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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Review - Lasersman FireDragon III 300mW

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May 31, 2009
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This is the review for the FireDragon III 300mW laser by Lasersman.

Link to the laser LINK HERE!

First off I would like to say, this is an unbiased review and I will only give factual, observed information about this company and MY experience with them.

So I ordered this laser via the former DinoDirect company, Lasersman’s GB#2

IMAG0826.jpg


The laser came well packed and came with everything you need to get started.

IMAG0817.jpg


Unfortunately Lasersman did not include an Australian adapter for the charger, so that pretty much rendered it useless... oh well I have another one.

This was the content of the package....

IMAG0818.jpg


In my opinion this laser is very high quality and a great asset to a laser enthusiast’s collection. It has an amazingly durable and rugged feel, while at the same time feels exotic or unique. It has the classic RPL style host which weighs in at an impressive 420 grams (381 grams without batteries). The laser feels heavy in your hand and looks impressive.

IMAG0820.jpg


The laser has some draw backs though; I do not like the touchiness/sensitivity of the on/off button. It seems to be incredibly sensitive to light touches, which in a high powered laser is not preferable. I would recommend that the company seriously considers changing the switch out for a much firmer one, because I see it as a safety issue.

IMAG0827.jpg


The laser is rated on Lasersman’s website with the following data:

Name: Firedragon-Ⅲ Green Laser Pointer
Wavelength: 532nm
Output Power: >300mW
Divergence: <1.5m Rad
Beam Diameter at Aperture: ~1.5mm
Power Source: 1 x 3.6V 18650 Lithium-ion battery
Expected Lifetime: 5000 - 10000hours

I have run my own tests on this unit and have concluded my own results as can be seen below.

Peak output power: 628mw (300mw version tested)
Average output power: 487mw
Observed divergence: 1.95mRad
Beam diameter at aperture: 3.4mm
Current draw: Steady 2.61A
Estimated battery life: 54 mins (@ 2.6A with provided 2400mAh battery)

*Note all measurements were measured with calibrated digital calipers, and your results may vary.

This is a LPM graph of the laser over a 3 min time period.

FireDragon_LPM.jpg


My overall satisfaction with the company and laser can be summarized in the ratings below.

Product quality: 9/10
Customer support: 9.5/10
Email notifications: N/A
Packaging: 10/10
Shipping time: 9/10 (6 days shipping, not bad from china!)

Overall rating 9.38/10

Lastly here is an in depth review of the laser, showing all of its aspects and LPM output.



Beam Shots to follow….

Thanks for reading!
-Adrian
 
Last edited:





Joined
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Well, for 300mW, it's certainly... that and more. For $200, pretty good; I wonder how consistent that'd be . Good review. thanks.
 
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That's a might fine looking laser you got there =D

Great review! Can't wait to see the video of it
 
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Great Review. Seems to perform just like the different style one I recently got and did a review on.:wave:

Thanks for sharing.:)
 

jimdt7

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Nice review ! You have a nice laser there !
400mW for 200$ is very cheap !

Jim
 
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Great review! :gj:
I have a 350mw firedragon waiting at the post office to be picked up at the moment.
I hope mine is as efficient as yours. :)
 

plexus

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Any chance of some IR testing and also beam geometry? I find with these high output 532's that are cheap they use large crystals to get the power output but the exit beam diameter is quite large >1mm which lowers the power density. i have an early 100mw 532 pen that has an incredibly narrow beam and is effectively brighter than my 300-400mw later pointer that uses larger crystals. also for the IR testing it would be good to know what the spectral transmission specs of the IR fitter you are using is.

Good initial insight into this laser though!
 
Joined
Mar 27, 2011
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Well, for 300mW, it's certainly... that and more. For $200, pretty good; I wonder how consistent that'd be . Good review. thanks.

These seem to be very consistent in being overspec. So far every single one that has been reviewed and LPM came in at roughly the same specs, and there are at least 3-5 reviews of this specific laser floating around.

Any chance of some IR testing and also beam geometry? I find with these high output 532's that are cheap they use large crystals to get the power output but the exit beam diameter is quite large >1mm which lowers the power density.

That's exactly the problem I had with mine and the reason I later sold it. While it was more than double overspec at peak, the beam diameter at aperture was quite large. Divergence was also rather lousy.

You may want to check out rhd's thread though since he had some luck correcting the beam diameter issue... though not the divergence.
 
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Nice review! :wave:
+1 :beer:

I want one now after seeing the 600mW+ peak!!!!!!
Congratulations
 

SOG

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This is Interesting, I am also looking for a decent brightness green, this looks like a nice host and decent power... I wonder how visible the bean is though.
 
Joined
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Any chance of some IR testing and also beam geometry? I find with these high output 532's that are cheap they use large crystals to get the power output but the exit beam diameter is quite large >1mm which lowers the power density. i have an early 100mw 532 pen that has an incredibly narrow beam and is effectively brighter than my 300-400mw later pointer that uses larger crystals. also for the IR testing it would be good to know what the spectral transmission specs of the IR fitter you are using is.

Good initial insight into this laser though!

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 :/
 
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Careful everyone...this review looks great but check the reviews on the 500mw on the latest GB....very poor performance. Does not meet any of the specs stated...at least for two of us. Also, we are having a horrible time getting the lasers returned for a refund...they are not following ANY of their listed policies regarding returns and refunds...so far for two of us it has been a total cluster you know what....
 
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Careful everyone...this review looks great but check the reviews on the 500mw on the latest GB....very poor performance. Does not meet any of the specs stated...at least for two of us. Also, we are having a horrible time getting the lasers returned for a refund...they are not following ANY of their listed policies regarding returns and refunds...so far for two of us it has been a total cluster you know what....

Link Please.? I would like to see the testing.
 
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Jun 12, 2011
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Yeah it seems that the 500mW ones are not great however the 300mW ones seem to be doing well as well as from the previous GB
 




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