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FrozenGate by Avery

Some questions about some new lasers from tinker tavern

Shakenawake

Shakenawake

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Mar 11, 2013
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Hey y'all, it's been a while.

I recently was looking at some lasers that looked interesting and wondered if anyone here could tell me more about them.

Specifically, I am wondering about the 591nm, the 425nm, and the 573nm. The site gives me some concerns, like not listing mW after power level and some stuff like that.

Violet is my favorite color and I think I might like 425 better than 405. I wish I could see one... if anyone can point me to some comparison shots maybe? The site says 2000 (mW I assume), but I saw another post here saying they could be 3.5W? How overdriven is that? Most of my lasers are builds from dtr and I typically had him set the driver so it wasn't overdriven to the max, like my 450nm that I had him set to get around 7W out instead of trying for 8W etc. So I guess I would like to know for that one what the max power is so I will know what to shoot for in terms of power level. Typically when I go over 1.5W, I like to have a copper HS, and when going over 2W i think the copper back halves on the module are a good idea. though isnt it only 9mm diodes that can have a copper back half? Not sure. Are these 9mm diodes? I assume they
are multimode, is their Fast axis divergence as bad as the 8W blues etc? I do not see these diodes on DTR's site. Does anyone here do builds with them like lifetime17? I suppose i could ask him. I'd rather have one made with a copper HS and custom power level setting than buy from tinker tavern.

They also have me scratching my head by listing a 450nm at 15,000 (mW?) Is this some kind of knife edge build or something using 2 diodes because last I knew 8W was about the most one could do. Similarly, they list a 520nm capable of 4000 (mw?) Just curious. Gotta be multiple diodes right?

Regarding the yellows just curious about their quality and if they are the stated power level. If anyone has pulled the trigger and can tell me. I'm curious how the 591nm light is made. A different site said it was direct diode but I doubt that's the case, I am guessing it is DPSS or SFG etc. Some of them state 50 (mW?). Can anyone tell me if that is peak power or average? If they advertise by the peak that's a frown from me although not unheard of I suppose
 
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I recently reviewed their 488nm Valkyrie pointer and I'm pretty happy with it. I DO wish there was more technical information on their page though, so I hear you there. But from the things I've read on this forum people seem pretty happy with their purchases.

The quality of the laser I recieved was very good, with the focusing ring being the only thing I found any fault with. The wavelength and power were there (I'm sure if I removed the lens I'd see an actual 250mW. Only 241 was making it out of the lens) and the host is adequate heat-sinking for unlimited run time with the quarter watt diode I ordered. The host isn't enough heat sink for a NUBM44 but IMHO is fine for anything up to 3 or 4 watts with limited run time.
 
WizardG said:
I recently reviewed their 488nm Valkyrie pointer and I'm pretty happy with it. I DO wish there was more technical information on their page though, so I hear you there. But from the things I've read on this forum people seem pretty happy with their purchases.

The quality of the laser I recieved was very good, with the focusing ring being the only thing I found any fault with. The wavelength and power were there (I'm sure if I removed the lens I'd see an actual 250mW. Only 241 was making it out of the lens) and the host is adequate heat-sinking for unlimited run time with the quarter watt diode I ordered. The host isn't enough heat sink for a NUBM44 but IMHO is fine for anything up to 3 or 4 watts with limited run time.
Click to expand...
What is the issue with the focus ring? Do they use standard lenses? Hmm, I guess you might not know regarding their diode lasers, 488nm is dpss right?
 
Nope, it's a direct diode 488. The focus ring is very low profile which makes it a bit difficult to use. If it were a higher power laser I'd have to turn it off to move the focus ring without singing my fingertips. The threads on the ring are a bit loose so when it's unscrewed a bit the ring feels....rattley. Teflon tape cured that, and I have enough experience in a machine shop to understand how hard it can be to get threads in stainless steel perfect without things binding up. I'm very likely to order another of their lasers. I have a 575 nm labby but their 573 offerings are very tempting. I'd love to have that wavelength in a handheld. :-)
 
425nm is the sharp GH04I01A2G. I reviewed one of the units before the valkyrie host came out https://laserpointerforums.com/threads/gh04i01a2g-425nm-diodes.110843/ Color wise it's pretty close to middle of the road, but 425 is a little blue still, you'd want the lower end of the bell curve around 420nm. Drastic color changes in this region from blue to purple, kind of like 480-500nm. The link to the datasheet should answer how overdriven it is.
The 450nm is 2 diodes combined through some sort of polarization rotation and combination optics. Someone posted a thread about its construction.
The 488nm is the GH04850B2G, which recently had a revision to easily push 200mW when overdriven. Out of the factory, QC seems to be all over the place, so that's also why there are some at 480nm, and some at 495nm, they're just bins of the same diode.
573nm is some self frequency doubled yellow DPSS.
591nm is mislabeled 593.5nm, the classic YVO4 SFG process. Both of mine are around 10mW but mine are also the "older" (still 2023 wave of these) lower power modules so I'm not sure if they have gotten more efficient or not.
 
Ok this helps, thanks. The 573 is very tempting.

Ah yes, it's 473nm I was thinking of that is dpss. I have a 492 myself, 100mW, really like that color.

Pics of beams I saw of the 425 made it look like I want one, but we all know how bad cameras can be, as well as our screens, at representing these colors. I could live with a little blue. Is the 420 a different diode? If you say the 420 is more violet, I'd go for that I suppose if they're the same power level. Haven't heard back form lifetime17 yet, I would still much prefer anything over 2W to be in copper. I already know lifetime17 does good work. Plus then I'd know for sure that it could use standard lenses that I could replace. I am surprised that I don't see this WL on sanwu lasers...

(edit: nevermind I looked at your post. Very nice beam shots, me want. Seems I have to get lucky to get 420nm and may get more violet than blue by not overdriving it, again, very helpful, thank you)

Oh wow, just looked at the sheet. It's a 5.6mm diode and listed max power around 1.5W so at 3.5W I assume you're just asking it to die within a few hours of runtime. Is 2W or even 1.8W asking too much from it? I had bad luck overdriving the bdr 405nm single mode diodes, seems they never lasted as long as I wanted anytime I went over 600mW or so

I could live with a non-focusable 50mW 573. Less than $400 for that, I'd think people would be going crazy for them given the craze around the 589 dragon lasers Spartans.

Yeah thread tape usually helps quite a bit. A knob you can focus while on without scorching your fingers would be nice
 
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420 and 425 in my case are the same diode, just luck of the draw. I have 6 in total, 1 at 420, 2 at 422, and 3 at 425.

I'm surprised it's not more widespread too, this has been available for over a year by now. It can't hurt to ask tinker if he can bin a lower one for you. I haven't really tried to put one to death myself, so I'm not really sure, but >2x rated power is beyond what I'd try if I wanted it to last long. Plus, if you want a lower wavelength, you won't want to drive it as hard anyway to make it eaiser to bin.
 
ZRaffleticket said:
425nm is the sharp GH04I01A2G. I reviewed one of the units before the valkyrie host came out https://laserpointerforums.com/threads/gh04i01a2g-425nm-diodes.110843/ Color wise it's pretty close to middle of the road, but 425 is a little blue still, you'd want the lower end of the bell curve around 420nm. Drastic color changes in this region from blue to purple, kind of like 480-500nm. The link to the datasheet should answer how overdriven it is.
The 450nm is 2 diodes combined through some sort of polarization rotation and combination optics. Someone posted a thread about its construction.
The 488nm is the GH04850B2G, which recently had a revision to easily push 200mW when overdriven. Out of the factory, QC seems to be all over the place, so that's also why there are some at 480nm, and some at 495nm, they're just bins of the same diode.
573nm is some self frequency doubled yellow DPSS.
591nm is mislabeled 593.5nm, the classic YVO4 SFG process. Both of mine are around 10mW but mine are also the "older" (still 2023 wave of these) lower power modules so I'm not sure if they have gotten more efficient or not.
Click to expand...
I don't think the Tinker 488 is the GH04850B2G diode. That's a single mode diode, and my new toy is definitely not single mode.
 
That so? Can you either try to defocus the output, and put the spot on a black surface and see if you see a model # on the can reflection, or aim a camera down at the diode to look for a number? As far as I know, that diode is the only cheap option. This test would narrow down if it's sharp, at the very least. I could cross check that number against some chinese suppliers.

Bvi70Kh.jpg
 
ZRaffleticket said:
That so? Can you either try to defocus the output, and put the spot on a black surface and see if you see a model # on the can reflection, or aim a camera down at the diode to look for a number? As far as I know, that diode is the only cheap option. This test would narrow down if it's sharp, at the very least. I could cross check that number against some chinese suppliers.

View attachment 78057
Click to expand...
Woah that's wild. Gonna try that with my 492 next time I take it out
 
ZRaffleticket said:
That so? Can you either try to defocus the output, and put the spot on a black surface and see if you see a model # on the can reflection, or aim a camera down at the diode to look for a number? As far as I know, that diode is the only cheap option. This test would narrow down if it's sharp, at the very least. I could cross check that number against some chinese suppliers.

View attachment 78057
Click to expand...
I'll give it a try.
 
I have a 593.5nm laser doing a peak of 65 mW and averages 45 mW. I paid a bit over $77 for mine. Got it fairly quickly as it was drop shipped from close to me.
 
Hey there!

This is a lot but I’ll try to answer everything in this thread.



For 425 we get plenty of those coming through and can bin your preferred wavelength from around 422-426nm. We can also make pens in this wavelength at around a 200 milliwatt power level. The ~3.5W power level was from a freak series of overpowered diodes - we don’t get those anymore so we now limit the power to around 2W on 425nm units.



The Demon units are dual diode, they work using a PBS and beam rotating optic.



As for the 591, it is technically 593.5. The naming comes from a miscommunication when we first introduced the new yellows in April 2023; now, “591nm” has come to represent the new lower-cost 593.5s, and it would be difficult to change it without confusing people. (We still want to communicate this accurately.) For that wavelength the highest output levels are around 30 milliwatts.



As for the 573, the Ultra series does go up to 50mW! (These are not focusable)



Finally, for the 488nm lasers, we do indeed use single mode diodes. It is a combination of a few factors to get the higher power output, but they are definitely not just standard Sharp 488s 🙂

Think that should be everything, let us know if you need to know anything more!
 
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