the module back into the US. And it was! I cannot overstate how well this company treats its customers. I cannot criticize any part of this ordeal, Sanwu is truly professional and stands by their word, and I could not be happier with the level of communication and willingness to help.

 

[BobMc]

Bought a Pocket 520nm 150mw and a Challenger II 60mw 488nm with batteries and a charger from Sanwu. Both worked great for two weeks, but the Challenger developed an issue in week 2. The eam was dim with freshly charged batteries. I emailed Sanwu and got in touch with Francis, who suggested some things to try to troubleshoot my problem. (He suggested using a penny to turn on the laser, buying a new battery from orbtronic, etc.) With no luck trying any of the suggestions, Francis agreed that it was time to send the laser back. This is the first good thing that was done; troubleshooting before returning the product. If this were Apple and I was having a problem with my phone, Apple would surely just have me trade the phone in for a replacement. Not Sanwu. Francis stuck with me and tried to help me out in any way possible before resorting to returning the laser. Anyways, we agree that it's beyond me to fix the laser (I'd much rather not void the warranty trying to take it apart myself, it's been years since I took apart a laser and I only have experience with cheap DPSS green lasers.) Francis sends me detailed instructions on how to ship just the module back to Sanwu HQ, including typing out the shipping information in English and then Chinese for the shipping label. I cannot stress enough how thankful I am for this, since I would be completely lost without the extra help. It took USPS quite a while to finally ship the module to Sanwu, but it did eventually get there and it wasn't just fixed, it was fixed and pushed from 60mw to 150mw! Talk about going above and beyond! And it gets better; since I live in the US and used USPS as the shipping service, I couldn't print a return label to ship the module back into the states. Instead, I ordered a simple accessory from Sanwu and asked if the module could be put into the same package and shipped at the same time to avoid making Sanwu eat the cost of shipping the module back into the US. And it was! I cannot overstate how well this company treats its customers. I cannot criticize any part of this ordeal, Sanwu is truly professional and stands by their word, and I could not be happier with the level of communication and willingness to help.

You know that’s a great review, but we just can’t believe it till we get some beam shots. (just kidding).

Glad to hear your story, thanks for sharing it, Sanwu’s a very reputable company, enjoy your new lasers.

 

[BowtieGuy]

Cakeba, thanks for sharing your experience with Sanwu.

It's nice to hear some of these positive results from customers who have dealt with our preferred laser sellers; it reflects on why we continue to promote companies like Sanwu & Jetlasers for their customer service that repeatedly goes above and beyond!

 

[paul1598419]

I am glad this worked out to your benefit. You seem to be very happy with their support and that is really all that matters in the end.

 

[Pelagius]

Bought a Pocket 520nm 150mw and a Challenger II 60mw 488nm with batteries and a charger from Sanwu. Both worked great for two weeks, but the Challenger developed an issue in week 2. The eam was dim with freshly charged batteries. I emailed Sanwu and got in touch with Francis, who suggested some things to try to troubleshoot my problem. (He suggested using a penny to turn on the laser, buying a new battery from orbtronic, etc.) With no luck trying any of the suggestions, Francis agreed that it was time to send the laser back. This is the first good thing that was done; troubleshooting before returning the product. If this were Apple and I was having a problem with my phone, Apple would surely just have me trade the phone in for a replacement. Not Sanwu. Francis stuck with me and tried to help me out in any way possible before resorting to returning the laser. Anyways, we agree that it's beyond me to fix the laser (I'd much rather not void the warranty trying to take it apart myself, it's been years since I took apart a laser and I only have experience with cheap DPSS green lasers.) Francis sends me detailed instructions on how to ship just the module back to Sanwu HQ, including typing out the shipping information in English and then Chinese for the shipping label. I cannot stress enough how thankful I am for this, since I would be completely lost without the extra help. It took USPS quite a while to finally ship the module to Sanwu, but it did eventually get there and it wasn't just fixed, it was fixed and pushed from 60mw to 150mw! Talk about going above and beyond! And it gets better; since I live in the US and used USPS as the shipping service, I couldn't print a return label to ship the module back into the states. Instead, I ordered a simple accessory from Sanwu and asked if the module could be put into the same package and shipped at the same time to avoid making Sanwu eat the cost of shipping the module back into the US. And it was! I cannot overstate how well this company treats its customers. I cannot criticize any part of this ordeal, Sanwu is truly professional and stands by their word, and I could not be happier with the level of communication and willingness to help.

This matches with my experience with SanWu customer service!

 

[cakeba]

You know that’s a great review, but we just can’t believe it till we get some beam shots. (just kidding).

It's more turquoise than blue in person. Also, it's not stated on their website but the inside of the honeycomb-style head accessory is threaded, with the same size threads as the un-accessorized laser head module. This means you can thread on a diffraction grating/kaleidoscope accessory, like this one I have laying around from an old DX laser.

Has a sonic screwdriver look to it, eh? I can only imagine what it would look like in a fog-machined room, with the little "chamber" of the honeycomb head housing a 1cm bit of beam between the aperture and the diffraction bit.
Here's some bonus of the pocket 520nm which has a scandalously bright beam that is perfectly round at the aperture.


Also, should have put this in the first review but I got absorbed in writing about the stellar customer service; the collimating lens is set uncannily perfectly within the head module of the laser. You can partially unscrew the lens part of it to focus the laser for burning, but it's worth noting that the precision with which the lens was set in the laser is perfect. When the threads are all tight, you can trust that the beam is collimated to absolute infinity. It's been over two months since I originally bought these lasers and I'm still blown away by how they just scream quality. Sorry, I can't stop gushing about these things.

 

[paul1598419]

You are very lucky. I have yet to see a direct diode 520nm laser that has a round beam. Like all multi mode diodes they have a rectangular beam. But, even the much lower power single mode diodes have a square to rectangular beam too.

 

[BobMc]

View attachment 61702View attachment 61703 View attachment 61704
It's more turquoise than blue in person. Also, it's not stated on their website but the inside of the honeycomb-style head accessory is threaded, with the same size threads as the un-accessorized laser head module. This means you can thread on a diffraction grating/kaleidoscope accessory, like this one I have laying around from an old DX laser.
View attachment 61705View attachment 61706
Has a sonic screwdriver look to it, eh? I can only imagine what it would look like in a fog-machined room, with the little "chamber" of the honeycomb head housing a 1cm bit of beam between the aperture and the diffraction bit.
Here's some bonus of the pocket 520nm which has a scandalously bright beam that is perfectly round at the aperture.
View attachment 61707View attachment 61708

Also, should have put this in the first review but I got absorbed in writing about the stellar customer service; the collimating lens is set uncannily perfectly within the head module of the laser. You can partially unscrew the lens part of it to focus the laser for burning, but it's worth noting that the precision with which the lens was set in the laser is perfect. When the threads are all tight, you can trust that the beam is collimated to absolute infinity. It's been over two months since I originally bought these lasers and I'm still blown away by how they just scream quality. Sorry, I can't stop gushing about these things.

Hey thanks for the beam shots, they sure are gorgeous! When I expanded the beam like a flashlight before you can get some real weird looking effect out on the woods, almost erie looking. Great review for your first one. Enjoy your Sanwu’s!

 

[Pelagius]

View attachment 61702View attachment 61703 View attachment 61704
It's more turquoise than blue in person. Also, it's not stated on their website but the inside of the honeycomb-style head accessory is threaded, with the same size threads as the un-accessorized laser head module. This means you can thread on a diffraction grating/kaleidoscope accessory, like this one I have laying around from an old DX laser.
View attachment 61705View attachment 61706
Has a sonic screwdriver look to it, eh? I can only imagine what it would look like in a fog-machined room, with the little "chamber" of the honeycomb head housing a 1cm bit of beam between the aperture and the diffraction bit.
Here's some bonus of the pocket 520nm which has a scandalously bright beam that is perfectly round at the aperture.
View attachment 61707View attachment 61708

Also, should have put this in the first review but I got absorbed in writing about the stellar customer service; the collimating lens is set uncannily perfectly within the head module of the laser. You can partially unscrew the lens part of it to focus the laser for burning, but it's worth noting that the precision with which the lens was set in the laser is perfect. When the threads are all tight, you can trust that the beam is collimated to absolute infinity. It's been over two months since I originally bought these lasers and I'm still blown away by how they just scream quality. Sorry, I can't stop gushing about these things.

Lovely beams!!

 

[carat]

You are very lucky. I have yet to see a direct diode 520nm laser that has a round beam. Like all multi mode diodes they have a rectangular beam. But, even the much lower power single mode diodes have a square to rectangular beam too.

if you look at his next picture with all the dots you see that the beam is not round at all but like all the other blue ones aviable
check my picture copy paste

 

[paul1598419]

if you look at his next picture with all the dots you see that the beam is not round at all but like all the other blue ones aviable
check my picture copy paste

I was just being kind with my response. Of course I know there are no direct diodes with Gaussian characteristics.

 

[AdamWiddow]

Are the power ratings as accurate as dragon lasers were when they did handhelds?
I'm impressed by the option to buy a 3W Blue laser for that price. Has anyone tried this model/power?

 

[cakeba]

Are the power ratings as accurate as dragon lasers were when they did handhelds?
I'm impressed by the option to buy a 3W Blue laser for that price. Has anyone tried this model/power?

I don't have a LPM to test the power of the lasers, but as far as I know, Sanwu is one of the (if not the) most trusted companies on these forums, so I would bet in favor of the power being very accurate.

 

[AdamWiddow]

I don't have a LPM to test the power of the lasers, but as far as I know, Sanwu is one of the (if not the) most trusted companies on these forums, so I would bet in favor of the power being very accurate.

How do you think it would compare to the Dragon Lasers 1W spartan? I understand there is more than raw power at play. Like colour and the focus.

Thanks for your reply. The reviews do in general seem positive

 

[AdamWiddow]

I don't have a LPM to test the power of the lasers, but as far as I know, Sanwu is one of the (if not the) most trusted companies on these forums, so I would bet in favor of the power being very accurate.

I've decided to order the 3W 304 Blue laser.
I'll compare it to my 1W Blue Dragon Lasers Spartan and also 55mW Green viper... looking forward to trying it out!
I love the look of their smaller lasers. Might get a green or red in that host if this one turns out good.

 

[Snecho]

I've decided to order the 3W 304 Blue laser.
I'll compare it to my 1W Blue Dragon Lasers Spartan and also 55mW Green viper... looking forward to trying it out!
I love the look of their smaller lasers. Might get a green or red in that host if this one turns out good.

The laser you ordered isn't a 304, AKA 303 host. It's a generic Thor M.2 host 3W version. It takes two 16340 batteries and it will look like this: