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PLE mini 1W 520nm review 5 stars

Frozenferrari

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Quick video or text review of the JetLasers PLE-mini 1W 520nm laser, and comparison to a few other lasers.

Overall personal rating: 5/5. WOULD recommend this laser to any user.

Review:
SHIPPING: This laser took about 11 days to show up on my doorstep from the time I placed the order. This time around, JetLasers never sent me any "shipped" indication nor did they update my order info within their user portal. But its here! It was shipped via FedEx for the standard $38. It came well padded, tightly packed in a cardboard box, in anti-static bags. Seems pretty safe from product damages in shipment.

CASE: This laser does not come with a carrying case, but will fit in it's supplied cardboard box fully assembled, with room to spare for accessories. A case can be bought from JetLasers for extra cost.

UNIT: This unit is of rugged design and construction and perfectly sized. It fits well in the hand and is decently portable. The focusing mechanism is less loose than on my Pro host, and has a nice feel to it. The rubber beam-stop cap on the aperture is a nice upgrade from the recessed threaded one on the Pro host in my opinion.

BATTERY: Two 16340 cells. It will turn on using a 18650 cell but runs at about 10% power. I made the mistake of installing this battery first and ran it for a total of about 8 seconds before I realized what was going on. Hopefully no driver damage occurred.

PERFORMANCE: The 520nm wavelength is a nice green, with a hint of mint. But to the naked eye there is very little difference from 532. The beam is much thicker than a DPSS would be, which I actually like. It compares nicely in brightness with the 3.5W 465 pro, which you can see in my photos and videos.

Burn characteristics are as follows:

- it WILL burn through neat white paper in about 2-3 seconds, and WILL NOT set the paper on fire.
- it WILL cut electrical tape in about 2 seconds and 1 stroke across
- it DOES produce a briliant solid beam of 520, which is beautiful! Mildly visible in daylit rooms and barely/not outside, but highly visible in dim or dark.


CONCLUSION: This is an excellent unit! The price is a bit steep at $290 shipped, however still cheaper than building your own unless you have a cheap host and driver. It is also by far the cheapest 1W 520nm unit I could find on the market. If youre looking for a high quality and high power portable green, this is the laser for you!

See my other review of the "Sage 3W" https://laserpointerforums.com/threads/bestlaserpointers-com-3w-review-5stars.104221/
See my other review of the PLE-Pro 3.5W 465nm https://laserpointerforums.com/threads/465nm-3-5w-pl-e-pro-3-5-stars.104301/
 

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BowtieGuy

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Good looking PL-E Mini, glad to see that you like it, it makes a nice little brother to your full size PL-E Pro. :cool:
Don't forget to remove that rubber cover before you turn it on .....I know, I've been there, done that! :eek:

BTW, nice collection you've got going there.
 

Frozenferrari

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Yeah the Pro host is far too large. Perhaps a Sanwu challenger ii would have been better, but more expensive. 4W of 470 sounds kickass. And yeah the dust caps are an easy thing to forget. Im gonna put some red flags hanging from mine, that should help. Hey thanks! I think a hot violet or a 488 would be my future goal later this year. Would also be fun to do a handheld green pushing 2W or better if that even could be possible or built with a reasonable duty cycle haha. Handheld labby? lol
Here's one last pic of the brothers in action side by side. 465 vs 520
 

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No doubt about that.... MYB JL was thinking about texas when designing!
For sure --no buyer will say they are to small.

They are BTW the same size as the Pl-E (not PRO)
and it is a fact in the specs at jl.org

Want good heat management??--
heavy heat sink = heavy laser
2pc 18650-- heavy also.
It would not run as long with just one 18650.
Just as 'bright' but less time before a charge.
its a trade-off.
BUT My fav ATM and likely for some time is the Mini Pl-E Pro
with BE.. 465 1600 mW-- wats not to like??
and the BE just screws on- working great just like it came.
and it looks like it 'belongs' there- i.e. does not look like it was 'added'

I never meant to give bad info on JL shipping.
When I say 3 to 4 days to USA DHLExpress-
Those are biz days.. not weekends-- holidays can make the wait much longer.
AND the big time diff.. when sending back it takes longer.. a day at least.
These China Holidays are also not a secret-- get your orders in WAY before and hope the ship before leaving (for weeks sometimes).
I wonder if JL knows/knew you are LPF?
More 'JLs' are owned by LPF members than ANY other 'brand'.
But they have other lasers we do not buy and they cost up to $45.K

AND JL is very popular all over Asia.. Especially in China.
Sweet that we get treated as well as those other 'bigger' buyers..
 

MajorLazor

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Question about the batteries: on Jet's website, it says they recommend two 18350 batteries, not the 16340 mentioned above. What's the difference?

P.S. I was looking at the 2W 445 blue, so maybe that's why?
 
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The difference is size and capacity. The 16340s are 16 mm in diameter and are 34 mm long. The 18350s are 18 mm in diameter and are 35 mm long. They are usually higher in capacity than the 16340s.

Often, you can use 18350s in place of 16340s, but not always. It depends on how much room you have in the battery compartment.
 

Frozenferrari

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Question about the batteries: on Jet's website, it says they recommend two 18350 batteries, not the 16340 mentioned above. What's the difference?

P.S. I was looking at the 2W 445 blue, so maybe that's why?

Some of the PLE Mini’s use 18350/650 some use 16340.

Just reference whichever specific type is used for the particular laser in question using JL’s website.
 
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Jetlasers does have a 600 mW 532nm DPSS laser pointer for $290.00. That is pretty reasonable for this type of pointer.
 

bertha

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I love JL products, nice review. thanks for sharing
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