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- Feb 4, 2010
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Hi guys, quick review on one of the cheap 488 options available on ebay.
A couple weeks ago, I got a notification that there was a $45 488 handheld for sale... I figured it was listed incorrectly and took a shot at it to see if they'd honor it. Turns out, after buying they took down the listing and re-listed at $67. They did honor my purchase however; so I figured I'd share my thoughts on this with you guys.
This thing uses the GH0485 Sharp diode (same number on the can as my batches)
My batch:
This one:
Color wise, this is much more on the green side than the blue side. Only under warm lighting does this have any semblance of blue to it. It's almost as green as my 495:
While unmeasured, basing it off the ones I do have measured I'm gonna guess this is around 493nm. Just a guess.
About the build quality. This thing is surprisingly heavy. This blew away my expectations to be honest. I'm very surprised by how solid this feels. It clocks in around 165g without the battery.
So now onto the waterproof claim... Sure is under the conditions I put it under. See for yourself:
Ok... it wasn't fully submerged in those... How about this
Then after that, some water droplets stick to the front window:
But do dry off pretty well.
I've also run a separate test where I left it in the sink for a half hour. The insides remained dry. Short of doing a timelapse video, it's tough to show that.
Now about the color again... this is noticeably greener than all of my other GH0485's. I haven't gotten the chance to drain the battery to tell if it's CV or CC... if it's CV, they may have cranked the voltage a bit high on it. I've tested one of my own diodes with a CV driver and it does get very green at higher voltages than it's intended to run at. I'm not sure if mine was a lucky bin, or if it's just being abused. If anybody else gets one of these, please chime in about the color.
There you have it, just figured I'd post a small review on these. I think they're pretty decent overall.
A couple weeks ago, I got a notification that there was a $45 488 handheld for sale... I figured it was listed incorrectly and took a shot at it to see if they'd honor it. Turns out, after buying they took down the listing and re-listed at $67. They did honor my purchase however; so I figured I'd share my thoughts on this with you guys.
This thing uses the GH0485 Sharp diode (same number on the can as my batches)
My batch:
This one:
Color wise, this is much more on the green side than the blue side. Only under warm lighting does this have any semblance of blue to it. It's almost as green as my 495:
While unmeasured, basing it off the ones I do have measured I'm gonna guess this is around 493nm. Just a guess.
About the build quality. This thing is surprisingly heavy. This blew away my expectations to be honest. I'm very surprised by how solid this feels. It clocks in around 165g without the battery.
So now onto the waterproof claim... Sure is under the conditions I put it under. See for yourself:
Ok... it wasn't fully submerged in those... How about this
Then after that, some water droplets stick to the front window:
But do dry off pretty well.
I've also run a separate test where I left it in the sink for a half hour. The insides remained dry. Short of doing a timelapse video, it's tough to show that.
Now about the color again... this is noticeably greener than all of my other GH0485's. I haven't gotten the chance to drain the battery to tell if it's CV or CC... if it's CV, they may have cranked the voltage a bit high on it. I've tested one of my own diodes with a CV driver and it does get very green at higher voltages than it's intended to run at. I'm not sure if mine was a lucky bin, or if it's just being abused. If anybody else gets one of these, please chime in about the color.
There you have it, just figured I'd post a small review on these. I think they're pretty decent overall.
