You won't get a 600mW green at CNI for $960 though
Hi Rob,
You won't get a 600mw portable from CNI or anyone else for that matter, they just don't exist.
Perhaps there is one that can peak at 600mw for a second or two when the conditions are just right and includes some IR in that number as well. Right now, a 600mw portable laser is for someone who doesn't have the capability to measure laser power or doesn't know what 600mw really looks like. As for divergence, nothing over 1.5mrad is acceptable if you want the beam to have burning power at distance, even 1.5mrad is pretty pitiful. There's a hugh difference between 1.2 and 1.5mrad, it's not just a small number of 0.3 difference. It's an angular measurement and even 0.1mrad will make a big difference in spot size, burning power and maximum distance as the distance increases.
Ask lots of questions before buying a supposed "600mw portable" such as
1. beam diameter
2. TEM mode
3. run time / duty cycle
4. amount of IR included in their rating, just because it has an "IR filter" doesn't mean it blocks all IR.
5. If the rated output is peak or average and if it's average, over what length of time is it averaged.
6. Divergence
7. If they promise it will meet promised spec and replace if needed.
8. Warranty period
You might be amazed at the answers you get, I have been.
Often they won't even reply to you when you ask these kinds of questions as they know you know what you want and will verify the product's performance.
Just ask those qestions and make an informed purchase, not one that's based solely on an undefined output power number.
