Radiant X4: A LPM for the masses at Illumination Supply!

[IsaacT]

This is a pretty impressive offering and the 3D printed cases are WAY cool! I tip my hate to you sir....wait I am not wearing a hat....well how about a +2 then?

If only I needed an LPM so i could justify throwing my money at you.

 

[Pi R Squared]

Do you feel that this unit will withstand a 2-3 minutes measurement session of a ~3.5-3.6W blue laserpointer (marginally lower than X4's rated max nominal value of 3.7)

No absolutely not. Even a 2.7W will smoke the coating on the sensor in just a few seconds, however it could be the quality of the coating on the sensor may not be the same on all of them, just a guess, considering their low price they might not all be perfect, but I would be cautious about testing a laser of that power with one of these, try it but be prepared to turn it off quick.

Alan

 

[ARG]

2.7W causes smoke? Are you sure the beam has been spread out across the entire sensor?

The max power sensors can take is rated in power density, W/cm^2, not power.

 

[Pi R Squared]

2.7W causes smoke? Are you sure the beam has been spread out across the entire sensor?

The max power sensors can take is rated in power density, W/cm^2, not power.

Here is what happened, when I tested that laser, when I first turned it on I didn't realize it was too focused and it immediately smoked the sensor and I turned it off immediately, it was probably only 2 seconds. I then unfocused the laser and waited several minutes and turned it back on and focused it so the spot was just barely covering the diameter of the sensor and again by that time it started smoking again so I shut it off. It didn't even run long enough to get an accurate measurement but it read just under 2.7W at first, I suspect the laser could be more powerful than that and maybe smoke from the sensor could have interfered with the measurement. I can measure a 1.4W with no problems. Examining the sensor there is some very small damage to the coating.

Alan

 

[NO4H99]

If it measures 2.7w in the first few seconds, the it's probably well above 3w - just judging by the response time. I've measured up to about 3.2w on mine with no issues at all.

 

[ARG]

If it measures 2.7w in the first few seconds, the it's probably well above 3w - just judging by the response time. I've measured up to about 3.2w on mine with no issues at all.

Assuming the laser on for appx 15s before it started smoking that would give you an appx 70% response when it read 2.7W, then the laser would be around 3.8W

 

[ARG]

@Paul
csshih said over on another forum that the virus was a confirmed false positive and that there would be a fix out soon.

 

[paul1598419]

ARG, Thanks. That may answer one problem, but this meter measures peak power 88% lower on six of my lasers which is confirmed on two that were measured before purchase and confirmed with my LaserBee II. Anyone else have problems with calibration on this meter? Paul

 

[ARG]

@Paul
Other people who have reviewed this meter have not had any calibration problems with it. I'm sure if there is a fault with the meter csshih will fix it.
Just to make sure it is the meter, you have the sensor cable plugged in all the way and you waited for the meter to give a full response?

 

[csshih]

csshih, I just received my new Radiant X4 LPM today and I've got to say WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! I immediately down loaded the firmware from the website and tried to log on with the meter's program. My Norton security that I have on my computer stopped it and informed me it contained malware. So, I tried measuring several of my know laser's power and found that the meter was also not calibrated. I have several lasers some of which were measured before I purchased them and I also measured them with my LaserBee II 3.2 watt LPM. The Radiant was 88% less than all of my measured lasers. So, I got in touch with Symantec who holds patents on the Norton security system and had a tech log on to my computer. He helped me log on with my new Radiant and confirmed that the program had malware installed called Trojan.Gen.2. SO, I have emailed illumination Supply to see if I can gat these problems rectified. Will probably have to wait until Monday to hear back from them. All I can say at this point is LPF members BEWARE! If this one is so bad there must be others and buyer beware. Will let you know how this plays out. Paul

Hi Paul,

I was directed towards this thread by Arg.
We have not been able to answer customer calls and emails this week as we've been away at a trade show. (our website states additional processing time for support tickets, which generally take 2-3 business days.) We go through literally a few hundred emails a week, so this may take longer than normal.

We've uploaded a new binary to the website, please check and see if it still triggers the false positive. Should be a good now: https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/...b8e19e97bdaaacbeb198b80a6ee204d5317/analysis/
We've also communicated with google about the website warning. It should be resolved but Google is prone to take a while.

As for calibration - please ensure you're checking the power of the lasers correctly. We find it odd that it's so consistently inaccurate.
We guarantee our calibration and can take the meter back under warranty, but we need to confirm it's not operating to spec.

 

[paul1598419]

csshih, I logged into the website you sent me and it is just a list of people who have had problems with this virus. Do you want me to go back to the website at Illumination Supply and down load the drivers again? As far as the power being off, 88% is a average value of how much lower the meter measures known laser power values. I didn't do exact measurements for each laser, but took an average and it was close enough. If you can help me with this I am very interested because I'd love to have this LPM work.

 

[csshih]

csshih, I logged into the website you sent me and it is just a list of people who have had problems with this virus. Do you want me to go back to the website at Illumination Supply and down load the drivers again? As far as the power being off, 88% is a average value of how much lower the meter measures known laser power values. I didn't do exact measurements for each laser, but took an average and it was close enough. If you can help me with this I am very interested because I'd love to have this LPM work.

If you'll look again, the website is a virus checker. It's coming up clean.
Download the binary again, not the drivers. We had no issues with the drivers.

We'll take care of you via the ticket system.

 

[DashApple]

Got my X4 yesterday , Works great ! measured my 1.45W green ( defocused beam on sensor ) and its dead on 1.45W just as it was measured before I received it , I'm using the Peregrine software currently and everything's works well

Great meter

 

[eftbot]

I have contacted Illumination Supply Customer support trying to address my concerns ...

"Furthermore do you consider safe measuring blue lasers of 3.5-3.6 Watt for ~3-5 minutes with this LPM or the sensor will not withstand the induced high thermal loads?"

... and received the following response:

"Yes, if the beam of the laser is defocused over the area of the sensor."

So I will give it a try and post here the results (let's hope that a new batch of X4s will be available soon).

 

[Pi R Squared]

Assuming the laser on for appx 15s before it started smoking that would give you an appx 70% response when it read 2.7W, then the laser would be around 3.8W

That would about be a record wouldn't it? It wouldn't surprise me though, it is way brighter than the 1.4W and will burn or ignite anything its pointed at. It is this laser I am talking about: http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/assembled-445nm-9mm-stainless-steel-host-pic-heavy-85997.html The 1.4W is probably more powerful too since it has too short a duty cycle to measure accurately with this meter. I still suspect though that the coating on the sensor is defective, I wonder if they properly test each and every one.

I have contacted Illumination Supply Customer support trying to address my concerns ...

"Furthermore do you consider safe measuring blue lasers of 3.5-3.6 Watt for ~3-5 minutes with this LPM or the sensor will not withstand the induced high thermal loads?"

... and received the following response:

"Yes, if the beam of the laser is defocused over the area of the sensor."

So I will give it a try and post here the results (let's hope that a new batch of X4s will be available soon).

I look forward to your results. I would expect alarm bells, flashing lights, and gray wisps of smoke! Be ready to turn it off fast.

Alan

 

[eftbot]

I look forward to your results. I would expect alarm bells, flashing lights, and gray wisps of smoke! Be ready to turn it off fast.

It is always interesting experimenting with these things, isn't it? :yh:

As a precautionary measure I will first measure my 1w blue (for a side-by-side results comparison with my 2.5w LaserBee USB) , prior measuring the big boy ... then I will record the whole "high power measuring experiment" and post the results here ... lights - camera - action!

Let's hope only that the new x4 batch will arrive soon, since till know I have received no update regarding the expected shipment date of my order :yabbem: