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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Review of O-like 50mw cute pocket laser $35

Joined
Oct 12, 2010
Messages
7
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0
This is my first green laser. It took about ten days to arrive at my house. When I looked at the packaging, it said "Flashlight for gift" on it. Probably to deter customs from looking into it.:na: When I turned it on, it was very bright and I was very happy because of the the price. After about an hour of playing with it, it started flickering and wouldn't turn on completely. :eek: Just a faint green dot would come out of it. :mad: After a bunch of testing on it, I found that the problem was with the push button switch on the end-cap. I was able to connect the + side of the battery directly to the housing and the laser would be working fine and bright. However, when I put the end-cap back on, it would be dim until I push the switch lightly until it became bright again. I was so happy when I found out it wasn't the driver or the diode. :yh: Now I don't mind this malfunction too much because it is pretty easy to make it work even when the end-cap is on. Also, I was kind of expecting something would be wrong with it considering it was only $35. You can take off the front of the laser to access the collimator lens. After the collimator lens and focus ring, there is a spring that pushes from the diode housing onto the lens housing so the focus adjustment ring doesn't move by itself. I don't really like how the spring is so loose, but it gets the job done, and it's really easy to put back together. The diode housing and driver are all glued inside of the aluminum housing which would make it really difficult if I wanted to harvest the diode.

Lets talk about beams and dots now. The dot is visible to the user from over a mile away and if you collimate it well, it will go really really far. It is also pretty bright if you point it at a white surface. It can also make somethings smoke like my black cotton sweater, but only if you focus it right. The beam is really cool at night. Even on a clear night, the beam is pretty easily visible and will amaze non-laser enthusiasts easily.

Overall, this laser is great... for the price. When buying lasers, knives, guns, flashlights, there is always one thing to remember. You get what you pay for. Aside from the switch problems, I think it is pretty well made. The negative contact for the battery could have been a bit better, but it works fine so I am happy. I would not recommend this laser to people who do not like tinkering with their lasers, because I had to open and test mine several times to find out that problem was the switch.

Overall Pros and Cons:

Pros:
Bright
Small
Cheap
Able to collimate

Cons:
End-cap switch

Click on the photos!
 

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Joined
Jun 10, 2010
Messages
91
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thanks for the review! I will hopefully be getting the 200mW version in the mail next week, I hope it doesn't have any problems. +1
 
Joined
Oct 12, 2010
Messages
7
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0
Wow... I feel stupid now. I built a new switch for the laser out of shapelock and a radioshack momentary switch, and I am still having the same problems with flickering or not turning on right. :yabbmad: It is as if the laser needs to "warm up" first before it goes full power, but only when I am using the switch. It must be something other than the switch but I can't figure it out yet because it still works fine when I connect a wire to the battery and then to the host.
 
Joined
Sep 13, 2010
Messages
443
Points
18
how did you get the front of the laser off? does it snap off or twist off? i've tried twisting it and i haven't been able to move it.
 
Joined
Oct 12, 2010
Messages
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how did you get the front of the laser off? does it snap off or twist off? i've tried twisting it and i haven't been able to move it.
Well basically it just unscrews. It is really easy to take apart, you just wanna make sure you don't lose the spring that is in the front because the collimator won't work. It does take quite a bit of effort the first time to take it off, but after the initial unscrewing, it is easy from then on.
 
Joined
Sep 13, 2010
Messages
443
Points
18
Well basically it just unscrews. It is really easy to take apart, you just wanna make sure you don't lose the spring that is in the front because the collimator won't work. It does take quite a bit of effort the first time to take it off, but after the initial unscrewing, it is easy from then on.

thanks

i ended up using a pair of pliers and i was able to get it off pretty easily.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Mar 27, 2011
Messages
14,125
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113
@laserx323

Same here, decided to go with it due to better heat sink even though I like the cutie design a lot more.

Really like the result now though. Might still get a Cutie at some point.
 
Joined
Mar 27, 2011
Messages
14,125
Points
113
@laserx323

That's an wesome laser... many/most peak over 1.2W...

One thing to keep in mind though... I mean you have a 200mW so I assume you're aware of laser safety... This laser is a beast. It will blind you with one good reflection.

If you're buying from Garoq, get a pair of the survival laser shades ( I own both versions slip over glasses and regular) they work great.
 
Joined
Mar 27, 2011
Messages
14,125
Points
113
Just checking/warning... when I went from ~150mW to 1W+ it was a bit of a shock to me to see what the laser can do. I was generally very careful with lasers even before, but once I went over the 1W mark I ended up investing in better goggles.
 




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