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Had to get around to this one sooner or later, so here's my review of the lasers I ordered from the SKYLasers Group Buy #2.
In the group buy, I decided to order the HL-520 50mW and the PL-650 1W. Ordering these two gave me the LP-460 80mW, a 450nm single mode pointer. I'll separate each laser until the end of its review.
Note I don't have any LPM graphs, at all, YET. My laserbee was getting some repairs and is now in the mail...
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First up, the 520nm direct green diode laser. This is the HL model, it comes with an aperture shutter, a key switch, a focus adapter, a pin (which is really nice, its set up well), and a diffraction grating.
The color is pretty close to what the camera picks up, I think it's a nicer color than 532nm easily.
Here's the host
And some beamshots! The color came out well, shocked cause it looks the same as 532nm on the screen...
Note to self, avoid splash when taking pictures
Here's the spot size at about 30 feet (~10m)
The only thing about this laser that I'm not happy about is the beam getting cut off by the aperture, since I don't particularly care for the diffraction caps I'm just going to... amend... that myself.
Other than that, that's it for this laser, the divergence is only matched by my 589nm from CNI and the 450nm pen that came with this.
Does just above what it's advertised to do
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This is the gift I got with the order, kind of nice getting a RGB order I suppose
I asked for it white, I have enough black anodized lasers as it is, so it's a nice change. Man is it smooth, I really like it. I'm also pretty sure I can screw the HL's diffraction cap into this, I've yet to try it...
To keep it always on, I found that using the keyring for the keys the HL and PL came with to hold the switch down to be perfect, works like a charm!
And here's the beamshots,
Best divergence of the group here, though I think I can adjust the one on the 520nm to match this. Same material and both single mode, same manufacturer so it should be close to the same divergence, riiight?
Out of everything, the one thing I didn't pay for came out without any complaints. It uses rechargable AAA's, I always have three pairs of those charged at a time so batts are never a problem.
This was rated 80mW, Turning out to be the most overspec of the three!
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And last, but certainly not least, is the PL-650 1W laser. This one came with a large case, which I gotta admit is pretty nice. Too bad they put the pen's case inside, the top foam is indented a bit...This laser is equally as bright as the 520nm, to put things in perspective. Don't doubt the power though, the only reason all of my pictures weren't on a black surface is because it melted :tinfoil:
Much like the HL, this has everything except the diffraction grating. The aperture hole is also HUGE, and STILL managed to cut off the beam a little. It's not too bad, I hope, nethertheless I will be doing the same surgery on this as I plan on the 520nm.
Here's the host. (never realized the case was that... dirty...)
And some beamshots--
The spot diverges less than my 635nm, which is a plus, however it is just as bright as ~300mW's of 635nm.
Believe what you may wish, this is the least blurry of five.
I'm also pretty happy with this one, excluding the output being cut off slightly. The blue LED is almost as bright as the laser, gotta find some electrical tape to fix that.
Despite the beam being cut off a bit, it still performs as it should!
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I managed to snap one pic with all three of these, for those who might ask later
That concludes the individual portions of the review, here's the main part.
Offroad did an EXCELLENT job keeping everybody happy in this GB. It seems a lot of people had problems with the HL's and the 532's (glad I'm a wavelength collector and already have one), I know if any problems arise if one is to suddenly die or have a low power output that things will be worked out. Gotta credit his hard work with all this.
The shipping was pretty fast once it went out, I had a little problem with DHL sending it close to the chinese new year, but it magically sent out when it was all taking place, nothing arrived broken or dented so I have nothing bad to say about it.
Every laser feels sturdy and not like it was just slapped together, I'm happy with that.
Like I mentioned earlier, I'll add power charts soon.
Anyway, in other news my laser "rainbow" is almost complete (forgot the argon here), only missing a few wavelengths now
The green overpowered EVERYTHING in this, and I used up all my electrical tape on a project, so that black thing on the wall is a balloon... only adhesive I had was the gum in my mouth, at least it was out of flavor...
Aaaand that's 1000 posts
In the group buy, I decided to order the HL-520 50mW and the PL-650 1W. Ordering these two gave me the LP-460 80mW, a 450nm single mode pointer. I'll separate each laser until the end of its review.
Note I don't have any LPM graphs, at all, YET. My laserbee was getting some repairs and is now in the mail...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First up, the 520nm direct green diode laser. This is the HL model, it comes with an aperture shutter, a key switch, a focus adapter, a pin (which is really nice, its set up well), and a diffraction grating.
The color is pretty close to what the camera picks up, I think it's a nicer color than 532nm easily.
Here's the host
And some beamshots! The color came out well, shocked cause it looks the same as 532nm on the screen...
Note to self, avoid splash when taking pictures
Here's the spot size at about 30 feet (~10m)
The only thing about this laser that I'm not happy about is the beam getting cut off by the aperture, since I don't particularly care for the diffraction caps I'm just going to... amend... that myself.
Other than that, that's it for this laser, the divergence is only matched by my 589nm from CNI and the 450nm pen that came with this.
Does just above what it's advertised to do
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the gift I got with the order, kind of nice getting a RGB order I suppose
I asked for it white, I have enough black anodized lasers as it is, so it's a nice change. Man is it smooth, I really like it. I'm also pretty sure I can screw the HL's diffraction cap into this, I've yet to try it...
To keep it always on, I found that using the keyring for the keys the HL and PL came with to hold the switch down to be perfect, works like a charm!
And here's the beamshots,
Best divergence of the group here, though I think I can adjust the one on the 520nm to match this. Same material and both single mode, same manufacturer so it should be close to the same divergence, riiight?
Out of everything, the one thing I didn't pay for came out without any complaints. It uses rechargable AAA's, I always have three pairs of those charged at a time so batts are never a problem.
This was rated 80mW, Turning out to be the most overspec of the three!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And last, but certainly not least, is the PL-650 1W laser. This one came with a large case, which I gotta admit is pretty nice. Too bad they put the pen's case inside, the top foam is indented a bit...This laser is equally as bright as the 520nm, to put things in perspective. Don't doubt the power though, the only reason all of my pictures weren't on a black surface is because it melted :tinfoil:
Much like the HL, this has everything except the diffraction grating. The aperture hole is also HUGE, and STILL managed to cut off the beam a little. It's not too bad, I hope, nethertheless I will be doing the same surgery on this as I plan on the 520nm.
Here's the host. (never realized the case was that... dirty...)
And some beamshots--
The spot diverges less than my 635nm, which is a plus, however it is just as bright as ~300mW's of 635nm.
Believe what you may wish, this is the least blurry of five.
I'm also pretty happy with this one, excluding the output being cut off slightly. The blue LED is almost as bright as the laser, gotta find some electrical tape to fix that.
Despite the beam being cut off a bit, it still performs as it should!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I managed to snap one pic with all three of these, for those who might ask later
That concludes the individual portions of the review, here's the main part.
Offroad did an EXCELLENT job keeping everybody happy in this GB. It seems a lot of people had problems with the HL's and the 532's (glad I'm a wavelength collector and already have one), I know if any problems arise if one is to suddenly die or have a low power output that things will be worked out. Gotta credit his hard work with all this.
The shipping was pretty fast once it went out, I had a little problem with DHL sending it close to the chinese new year, but it magically sent out when it was all taking place, nothing arrived broken or dented so I have nothing bad to say about it.
Every laser feels sturdy and not like it was just slapped together, I'm happy with that.
Like I mentioned earlier, I'll add power charts soon.
Anyway, in other news my laser "rainbow" is almost complete (forgot the argon here), only missing a few wavelengths now
The green overpowered EVERYTHING in this, and I used up all my electrical tape on a project, so that black thing on the wall is a balloon... only adhesive I had was the gum in my mouth, at least it was out of flavor...
Aaaand that's 1000 posts
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