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Things to take note when buying lasers?

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djaizai

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Hi im new to lasers and this forum. Just a few question to ask. Im buying a blue laser tomorrow, it is a 1200mw blue laser. The seller said that is it around 437nm-457nm. It is a custom made laser and i would be meeting him tomorrow. I do not own any lasers yet. So just to ask if there is any particular question to ask the seller before buying it?
 





What's the price?

What kind of diode is used in the laser? What kind of driver? What kind of heatsink?

Origin of the laser, is the seller also the builder?

If this is somekind of a craiglist agreement, consider backing out and going through the forum with a reputable seller instead.

Also please add your location to you profile.

(Edit CP > Your Profile > Edit Your Details > Location.)
 
InfinitusEquitas said:
What's the price?

What kind of diode is used in the laser? What kind of driver? What kind of heatsink?

Origin of the laser, is the seller also the builder?

If this is somekind of a craiglist agreement, consider backing out and going through the forum with a reputable seller instead.

Also please add your location to you profile.

(Edit CP > Your Profile > Edit Your Details > Location.)
Click to expand...

The seller is selling it at SGD$250 and he is the builder. But of course I would like to buy from some reputable source but lasers stronger than 5mw is illegal. So I can't import, I can only get it from people who brought parts and do it themselves. It is a focusable laser. I will have to check with him again on your questions. Because im going to meet him to pay cash. He said he can show me that the laser is able to shine onto clouds at night time
 
And don't forget laser safety goggles. Their are great builders here that can send you kit that should get though customs because it's a kit. Please do some reading here you will learn alot.
 
For him:
What is the duty cycle?
By what method did he or she confirm the output?
What type of heatsink? What kind of driver? Is the diode soldered or press fit?
How many builds has he or she made?
What type of batteries does it use?

For you: what safety training do you have? Do you have safety goggles? That's quite a lot of power for a "first time" owner.
 
n2stuff said:
And don't forget laser safety goggles. Their are great builders here that can send you kit that should get though customs because it's a kit. Please do some reading here you will learn alot.
Click to expand...

Is there a lot of soldering to do? Im quite bad at soldering...
 
CDRGlock said:
For him:
What is the duty cycle?
By what method did he or she confirm the output?
What type of heatsink? What kind of driver? Is the diode soldered or press fit?
How many builds has he or she made?
What type of batteries does it use?

For you: what safety training do you have? Do you have safety goggles? That's quite a lot of power for a "first time" owner.
Click to expand...

For him: He said the duty cycle is around 1min on and 30secs off. To protect the diode. He said he confirmed the output with the diode seller. He said he could not tell me anything about the driver,heatsink etc(because it's easy to track back to him?) but the diode is soldered. He said he sold 3 other lasers before(I'm not sure if he built it). The batteries is 880mAh but I don't know the voltage.

For me: I don't have much training but I do know the basics and to use it in a responsible way. I do not own any safety goggles yet(but the seller told me that I do not need a goggles if I point at things far away unless I use it to burn then things then I would need a goggles). <<< Wondering if this is true and the laser is not IR filtered. He said most customs do not filter IR?
 
djaizai said:
For him: He said the duty cycle is around 1min on and 30secs off. To protect the diode. He said he confirmed the output with the diode seller. He said he could not tell me anything about the driver,heatsink etc(because it's easy to track back to him?) but the diode is soldered. He said he sold 3 other lasers before(I'm not sure if he built it). The batteries is 880mAh but I don't know the voltage.

For me: I don't have much training but I do know the basics and to use it in a responsible way. I do not own any safety goggles yet(but the seller told me that I do not need a goggles if I point at things far away unless I use it to burn then things then I would need a goggles). <<< Wondering if this is true and the laser is not IR filtered. He said most customs do not filter IR?
Click to expand...

Doesn't sound responsible of him to Say those things. You NEED goggles before you try to use them. Those $10 safety goggles available in various places probably won't do it either.
 
CDRGlock said:
Doesn't sound responsible of him to Say those things. You NEED goggles before you try to use them. Those $10 safety goggles available in various places probably won't do it either.
Click to expand...

True. But I'm just going to take a look at the laser there is a high chance that I wouldnt buy it. I will just want to look it first. As I it illegal in my country I had not used such high power ones before.
 
djaizai said:
For him: He said the duty cycle is around 1min on and 30secs off. To protect the diode. He said he confirmed the output with the diode seller. He said he could not tell me anything about the driver,heatsink etc(because it's easy to track back to him?) but the diode is soldered. He said he sold 3 other lasers before(I'm not sure if he built it). The batteries is 880mAh but I don't know the voltage.

For me: I don't have much training but I do know the basics and to use it in a responsible way. I do not own any safety goggles yet(but the seller told me that I do not need a goggles if I point at things far away unless I use it to burn then things then I would need a goggles). <<< Wondering if this is true and the laser is not IR filtered. He said most customs do not filter IR?
Click to expand...

djaizai said:
But the DIY kit does not come with warranty and I am very very new to soldering. Wondering if I'm able to do it...
Click to expand...

1. You do need goggles.

2. The SL kit doesn't require any soldering, and if you're worried about customs, contact SL, he can ship the kit to you in separate packages.

3. This seller is full of shit.

djaizai said:
True. But I'm just going to take a look at the laser there is a high chance that I wouldnt buy it. I will just want to look it first. As I it illegal in my country I had not used such high power ones before.
Click to expand...

Well, you came here for advice.

Advice: do not buy this laser, if you do, you will be getting ripped off.
 
InfinitusEquitas said:
1. You do need goggles.

2. The SL kit doesn't require any soldering, and if you're worried about customs, contact SL, he can ship the kit to you in separate packages.

3. This seller is full of shit.



Well, you came here for advice.

Advice: do not buy this laser, if you do, you will be getting ripped off.
Click to expand...

Ok it's unlikely that I will buy it. But what do I need to build a laser I know I will need a diode,host,driver,heat sink,rechargeable batteries and some lenses? Do correct me if I need more than these! Can you do me a favour by helping me to calculate how much is the cost to build a laser? Do let tell me how do I fix the stuff inside the host without soldering as things will be shaking inside right?
 
The part lists is correct; diode, module, heatsink, driver, lens, host, batteries.

There is no way to put everything together with no soldering at all, with the exception of the survival lasers kit, where everything is just basically screwed together (all the solder joints are already made).

Go to the B/S/T section, or the Pro Sellers section, there are any number of kits from different builders on the forum. Jayrob, and DTR, have a number of very detailed, beautifully photographed build threads for example.

Check out some of the seller kits in there, I'm sure you'll find something you like. IIRC Yobresal just started selling some Just Add Diode kits. You can order a kit from him and diode from DTR, a little soldering, and you're all set.
 
While this seller of yours may be completely trustworthy and reputable, you just don't know. If he can't tell you much about the parts, its more likely that he just doesn't know. I got my first high power laser from a member of the forum here for about that price, but almost twice as powerful, and I had the bonus of being able to get a feel for this guy's reputation before I sent him any money.

The folks around here are no strangers to shipping internationally, so there are ways of being pretty sure that you won't find your laser seized by customs on the way in to your country.

And definitely, definitely get glasses. The links in InfinitusEquitas's signature all seem very relevant to your needs, and if money is extremely tight, even the "better than nothing" goggles he links to have been evaluated elsewhere on the forums and should hold up just fine for your 1.2W blue until you get something proper.

I would also suggest thinking about what your uses are going to be - for anything at a big distance keep in mind that most of the blue diodes out now have intrinsically high divergence, you likely won't be able to get as tight a spot as much cheaper reds or greens.

Do your homework (search around the forums and elsewhere) have fun and be safe!
 
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