200mW NewWish laser from DX.com review (by unpro Sean)

[Aseras]

warm it up.. I bet you it's cold..

 

[VaThInK]

I'm thinking of buying a laser pointer from DX myself but I'm not sure which one is better in term of price vs performance ratio. Based on what I've read so far. DX 200mW seems to be the best value for money even if it's only putting out 100mW despite only having $10 or $20 price difference from the 150mW or 100mW version respectively, am I right?

Could anyone who own 2 of the above mentioned DX laser pointers give me a comparison between the 2? Divergence, beam visibility, beam quality, stability, etc.

Any advise would be very appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Hemlock Mike]

My DX200 is pretty consistent power now -- Up around 170 mW. Anyone try to change the focus of that lens yet ??


Mike

 

[SenKat]

Careful with that lense- one wrong touch of the fingers on it, and your lense will be minus the AR coating, and internal reflections will surely kill that sucker ! Please believe me on that !!!!! The acid on your finger tips is enough even right after washing them, to eat through the coating. They are rather tough to clean, period - be cautious !!!

 

[Hemlock Mike]

The lens is mounted with a threaded fitting, maybe glued, and there are slots for a screwdriver with clearance for the lens. I was wondering if anyone tried it yet.
It's bright but a large dot at distance. I think it was designed for close up parlor tricks !!
I clean my optics with Ultrateck optical cleaner. No smell, no streaks - very mild.

Mike

 

[Kenom]

Mike what kind of duty cycle are you seeing from that thing??? How long before it starts to get "warm" to the touch.

 

[Kenom]

It would appear that people are complaining about the output power of the 200mw dx laser and they claim if you have any problems they will "work on the problem with you at the very least refund your money plus re-imburse you for shipping.

 

[SenKat]

at $120 for over 100mw ? That's not bad - so, I think as long as you are not complaining about the IR - (since they specified it has no IR filter) you could be good to go for a refund, or replacement. Tehy really are nice folks over there - working REALLY hard to fill orders - I think they get overwhelmed often though !

 

[seanrolsen]

Anyone see a solution to the finicky switch that does not involve taking it apart? If it is indeed the switch that took my laser to about 3mW, then I would like to know how to fix it.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[Aseras]

mike

as far as the lense it is thread and unscrews. I had to remove it because mine was contaminated. its a crap lense , theres no ar coating or anything else. theres even bubbles in the lense at the edges of mine.

when I took mine apart I removed the spring that was on the back of the diode. I also inserted a wedge of a hot glue stick under the pcb to hold it better. mine was already bent a bit. after that I've not had the brightness issues. everytime I've fired it up I've got 100mw+ of green.

 

[Hemlock Mike]

Sean --

DigiKEy has switches but you seem to have a bigger problem. My switch problem only lowered me to about 80 mW. 3 mW indicates a major failure to me. Mine also bounced back and forth as the switch pooped out.

Aseras -- Mine has a "bent" board in it too. Looks like it is there to make room for the button. It is tightly soldered and glued to the module and I didn't try to bend it for fear of damaging the leads on the LD. I can now pull mine appart by hand - a real pull !!

Speaking of OH POOP, My CO2 power supply REALLY smoked last night. It just didn't like my efforts to reduce the output :scowl:

Mike

 

[Aseras]

pushing the button bent my board, that's why I "propped" it up from underneath. The diode spring was a waste imho, and damn close to shorting the voltage regulator or whatever on the bottom, so I just took it off. I cut a hi temp glue stick into quarters and put a wedge under the driverboard and the vrm and it keeps the board straight and it doesn't move when you press the button ( take out the faom insert around the barrety terminal and look at how much the pcb moves when you push the botton normally )

 

[Fallingwater]

I'm pondering getting a 200mW green laser from DX.
If I understand correctly it won't generate that much power from two AAA cells. It will from lithium AAAs, but only for a very short time before voltage sags.

Now, I'm thinking of connecting an external battery of significantly higher capacity. Say, a 2s3p pack of NiMH AAs, which should be able to handle the 800+mah draw without batting an eyelid.

Would the laser be able to consistently give out 200 mW in that configuration?
Also, what is the voltage range? (if it can run on 4 volts a lithium cell might be a good idea...)
Thanks.

Edit: oh, and if you could tell me where to find protective eyewear for cheap it'd be good

 

[Aseras]

I'd keep the voltage down as I'm certain the diode is being overdriven.
also this little guys gets TOASTY after about 30seconds or so of runtime.
a series of nimh should provide all the amps it needs and keep the voltage down sacrificing a little off the top end for diode life.

for cheap greenie protection, i use these. http://www.toolbarn.com/product/dewalt/DW0714/

I've done a review of them on here and they work really well for the high powered stuff, just remember the DX's leak IR a bit, and no 532 goggles, even laser lab certified ones protect against that usually.

 

[Fallingwater]

So heat is a problem?
Do you think using the things for more than 30 seconds at a time on full power is asking for trouble?

 

[billy1954]

and if you compare it with a Wickedlasers mod. Spyder II whats happen?