Review: KD 150mW Baton Style Green Laser

[knimrod]

I managed to charge the battery and made a 6 minute run this time. I'm still impressed. No significant heating either.

Here's the graph...

 

[Benm]

That looks like a very solid curve - i wonder if the slow but steady decline in power is a thermal thing or just battery sag. Its just surprising how flat the power curve over time is - better than many much more expensive lasers of similar power.

I mean, other than the 400mW i am getting? But that one is not focusable..

You plan on burning things with that? I dont think fixed focus is a problem with greens as they are more to look at than to set things on fire

Focussing does make a big difference though, i can easily get some smoke of plastic surfaces using only a 30 mW green, with the aid of a simple lens... so i guess this KD unit makes an excellent burner as well.

 

[IgorT]

Wow, that IS an amazingly stable laser! Your unit must be way more stable than Miloš's. I think you got very lucky. He also has a hint of mode hopping if i remember the pictures correctly. Can you also please tell us the approximate diameter of the beam, when it is set to the smallest possible divergence?


Ben: I don't know if i plan any burning. I never do much burning anyway. I usually just admire the beam, like you said. In fact, i never even popped a balloon until yesterday.
On the other hand, i don't even know what i'm doing. I feel like i have a problem - can't stop buying lasers! Oh, and that laser will have a TEC inside, but the manufacturer can not guarantee it to be even remotelly as stable as the above graph. Of course the diode inside will be 5x as powerfull, so the heat is the main problem. I've been promised at least 3 minutes of >400mW, but the rest is up to luck i guess. Unless of course i mount it to a block of aluminum or some other heatsink, so the heat has somewhere to go. In that case, it is supposed to be very stable.


The 200mW version of the focusable laser would be nice tho.. Especially, if it was this stable. I just need to convince myself that i don't need it, and not read Curiously_Coherent's review, when he gets it. : But just imagine the possibility to reduce the divergence of a green simply by turning the head. The spot at a distance could be made so small! And the beam would be amazing!

 

[mikeeey]

so now everyone is FINALLY liking this laser...lol. i see how it is.

i wonder how many KD have in stock right now. im gonna order it in 2 weeks, i hope everyone here on the forum doesnt order one before me and make them out of stock lol.



we should have a GroupBuy for this laser lol.

 

[IgorT]

so now everyone is FINALLY liking this laser...lol. i see how it is.

Mikey, you have to understand, that when it comes to green lasers, you can not be sure they will be consistent, even when it comes to a high quality manufacturer.. Often even the manufacturer doesn't know how they will come out, untill they are built.


The laser i like is the one Knimrod has. It's amazingly stable! If the 200mW version was just as stable, i would like it even more. Miloš on the other hand, got one that is less stable, and drops in power quite a bit faster. And these might both be samples, for all we know. We now know a little bit about them, while before, we didn't know anything at all.


If these lasers were guaranteed to be as stable as Knimrod's is, i would buy the 200mW version instantly. Of course, sometimes you are better of without a power meter, so you don't notice stability problems and are just impressed by the brightness. There were moments, when i regretted having an LPM. You know, ignorance is bliss.. (Damn you, Knimrod! )

 

[Benm]

We will have to await more reviews before this product can be labeled good or bad, but the stability of this one does indicate they must have gotten it right in terms of construction, heat conduction and such. It's still entirely possible to order one and get a lemon though - these things dont come with guarantees.

 

[f22warzone]

hey i just orded one (dx 200 18650) to but it said that it was in stock : ) hopefully we will get really nice ones : ) in a month or so

 

[Petrovski]

KD 150mW Baton Style Green Laser

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.  

You suspect some IR leakage, but do you think or can you confirm this laser has an IR filter?

Generally this laser looks great and appears to be very good value for money. Good review!

 

[lazernut]

Hey, I just ordered the 150mW baton style laser from KD. Can't wait till it gets here!!! And yes I will do a very detailed review but I might have to ship it to someone to have the output measured.

I was going to order from DX but the little differences tell me that it might be different and from the reviews so far the one from KD looks pretty good!!!

 

[mikeeey]

Hey, I just ordered the 150mW baton style laser from KD.  Can't wait till it gets here!!!  And yes I will do a very detailed review but I might have to ship it to someone to have the output measured.

I was going to order from DX but the little differences tell me that it might be different and from the reviews so far the one from KD looks pretty good!!!  

NOOO! THEY'RE GOING TO RUN OUT! I NEED IT BEFORE IT DOES!!
im ordering it friday! only 3 more days! i hope they still have the same batch in stock!!

 

[knimrod]

[quote author=knimrod link=1210024232/0#0 date=1210024231]KD 150mW Baton Style Green Laser

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.

You suspect some IR leakage, but do you think or can you confirm this laser has an IR filter?

Generally this laser looks great and appears to be very good value for money. Good review!
[/quote]

My personal opinion is that the presence of an integral IR "filter" is much ado about not much at all. This laser probably does not have an IR filter but its design may be sufficient to keep the IR leakage to a negligible amount without a filter.

Regardless, my usual method for evaluating IR leakage using exposed camera film as a long pass filter didn't work out too well.. The laser burns through the film in seconds.

 

[lazernut]

[quote author=lazernut link=1210024232/15#24 date=1210707557]Hey, I just ordered the 150mW baton style laser from KD. Can't wait till it gets here!!! And yes I will do a very detailed review but I might have to ship it to someone to have the output measured.

I was going to order from DX but the little differences tell me that it might be different and from the reviews so far the one from KD looks pretty good!!!

NOOO! THEY'RE GOING TO RUN OUT! I NEED IT BEFORE IT DOES!!
im ordering it friday! only 3 more days! i hope they still have the same batch in stock!![/quote]

That was exactly what I was thinking a few days ago so I just broke down and bought it. I mean come on 150mW of 532nm for $136. How do you beat it? Well maybe the DX 200 beats it but not by much. . . .
:
Oh, and knimrod, do you mean the laser itself (not including ir leakage) is so powerful it burns through the film or the other way around. If possible could you PRETTY PLEASE post some vids of it in action tearing some stuff up or some beam shots? This would be very helpful to cure my craving and lack of patients. ;D

Thanks!

 

[MarioMaster]

[quote author=mikeeey link=1210024232/15#25 date=1210717629][quote author=lazernut link=1210024232/15#24 date=1210707557]Hey, I just ordered the 150mW baton style laser from KD. Can't wait till it gets here!!! And yes I will do a very detailed review but I might have to ship it to someone to have the output measured.

I was going to order from DX but the little differences tell me that it might be different and from the reviews so far the one from KD looks pretty good!!!

NOOO! THEY'RE GOING TO RUN OUT! I NEED IT BEFORE IT DOES!!
im ordering it friday! only 3 more days! i hope they still have the same batch in stock!![/quote]

That was exactly what I was thinking a few days ago so I just broke down and bought it. I mean come on 150mW of 532nm for $136. How do you beat it? Well maybe the DX 200 beats it but not by much. . . .
:
Oh, and knimrod, do you mean the laser itself (not including ir leakage) is so powerful it burns through the film or the other way around. If possible could you PRETTY PLEASE post some vids of it in action tearing some stuff up or some beam shots? This would be very helpful to cure my craving and lack of patients. ;D

Thanks![/quote]

even then these lasers seem much more stable, and use better batteries for the current draw

 

[nikokapo]

amazing it stays over 150mw during the whole test.
seem you got a very good laser..



cant wait for the review of the DX baton CC!
keep em coming ;D

 

[Dark_Horse]

I ordered the DX200 Focusable on 5/6/08, it actually said it had been shipped on until testerday, turns out they split my shipment and sent all the other items, but now the Laser is back to "ready", Hopefully it will really ship soon. I will evaluate it when I do get it.
I am also a little worried about the EMS shipping, but I have received lasers EMS before without issue. :
Dark Horse

 

[knimrod]

Oh, and knimrod, do you mean the laser itself (not including ir leakage) is so powerful it burns through the film or the other way around. If possible could you PRETTY PLEASE post some vids of it in action tearing some stuff up or some beam shots? This would be very helpful to cure my craving and lack of patients. ;D

Thanks!

Since the IR is supposedly passed by the exposed film, it shouldn't be responsible for any burning. The main 532nm component of the beam is absorbed by the film however and burns through.

I'm not much of a burning aficionado but I'll see what I can do. The main problem I have with any close work is that the spot is so bright, I can't see what I'm doing and it also completely saturates my camera!