which laser is best to buy??

[xLiGhTz]

well im buying a first laser and i either want a 150mw spartan, 125mw viper, maybe a 200mw hulk but my top price is $500 and the hulk may be out of my price range if not i think i can talk my parents into buying it lol i want portablity but i also want burning ability and i really want to see the beam with no smoke. ive heard the 125mw viper can be over speced and can peak at 180mw but if its the same for the spartan it can maybe get up to 200mw and if its the same for the hulk it can get up to 250mw... i want it to be duarable, thats y im buying from DL. i want someone that has used each of these to tell me what they think is better. :thanks:

 

[Xplorer877]

"Seeing the beam" is a matter of perspective, and it depends on sooo many things. A common misconception is that a laser's beam is twice as visible if the laser is twice as powerful. That's not necessarily ture in my opinion.

If I were you, for the amount of money you're willing to spend, I'd get a cheaper 50-75mW green laser, and also buy a 445nm custom built blue laser (they're like 500-1000mW) from someone on this forum. And you'll still be like 100 bucks under budget.
The green one will still be very bright. I can see the beam of my 35mW laser in my house, no smoke, and out at night.
You're blue laser will burn whatever you want.
I'm not your mom so I'm not going to patronize you and tell you they're dangerous and blah blah blah...
Just know that you WILL GO BLIND if you mistreat them.

-Tony

 

[AUTO XX]

use the extra $100 to buy a pair of 445 goggles and a pair of 532 goggles...
Your future self will thank you.

 

[xLiGhTz]

ok so buy like about a 100mw? and what i mean by seeing the beam is like i can point it up in the sky at night and im able to see it and it be pretty bright... and i know how to be safe with them i know there dangerous if not used right, dont point it at cars, airplanes/helis, i know all that. i wanted a powerfull green 1 that can burn decent things (paper, electrical tape, light matches, pop any color balloons, etc...) and that can be very bright (which >100mw usually are) but i think ill get the viper and get a powerfull blue 1 with the $200 extra and buy a pair of 532nm goggles and a pair of 445nm goggles. i know that the more mw the brighter isnt always true i know that a 20mw wont be as bright as a 200mw (greenies) but there isnt a HUGE difference...

 

[xLiGhTz]

o and who is a good person to buy a blue laser from of the forum? i dont want to get scammed out of $200

 

[Xplorer877]

Well if the beam diameter is small (<2mm) then 120mW will cut electrical tape, pop balloons, and "smoke" black paper, at close range. The bigger the beam is the less it will "burn" unless its focused. It's just that, in my experience, no matter which one you buy or who makes it, pen lasers simply don't last very long. That's why spending anything over 300 bucks on a pen laser is kinda sketchy. They'l be powerful at first but as months go by the performance decreases. People will tell you that CNI makes the best handheld lasers, and technically that's ture, but that doesn't mean they're perfect. My CNI laser, same model as a NOVA laser's Alpha Series, used to be over 150mW and now about a year later it barely hits 40mW. I've never owned a reliable green laser, ever. If you truly want a quality high power green laser than you're looking at way more money. Look up Optotronics. But diode lasers (red, blu-ray, and blue 445nm) last longer. The best lasers I've ever had, I made myself. So good luck with whatever green laser you buy. I've just never had much luck with them. You also have to think about customs. I've had lasers seized by customs and letters from the FDA and it was a pain in the ass.

As for who to buy a laser from? I's start a WTB thread (want to buy). There are quite a few reliable members here but not all of them are always selling. Yorbresal, Things, DaGuin, Jayrob... to name a few. Just take a look in the buy sell trade section.

-Tony

 

[xLiGhTz]

oo ok so since u said pen lasers arent the best what website is best to buy from? i know u said no matter where u buy it from it wont be the best but whats the best u know of? and how much would a quality high power green laser be?the reason i want a greenie is cuz of the visablilty of the beam and i wanted more visablilty over burning ability cuz burning stuff gets boring after a few days to a week and maybe to impress ur friends every once in a while but the beam visability doesnt get boring for a long time i wish somebody that lives in my area could show me a 1W 445mm and a 100mw+ 532nm to actually see what the difference is... i know some1 in my area has a decent green laser cuz ive seen it while i was in traffic and the were in a car near me but not enough to see what he had. and i know about customs i looked at the laws for my country and all it said was that any power is legal as long as any laser thats >10mw has some sort of safty key or switch or something thats kinda like a kid proof buttons u see on those big lighters like so if a kid got it somehow they wouldnt be able to use it

 

[Trevor]

Oh, ok, so since you said pen lasers aren't the best, what website is best to buy from? I know you said no matter where you buy it from it won't be the best but what's the best you know of?

How much would a quality high power green laser be? The reason I want a greenie is because of the visibility of the beam. I want more visibility over burning ability because burning stuff gets boring after a few days to a week (except maybe to impress your friends every once in a while). However, the beam visibility doesn't get boring for a long time. I wish somebody that lives in my area could show me a 1W 445mm and a 100mw+ 532nm to actually see what the difference is... I know someone in my area has a decent green laser; I've seen it while I was in traffic and they were in a car near me - but not near enough to see what he had.

I know about customs; I looked at the laws for my country and all it said was that any power is legal as long as any laser that's >10mw has some sort of safety key or switch or something that's kinda like the kid proof buttons you see on those big lighters so if a kid got it somehow they wouldn't be able to use it.

That was fun.

-Trevor

 

[Xplorer877]

I can tell you that 1w of 445nm has a much more visible beam than 100mW of green.

Quality is hard to categorize.
Quality/price is easier to judge.

If I were to buy another green laser I'd try getting one of these;
Green laser module 200mW For custom build or lab [OLGLM200] - $115.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
100mW industrial green laser module [OLGLM100] - $58.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
And put it into this;
http://laserpointerforums.com/f64/fs-stainless-steel-green-kit-polished-easy-assembly-56412.html
Or, I'd PM Ehgemus to make me a custom host for it.
http://laserpointerforums.com/members/ehgemus/
Ehgemus is a host making god! He'll make you whatever you want, any way you want it, and his prices are great!

But that's me, I like custom lasers. A set up like that^ wont run you any more that 200 bucks and you'll have a decent laser that should last a while. And if the module ever burns out you can order another module and replace it. The 200mW one may "peak" close to 200mW but even if it stabilizes down around 120mW it will still be a good price. Also since you're buying a module, and not a completed functioning laser, customs shouldn't give you any crap. What country do you live in BTY?

If you do want to go the whole hog and are willing to spend the dough then I'd get a LaserGlow Aries series or Optotronics's RPL. They will at least give you a warranty for a time.
Laserglow Technologies - Handheld Lasers, Alignment Lasers and Lab / OEM Lasers
Or
Optotronics RPL Portable Green Lasers

-Tony

 

[xLiGhTz]

it is? ive never seen a 445nm in person so i wouldnt know. it would be nice if other ppl could see the beam from like ½ a mile? maybe a ¼ a mile? somewhere around there. the problem with me buying the modules is that im pretty sure u have to solder everything together and i dont have a soldering iron and i dont know how to since im a noob at this stuff. if i bought a laser from off the fourm it seems like ide go with him he seems to have decent lasers for not bad of a price. i havent looked on laserglow yet but i was looking at the 165mw RPL and the prices are high i added boths tail caps adjustable, and extra battery and it was $530 which isnt to bad but still high for a 165mw. and i live in the US.

 

[xLiGhTz]

That was fun.

-Trevor

lol i was super tired it was late and im terrible at spelling

 

[Xplorer877]

K well the US and FDA has very specific laws about radiation emitting devices. I can tell you that it doesn't matter if the laser has a safety key, or a aperture cover or whatever. Next to NONE of those Chinese lasers are approved by the FDA for import. To get genuine approval is very expensive. They need a FDA accession number. But the FDA didn't create that law to keep track of laser pointers, its for industrial lasers and X-ray machines and so on. However, that doesn't mean you wont get it. More often than not they just slip by. LaserGlow claims that their Aries series is FDA approved; that may be, IDK. Back in 2005 I bought one form them and I had to return it because the FDA realized it slipped by customs and sent be a letter. It was a big mess of paperwork and weeks of letters being sent back and forth. That's why I buy lasers in parts and make them myself.

You will need to do a tiny bit of soldering, so if you don't wanna deal with that, then you'll just have to buy one form somewhere. I'd still recommend an Aires form LaserGlow, you'll get customer service and a warranty if anything happens. . Don't buy from Wicked Lasers. Check out Rayfoss for cheaper lasers. Some people have good luck with them, others not so much. Or just keep an eye out in the BST section. Powerful green lasers pop up from time to time, with the economy the way it is. That way it won't have to go through customs and it'll be cheaper. Just make sure you buy from someone reliable.

Other people seeing the beam at a distance depends on many things. But IMO blue is more visible than green. Yeah I know the eye is more sensitive to green, but were talking about 10 times the amount of blue light. So in the end it's still brighter.

-Tony

 

[xLiGhTz]

do i have to be worried about customs taking an aries? and would u be able to take a pic of a 125 or 100mw 532nm and a 1W 445nm side by side and if u can can u do 2 pics, 1 with fog, the other without to compare? and what are the things it depends on for other ppl to see the beam? and if i do get the aries and it breaks could i replace any parts for it? like buy them off the website and unsolder the broken park and solder the new 1?

 

[Moebius]

A good quality 175mW 532nm (green) laser will blow your socks off.
It's like a light saber. Not something you can just shine around your neighborhood.
This is your first laser. You dont need a 1W laser yet. :undecided:
Ask your parents to buy you a pair of goggles too.


You might want to check out Optotronics Laser Products they are in the US.

 

[Xplorer877]

do i have to be worried about customs taking an aries? and would u be able to take a pic of a 125 or 100mw 532nm and a 1W 445nm side by side and if u can can u do 2 pics, 1 with fog, the other without to compare? and what are the things it depends on for other ppl to see the beam? and if i do get the aries and it breaks could i replace any parts for it? like buy them off the website and unsolder the broken park and solder the new 1?

Well like I said, my 120mW green laser is no longer 150mW, more like 20mW.

For a beam to be seen at a distance, the laser should have a very good beam divergence. That's a measure of the angle the beam expands by. A good beam divergence is 1 or 2 mRad (milli radian). If a laser has a divergance of 3mRad then at 1000ft the beam diameter is 3ft across. For example a laser with a 1mRad divergance and a 1mm diameter will project a 4000ft spot on the moon. :yh:

Also fog will help visability obviously.

If you're worried about customs taking the laser than you should contact LaserGlow and talk to them about it. If the laser does break you'll have to send it to them to fix. You can't buy "parts" for it.

-Tony

 

[xLiGhTz]

o ok now im thinking of getting the 1W 445nm over the 125mw 532nm since they dont last for more than 2 years or so. how long do u think the 445 will last? before it loses power? if i cant find anybody on the fourms to buy a 1W from what laser/website do u suggest?