One of the things that many laser companies do is rate their lasers conservatively to avoid complaints about underpowered products. For example, a company may give a "50 mW" rating to a laser that averages 57 mW and peaks at 68 mW. A laser advertised to have a divergence of 2 mrad and a beam diameter of 4 mm may actually have much better specs, like 1.55 mrad at 3.1 mm. For example, Wicked Lasers' "Elite" lasers are supposed to have a 1.6 mm beam diameter, but Athoul got one with 0.8 mm (although it's likely that Wicked chooses the best lasers whenever their forum moderators order one). It would be nice if companies posted the average specs (say, out of a sample of 10,000 units) and a standard deviation. Does anyone else think that this would be a good idea? That way, people should have a better idea of what their laser will be like.
Also, some companies do not specify whether their divergence figures use full angles or half angles. An inexperienced person may buy a laser advertised to have a 0.7 mrad divergence only to find out that it was really 1.4 mrad in full angle. When companies do not specify whether the figure uses full angles or half angles, it can be very hard to figure out without contacting the company. Does anyone else find this annoying?
Also, some companies do not specify whether their divergence figures use full angles or half angles. An inexperienced person may buy a laser advertised to have a 0.7 mrad divergence only to find out that it was really 1.4 mrad in full angle. When companies do not specify whether the figure uses full angles or half angles, it can be very hard to figure out without contacting the company. Does anyone else find this annoying?
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