Video review: 500mW 532nm and 600mW 635nm Lasers from XPL!

[Sta]

EDIT: LPM RESULTS CONFIRM THAT BOTH OF THESE LASERS ARE LEGITIMATE.
The green peaks at 642mW while the red peaks at 847mW.

Here's some information that I didn't include in the video:

The company XPL is also known as "S&H Laser".
Here are the links to the two lasers:
500mW 532nm Green
600mW 635nm Red
The lens threads on the red laser are very loose, so I added a few layers of Teflon tape. This made fine focusing much easier and I highly recommend you do the same.
The green laser has divergence of ~1.3 mRad.
The red laser has fast axis divergence of ~5.1 mRad and slow axis divergence of less than 1 mRad.
Once I get an LPM, I will make an update video including power measurements.

This video may seem a bit dumbed down to those of us here. My YouTube audience is not very knowledgeable about lasers, so it has to be that way.
Nevertheless, it has a lot of useful information and should still be a lot of fun.
With that said, let's let the video do the talking:

The green laser is the one used in my new icon.
Any questions, comments, concerns, please do comment here.

 

[NightExplorer96]

Great video, really enjoyed listening to it actually. You should do more! Kinda crazy you got such a high powered 532 for only $120!!!! Enjoy those beauties!

Edit: Also, neat new avatar! Just noticed your face in it lol.

-Alex

 

[ThePhotonist]

Awesome! Just ordered both

 

[Razako]

Good stuff. I never thought I'd see a 500mw 532nm for only $120. I only worry about how much of that output is IR.

 

[diachi]

Good stuff. I never thought I'd see a 500mw 532nm for only $120. I only worry about how much of that output is IR.

At this point we still don't know if it is 500mW. Still looks like a reasonable deal mind you - but verified output powers with IR filtered out are still needed. Not to mention getting some information on stability and reliability.

Full disclosure - haven't watched the video. YouTube doesn't work so well over RDP and even if it did - the VM I'm on has no sound devices... Will watch it later!

 

[Sta]

At this point we still don't know if it is 500mW. Still looks like a reasonable deal mind you - but verified output powers with IR filtered out are still needed. Not to mention getting some information on stability and reliability.

Full disclosure - haven't watched the video. YouTube doesn't work so well over RDP and even if it did - the VM I'm on has no sound devices... Will watch it later!

I looked inside the laser yesterday (with the batteries out, obviously) and saw a small blue/green square inside, which I suppose is the IR filter. I'll put some pictures up in a few hours.

 

[diachi]

I looked inside the laser yesterday (with the batteries out, obviously) and saw a small blue/green square inside, which I suppose is the IR filter. I'll put some pictures up in a few hours.

Yep - that *sounds* like an IR filter - we can confirm once you post pictures!

 

[Sta]

I took a look at it again and it is definitely an IR filter. Small blue square underneath the lens. I took some pictures as well, but they were not worth posting.

 

[ElectricPlasma]

At this point we still don't know if it is 500mW. Still looks like a reasonable deal mind you - but verified output powers with IR filtered out are still needed. Not to mention getting some information on stability and reliability.

I'm still waiting on a measurement too - some shady action going on with the batteries too,,, I wouldn't think a class IV 532nm would take one 18650. If it's a legitimate 500mW output DPSS there's probably around a 2W pump diode, and nothing I know above ~700mW takes only one li-ion at 3.7v. I wonder if they're over-driving one of those cheap mass produced modules, that would explain the low price, one battery, and brighter output. Generally most class IV handheld laser drivers need a 7.4v input (two li-ions), I don't see how a 500mW DPSS could pass with only 3.7v. Don't quote me on any of this, maybe I'm wrong, but seems a bit fishy to me. Hell of a deal if it's real.

EDIT: also watched the video, nice!

EDIT 2: Actually just thought of something, you should check how much current that thing draws. Quite the mystery you have there and I'm trying to resolve it, really caught my curiosity lol. You mentioned in the video that it's running in TEM02, which is not characteristic with the mass produced modules. Perhaps something custom? :thinking:

 

[Sta]

I'm still waiting on a measurement too - some shady action going on with the batteries too,,, I wouldn't think a class IV 532nm would take one 18650. If it's a legitimate 500mW output DPSS there's probably around a 2W pump diode, and nothing I know above ~700mW takes only one li-ion at 3.7v. I wonder if they're over-driving one of those cheap mass produced modules, that would explain the low price, one battery, and brighter-than-average output. Generally most class IV handheld laser drivers need a 7.4v input (two li-ions), I don't see how a 500mW DPSS could pass with only 3.7v. Don't quote me on any of this, maybe I'm wrong, but seems a bit fishy to me. Hell of a deal if it's real.

EDIT: also watched the video, nice!

EDIT 2: Actually just thought of something, you should check how much current that thing draws. Quite the mystery you have there and I'm trying to resolve it, really caught my curiosity lol. You mentioned in the video that it's running in TEM02, which is not characteristic with the mass produced modules. Perhaps something custom? :thinking:

Regarding the pump diode, the company told me it is 2.5W. Overdriving a mass-produced module to try and get it to this power would probably kill it instantly (dun dun duuuun)!
I saw another website (Laser Pointer|Laser pen Guang Heng) selling this same laser alongside CNI lasers. I think that website is defunct now. Perhaps they are CNI rejects?! Regardless, although I don't own a CNI PGL-III-C, I do believe they take a single 18650, and can put out 500mW+ of 532nm. So it certainly is possible. This is still an interesting mystery and I am glad to be a part of it

I do not have a multimeter yet but I will pick one up soon. I am also probably going to get an LPM. Still deciding which laserbee I want to get (between A, AX, and 3.7W USB.)

 

[diachi]

I'm still waiting on a measurement too - some shady action going on with the batteries too,,, I wouldn't think a class IV 532nm would take one 18650. If it's a legitimate 500mW output DPSS there's probably around a 2W pump diode, and nothing I know above ~700mW takes only one li-ion at 3.7v. I wonder if they're over-driving one of those cheap mass produced modules, that would explain the low price, one battery, and brighter output. Generally most class IV handheld laser drivers need a 7.4v input (two li-ions), I don't see how a 500mW DPSS could pass with only 3.7v. Don't quote me on any of this, maybe I'm wrong, but seems a bit fishy to me. Hell of a deal if it's real.

EDIT: also watched the video, nice!

EDIT 2: Actually just thought of something, you should check how much current that thing draws. Quite the mystery you have there and I'm trying to resolve it, really caught my curiosity lol. You mentioned in the video that it's running in TEM02, which is not characteristic with the mass produced modules. Perhaps something custom? :thinking:

No reason you can't run a 2W 808nm pump from a single 18650 - even with a linear driver. That's 1.8-2V @ ~2A to the diode - no problem supplying that with a 3.7-4.2V Lithium cell.

Most other Class IV handhelds are using diodes which run at anywhere between 4-7V roughly - so with a buck driver of any kind you need to supply a voltage greater than the output voltage - thus two 18650s. If you use a boost driver then you may have issues with the higher end class IV lasers using a single 18650 due to the increased current demands that would come along with the boost driver.

Why would the beam being TEM02 suggest something custom and not mass produced? That doesn't tell us anything other than it might be too hot/too cold/not aligned properly/poor pump characteristics/cheap crystals etc etc.

 

[ThePhotonist]

Awesome to hear that it has an IR filter, sounds like a legit 500mW but please let us know when you measure it for real. Also, why does everybody complain about IR so much? I mean i know it's invisible but doesn't it at least add some burning power?

 

[Sta]

Awesome to hear that it has an IR filter, sounds like a legit 500mW but please let us know when you measure it for real. Also, why does everybody complain about IR so much? I mean i know it's invisible but doesn't it at least add some burning power?

Your safety glasses usually won't block IR, and that's a serious problem if you are pointing the laser around. Also, the IR isn't focused, so it barely adds any burning power.

 

[diachi]

Awesome to hear that it has an IR filter, sounds like a legit 500mW but please let us know when you measure it for real. Also, why does everybody complain about IR so much? I mean i know it's invisible but doesn't it at least add some burning power?

Well one reason is this:

You're paying for 500mW of 532nm but instead you get 300mW of 532nm and 200mW of 1064/808 - not exactly what you'd want is it? 200mW IR is likely more than you'd ever see - but it gets the point across.

Also not going to add a ton of burning power seeing as the IR and green portions wouldn't focus to the same spot at the same time - different initial beam characteristics and different indices of refraction for different wavelengths.

The main concern is that people will have glasses which block 532nm but not IR - so they'll think they are protected when in actual fact they might not be.

I still think the danger of IR from DPSS pointers is overstated though, personally. Doesn't hurt to play it safe though!

 

[ElectricPlasma]

No reason you can't run a 2W 808nm pump from a single 18650 - even with a linear driver. That's 1.8-2V @ ~2A to the diode - no problem supplying that with a 3.7-4.2V Lithium cell.

Most other Class IV handhelds are using diodes which run at anywhere between 4-7V roughly - so with a buck driver of any kind you need to supply a voltage greater than the output voltage - thus two 18650s. If you use a boost driver then you may have issues with the higher end class IV lasers using a single 18650 due to the increased current demands that would come along with the boost driver.

Why would the beam being TEM02 suggest something custom and not mass produced? That doesn't tell us anything other than it might be too hot/too cold/not aligned properly/poor pump characteristics/cheap crystals etc etc.

My bad, I was talking about those specific no-name modules with the included driver that has the terrible regulator. I've yet to see one of those enter TEM02, even with extreme temperatures (by that I mean not room-temperature). I believe he meant it runs at TEM02 regardless. Possibly poor alignment I have no idea, I don't have the laser he was reviewing so I'm just throwing possibilities out there, with that goes unknowing the type of driver inside of it. Generalizing can be a bit vague, but it's always a good start to figuring things out.

 

[Sta]

My bad, I was talking about those specific no-name modules with the included driver that has the terrible regulator. I've yet to see one of those enter TEM02, even with extreme temperatures (by that I mean not room-temperature). I believe he meant it runs at TEM02 regardless. Possibly poor alignment I have no idea, I don't have the laser he was reviewing so I'm just throwing possibilities out there, with that goes unknowing the type of driver inside of it. Generalizing can be a bit vague, but it's always a good start to figuring things out.

Yeah, it just runs stable at TEM02 regardless. I put it in the freezer for 10 minutes - TEM02. And after running it for a long time - TEM02. So it is probably an alignment problem.