Review - Lasersman FireDragon III 300mW

[Antistatic]

Hi, I have been viewing these posts for a few months but just registered as a user today! I was seeing how angry Jmillerdoc is and had to add my two cents as well. Back in the springtime I bought a laser from Laserman that when it arrived did not work. I too had the same experience of getting the run around from their service dept. What was different was I had saved up for months to buy this laser and I could not afford to pay the return shipping. With the economy and some financial hardships my family had been experiencing I just couldn't swing the extra cash to return it. So, I still have this hunk on round junk sitting in my drawer I paid over $250 for. It is probably too late to return it now.

These guys actually insulted me by telling me I just didn't know what I was doing and I probably didn't have a good battery (used the one included) or I had it in backwards (I am aware the polarity is reverse in green lasers). It took forever to get them to finally agree to accept the laser back and get a return shipping address from them. I think it was going to cost around $40 to ship it back.

I don't know enough about the workings of lasers to try to repair it myself, maybe someone could help or fix it for me. It would be cheaper to ship it here in the USA than overseas. I was thinking of starting a thread to ask for help.

But Jmillersdoc I feel your pain and I totally understand where you are coming from. I don't blame you one bit for posting your experience and warning others to stay away from them. They have bad business ethics and I won't ever buy from them again! I couldnt afford it of I could! It was an expensive learning experience for me too! So, I agree, stay away from Laserman! They sent me a non working laser and gave me all sorts of grief when I wanted to return it and wouldn't pay for the shipping back as well.

You should post your own review Jmillersdoc, I will gladly post my experience there too!

 

[Jmillerdoc]

Welcome to the forum Antistatic! Sorry to hear about your Laserman experience. I have built several of my own lasers but have never had to troubleshoot a manufactured one yet. As soon as the 45 day period my credit card company has given Laserman to take their laser back is up I was thinking of cracking mine open to at least fix the switch problem. It may just be a loose connection. Did your laser come in a crappy envelope too? Mime came in a small box with a small bubble wrap envelope inside, about one layer total. This was then placed inside a very thin insulated envelope....almost no protection st all...if yours came in the same packing as mime it's no surprise it's not working. These lasers are way too heavy for that little amount of protection.

In fact, once this waiting period period is up, if I can fix then switch problem on mine...you can have it for free! How's that sound? Maybe you could send me your broken one after you get mine and I could try to fix it as well...let's see how this plays out, Laserman may eventually decide it is in their interest to arrange for return shipping of their laser...if they don't, it's yours. I don't really want it and certainly don't need it and if in the end it's totally free to me I can't think of a better way to make your situation right. What model did you get from them, what was the output supposed to be? Based on what you paid, probably around 300mw. PM me when you have the time and I will explain further what my credit card company is requiring and when you might expect to get this one from me....other than the problems I have mentioned, it's a nice looking host and it does work, just not at the guaranteed output....it still looks pretty good and seems to be stable around 300mw.

Again, welcome to the forum!

 

[cheech226]

BUT if you were thinking of purchasing the 500mW model you should take warning from other members that have purchased this model. They are not up to spec and the company will not issue refunds etc...

-Adrian

i received a 500mw model that is overspec with a nice round dot. with a charged aw cell at 2 minutes it does 650mw. i'll have a camera soon and put up my review and nice pix.

 

[bobhaha]

i received a 500mw model that is overspec with a nice round dot. with a charged aw cell at 2 minutes it does 650mw. i'll have a camera soon and put up my review and nice pix.

I'm not saying all of them are flawed... That was just an example for Jmillerdoc

 

[rustlerdude987]

i have a question does the battery go positive side facing tail cap or what?

 

[LaZeRz]

Yup. Positive towards the tailcap.

 

[rustlerdude987]

Thanks!

 

[chadr]

With my phone camera, I was unable to see any IR leakage. I will grab an IR filter off someone and try again.

As for the beam profile... check the OP. It's meant to be <1.5mm at aperture, but from my measurements its 3.4mm. Divergence is pretty poor... at 5.4m the beam dia is at 13.9mm.

To be honest I'll probably try out a beam correction solution, but I'm not too fussed. But then again, with this beam I can't even light a match :/

hi i am new to the forum and would like to buy this laser. I have only seen videos of it burning stuff and at close range. I saw earlier that u said the divergence was poor i was wondering if it still goes far at night and does not get crazy big

 

[bobhaha]

Well put it this way.... its a 600mW+ laser and it can't light a match or smoke leather, unless its like within 5cm or so. That's how bad the divergence is. If it is being used merely for a pointer I would say this is a pretty sweet product.

I would really advise against this laser, if you were interesting in burning.

 

[chadr]

Well put it this way.... its a 600mW+ laser and it can't light a match or smoke leather, unless its like within 5cm or so. That's how bad the divergence is. If it is being used merely for a pointer I would say this is a pretty sweet product.

I would really advise against this laser, if you were interesting in burning.

ok thanks i am a little confused now though because in styropyros youtube video he was able to burn things with ease.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Well put it this way.... its a 600mW+ laser and it can't light a match or smoke leather, unless its like within 5cm or so. That's how bad the divergence is. If it is being used merely for a pointer I would say this is a pretty sweet product.

I would really advise against this laser, if you were interesting in burning.

Have you tried replacing the stock lens? I kind of regret getting rid of mine, before finding out that that's an option... rhd had quite a bit of luck with it.

 

[Paddy]

hi i am new to the forum and would like to buy this laser. I have only seen videos of it burning stuff and at close range. I saw earlier that u said the divergence was poor i was wondering if it still goes far at night and does not get crazy big

Welcome, Don't forget to buy some safety glasses first! :yh:

 

[bdgreenb]

took 45 days from order to my doorstep. I was a lucky one mine specs about the same as this one.

Originally Posted by chadr
hi i am new to the forum and would like to buy this laser. I have only seen videos of it burning stuff and at close range. I saw earlier that u said the divergence was poor i was wondering if it still goes far at night and does not get crazy big

it doesnt get "crazy big", it's a pretty tight beamed sky saber... but not a burner in the least. Produces a "holy jeebus that's bright!" dot at ~100m on a white object. Through a magnifying glass burns a little less quickly than a 400mw 405 w/ focus lens, so as far as burning goes... i would look at another product. If anything it is the best way to show you how dangerous a 350+mw laser really is w/o proper eyewear.