Edit: I started this topic with the belief that Spymodex's new "300mw professional Ultra high power red laser pointer" was actually just a powerful LED flashlight with some smart optics to mimic a true laser -- yet another laser scam. It turned out that I was wrong, so keep this in mind when reading the following lines. BTW, it was also a good lesson for me, teaching the simple truth that no matter how much we know, there's still a lot more to learn. And the more you learn, the more you realize how little you actually know. 
Hi guys,
Today I received the "300mw professional Ultra high power red laser pointer" that currently sells on eBay at an initial price of GBP 79 ($155). I actually got mine for that very price (no one else bid on it,) but some of these have been sold for GBP 100+ ($200+). Unfortunately I can't post a link to it, but you can easily find it anyway (even on Google.)
I bid on this one on impulse -- it was really stupid, even if only because I always had been having strong suspicion against descriptions identifying something as "professional." Unfortunately, I did the usual research only after I had already placed my bid. Anyway, here's the "laser" here with me now.
At first, it looked not too bad. The only thing I could compare it with was my Crimson Trace LaserGrips pointer. It is only 5 mW peak power, of course, but the "professional laser" really looked a lot brighter. Definitely not 300 mW, but perhaps at least 50 mW (I already expected something like this.) So far so good.
But then I decided to take a closer look at the "laser" construction. I'm sure you notice that I'm putting "laser" in quotes. The big head, from which the "laser" beam comes out, actually rotates, and is, in fact, used for focusing. Not quite what a laser needs, but well, still nothing that wrong. But the real surprise was waiting beneath that head. I took it off, turned the "laser" on, and... Hmmmm, why does it look like an ordinary flashlight?! No beam at all, just diffuse light. Either I don't know anything about lasers, or this was just a simple LED, albeit a bright one.
Actually, I should commend the optics used. The lens and the covering glass seem to be of high quality, being even coated. The final effect does indeed look very much like a laser beam, and is easily seen in the dark. It can definitely be used as a pointer by the astronomy hobbyists. A quick test showed that the red spot is extremely bright (although perhaps 10s of cm in diameter) on a building that's ~ 400 meters away. I don't know if that's a good result, really: as I said, I don't have other serious (true) lasers to compare with, but it does seem impressive, at least on its own. The body is also at least as solid as it looks on the pictures: not anything exceptional, but not very cheap either. Oh, and the "laser" can't ignite matches, of course.
Impressive or not, though, this is highly unlikely a laser -- please correct me if I'm wrong. And I paid 180 bucks calculating in the shipping. So, now I'm thinking: is it worth all the bother with sending this back for a refund, or I should just learn the lesson I already knew anyway (don't buy anything before doing research; and even then don't buy it until you do more research,) and enjoy it as an interesting, even if expensive toy. On a positive side, it could double as red light torch, although, again, quite an expensive one.
Of course, I understand this is really a personal decision. Yet, it also involves other people as well -- if I say to myself "well, whatever", that guy shane.dominic will continue happily selling bright LED flashlights as lasers. Yet again, most people might just as well be happy with them, lasers or not quite so.
I can post pictures when I get back home, if you're interested. One more thing to add: the "laser" is powered by a single 18650 rechargeable battery, and a charger was supplied as well.
Many thanks in advance for your comments.
Cheers,
Luchesar "Bilbo" ILIEV
Hi guys,
Today I received the "300mw professional Ultra high power red laser pointer" that currently sells on eBay at an initial price of GBP 79 ($155). I actually got mine for that very price (no one else bid on it,) but some of these have been sold for GBP 100+ ($200+). Unfortunately I can't post a link to it, but you can easily find it anyway (even on Google.)
I bid on this one on impulse -- it was really stupid, even if only because I always had been having strong suspicion against descriptions identifying something as "professional." Unfortunately, I did the usual research only after I had already placed my bid. Anyway, here's the "laser" here with me now.
At first, it looked not too bad. The only thing I could compare it with was my Crimson Trace LaserGrips pointer. It is only 5 mW peak power, of course, but the "professional laser" really looked a lot brighter. Definitely not 300 mW, but perhaps at least 50 mW (I already expected something like this.) So far so good.
But then I decided to take a closer look at the "laser" construction. I'm sure you notice that I'm putting "laser" in quotes. The big head, from which the "laser" beam comes out, actually rotates, and is, in fact, used for focusing. Not quite what a laser needs, but well, still nothing that wrong. But the real surprise was waiting beneath that head. I took it off, turned the "laser" on, and... Hmmmm, why does it look like an ordinary flashlight?! No beam at all, just diffuse light. Either I don't know anything about lasers, or this was just a simple LED, albeit a bright one.
Actually, I should commend the optics used. The lens and the covering glass seem to be of high quality, being even coated. The final effect does indeed look very much like a laser beam, and is easily seen in the dark. It can definitely be used as a pointer by the astronomy hobbyists. A quick test showed that the red spot is extremely bright (although perhaps 10s of cm in diameter) on a building that's ~ 400 meters away. I don't know if that's a good result, really: as I said, I don't have other serious (true) lasers to compare with, but it does seem impressive, at least on its own. The body is also at least as solid as it looks on the pictures: not anything exceptional, but not very cheap either. Oh, and the "laser" can't ignite matches, of course.
Impressive or not, though, this is highly unlikely a laser -- please correct me if I'm wrong. And I paid 180 bucks calculating in the shipping. So, now I'm thinking: is it worth all the bother with sending this back for a refund, or I should just learn the lesson I already knew anyway (don't buy anything before doing research; and even then don't buy it until you do more research,) and enjoy it as an interesting, even if expensive toy. On a positive side, it could double as red light torch, although, again, quite an expensive one.
Of course, I understand this is really a personal decision. Yet, it also involves other people as well -- if I say to myself "well, whatever", that guy shane.dominic will continue happily selling bright LED flashlights as lasers. Yet again, most people might just as well be happy with them, lasers or not quite so.
I can post pictures when I get back home, if you're interested. One more thing to add: the "laser" is powered by a single 18650 rechargeable battery, and a charger was supplied as well.
Many thanks in advance for your comments.
Cheers,
Luchesar "Bilbo" ILIEV
:-[
