Newb here - Question about Focusable vs. Non-Focusable laser

[KidA001]

Hey Guys,

I've been trolling the forums the past couple days getting some knowledge about lasers, as I'm about to purchase my first green laser.

I'm looking to purchase a green 200mw laser from RayFoss and I'm trying to decide between Focusable and non-focusable.

I'd rather have a laser that has a better distance, and I'm not sure if a Focusable laser would have less of a distance beam because of the optics. Can anyone advise me on the benefits of a focusable and a non-focusable laser?

Looking at these two:
www.rayfoss.com - focusable
www.rayfoss.com - non-focusable

Any help is much appreciated!!

 

[Trevor]

With a focusable laser you'll still be able to focus to infinity for your run-of-the-mill laser beam. Perhaps even better than the factory workers focused the fixed one.

But... I'd advise you against Rayfoss. They've been going downhill lately.

Beyond that, I'll let someone better versed in the Chinese handheld dealers fill you in on a good seller.

-Trevor

 

[KidA001]

Hey thanks for the reply Trevor.

I've read good reviews on RayFoss, any reason why you say they're going downhill?

 

[Tech_Junkie]

Lot of bad reviews lately. Go with O-Like.

 

[KidA001]

Can you provide some links? I just searched rayfoss reviews and couldn't find any recent negative ones

 

[Tech_Junkie]

We've both have been here for over 2 years, take our word for it. Not everything is in the review section.

 

[Trevor]

Can you provide some links? I just searched rayfoss reviews and couldn't find any recent negative ones

I can't think of anything off the top of my head.

The reasoning for my recommendation is that a lot of the threads about "help my laser is broken" or "my green laser" are about Rayfoss lasers that are having issues.

Rayfoss used to be good, because they used to be new. Often, the newer Chinese sellers offer better goods because they're trying to break into the market and are willing to accept a lower profit margin to just get their name out there. O-Like also used to be better, and Rayfoss used to be way better.

-Trevor

 

[KidA001]

Cool, thanks for the advice. Just placed my order with O-Like 200mW transformable green laser/adjustable [OLV6200] - $129.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Cool, thanks for the advice. Just placed my order with O-Like 200mW transformable green laser/adjustable [OLV6200] - $129.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products

Excellent choice... IMO the best budget green laser they offer. With the 18650's the run time is very good, I haven't had a battery die yet...

Keep the duty cycle (how long you keep the laser on at a time) to two minutes with 60 second rest period and it will probably last you a very long time.

A word on safety though, some of these put out a lot of IR. I have two of these lasers one puts out ~10mW of IR, the other ~30-40mW of IR.

So if you're going to want to try burning, you will need to either install an IR filter or get IR blocking goggles.

IR filter: Small IR Filter

IR blocking goggles: Eagle Pair® 190-540nm & 900-1700nm Laser Safety Goggles

 

[KidA001]

Awww man, thanks for sharing the info. You guys rock...I'll report back here when I get the laser and will make sure to get the necessary safety equipment so I can burn shit

 

[MrLaser]

Hey, good choice with the O-Like, their quality still seems pretty good. I have the 1.2 watt Tactical and i am very happy with it and their customer service. I have also heard some bad things about Rayfoss lately so i decided to order a laser from them (200mW focusable 650nm) to do my own quality/performance review. It's been about 2 days and no response yet to an email i sent them...:undecided:, but i hope that changes.
Good luck with your laser and be safe!

 

[KidA001]

would a budget pair of glasses like this work: Amazon.com: Bynovel Laser Eye Protection Safety Glasses Goggles Goggle Glass Shield for Green Blue Laser Pointer: Home Improvement

Also, what does an IR filter do?

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Don't know about he goggles, they look similar to all the other chinese crap out there... without testing there is no way to be sure.

IR filter blocks out infrared light, which is usually not collimated, but even so you don't want to be absorbing IR radiation with your retina... you wouldn't know there is any damage at all until it's too late.

Personally I don't burn with green lasers to avoid this issue. If you must burn, get IR filter and goggles from radiantalpha. There is a coupon code floating around somewhere in deals section for both.

 

[KidA001]

Hey all, my laser arrives tomorrow and I have a question about safety.

At what distance is it OK to view the dot without goggles for a 200mw laser on a surface that isn't reflective:
10, 20, 50...etc?

Thanks!

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

If you're looking at an off white wall... 10 feet or so away you'll be fine.

You should be fine a lot closer too, but personally I find the dots are too bright to look at from any closer, and even at 10 feet the dot will look overwhelmingly bright. Don't stare at it

If you really want to have some fun, take the laser outside after dark, just don't point at people/cars/planes etc and have fun

 

[KidA001]

Hehe, yes. What convinced me to buy this laser was using a friends 50mw laser at about 2am in the night sky.

I plan to use this mainly outside but I know i'll be tempted to use indoors and want to know what a safe distance to look at the dot would be.