Review of the LaserGlow 5mW Aquarius

[ZRaffleticket]

Yeah that seems pretty normal for 473nm.

I thought that it was flickering rapidly at first but it looks like it's just the wall's texture causing that in the video.

 

[NightExplorer96]

Yeah that seems pretty normal for 473nm.

I thought that it was flickering rapidly at first but it looks like it's just the wall's texture causing that in the video.

Alright! Thank you for the help Raffle

It still is a magnificent color even if DPSS struggles a bit. +1 to you(when it let's me haha)

 

[trencheel303]

Frustratingly I am having trouble loading the video ATM and I really want to see that colour. I'm actually uploading something right now which all but reduces my down speed to a trickle.

We must have joined the RGB club at almost the same time Greenlander. :beer:

 

[NightExplorer96]

Frustratingly I am having trouble loading the video ATM and I really want to see that colour. I'm actually uploading something right now which all but reduces my down speed to a trickle.

We must have joined the RGB club at almost the same time Greenlander. :beer:

Haha, I guess so bud

Im currently trying to get the 447nm Hydra. What about you?

 

[hwang21]

That actually looks pretty good for 473nm look around for members' LPM tests of 473nm's, they can get pretty wild :beer:

 

[NightExplorer96]

I manged to get a beamshot of all my lasers.

Again, may be hard to see but it's the best I got

PS: After I turned off the Aquarius for 1 minute to organize the lasers it was really dim when I turned it on again. I was like "noooo" but it got brighter after 5 seconds. May have been the crystals got too cold? Help me haha, im brand new to "Blue Beauties"

FYI: This picture was taken at 0 Degrees Celsius(don't know if that changes anything)

 

[trencheel303]

Haha, I guess so bud

Im currently trying to get the 447nm Hydra. What about you?

Me? Honestly I'm not really trying for anything new in the near future. In the last two months I've already spent a fair bit and built an already nice collection. I'd eventually like a HeNe or one of those lab lasers (laser in a box type thing), maybe if 405 diodes ever get more powerful. But for now my pennies are staying put; I'm the type of guy who can dwell on buying the next big thing all day long but it doesn't do any good.

I manged to get a beamshot of all my lasers.

Again, may be hard to see but it's the best I got


PS: After I turned off the Aquarius for 1 minute to organize the lasers it was really dim when I turned it on again. I was like "noooo" but it got brighter after 5 seconds. May have been the crystals got too cold? Help me haha, im brand new to "Blue Beauties"

FYI: This picture was taken at 0 Degrees Celsius(don't know if that changes anything)

A good way to get beamshots is to light an incense stick in a room then let it settle for a while. You won't see much smoke, but the beams increase in brightness by about 2 or 3 times. Then I like to sit the lasers on a table or chair using those hair clip things. They clamp the buttons down and act as excellent stands. As your lasers are all under 5mW you can really experiment too. Putting the camera directly opposite the lasers should yield beams on all three I'd think.

As for the laser, yeah 0 degrees Celsius is quite cold, certainly for a DPSSL... My cheaper pen lasers all but shrivel up to a dim dot at those temps, as for the SKY laser, I've never tested it in these temps as I'm afraid of breaking it :na: but as for what to do with it... I dunno, caress it in your arms and hopelessly sing to it?!

Ps. You should have just left the Aquarius on while arranging the lasers - in 0 degrees your duty cycle would be massively extended.

 

[DJNY]

That actually looks pretty good for 473nm look around for members' LPM tests of 473nm's, they can get pretty wild :beer:

My Aquarius was pretty stable :beer:

 

[NightExplorer96]

A good way to get beamshots is to light an incense stick in a room then let it settle for a while. You won't see much smoke, but the beams increase in brightness by about 2 or 3 times. Then I like to sit the lasers on a table or chair using those hair clip things. They clamp the buttons down and act as excellent stands. As your lasers are all under 5mW you can really experiment too. Putting the camera directly opposite the lasers should yield beams on all three I'd think.

Ps. You should have just left the Aquarius on while arranging the lasers - in 0 degrees your duty cycle would be massively extended.

Really? Normally it's duty cycle is 90 seconds so I was trying to keep it under 90 seconds. I had no clue this cold of a temp could increase it's duty cycle.

How long do you think I could have kept it on? 5 minutes? 10 minutes?

Thanks,
Alex

 

[trencheel303]

No clue. It'd be presumptuous of me to give an arbitrary figure as I've never had experience with this laser. However, I tested some if those black new wish style pens recently and found upwards of 6 minutes constant on didn't even cause them to get warm. Considering these are overspec greens which probably leak some IR, and that your Aquarius is under 5mW BUT is a much less efficient DPSS process, the IR pump diode surely can't be worlds apart in terms of power, and may even be weaker.

But remember, the Aquarius is not just a cheap new wish pen so I would probably speak to laser glow before potentially wrecking it - but fwiw I would be surprised if it couldn't run and run and run on a cold night... Do with that what you will.

I have a thread. Look on my profile and find the thread titled stress testing cheap laser pens - do they ever die. The trusty pens all live to tell the tale and lase as good as ever. I was given them as a gift so I didn't Intentionally want to kill them... But I wasn't exactly easy on them either.

 

[ZRaffleticket]

Dunno how long it'll increase the duty cycle, but it will. Only way is to compare... my 561 performs exceptionally well outside when it's in the negatives on both temperature scales.

I also have a question, is it CW or pulsed?

 

[NightExplorer96]

Dunno how long it'll increase the duty cycle, but it will. Only way is to compare... my 561 performs exceptionally well outside when it's in the negatives on both temperature scales.

I also have a question, is it CW or pulsed?

What exactly do you mean by CW and pulsed? Remember, I am still a noob

It has a momentary push button if that is what you are asking? And the light stays on as long as you keep it pushed in. Hope that helped?

 

[hwang21]

Until the host is warm to the touch, perhaps? I would think LG has pretty good heatsinking. And yeah move your laser around and you'll see a dashed line if the laser is pulsed

 

[ZRaffleticket]

CNI builds the host and heatsinking, I wouldn't credit it to LG, they just test quality and rebrand.

More stable some may say, but its primarily for longer run time.

Easy way to tell, just shine it across a wall.

pulsed output
----------------------
CW output
___________________

EDIT, pics of my 450nm running CW and pulsed
CW

pulsed

 

[NightExplorer96]

Ok, I checked the "instruction page" provided with the laser and it in indeed pulsed.

This is exactly what it says:

Operating Mode: Pulsed 700Hz. No clue if that is good or not

 

[hwang21]

Depends on the person haha and I've seen LG mix around their operating modes, sometimes saying it's pulsed and sometimes saying it's CW. Easiest way to check is just shine it around your walls