Trevor
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CNI PGL-III-M - Spartan - Review
Background
I purchased this laser through the eighth CNI group buy with Glenn. I'm very please with how smoothly everything went, and I recommend his GB's to everyone.
Specifications from CNI
Model: PGL-III-M-532
Wavelength (nm): 532±1
Output power (mW): 150
Transverse mode: TEM00
Operating mode: CW
Beam divergence, full angle (mrad): <1. 5
Beam diameter at the aperture (mm): ~1. 5
Switch: Push button in the end cap
Surface color: Black
Range in darkness (m): 2000~5000
Power supply: 1דNo. 18650” Li batteries
Operating lifetime (hours): 5000~10000
Warranty: 6 months
Remark: LED indicator, remote connector and key switch are available.
Host
Let me first say that I am absolutely in love wit this host. It's the perfect compromise between the highly portable pen-size host and the chunky larger portable laser hosts' excellent heat management. It is very solid and feels great in your hand. It's slightly larger than a mini Maglite.
Even after metering its output for for three minutes the host barely felt warm - but it was fairly uniformly warm. This, to me, indicates that the case is effective at moving heat away from the module. Here's another shot of the host.
The specs state that the laser will come with a tail switch. However, it has a side momentary switch, and a key switch on the tail cap. More on that later.
Output
On a partially-discharged 18650, I measured the output at ~200mW stable over three minutes. When I get a graph with a fully charged battery, I'll post it.
Divergence
Measured at around 0.94mRad.
Safety Features
I actually wasn't expecting these. I thought I was going to end up with a unit like aryntha's. The datasheet on CNI's website says that the FDA-compliant features are available on request. I'm not sure if Glenn requested these or if CNI added them by default because they were shipping to the US (but shipped aryntha's without?). Instead of a button on the tailcap it has a key switch.
The action on the key switch is quite good, and the key can be removed in the on position - so I just leave it on. Unfortunately, the switch on the side of the unit is not a clicky - it is momentary. Coupled with the other safety features, it takes a lot of functionality out of the laser. It's also going to make taking beamshots much more annoying. Also visible in the photo is the "remote connector", which I assume is to add an extra switch interface to the laser. However, it really only ends up being bothersome when using the laser. The unit also has an LED indicator, which I honestly kind of like. However, the last two safety features are very, very annoying. The first is a five-second delay before the laser lights. This is annoying because of the momentary switch. If you let the laser turn off, you must then press the button and repeat the wait-five-seconds process. This makes pointing it around in the night sky much less fun. The second and most annoying feature is the aperture shutter. I like the ability to close of the aperture (and the mechanism is great); it makes the laser safer and lets me put it in my pocket. However, one of the two main reasons I chose this model was because it could have a beam expander mounted directly to the front of it. The aperture shutter is in lieu of being able to unscrew the cover on the front of the laser - which means that I can't mount the adapter I bought from Dragonlasers to it allow me to mount the Dragonlasers beam expander that I bought.
Conclusions
Overall, I'm pretty neutral really. The host is great, the divergence seems good, and the output is well over spec. However, the safety features that ended up coming on it took a lot of the fun out of owning the laser, and prettymuch defeated the purpose of why I purchased it - for epic night beamage with a beam expander. I may end up selling it and getting back in one of Glenn's GB's for one without the safety features. The solution remains to be seen. If you can get one of these without the delay, shutter (or at least a shutter that could be completely unscrewed), and interlock, it would be the perfect portable laser.
-Trevor
Background
I purchased this laser through the eighth CNI group buy with Glenn. I'm very please with how smoothly everything went, and I recommend his GB's to everyone.
Specifications from CNI
Model: PGL-III-M-532
Wavelength (nm): 532±1
Output power (mW): 150
Transverse mode: TEM00
Operating mode: CW
Beam divergence, full angle (mrad): <1. 5
Beam diameter at the aperture (mm): ~1. 5
Switch: Push button in the end cap
Surface color: Black
Range in darkness (m): 2000~5000
Power supply: 1דNo. 18650” Li batteries
Operating lifetime (hours): 5000~10000
Warranty: 6 months
Remark: LED indicator, remote connector and key switch are available.
Host
Let me first say that I am absolutely in love wit this host. It's the perfect compromise between the highly portable pen-size host and the chunky larger portable laser hosts' excellent heat management. It is very solid and feels great in your hand. It's slightly larger than a mini Maglite.
Even after metering its output for for three minutes the host barely felt warm - but it was fairly uniformly warm. This, to me, indicates that the case is effective at moving heat away from the module. Here's another shot of the host.
The specs state that the laser will come with a tail switch. However, it has a side momentary switch, and a key switch on the tail cap. More on that later.
Output
On a partially-discharged 18650, I measured the output at ~200mW stable over three minutes. When I get a graph with a fully charged battery, I'll post it.
Divergence
Measured at around 0.94mRad.
Safety Features
I actually wasn't expecting these. I thought I was going to end up with a unit like aryntha's. The datasheet on CNI's website says that the FDA-compliant features are available on request. I'm not sure if Glenn requested these or if CNI added them by default because they were shipping to the US (but shipped aryntha's without?). Instead of a button on the tailcap it has a key switch.
The action on the key switch is quite good, and the key can be removed in the on position - so I just leave it on. Unfortunately, the switch on the side of the unit is not a clicky - it is momentary. Coupled with the other safety features, it takes a lot of functionality out of the laser. It's also going to make taking beamshots much more annoying. Also visible in the photo is the "remote connector", which I assume is to add an extra switch interface to the laser. However, it really only ends up being bothersome when using the laser. The unit also has an LED indicator, which I honestly kind of like. However, the last two safety features are very, very annoying. The first is a five-second delay before the laser lights. This is annoying because of the momentary switch. If you let the laser turn off, you must then press the button and repeat the wait-five-seconds process. This makes pointing it around in the night sky much less fun. The second and most annoying feature is the aperture shutter. I like the ability to close of the aperture (and the mechanism is great); it makes the laser safer and lets me put it in my pocket. However, one of the two main reasons I chose this model was because it could have a beam expander mounted directly to the front of it. The aperture shutter is in lieu of being able to unscrew the cover on the front of the laser - which means that I can't mount the adapter I bought from Dragonlasers to it allow me to mount the Dragonlasers beam expander that I bought.
Conclusions
Overall, I'm pretty neutral really. The host is great, the divergence seems good, and the output is well over spec. However, the safety features that ended up coming on it took a lot of the fun out of owning the laser, and prettymuch defeated the purpose of why I purchased it - for epic night beamage with a beam expander. I may end up selling it and getting back in one of Glenn's GB's for one without the safety features. The solution remains to be seen. If you can get one of these without the delay, shutter (or at least a shutter that could be completely unscrewed), and interlock, it would be the perfect portable laser.
-Trevor
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