REVIEW JETLASERS 1W 520NM PLE-E MINI

[bodorrios8492]

Hello, I'm new here and just wanted to share with you this piece of art which arrived to me 6 months ago. First of all I want to say FHL did the shipping and I was very dissapointed, this company is known for being a big thieves and putting abusives taxes for anything (They basically hijack your product...Please Jetlasers change the shipping company). Laser arrived well, very bright, big ,heavy and the focus mechanism is a delight. The batteries it brings are kinda smaller than the typical Tangsfire (2 18350). I also ordered the x10 beam expander, but It takes away a lot of power, so I dont know if it actually worths, although beam is very colimated for sure. I let you some pictures of this beauty. Regards from Spain. (EDITED) PS: I didn't use the beam expander in any of these pics, only the focus mechanism.

 

[bodorrios8492]

And these ones

 

[TinLethax]

Cool green ! Frist time I though why the beam is so thicc. You are using the beam expander.

 

[Encap]

And these ones

Great photos --very much enjoyed them.
Good luck with your PL-E mini 520nm, it is one very nice professional hand held laser for sure---be careful with it.
I think you need a full size DPSS JetLasers PL-E Pro 532nm, 800mW next---much better divergence/beam profile, visually brighter than 520mn at same output power , runs on 26650 battery for long run time + several other features that are not found in/nor offered on the mini series.

Buena suerte con su PL-E mini 520nm, es un láser de mano profesional muy bueno, por lo tanto, tenga cuidado.
Creo que necesita un DPSS JetLasers PL-E Pro de 532nm de tamaño completo, 800 mW a continuación --- mucho mejor divergencia / perfil de haz, visualmente más brillante que 520mn a la misma potencia de salida, con 26650 para el tiempo de ejecución largo, varias otras características que no Encontrado / ofrecido con la mini serie.

 

[steve001]

Like the comparative photos for the reason it shows how the terminated beam profile at some distance looks and how a beam expander alters that profile.

 

[bodorrios8492]

I was not using the beam expander in any of these pics, I forgot to say. If beam looks more or less colimated is because I was using the focus mechanism. With the beam expander it looks much more colimated but as I said it tooks away a lot of power. I was thinking in the 800 mw 532nm from Jetlasers, but Its only made in the PLE-PRO, and this piece is so big (like 35 cm or so and PLE- Mini is 24). PS: Thanks for the spanish text encap

 

[steve001]

I was not using the beam expander in any of these pics, I forgot to say. If beam looks more or less colimated is because I was using the focus mechanism. With the beam expander it looks much more colimated but as I said it tooks away a lot of power. I was thinking in the 800 mw 532nm from Jetlasers, but Its only made in the PLE-PRO, and this piece is so big (like 35 cm or so and PLE- Mini is 24). PS: Thanks for the spanish text encap

Please do some photos with the beam expander for comparison.

A suggestion. If you order another laser from them request they not permanently seal the front bezel in place. If so, you could unscrew the bezel to see if a longer focal length lens could be swapped for the original.

 

[paul1598419]

It looks like you defocused the beam on many of your photos. Usually we see beam shots with the focus set to infinity which gives the smallest beam diameter and the greatest power density. The beam expander may look like it robs power in the near field, but it won't in the far field. A 10X beam expander reduces the divergence of your laser by a factor of 10. This means it will produce a smaller beam in the far field than the laser could otherwise.

 

[RedCowboy]

Yes it looks defocused, the line should be sharper and longer looking by ratio if focused to distance without a beam expander, it should be an obvious long line far field if all you are collimating with is the factory primary lens be it a 2 element,3 element, G7 or G2 although with a G2 it would look like an even longer line.

---edit---

As a matter of fact photos 5 and 6 are showing different levels of being out of focus. If focused tightly to target the line would be that width but much sharper/thinner.

 

[bodorrios8492]

Problem is the "dot" is that bright that it seems wider than it actually is, you can see in daylight how thin is. Also all of them are screenshots from a video, so the dot is a bit distorted but in daylight the dot is just a thin line (In real it looks even thinier). Thats why I say maybe this beam expander does not worth too much, or I'm doing something wrong with the focus, but I tried everything even I asked Gray. Best Regards

 

[hakzaw1]

FHL?? are you sure??
WE get awesome quick and always secure unopened never inspected out of hundreds of JL laser shipped to USA by DHL < its that what company you mean??

I am sorry to hear of your problems.. AND I suspect the problem is with the shipper or Spanish Customs etc.
and no fault of JL.. 'OURS' (USA) arrive unopened every time and often in less than 4 days..

I am sure 'Gray' will use any shipper you request but ATM you have no way to know IF it will be better.
JL cannot control customs etc. Every seller of almost everything has this disclaimer. Fees, fines. duty etc is on the buyer.
I ship to JL from Texas using USPS /EMS JL does not like DHL for return shipping and I know they had to ALSO pay what amounts to a ransom ($150usd irrc) on one of my boxes..

hope it gets better... hak

 

[Frozenferrari]

Great review man! Really appreciate the BE vs no BE comparisons. Thats somewhat hard to find directly! Nice work.

I just sent in an order for this same unit as well. Barebones price is $250 plus shipping, making this *by far* the most affordable 1W green I could find without buying a custom build from an LPF member for a ridiculous bargain. Even building one from an S4x and a DTR diode would be about $300 before shipment costs.

I find it strange that the Pro host version at the same power level costs $50 more. The Sanwu challenger II of 1W 520 is $400! And the 800mw @ 532nm Ple-pro is $500! I sure hope the price for the 1W 520 mini isnt some kind of typographical error on the website, but I also believe in the spec supplied by JL, so im confident in the output and the purchase. Hopefully this unit will be brighter than the 3.5w 465 pro. Outstanding beam brightness is my goal!

 

[hakzaw1]

A 465nm 4.00W will read on a LPM 50 mW more output than your 3.5W-- HOWEVER
by eye it will be a 50/50 toss-up one which is which.. remember to double 'preceived' brightness you X4 not just double- you need a 465nm at 7W to 'look' double.
And I am pretty sure 7W of any blue..especially some brighter ones would equal 532 and even 520.

Laser diodes etc are not made with 'us' in mind.. some makers wish we would go away.
Some go to great extremes to keep us from 'the harvest'.

in any event you are on your way to a awesome collection..
I am here to help with any JLs.

oh forgot For a while because they are still 'new' the MINI PRO PL E will cost more.. Parts , labor etc to make a mini are prolly are the same , for now, more expensive. That is not uncommon--

Example- 1000W 445nm Pl-E new/other/NOS. can be had for $150 shipped to CONUS from Texas- (comes with extras)

at that price it would make a fine host for another laser.. That was afaik the first 'commercially' made handheld w/ internal focus.. a big deal at the time IMO still is pretty kewl

 

[bodorrios8492]

Acording to this, http://lsrtools.1apps.com/relativebrightness/?nm1=520&mw1=1000&nm2=445&mw2=7000&useRaleigh=on 7W 445nm would be less bright than 1W 520nm. Btw, I let u here the last dots from 3 Km distance to compare with and without beam expander:

 

[hakzaw1]

and... these 2 'demo-use' only, are among the very FIRST ones made-- One came out of the blue as we did not know at that time that the PL-Es were HERE!!
Both work the same as the day they arrived. AND before we found out about the big ones (like 5+W etc).

 

[Richie89]

that's kinda why im afraid to buy another from JL, even though I am pretty soon LOL! but very nice laser buddy