grainde
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- Joined
- Jan 29, 2012
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Ill start this review by saying Im really impressed with Aurabuy. They asked me to do a review on a 532 laser and suggested I pick one from their site. I opted for a 200 mW 301 laser. After receiving the laser, they requested I confirm its max output and advise them as to when I intended to post a review. I duly contacted them a couple of days before posting and not only did they correct the advertised power of the laser, they also decided to offer a $20 discount to LPF members with the code: LASER20OFF !! (Without exclamation marks...
)
Mia also said:
This is really fantastic news and very generous of them! :wave:
So on to the review.
In this review Ill go through the list of specifications and compare them to actually measured values where appropriate. Ill also give a run down of the functionality and use of the laser. A number of stars will be given * out of 5 for each category.
Above are the specifications listed on their website. The battery capacity, isnt really relevant, as the laser does not come with a battery and irradiated range is clearly wrong. The divergence is very good and I measured it at 0.75 mRad (measured over 8 m), so the beam will obviously go a lot further. They also havent listed that this laser can be used with 18650 and 18350/16340 batteries respectively! This was definitely a pleasant surprise. The host comes with a small extension section which can be removed to accommodate the smaller batteries. :yh: (see pics)
With the discount code, the price is excellent for a complete 532 laser of this power. Admittedly the laser does not incorporate an IR filter, but Im not aware of many cheap 532's that actually do come with a filter. There seems to be mixed views on the IR component of DPSS lasers with some claiming that the 1064 nm and 808 nm light is not collimated and so less likely to be of concern. Others however, have reported collimated light from their lasers and taken pics to prove it... Either way it would be safer to err on the side of caution, especially if your safety glasses are limited to the visible spectrum.
Well shipping was quick and took around 2 weeks. It looks like the laser was actually shipped from Switzerland - possibly a depot?
As with all packages I have received from Aurabuy the laser was well protected with several layers of bubble wrap. I didnt actually take pictures of the packaging, but if you'd like to have a look here is an example from my last review with them: http://laserpointerforums.com/f66/review-ultrafire-c8-cree-q5-pic-heavy-83891.html
The whole time I was in contact with Mia and she was exceptionally helpful and friendly, so I can happily give them full stars in this category.
The laser dimensions are 147 mm long - normal (and 114 mm in 16340 mode), ID 19 mm (ie for an 18xxx battery) and OD 23 mm. The extension tube is 33 mm long. The key switch is found on the bottom of the host and has a red mark for off and a green one for on. The switch works perfectly and the push button/temporary on button, obviously only works when the key has been turned to the correct position.
REMEMBER the battery, as with almost all 532's, must be inserted NEGATIVE FIRST ie the host is case positive! I do not know whether the laser has reverse polarity protection.
Below are some pictures of the laser:
The driver is more than likely a simple linear. I didnt dismantle the laser to check the current at the diode, as that would have been too risky, but the current at the tail cap was 0.33 A.
Below are a few measurements of the output for this laser on my Laserbee 2.5 W USB LPM. The measurements were taken using an AW IMR 18350 battery. No real difference was seen between the results obtained for this battery and either an AW IMR 18650 or an AW IMR 16340 battery.
The first measurement was taken over 10 mins and as you can see, the output fluctuates quite a lot whilst the laser is warming up. This is normal for DPSS lasers and the output stablises once the laser has warmed - second graph (5 min run). The ambient temp was around 24 degrees and the laser host warmed to 34.5°C. The max reading obtained was 98 mW.
The last graph shows the IR component of the 532 beam. Here I used a B+W 093 IR filter which blocks 100% of all visible light but which allows approx 15 % transmission at 810 nm and 90 % at 1064 nm respectively.
This can now be compared to a basic IR filter from a web cam camera which, unlike the IR pass filter above, blocks the IR components and allows the 532 to pass.
As you can see the laser hits 72 mW with the filter and then reaches 91 mW when it is removed. This suggests, ignoring losses to internal reflections and scattering, that there is around 19 mW of IR. As these filters have near to 0% transmission from 750 nm onwards and the result is almost identical to the result obtained above, it can be concluded that the IR component is composed almost exclusively of 1064 nm light.
These next 2 pictures (taken at approx. 3 m) show the dot profile, which is very good. The second simply shows a diffuse reflection of the dot. The photos were taken with an old iphone, as I didnt want to risk using my good camera.:tinfoil:
Conclusion and Overall Rating ****
Well Im very happy with this laser. The output is a little less than claimed, but its not wildly inaccurate. Its hard to say exactly, as the output was temperature dependent and fluctuated somewhat, but if we take the 19 mW as the total IR contribution we have a laser with approximately 70 - 75 mW of 532. For $20 I think thats quite reasonable.
Finally here are some beam pics, hopefully you can see how good the divergence really is.
This tower is about 3-4 km away so clearly the laser light travels further than the 1 km estimated in the specs...
Hope you enjoyed reading! :beer:
)Mia also said:
This is really fantastic news and very generous of them! :wave:
So on to the review.
In this review Ill go through the list of specifications and compare them to actually measured values where appropriate. Ill also give a run down of the functionality and use of the laser. A number of stars will be given * out of 5 for each category.
Specifications ***
Model: 301
Material: aluminum alloy
Laser Color: green
Max. Output Power: 1.00mw
Wavelength: 532nm
Power Supply: 1*18650 Battery (not included)
Battery Capacity: 3.7V/2400mAh
Irradiated Range: 1000m
Switch Location: mid
Others: safety key lock
Dimensions: 15 cm * 2.5 cm
Weight: 0.1kg
Package Contents:
1 x Laser Pointer Pen
2 x Key
Model: 301
Material: aluminum alloy
Laser Color: green
Max. Output Power: 1.00mw
Wavelength: 532nm
Power Supply: 1*18650 Battery (not included)
Battery Capacity: 3.7V/2400mAh
Irradiated Range: 1000m
Switch Location: mid
Others: safety key lock
Dimensions: 15 cm * 2.5 cm
Weight: 0.1kg
Package Contents:
1 x Laser Pointer Pen
2 x Key
Above are the specifications listed on their website. The battery capacity, isnt really relevant, as the laser does not come with a battery
and irradiated range is clearly wrong. The divergence is very good and I measured it at 0.75 mRad (measured over 8 m), so the beam will obviously go a lot further. They also havent listed that this laser can be used with 18650 and 18350/16340 batteries respectively! This was definitely a pleasant surprise. The host comes with a small extension section which can be removed to accommodate the smaller batteries. :yh: (see pics)Price *****
With the discount code, the price is excellent for a complete 532 laser of this power. Admittedly the laser does not incorporate an IR filter, but Im not aware of many cheap 532's that actually do come with a filter. There seems to be mixed views on the IR component of DPSS lasers with some claiming that the 1064 nm and 808 nm light is not collimated and so less likely to be of concern. Others however, have reported collimated light from their lasers and taken pics to prove it... Either way it would be safer to err on the side of caution, especially if your safety glasses are limited to the visible spectrum.
Shipping, Delivery and Communication *****
Well shipping was quick and took around 2 weeks. It looks like the laser was actually shipped from Switzerland - possibly a depot?
As with all packages I have received from Aurabuy the laser was well protected with several layers of bubble wrap. I didnt actually take pictures of the packaging, but if you'd like to have a look here is an example from my last review with them: http://laserpointerforums.com/f66/review-ultrafire-c8-cree-q5-pic-heavy-83891.html
The whole time I was in contact with Mia and she was exceptionally helpful and friendly, so I can happily give them full stars in this category.
Build ****
The laser dimensions are 147 mm long - normal (and 114 mm in 16340 mode), ID 19 mm (ie for an 18xxx battery) and OD 23 mm. The extension tube is 33 mm long. The key switch is found on the bottom of the host and has a red mark for off and a green one for on. The switch works perfectly and the push button/temporary on button, obviously only works when the key has been turned to the correct position.
REMEMBER the battery, as with almost all 532's, must be inserted NEGATIVE FIRST ie the host is case positive! I do not know whether the laser has reverse polarity protection.
Below are some pictures of the laser:
In 18650 mode.
In 16340 / 18350 mode.
This is the key switch showing the on / off positions.
Here the laser has been defocused. The laser has been setup so that infinity is completely screwed in.
This is a close up of the head showing the lens and aperture.
Here is the driver you can see how it has been installed with the push button switch.
In 16340 / 18350 mode.
This is the key switch showing the on / off positions.
Here the laser has been defocused. The laser has been setup so that infinity is completely screwed in.
This is a close up of the head showing the lens and aperture.
Here is the driver you can see how it has been installed with the push button switch.
The driver is more than likely a simple linear. I didnt dismantle the laser to check the current at the diode, as that would have been too risky, but the current at the tail cap was 0.33 A.
Below are a few measurements of the output for this laser on my Laserbee 2.5 W USB LPM. The measurements were taken using an AW IMR 18350 battery. No real difference was seen between the results obtained for this battery and either an AW IMR 18650 or an AW IMR 16340 battery.
The first measurement was taken over 10 mins and as you can see, the output fluctuates quite a lot whilst the laser is warming up. This is normal for DPSS lasers and the output stablises once the laser has warmed - second graph (5 min run). The ambient temp was around 24 degrees and the laser host warmed to 34.5°C. The max reading obtained was 98 mW.
The last graph shows the IR component of the 532 beam. Here I used a B+W 093 IR filter which blocks 100% of all visible light but which allows approx 15 % transmission at 810 nm and 90 % at 1064 nm respectively.
This can now be compared to a basic IR filter from a web cam camera which, unlike the IR pass filter above, blocks the IR components and allows the 532 to pass.
As you can see the laser hits 72 mW with the filter and then reaches 91 mW when it is removed. This suggests, ignoring losses to internal reflections and scattering, that there is around 19 mW of IR. As these filters have near to 0% transmission from 750 nm onwards and the result is almost identical to the result obtained above, it can be concluded that the IR component is composed almost exclusively of 1064 nm light.
These next 2 pictures (taken at approx. 3 m) show the dot profile, which is very good. The second simply shows a diffuse reflection of the dot. The photos were taken with an old iphone, as I didnt want to risk using my good camera.:tinfoil:
Conclusion and Overall Rating ****
Well Im very happy with this laser. The output is a little less than claimed, but its not wildly inaccurate. Its hard to say exactly, as the output was temperature dependent and fluctuated somewhat, but if we take the 19 mW as the total IR contribution we have a laser with approximately 70 - 75 mW of 532. For $20 I think thats quite reasonable.
Finally here are some beam pics, hopefully you can see how good the divergence really is.
This tower is about 3-4 km away so clearly the laser light travels further than the 1 km estimated in the specs...
Hope you enjoyed reading! :beer:
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