Novalasers Alpha 125 Baseline Laser Review.

[LarryQ]

Ok...
Here is my promised review of the Novalasers Alpha 125.

A while back, I decided that I was going to try and conduct a few more reviews of various lasers to try and help people make informed decisions about the products out there.

My first laser review turned into an absolute NIGHTMARE with my review of the Destructive gear Pyro 100.

I made a decision that any further reviews would require me to have a single Ref. laser to use as a baseline for comparison.

I contacted Novalasers, and informed them of my requirements.

I asked them for something special.
True TEM00 mode.
Good (Low) Divergence
Average and peak power to be High..but most important..these two numbers were to be as close together as possible.

Stability was the goal here!

I told them that I was willing to Wait as long as needed for a laser that met those specifications.

You may be asking me why I didn't simply buy a lab laser for stability.
2 reasons for not doing this.

First, I did not think that it was fair to compare a Labby to a portable.
I wanted to have a level playing field, and the one thing all portables have in common is that they have no constant power supply to keem them lasing!

I felt that how any individual laser handles the limited capaciity of their batteries was a factor that needed to be compared, when discussing Portables.

If I were planning on reviewing Labbys..I would have bought a good labby to compare them to.

Secondly...Since I was spending my own money...I wanted a Portable!.......



After many contacts with Nova..they finally told me that they had found the laser I had been waiting for.

135.8 average 138.6 peak with a very LOW divergence, and perfect TEM00 operation!

With this information in hand..I locked in the laser, and ordered it that day!

I again used TNT shipping...and can honestly say..that for 26 bucks..I have no idea how TNT can deliver a laser from Toronto Canada to Oklahoma City in 22 hours!

If tnt shipping is ever an option for you..Take it...Worth every penny!

When the laser arrived, the very first thing that hit me was how much larger the case of the Alpha was over the case for my X-105!

I knew the laser was bigger..but until I had the thing in my hand, I really had no idea how much larger this laser was!!!

Here are a few pictures comparing the size compared to my X-105

The Alpha has various safety features that the X series does not...
These have been discussed many times.
Some people love them..some people hate them..

I Love the appature shutter.
I Love the Key Switch.
I Love the Power LED.
I don't mind the 3 second delay...though it does take a bit of getting used to.
I like the dongle feature..though I HATE the implementation.

I find that the dongle (a phono jack) to be a very crude solution.
One of the things I am working on is a more elegant solution to the phono jack.
A magnetic reed switch activated by a magnetic ring or wristband is on my list of possibilities.

Here is the appature shutter Closed.

Here is the appature shutter Open.

Lastly here is the Keylock.

Nova also sent a pair of Duracell Power Pix batteries with this laser.
They told me that they have found that these batteries are performing very well in their lasers, and Indeed they do seem to peak higher than my favorite the Energizer E2 Lithium cells.

The E2 do seem to hold their power better over time, and as such will remain my battery of choice.

The alpha is quickly becoming my favorite laser.
The heft and feel of the laser is far beyond pen style lasers like the X series.
The added duty cycle, and the AA battery of the Alpha makes it quite a different animal all together!
The appature shutter is wonderful at keeping the lens protected, and clean!

The power button has a very positive "Click" feel to it.

I would not hesitate to buy another Alpha, and anyone considering one for themselves has nothing to fear!

I think that this laser will indeed be able to fill the role as my ref. laser quite well.

I will Post a follow up with some beam shots...but to let you know...My camera work STINKS..

I'm afraid that my camera skills may not be able to do the Laser justice.

If I do manage to take a picture of something other than my own THUMB..I will post them as soon as possible!

LarryQ

 

[Switch]

What is the dongle for? Is that like to put around your finger so if anybody snatches it from your hand it would automaticaly shut off and he wouldn't be able to turn it on?

 

[LarryQ]

If you read the FDA specs for lasers over a specific power, they require "One Other" method of preventing the laser from being accidentally turned on..

This "Other" method of control has commonly been fulfilled by a "Dongle"...or "Dead man’s Switch"

By the letter of the law, the dongle fulfills the qualification for FDA certification.....

I have been working on a replacement for this part of the circuit....
I don't like the existing implementation...and I am not interested in just circumventing this part of the circuit either.

I think I need to get a few tail switch assemblies from Nova before I can even begin to put them out for consideration.


Larry

 

[Switch]

This "Other" method of control has commonly been fulfilled by a "Dongle"...or "Dead man[ch8217]s Switch"

"some other" eh?Well that's a bit ridiculous :-? Why could it be called the "dead man's switch" anyway since it's just a phono-jack?
Next thing you know , the laser would have to scan your retina, fingerprint and take a DNA sample from you before you can power it , and be linked to your brainwaves to continue functioning :

 

[LEDNECK]

i just got my alpha 105 a few days ago and i am in love.....i also used the tnt shipping, i have never heard of it but it got to ohio in 1 day. even though the laser is advertised at 105mw the avg. output is 122mw with a peak of 128.3 mw. i also love all of the safety features. it really impresses my friends when i have to pull out a key to unlock it. for the safety dongle thing, i took a headset jack for a cell phone and put it in there and it works. i grinded it down to where it sits almost flush and it is much more convienent. i would recommend nova to anyone, especially after with my experience with wicked....i wont go there..

 

[Switch]

So are you going to be adding anything more to this review besides beam shots? Like say, power readings, divergence measurement and maybe confirm the TEM00 :-/ Not that we wouldn't trust nova but still it would be nice to see all of these confirmed in a review

 

[Razako]

Novalasers>wicked lasers by far. WL fusion costs almost twice as much as the x-125 and novalasers has better customer service and doesn't sell you underpowered lasers. Anyone who wants a high power green pointer should check out nova.

 

[laser_freak]

Does it have a constant on switch? Or is it just a momentary switch? :-?

 

[Switch]

Does it have a constant on switch?  Or is it just a momentary switch?  :-?

I belive it's momentary

 

[divdiv]

The alpha series from Novalasers, looks just like what Lucent Lasers is selling. So does anyone know if Lucent is selling know-offs, or are they the same model with the same components?

 

[LarryQ]

Momentary switch....

Lucent and the Alpha are both the same laser.

The major difference is the testing and sorting process that Nova does to insure that if you buy a an Alpha 125 you get MORE than 125mW of green Power.

Lucent has a history of grading lasers.....Ummmm...less stringently.

From what I understand, few Lucents actually test up to advertised specs.

Now..since I don't own a lucent I cannot confirm that...but if you search the subject..you will quickly find the same info out there.

LarryQ

 

[MarioMaster]

the alpha seems to be a much more efficient way of packing power into a portable laser. high powered units that run from AAA batteries just die too fast and have crappy duty cycles

 

[deadeye]

[quote author=laser_freak link=1201051440/0#7 date=1201128782]Does it have a constant on switch? Or is it just a momentary switch? :-?

I belive it's momentary[/quote]

Again I'd like to know something about the switch an the Alpha from Novalasers. I also heard that it is momentary but then I wonder about the 3 sec activation delay. That wouldn't make much sense to me. So, can anybody - maybe the author of this review - definitely confirm whether it is momentary or constant on? Anyone who knows it for sure?

And has anyone already measured it's real divergence? And if run on two 1,2V NiMh batteries, will it still perform well? Or is there a significant drop in power? Please be patient with me, I've never owned a green laser so far

BTW: Nice review LarryQ and very good pictures, thx for that.

 

[f22warzone]

i have an alpha 125 and yes their is a 3 second delay after you press the momentary switch.... meaning it dosent clikc in place you either hold it on or the laser turns off.... the 3 second delay can be bypassed by nova for an extra 50$ tho it is not worth it in my oppioion becaus i kinda like the safety feather..... i run mine on nimh battries and unless i pull them hot off the charger the laser will bairly light a match but with lithiums this thing is bad ace and i love this laser its great and powerfull anway hope that clears things up

 

[deadeye]

yes thx, that realy cleared some things. I wouldn't have expected a momentary switch combined with a 3 sec delay. You said for 50 bucks extra charge Nova will deactivate this setting, do you think it'll also be possible to have that momentary switch changed for a constant one?

You said it'll barely light a match with nimh's that aren't fresh from charging. But is there a visible drop in power, like beam visibility? And would it light a match when focussed with a good lens, even if the batteries are half drained?

 

[f22warzone]

umm i dont kno about the switch but i am shure you could ask them but after you spind that much you might as well get a RPL

i am using duracell 2650mah battries and together fresh right off the charger and 2 in seires read 2.8v witch is the minium power required to get the maximum out put out of the laser and after that their isnt really a visable decrease in power but you will notie it becaus it will go from lighing matches instantly to just making them smoke....... with a lense i guess you couldd considering how much finer a green beam will get compared to a red one...... it is a bit less visable but not by much if i had a good camra i would take pic for you but i dont its only 2mp and bairly gets the beam when i shine it right at the camra......and the cool thing with the nimh battries is their curve they start off at 1.4v for say 200 seconds then drop to about 1.2v and stay their for a few hours then after that the laser will go from really bright to less then 5mw in a matter of about 10 seconds