I believe you,(and your friends), are expecting too much from a 200mW 650nm.
Of all the wavelength's, I have trouble seeing red the worst. I have a 650nm running at 386mW, that I can not see the beam in a lighted room.(barely with the shades pulled)
405nm messes with my eyes (focusing), and 532nm and 488nm jump out at me.:wave:
In the absence of total darkness, without fog or smoke, all you can expect is a faint blotchy beam, not a brilliant "light saber".
As all others have said, if it burns hot, then it's probably fine.
There is a small possibility it is a 670nm LD, which would make it even harder to see then 650nm.
BTW: laserboystuart, I believe your eyes are better at picking up 635-670nm better then most people's.
Some people perceive different wavelength's differently.
My 9mW 532nm hurts my wife's eyes to the point of pain.
However, my 488nm outputting 75mW, does not hurt her eyes.???
It should be the other way around.