[NOOB] Buying a laser from a friend for 20 dollars, worth?

[LacedCurtains]

Hi all,

My friend offered me his laser pointer today. It's a green laser and it looks like a really thin flashlight, all black. The battery inside is an Ultrafire 18650 4200 mAh 3.7 li-ion. It's in pretty good condition, just one dent near the button to turn it on/off. When I point it up into the clouds at night, I can see it goes all the to the cloud, and I can also see the thin outline from the laser. So, is it worth it?

Thanks!

 

[Livinloud]

There is not such thing as a 4200mAh 18650. Highest capacity 18650 cell is 3400 and its made by Panasonic. Ultrafire cells are bombs waiting to explode, they are cheap re-branded, used cells.

Laser is probably the biggest piece of junk ever. Plus lasers are delicate so a dent means it was abused. Its a huge no go IMO

 

[LacedCurtains]

So I should not buy it because the battery is complete junk?

 

[Livinloud]

No you should not buy it because the laser has been abused, the battery is crap and the laser itself is crap. I 99% guarentee its a cheap ebay laser and was bought for $20 with the battery and charger (both of which are accidents waiting to happen. those chargers short out and catch fire). Lasers are not cheap, your looking at $50+ for a quality laser and $45 for safety glasses.

Buy that laser if you want but dont cry when it dies or when you go blind from all the IR of that POS. Cheap lasers are not IR filtered and all 532nm lasers use a IR diode through crystals to shift the wavelength to 532nm. Safety glasses are 100% needed unless all you plan on doing is point it at the sky.

 

[LacedCurtains]

Alright thanks matey. I should probably do some research before I buy one as I see there is a lot to learn. Cheers!

 

[Tmack]

The dpss process is very fragile. A dent means something could be waiting to fall out of alignment and stop making visible light. Although it would still damage your eyes, you wouldn't even know it.

 

[IsaacT]

Get pictures of the laser. The fact that it is an 18650 battery config is a good sign. Get a picture of what the output looks like. If it is bright, it is possible that it hasn't been damaged. Post them here. If the laser outputs a decent amount, I would say go for it. 20 dollars is not much at all to throw at a laser. Once we see the pictures, however, we will know the build quality and can instruct you further.

 

[Tmack]

Yeah it really comes down to what is $20 worth to you lol. If its nothing and it works ,,,buy it, if it breaks, whatever

 

[Marco Polo]

I've dropped my DPSS ebay greens dozens of times and they are all fine, but 20 dollars is still too high because you can get a new one for cheaper.

That "4200mAh" battery is dangerous, do not use it.

If you want a green laser, look up "SD 303" on ebay, or "laser 301" and go for one of those. They are cheap and not really fixable if something goes wrong, but if you get bored of it you won't be out too much money.