Review (video): DX SD Laser 301 & Rayfoss RF532-200mW-B03

[Mik]

You need check if it's rly ir filtered, coz the experiences told me these models on sales are never ir filtered.
I recommend you to add an ir filter to the LPM to see the difference made by the ir filter.

BTW, i don't know if this LPM supports the adding of an ir filter. Sorry.:yh:

Hey MoneyLeu - thank you so much for the suggestion! I will rep you for sure. Tonight I put the Rayfoss back on the LPM and saw a peak of 150mW (the absolute best I've seen out of it yet).

I placed a "snoctony" IR filter glass over the aperture and did the LPM test again and got a peak of 117mW. The reduction got me wondering if they forgot to put the IR filter lens in the laser. I removed the focusing head from the Rayfoss and SD lasers and compared them. They look identical. My assumption is that when you ADD an IR filter to a laser that did not previously have one, you always add it at the aperture.. it is the final thing at the opposite end of the diode and visible on the outside always, right? Since the Rayfoss and DX laser lenses look exactly the same, and I cannot see any form of tinted glass (IR filter glass I've seen is usually tinted blue) along with the reduction in power when a filter is added, I started to assume that the Rayfoss laser has no IR filter and is greatly under spec. Next, I decided to sacrafice a pair of green laser protection glasses and shoot the laser through them into the LPM. They will not weed out IR, but they will weed out the majority of the green. I ended up having over 20mW stable blasting through my glasses and into the LPM.

The Rayfoss company has lied to me. They told me that my laser did 210mW before they applied the IR filter. This laser does not have an IR filter and has done an all time best of 150mW which I could not get it to do again while video taping.

I will simply say that I am "not very happy" right now.

Here are the pictures and video... And for those of you who might question my laser safety glasses, I am processing another video of my CNI green laser doing 80-something mW, quickly reduced to ZERO when the glasses are dropped between the laser and LPM. Showing that the glasses DO kill the 532nm, and probably every bit of what we see passing through with the Rayfoss is IR. Thank you again Money - without your post I would have probably never checked. You may have even saved me from potential vision damages while using the 532-only safety glasses. (which are now ruined).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC_CAIeT4-I

 

[brando132]

Are you supposed to actually place the caliper against the laser face and just close it down until you see the beam getting cropped (then back it off until no cropping)??

Or, get the face of the laser as close as possible to a light colored surface and measure the dot that you see? Obviously my figures are incorrect.. well, for the sure the Rayfoss figure cannot be right.

I measure mine a inch away on a piece of black cardboard.

What did you get for the mRad?

 

[Mik]

I measure mine a inch away on a piece of black cardboard.

What did you get for the mRad?

I added it to the first post.


I got a reply last night from Faona after directing her to this thread...

"Hello Mik,

There are 2 points I would like confirm with you:-
1.The parcel you received is from us is it? As double checked with my colleague they told me they has included the battery and charger in the parcel at least the battery should be in the parcel. Could you lease check the envelope to see if the parcel is from us?Thanks in advance!
2.Regard the power outpout
Our test result is 210mW before IR fiilter!
Our test meter is TMP-1,
power supply is 1pcs full chargered 18650 battery,
Test duration is 30 seconds.
Could you please advise me your power meters details and the test condition? If the light sense head of your power meter has installed filter lens well?

Sorry if the laser is without IR filter it's my fault if I forgot to remind engineer in double.


And if the laser is just like you stated in the forums we would exchange new one for you please kindly ship it back to us!

Looking forward your cmments in return!

Thanks and regards,
www.rayfoss.com
Faona"


My reply..

Hi faona,

1) the parcel is for sure from rayfoss. I took a picture of it and will post that in the thread tonight. There is NO battery or charger at all in the package.

2) i used a fully charged, very well performing ICR 18650 and a laserbee 1 meter. The meter head does not have an IR filter.

3) i will not send it back at my shipping expense. I am not willing to spend More of my money due to mistakes that are not my fault. If you want to refund me for the laser plus return shipping, i will send it back. Or, if you want to send me a new laser plus pay return shipping on the old one, i will do that. Otherwise i will just cut my losses and sell it as what it is. A 130mW, peaking 150mW without IR filter.

Thanks.

 

[oikos]

this just keeps on getting better! :can: GO RAYFOSS! :yabbmad:

 

[oikos]

exchange new one for you please kindly ship it back to us!

are you serious? after all the prove of them screwing up, rayfoss stilll want their crappy laser back?? that laser is probably worth less than the shipping cost to china... perhaps they want to screw another victim by selling them this one!! :gun::yabbmad:

 

[oikos]

loooks like one thing they're honest about is the declared value of $18 stated on the customs sheet.... WE DEMAND YOU RESEND A LASER TO MIK AT FREE OF CHARGE AS THE COMPENSATION FOR EMOTIONAL STRESS (do you have any idea how stressful and upsetting it is to wait... wait... wait.... and when the laser finally arrives----- DISAPPOINTMENT!!!! :horse:

 

[Mik]

^wow, pretty harsh. I just wanted to be sure to share my adventure. Hopefully it helps more people to invest in something better from the get go. If they will refund me and pay for return shipping without any hassle i'll be satisfied enough to move on.

 

[Benm]

I think its only fair if rayfoss covers the return shipping cost and sends you a new unit... after all, its defective, not because you are not satisfied with a product that does what it's supposed to.

As for selling it on: that's a bit of a harsh statement to make, they might simply want to get it back to investigate what went wrong. As long as they pay for the shipping, it dont see anything wrong with that.

The only excuse can i think of is that for some reason the sent you the wrong laser unit - bit far fetched, but it happens. They should put serial numbers on them.

 

[brando132]

The only excuse can i think of is that for some reason the sent you the wrong laser unit - bit far fetched, but it happens. They should put serial numbers on them.

Hope that happens to mine, because I've got no where to go but up in power for the model I got!

 

[cistercian]

Great review!The use of chocolate as a target was especially entertaining!
I hope this is not too harsh but this is more evidence ,to me, to not do business with rayfoss.Underspec, no battery+charger=fail in my book.
I think they should be avoided until they get their act together.
Apologies to their fans, but had I received that laser, I would have no way to try it...and that would really tick me off.The absence of an ir filter is an epic fail as well....esp since it was specifically requested!

Again, fantastic review...thanks!

 

[souljasai]

Great review!The use of chocolate as a target was especially entertaining!
I hope this is not too harsh but this is more evidence ,to me, to not do business with rayfoss.Underspec, no battery+charger=fail in my book.
I think they should be avoided until they get their act together.
Apologies to their fans, but had I received that laser, I would have no way to try it...and that would really tick me off.The absence of an ir filter is an epic fail as well....esp since it was specifically requested!

Again, fantastic review...thanks!

i agree, both the laser I got from them are kind of crap... lost a total of $200 there, wow come to think of it, that $200 could have went towards a beast laser, or a laser power meter! so sad

 

[moneyLeu]

Hey MoneyLeu - thank you so much for the suggestion! I will rep you for sure. Tonight I put the Rayfoss back on the LPM and saw a peak of 150mW (the absolute best I've seen out of it yet).

No problem. Keep up the good work. The reason I suggested is coz two of friends ordered the similar lasers from it proves to be not ir filtered at all though they claimed once and again they added the ir filter. Even if ir filtering is not important, the lasers that were tested on LPM(when not adding the ir filter) were still under spec. Upsetting enough. let alone the much bigger beam divergence than that of cni or jetlasers products.:yh:

Have a nice day.

 

[oikos]

Great review!The use of chocolate as a target was especially entertaining!
I hope this is not too harsh but this is more evidence ,to me, to not do business with rayfoss.Underspec, no battery+charger=fail in my book.
I think they should be avoided until they get their act together.
Apologies to their fans, but had I received that laser, I would have no way to try it...and that would really tick me off.The absence of an ir filter is an epic fail as well....esp since it was specifically requested!

Again, fantastic review...thanks!

EXACTLY!! most ppl who buy their lasers can't afford a LPM so rayfoss is best at preying on those beginner laserists which is really screwed up!

you should read how faona ran away and hid like a crook after i asked her to match her output readings with my LPM output reading....

http://laserpointerforums.com/f45/new-rayfoss-350mw-laser-pointer-rf532-350mw-fgb-50479-3.html

 

[cistercian]

EXACTLY!! most ppl who buy their lasers can't afford a LPM so rayfoss is best at preying on those beginner laserists which is really screwed up!

you should read how faona ran away and hid like a crook after i asked her to match her output readings with my LPM output reading....

http://laserpointerforums.com/f45/new-rayfoss-350mw-laser-pointer-rf532-350mw-fgb-50479-3.html

Whenever they answer instantly to take an order and then get scarce when you have trouble, you know you are in trouble.I simply will not do business with people that act that way...it is unprofessional and unethical.

I repair very high end production printing equipment, when my customers call, it is not for fun.They need help, and they need it now.If a doom cluster happens, I triage...and I tell them to the best of my ability when I can get to them.And some of them go ballistic if you are not there instantly.I suck it up and give them the bad news if it has to be the next day.That way if they are really stuck, they can outsource something time critical.It is customer service, and it can be difficult.As you might imagine, I do not take poor service lightly...I hate it.At a minimum, communication has to take place in a timely way.If it does not, steer your money elsewhere.I would rather pay a bit more for excellent service than be ignored when I deserve attention the most.

I am sorry for your experience BTW.It is a real shame.

 

[siqueirah]

I have a question concerning the SDLaser. 18650 batteries are, by definition, 65mm long. I have some 68mm 18650 (protected). Will they fit the laser without problems ?

Thanks !

 

[oikos]

Whenever they answer instantly to take an order and then get scarce when you have trouble, you know you are in trouble.I simply will not do business with people that act that way...it is unprofessional and unethical.

I repair very high end production printing equipment, when my customers call, it is not for fun.They need help, and they need it now.If a doom cluster happens, I triage...and I tell them to the best of my ability when I can get to them.And some of them go ballistic if you are not there instantly.I suck it up and give them the bad news if it has to be the next day.That way if they are really stuck, they can outsource something time critical.It is customer service, and it can be difficult.As you might imagine, I do not take poor service lightly...I hate it.At a minimum, communication has to take place in a timely way.If it does not, steer your money elsewhere.I would rather pay a bit more for excellent service than be ignored when I deserve attention the most.

I am sorry for your experience BTW.It is a real shame.

now that's someone with standard! i adore you cistercian

WHY SPEND $200 ON A LPM WHEN U CAN INVEST IT IN A BETTER, QUALITY LASER KNOWING THAT THE LASER WILL BE OVERSPECED.... THAT'S WHAT I DID AND I END UP GETTING A CNI...