Optotronics PPL series

[Dr_Evil]

Are these any good? I am looking at the 125mW one. A lot of you seem too like the Nova X series. While the price seems real good, there are a few things I don't like about them. I'm not a fan of the black and brass finish. I've owned a couple lasers with that finish and they don't look that good after carrying them around in your pocket for a while. The 3 month warranty is the other thing that deters me.

I was told about WL by someone on Xbox live. I looked there first but decided to do a search for something cheaper. I'm glad I did that because I also decided to search for some forums on lasers. I have decided to stay away from WL after a bunch of reading. I wish they weren't so bad because I do like the housing of the Evolution series.

I would like to order tomorrow so please post your thoughts ASAP. I would also like to know if it is worth it to get the performance readout certificate.

 

[Razako]

What do you want to do with your laser? Do you want one for burning or do you want it simply to show off the green beam to people? If you want it for pointing purposes you should go with a lower nova x-series. If you want a burner then go with the PPL or a nova x-100+. The downside to the x-series is that you don't get as good of a warranty and they have duty cycle/stability issues. You could also toss in a couple hundred more and get an RPL 165 if you want a great laser.

Couple of other things.
Absolutely DO NOT buy from wicked.
Get safety goggles if you want to use it for burning.
Use it responsibly and don't point it at airplanes/copters/trains/cars/pets.
The optotronics performance readout isn't really necessary unless you are willing to pay $30 to see what your lasers peak and minimum output is.

 

[john_lawson]

from what ive read I'm looking to buy either a blaze laser or an optotronics they seem to be the best i was wantind a 200 series rpl

update I got the Rpl 260 AWSOME unit had it for about 2 months no problems to speak of I should have gotten the 300 but then i would have been wanting a 350 oh well OPTOTRONICS BABY

 

[Dr_Evil]

I want it for showing off and burning. I definitely don't plan on pointing at humans, animals or any type of vehicle. I have a low mW green for driving pets insane. As for getting the 165 mW version, I would love too. I want to get a blue pointer in the 15-25 mW range later on though.

 

[Ace82]

Go to Deal Extreme and buy a 200mW green laser for $125! - Haha, J/k! Making a sarcastic hypocritical joke (I don’t suggest getting too enticed by DX lasers because the quality isn’t the best as I believe you get what you pay for.) But Razako has a point, what are the purposes you seek with your laser? As a fun, cheap, cool, impressive (to the armature) toy (for adults), go with DX (especially if you don’t really understand how lasers work – may act as a teaching tool before you get too involved). Or do you want a “military” grade destructive laser that comes with a safety key that can burn almost any dark object, and has a beam only limited by the curvature of the Earth?

Now “burning” of coarse is available in many different levels. A DX 200 will burn, pop, ignite matches at no more then a couple feet, but an Optotronics will do the same with much more efficiency probably at 20-30feet as well (I don’t have one (yet), but from reports and videos show popping 20 balloons in a row like nothing).

As I have no definite experience (with Optotronics), only presumed from knowledge acquired from this forum: I like to use DX and Optotronics as examples of lasers on opposite sides of the spectrum, quality and price speaking. As for WL and various resellers, not even included. But DX would be in my opinion 1., as Optotronics would be 10. on the scale of 1-10. Of coarse customer services and shipping plays a huge factor as well.

In my opinion, I feel beam divergence is what makes a laser great, along with power of coarse. 80% of lasers I bought from DX had tremendous beam divergences (the other 20% were decent). This is why they burn so nicely up close as it is focused to about the size of the tip of a pin. But do absolutely nothing at a distance because the dot is about the size of a ½ dollar at 10ft.

Other considerations:
-size
-batteries
-duty
-durability

 

[Dr_Evil]

The 125 has been ordered. I hope it will be here by the weekend.

 

[Dr_Evil]

FedEx has been getting on my nerves for the last few items that have been shipped through them. I should've had the laser today.

fedex.com/Tracking?ascend_header=1&clienttype=dotcom&cntry_code=us&language=english&tracknumbers=791006903668%0D%0A

 

[Dr_Evil]

I finally got it today. Luckily I was here when FedEx came by since it required a signature directly from me. I've tested it on a couple balloons already. They are silver and I put a black spot on them. The first one popped within a second from about 6 feet away. The second one was about 10 feet away and took a little bit longer. The black spot wasn't as dark as the first one though. There are only 2 things I don't like about it ATM. The on/off switch seems like it could have been built better and you need a really small flat head screwdriver or similar object to adjust its power level.

I have to give Optotronic 2 thumbs up for the great product.

 

[Dr_Evil]

I think my PPL-125 might be defective. The dot isn't round and I have trouble lighting matches. I have to use a magnifying glass to light them even with fresh batteries. Here are some pictures.

The top dot in the picture below is from my other green laser.

 

[Razako]

I think my PPL-125 might be defective. The dot isn't round and I have trouble lighting matches. I have to use a magnifying glass to light them even with fresh batteries. Here are some pictures.

The top dot is from my other green laser.

What power level do you have it running at when trying to light matches? If you turn the power up too high on one of these lasers you will over saturate the crystals and cause mode hopping like in your picture. Try running it on all of the different levels and seeing if any of them fix the mode hopping or make it worse.

 

[Ace82]

Do those lasers come with a certificate? If so, it should tell you the ideal power setting. Obvious question, you didn't drop the unit right? It could possibly ruin the focus.

 

[Dr_Evil]

The focus seems fine and it pops balloons with now problem even when they are about 8 feet away. It has not been dropped either. I checked it on every setting. The shape remains the same and I didn't notice any mode hopping. It does the same thing with batteries that have been used quite a bit so I don't think it is being over powered. Here is a picture with it set too the lowest setting which is 1. It looks like the oval in the other pictures is made of three parts.

 

[Razako]

The focus seems fine and it pops balloons with now problem even when they are about 8 feet away. It has not been dropped either. I checked it on every setting. The shape remains the same and I didn't notice any mode hopping. It does the same thing with batteries that have been used quite a bit so I don't think it is being over powered. Here is a picture with it set too the lowest setting which is 1. It looks like the oval in the other pictures is made of three parts.

Looks like a serious mode hopping problem Your only option is to send it back for repair or replacement.


Try shining it through a magnifying glass and seeing if the beam splits apart.

 

[darklandz]

that sucks, thats some serious mode hopping there!
try fresh batteries and using different power levels and if that doesnt work, u need to send it back to jack for a replacement.
if i were you, i would save a little bit more and just buy the RPL 165 and reap the benefits of rechargeables, slightly smaller body,2.5 watt diode, and ultimately alot more power and stability.

 

[Ace82]

that sucks, thats some serious mode hopping there!
try fresh batteries and using different power levels and if that doesnt work, u need to send it back to jack for a replacement.
if i were you, i would save a little bit more and just buy the RPL 165 and reap the benefits of rechargeables, slightly smaller body,2.5 watt diode, and ultimately alot more power and stability.

I agree. He should hook you up to make up for your troubles. You will not be disapointed with the RPLs.

 

[bootleg2go]

I think my PPL-125 might be defective. The dot isn't round and I have trouble lighting matches. I have to use a magnifying glass to light them even with fresh batteries. Here are some pictures.

The top dot in the picture below is from my other green laser.

Hi Dr. Evil,
What the heck, what do you expect if you attach them to ill-tempered sea bass?
Just kidding,
As long as it has not been dropped and the "tamper-proof" labels are intact and not meesed with, it should still be under warranty, email us and we can arrange for it'd repair.

Thanks
Jack