Tman
0
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2012
- Messages
- 213
- Points
- 18
For your consideration, the PL532-700 PL 532nm 100mW-700mW
The P designation = Portable laser.
(not to be confused with the little brother to this line,
the H series = Handheld laser.)
Review is 4 parts-
1. Communication, Shipping & Contents
2. Laser & Host Build Quality
3. Laser Features & Function
4. LPM results, TEM modes & Beam shot
1. Communication, Shipping and Contents - 25/25
Email response times were very prompt,
& overall communication was clear, friendly & professional.
I was left with the impression they care about the customer & want you happy.
Shipping via DHL was $39 & was extremely fast, from payment date,
shipping from Hong Kong to my US address only 2 business days(!), very impressive.
Packaging was secure & laser arrived safely & intact,
to avoid potential customs issues, package was labeled “Rechargeable Flashlight”.
The metal & composite box they include is high quality, with keys for the outside latches.
Interior of the box has high density foam with pockets for the laser, keys to the laser & box, small lanyard,
Pin connector & 4.2V charger for the not-included 18650 battery.
2. Laser Host, Build Quality - 24/25
The size is large-ish, right up there with the Arctic.
The heft & weighty feel convey that you are not holding a toy, but a serious piece of equipment.
It's large and heavy enough to use as a self defense baton, if needed, it appears it could handle the abuse.
It’s hard anodized black, not really matte or shiny, a nice compromise between the two.
Overall coverage & surface finish is even with no noticeable blemishes or flaws.
Machining quality is very nice, especially for a mass produced host, right up there with anything I’ve seen outside of a one-off hand build.
The threads in all areas are smooth & tight, and came lubricated.
The battery / Pin connector cap has a beefy o-ring.
The host itself isn’t flashy or trendy, it strikes me as a workhorse, in the sense that its quality designed for function, not flash.
3. Laser Features & Function - 23/25
The PL532 - 700 has the ability to be focused, and has 3 major safety features.
The lens cover/shutter, the keyed power switch & what Sky calls the Pin connector.
To operate, the laser has to have the Pin connector inserted at the battery cap
& the key switch turned 90 degrees from 12 to 3 o'clock position.
The laser is now "armed".
At this point, I expected a ready or idle light, warning the user that the laser is "hot",
but not until the power button is pressed does the LED light up, a light blue color.
I suggested to Sky that they should use a 2 color LED, green for "armed" and red for "laser in use".
The shutter only requires abut 30 degrees of rotation to open & close.
The on/off button itself is solid, and not mushy or soft feeling spring-wise, and has a definite click on & off.
The focus ability is something you'll appreciate, and has a huge range.
From tightly focused, you can turn the beam into a very wide band, easily into a Dazer-type width.
It's around 2'x6' @ 75yds. from what I measured,
I'll try to get a decent shot of that in the next few days.
Overall impression of quality, simple, straight forward and works as it should w/ no issues.
4. LPM results, TEM modes & Beam and Dot characteristics - 22/25
It's rated at 700mW,
& the LPM results will show if they are giving you what you pay for-
LPM - Radiant Alpha
Batteries - Panasonic 3100mAH and 3200/2800 mAH UltraFire
IR filtering is present as promised by SKY, no IR measured.
Peaks @ 680mW, consistent 650mW with average around 670mW.
So for 700mW it's slightly under-spec.
Was really expecting at least 700mW peak, considering their website states 700-720mW.
Still respectable, but over-spec rather then under would have been the preference.
When warming up, considerable mode hopping was observed, TEM10,TEM20,TEM21 but after 45-60 seconds & thereafter things seemed to settle down into TEM00/10.
Higher mW 532nm is common to use these other TEM modes from what I've read.
The warm up hopping was consistent, in that after long term cool down,the mode hopping would take place again each time until normal operating temps were reached.
Speaking of temps, run-times well into the >3-5 minute range only resulted in slightly warm host,
& no shutdown.
Extended run-times are no issue for the P532L-700. Even after >6min. it was still pulling >450mW.
Their heatsinking & design seems to be well thought out.
The beam itself measured 1.5mm,
and the dot and beam after warm up is slight oval, with no splash or nasty artifacts.
It is so ridiculously bright it made me realize my protective glasses need upgrading.
You can tell the diode and lens system is quality.
The beam is also incredibly bright, the shot below is at dusk, only minutes after sundown,
and the building is about 300" away.(sorry for the crap pic, the autofocus was struggling)
Burning power is considerable, burning all the normal things, CD cases for example, with no focusing required.
This is the first portable laser that makes me a little concerned when pointing it skyward at night,
it is shall we say, noticeable.
I've sold many 532nm. in the 400-550mW range and they truly pale compared to the intensity of what I see from this.
Final Verdict - 94/100 <------<
Brutal, simple, powerful, w/ straight forward design.
This laser is a serious piece of hardware, it looks, feels & performs like industrial/military grade equipment.
I got the impression that you could drop it from 10 ft. to concrete & it would still function (didn't perform that test quite yet).
So, it appears we have another player in the high-end portable 532nm arena, alongside Hercules, CNI etc.
I'd highly recommend SkyLasers for quick service & high quality lasers.
SKYLASERS - laserbtb
Thanks for your patience in getting this review posted.
More reviews to come...
The P designation = Portable laser.
(not to be confused with the little brother to this line,
the H series = Handheld laser.)
Review is 4 parts-
1. Communication, Shipping & Contents
2. Laser & Host Build Quality
3. Laser Features & Function
4. LPM results, TEM modes & Beam shot
1. Communication, Shipping and Contents - 25/25
Email response times were very prompt,
& overall communication was clear, friendly & professional.
I was left with the impression they care about the customer & want you happy.
Shipping via DHL was $39 & was extremely fast, from payment date,
shipping from Hong Kong to my US address only 2 business days(!), very impressive.
Packaging was secure & laser arrived safely & intact,
to avoid potential customs issues, package was labeled “Rechargeable Flashlight”.
The metal & composite box they include is high quality, with keys for the outside latches.
Interior of the box has high density foam with pockets for the laser, keys to the laser & box, small lanyard,
Pin connector & 4.2V charger for the not-included 18650 battery.
2. Laser Host, Build Quality - 24/25
The size is large-ish, right up there with the Arctic.
The heft & weighty feel convey that you are not holding a toy, but a serious piece of equipment.
It's large and heavy enough to use as a self defense baton, if needed, it appears it could handle the abuse.
It’s hard anodized black, not really matte or shiny, a nice compromise between the two.
Overall coverage & surface finish is even with no noticeable blemishes or flaws.
Machining quality is very nice, especially for a mass produced host, right up there with anything I’ve seen outside of a one-off hand build.
The threads in all areas are smooth & tight, and came lubricated.
The battery / Pin connector cap has a beefy o-ring.
The host itself isn’t flashy or trendy, it strikes me as a workhorse, in the sense that its quality designed for function, not flash.
3. Laser Features & Function - 23/25
The PL532 - 700 has the ability to be focused, and has 3 major safety features.
The lens cover/shutter, the keyed power switch & what Sky calls the Pin connector.
To operate, the laser has to have the Pin connector inserted at the battery cap
& the key switch turned 90 degrees from 12 to 3 o'clock position.
The laser is now "armed".
At this point, I expected a ready or idle light, warning the user that the laser is "hot",
but not until the power button is pressed does the LED light up, a light blue color.
I suggested to Sky that they should use a 2 color LED, green for "armed" and red for "laser in use".
The shutter only requires abut 30 degrees of rotation to open & close.
The on/off button itself is solid, and not mushy or soft feeling spring-wise, and has a definite click on & off.
The focus ability is something you'll appreciate, and has a huge range.
From tightly focused, you can turn the beam into a very wide band, easily into a Dazer-type width.
It's around 2'x6' @ 75yds. from what I measured,
I'll try to get a decent shot of that in the next few days.
Overall impression of quality, simple, straight forward and works as it should w/ no issues.
4. LPM results, TEM modes & Beam and Dot characteristics - 22/25
It's rated at 700mW,
& the LPM results will show if they are giving you what you pay for-
LPM - Radiant Alpha
Batteries - Panasonic 3100mAH and 3200/2800 mAH UltraFire
IR filtering is present as promised by SKY, no IR measured.
Peaks @ 680mW, consistent 650mW with average around 670mW.
So for 700mW it's slightly under-spec.
Was really expecting at least 700mW peak, considering their website states 700-720mW.
Still respectable, but over-spec rather then under would have been the preference.
When warming up, considerable mode hopping was observed, TEM10,TEM20,TEM21 but after 45-60 seconds & thereafter things seemed to settle down into TEM00/10.
Higher mW 532nm is common to use these other TEM modes from what I've read.
The warm up hopping was consistent, in that after long term cool down,the mode hopping would take place again each time until normal operating temps were reached.
Speaking of temps, run-times well into the >3-5 minute range only resulted in slightly warm host,
& no shutdown.
Extended run-times are no issue for the P532L-700. Even after >6min. it was still pulling >450mW.
Their heatsinking & design seems to be well thought out.
The beam itself measured 1.5mm,
and the dot and beam after warm up is slight oval, with no splash or nasty artifacts.
It is so ridiculously bright it made me realize my protective glasses need upgrading.
You can tell the diode and lens system is quality.
The beam is also incredibly bright, the shot below is at dusk, only minutes after sundown,
and the building is about 300" away.(sorry for the crap pic, the autofocus was struggling)
Burning power is considerable, burning all the normal things, CD cases for example, with no focusing required.
This is the first portable laser that makes me a little concerned when pointing it skyward at night,
it is shall we say, noticeable.
I've sold many 532nm. in the 400-550mW range and they truly pale compared to the intensity of what I see from this.
Final Verdict - 94/100 <------<
Brutal, simple, powerful, w/ straight forward design.
This laser is a serious piece of hardware, it looks, feels & performs like industrial/military grade equipment.
I got the impression that you could drop it from 10 ft. to concrete & it would still function (didn't perform that test quite yet).
So, it appears we have another player in the high-end portable 532nm arena, alongside Hercules, CNI etc.
I'd highly recommend SkyLasers for quick service & high quality lasers.
SKYLASERS - laserbtb
Thanks for your patience in getting this review posted.
More reviews to come...
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