knimrod
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- Joined
- Nov 4, 2007
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KD 150mW Baton Style Green Laser
I received this laser 28 days after ordering. It arrived in a nice vinyl covered cardboard presentation/storage case. The battery cap and safety interlock plug/lanyard were included but not assembled onto the laser. It also came with a 18650, 3.7V rechargeable battery. As delivered, the battery had a 3.8V charge. No instructions were included. The assembled laser will not fit in the storage case.
The fit and finish of all the pieces are excellent. The overall appearance is excellent. The laser has the nice heavy feel of a quality product. The threaded part of the battery cap and mating threads in the body are not anodized. The only criticism I can give is the coarse feel of un-lubricated, un-anodized threads when assembling. The mating surfaces seem adequately clean but there isn't any lubrication present whatsoever. A tiny amount of WD40 on the threads made it feel much better. The unit is a little larger than I expected but pleasantly so. It's a perfect fit for my hand. There is no obvious way to disassemble this laser beyond removing the battery cap. I'll continue to look for a way but in the meantime, I'll enjoy it fully assembled.
The battery installs with the positive end towards the end cap of the laser. The interlock plug/lanyard installs in the end cap with a satisfying "click" and a positive lock. It will support the weight of the laser no problem. Additionally, this laser will accept two 3.0V, CR-123A rechargeable batteries in place of the 18650 battery. Current draw from the included battery was measured at 620mA.
The laser powered up with no problem and the momentary on button switch has a very nice tactile feel. There is a blue LED indicator just above the on button that is just a little too bright for my taste.
Initial power testing testing with the battery as provided yielded about 172mW at power on with the aperture right up to the power meter. With the laser aperture back about 4 feet from the power meter, the power measured at 166mW. I think this indicates that some IR leakage is present but minimal. The beam quality is excellent and the mode was textbook TEM00. I didn't measure divergence as it's fully adjustable. Removal of the interlock plug does indeed prevent the laser from turning on.
There are two adjustable rings on the laser. The top most ring is a safety shutter. Turning the ring approximately 45 degrees in a clockwise direction (looking from the top), blocks the laser output with a mechanical shutter. The second ring is a focus ring. Turning this ring fully counter-clockwise appears to adjust the focus to infinity while turning the ring clockwise brings the focus closer and closer to the aperture. With the spot focussed to about 12-24 inches, the laser will burn just about anything it comes in contact with. Black electrical tape, matches and dark balloons are no match for this laser.
I ran a 2 minute power test at a distance of about ~48 inches with my DIY power meter (calibration verified against a Coherent 210 power meter) and the logged the result with the DIY PC interface software. I expanded the beam with the built in focus to cover about 30% of the sensor's surface area. The results are spectacular as far as I'm concerned. The power averaged above the 160mW mark for the entire test.
All in all, I'm very pleased. This has to be the most satisfying laser purchase I've made to date. Only time will reveal the longevity of this laser but I suspect this will unit will live a long life. I certainly hope so. For the cost of $135.99, it's a bargain at 1.18mW per dollar with little (if any) sacrifice in quality.
I'll continue testing and report back here. I'll also take some pictures and post them but the unit I received appears identical to the unit depicted on the KD web site.
I received this laser 28 days after ordering. It arrived in a nice vinyl covered cardboard presentation/storage case. The battery cap and safety interlock plug/lanyard were included but not assembled onto the laser. It also came with a 18650, 3.7V rechargeable battery. As delivered, the battery had a 3.8V charge. No instructions were included. The assembled laser will not fit in the storage case.
The fit and finish of all the pieces are excellent. The overall appearance is excellent. The laser has the nice heavy feel of a quality product. The threaded part of the battery cap and mating threads in the body are not anodized. The only criticism I can give is the coarse feel of un-lubricated, un-anodized threads when assembling. The mating surfaces seem adequately clean but there isn't any lubrication present whatsoever. A tiny amount of WD40 on the threads made it feel much better. The unit is a little larger than I expected but pleasantly so. It's a perfect fit for my hand. There is no obvious way to disassemble this laser beyond removing the battery cap. I'll continue to look for a way but in the meantime, I'll enjoy it fully assembled.
The battery installs with the positive end towards the end cap of the laser. The interlock plug/lanyard installs in the end cap with a satisfying "click" and a positive lock. It will support the weight of the laser no problem. Additionally, this laser will accept two 3.0V, CR-123A rechargeable batteries in place of the 18650 battery. Current draw from the included battery was measured at 620mA.
The laser powered up with no problem and the momentary on button switch has a very nice tactile feel. There is a blue LED indicator just above the on button that is just a little too bright for my taste.
Initial power testing testing with the battery as provided yielded about 172mW at power on with the aperture right up to the power meter. With the laser aperture back about 4 feet from the power meter, the power measured at 166mW. I think this indicates that some IR leakage is present but minimal. The beam quality is excellent and the mode was textbook TEM00. I didn't measure divergence as it's fully adjustable. Removal of the interlock plug does indeed prevent the laser from turning on.
There are two adjustable rings on the laser. The top most ring is a safety shutter. Turning the ring approximately 45 degrees in a clockwise direction (looking from the top), blocks the laser output with a mechanical shutter. The second ring is a focus ring. Turning this ring fully counter-clockwise appears to adjust the focus to infinity while turning the ring clockwise brings the focus closer and closer to the aperture. With the spot focussed to about 12-24 inches, the laser will burn just about anything it comes in contact with. Black electrical tape, matches and dark balloons are no match for this laser.
I ran a 2 minute power test at a distance of about ~48 inches with my DIY power meter (calibration verified against a Coherent 210 power meter) and the logged the result with the DIY PC interface software. I expanded the beam with the built in focus to cover about 30% of the sensor's surface area. The results are spectacular as far as I'm concerned. The power averaged above the 160mW mark for the entire test.
All in all, I'm very pleased. This has to be the most satisfying laser purchase I've made to date. Only time will reveal the longevity of this laser but I suspect this will unit will live a long life. I certainly hope so. For the cost of $135.99, it's a bargain at 1.18mW per dollar with little (if any) sacrifice in quality.
I'll continue testing and report back here. I'll also take some pictures and post them but the unit I received appears identical to the unit depicted on the KD web site.
2 Minute Laser Power Test