# 200mw green laser



## kdam36 (Sep 20, 2006)

hi!  
can anyone tell me if these lasers are any good? 
i`v read far too much about cheap lasers on here that radiate more ir than the sun and i dont wanna get caught out with one of these lol
eBay.co.uk: Ultra high power 200mW green laser pointer brand new! (item 220029149455 end time 23-Sep-06 13:16:50 BST)

thanks in advance!

this forum rocks...


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## dr_lava (Sep 20, 2006)

scam.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/131142


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## kdam36 (Sep 20, 2006)

shame but thaks guys.....i killed my wicked lasers 100mw baby off and i`m in need of a replacement...im mo laser expert but i`d like to try and revive the laser by some how putting a new ir laser to power the crystle but i dont know how to do it.. what i cud do with is a built pcu that drives the laser then i can hook it up to the rest of the guts i have left.. and yes i have ir glasses! so any help u doods can give me will help loads
cheers 
al.


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## kdam36 (Sep 21, 2006)

i contacted the seller of this laser...............


hi.. iv looked at your laser and i`m cautious about these things but i`d like to buy one... iv read a few reports on your laser and they arn`t very good.. infact they say the beam spreads like marge and they arn`t the power they say they are.. so can you tell me is this true and can it be proven that they are 200mw and dont give off more ir radiation than the sun.. 
thanks 
**************************************

and got this reply............

Removed quote of private communication without consent. Please read the rules about this. Thanx.
bernhard


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## yellow (Sep 21, 2006)

well, "feedback" on E-Bay? 
covers how quick shipping was, 
and if seller answered questions, right?
But NOTHING else.
Especially not the long term quality of the product...


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## TigerhawkT3 (Sep 21, 2006)

The pics in the OP's link say that they're Spymodex lasers. If they actually are, then that tells us two things:

1. The laser might actually have the stated power
2. The laser has no IR filter

I know that there is no IR filter because I have contacted Spymodex directly, and they said as much. I replied asking if their power output measurements include the IR, and got no response.

Off the top of my head, I can't recall any eBay lasers ("is this laser any good?" "any info on this cool-looking laser?") that weren't misleading at best or dangerous at worst.

If you want a good laser, try Arnold Beland's atlasnova.com, optotronics.com, or other reputable sellers.


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## Echo Li (Sep 26, 2006)

you could find some good suppliers on made-in-China.com, just like us ^-^


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## FNinjaP90 (Sep 26, 2006)

In my opinion, no AAA laser is worth more than $150, no matter how high they "claim" the output to be. Yes, they were worth hundreds a few years ago, but now, they're commonplace items that are highly mass produced. They're nothing more than a small diode, driver board, and a brass tube, all of which are mass produced overseas. 

Yes, you might get lucky with a module that doesn't burn up past 100mw, but it's still taxing the laser very hard and will probably fail within a few hours of use. The components, design, and heat dissipation of a AAA laser physically limit its output. I can guarantee that it will NOT put out 200mw. Anybody trying to sell you a AAA laser for $500 is downright ripping you off, especially the ones on eBay.


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## kdam36 (Sep 27, 2006)

i have a spare leadlight laser that died on me and i`v still got all the parts..
if i got a spymodex 200mw laser, will i be able to use the filter on the laser..


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## FNinjaP90 (Sep 27, 2006)

It's not worth $500 though to use an IR filter though......


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## Athoul (Sep 27, 2006)

The problem is, if you use an IR filter the actual 532nm output will be much less. You might have only 20mW or so with the rest being IR. You are better off to get a laser that has the actual 532nm output you are looking for.

Good high output portables will have an IR filter and will use 500mW or greater pump diodes. Regardless of battery size, AAA, AA, C, D, they are all made with the same parts. These being, a pump diode, driver board, hybrid ND:YVO4/KTP crystal of varying quality, collimating lens and an IR filter. The battery type will of course determine how long it will operate before a change of batteries is needed.


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## kdam36 (Sep 27, 2006)

right .. so i have a dead wicked lasers 100mw leser pen that i want to revive.. i know the crystle is on cos it was me that shagged it up by trying to open it with the batteries in( and dont groan ffs.. we all have to learn somewere lol).
now what i`d like is a 808nm diode thats powerful enought to run it and a driver board too..i`m no einstein dont get me wrong but i`v opened a few of these things now to grasp a basic view of what goes off and all i need is a diode and board configaration to get me up and running.. so were/what do i do???
or..... if someone has a diode and driver board they will sell me then i`l pay the price to get it running again...just bare in minde that laymans terms is nessacery lol.
cheers
al


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## Athoul (Sep 27, 2006)

Well what is dead in your wicked laser? If it's just the diode, you can use that driver board and mount a new laser diode onto it. If it was a 35mW or higher then it had a 500mW 808nm pump diode in it, this is what you will need to replace it with. Now since you want to take it all apart, the new diode doesn't really have to fit in the pen style housing, which makes you options a bit easier. The diode in there right now is a c-mount laser diode that is butted right up against the ND:YVO4/ktp hybrid crystal. Though you can use a 9mm or 5.6mm can format diode if you like. Personally I'd just replace it with a similar diode even if it won't be in the original housing.

Anyway you will want to look for a 500mW 808nm laser diode that operates on 3V, in either a c-mount, 9mm can or 5.6mm can (if they exist in 5.6mm format).


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## kdam36 (Sep 28, 2006)

my laser is a wicked lasers 100mw greenie so i`v no idea what diode it had in it and i`v no idea whats broke.
i tried to open it with the batteries in and twisted it all too far and the leg thats insulated on the diode broke and the insulation come off. can i put a more powerfull diode in to up the power or wont the crystle take it?so i dont know and dont know how to test wether the diode or the board are damaged


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## anthroPelexis (Sep 28, 2006)

well, the more powerful a diode, the more heat. being as it is a pen style laser, the heat is already trapped and cant stay on too long. what i would do is get a lowerer powered diode and find effecient crystals.


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## FNinjaP90 (Sep 28, 2006)

If you want a solid, reliable, high output unit, a AAA won't cut it. Its design does not allow it to dissipate heat well, so it's really hampered by how much power it can put out. Switching out a diode and all that is no easy thing. I assume you have a lot of experience with soldering? Otherwise, I think it's a better idea to just scrap it and buy a better quality, reliable larger unit.


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## ted_park (Sep 28, 2006)

kdam36 said:


> i have a spare leadlight laser that died on me and i`v still got all the parts..
> if i got a spymodex 200mw laser, will i be able to use the filter on the laser..



The IR filter assembly on the leadlight is actually some kind of concave lens. The beam from the MCA is diverged by this filter/lens, then collimated with the output collimating lens. All the optics in the leadlight seem to be specifically engineered to work with each other, and I don't think they'd work so well in another optical system.


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## marshall (Sep 28, 2006)

I too have to comment here and say watch out for ebay. This sort of item just really isn't something I would want to purchase without a gurantee through someone.

I purchased two of those "<35mw" lasers they had all over the place on ebay for $60 each a while back, man what a rip off. They both ended up outputting around 5mw.

So watch out!


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## livetofall (Oct 5, 2006)

oh yeah thats the spymodex/newish and i just returned my "150". BTW if you live in the states, its a lot more expensive to send back after paypal dispute. the only way you can get tracking and signature for the LEAST price is GLOBAL EXPRESS USPS...and that cost me 26 bucks...actually that trip cost me 2500 which i dont want to talk about it. Anyway, if you were not to have a fender bender on the way back from post office from the stress of getting reamed, you still need to figure that you get charged the bank rate exchange on the buy and the back exchange back..so.add about another 6 dollars per 100 round trip. Now after you finally add up experiments with companiies that sell a real good web page like spymodex or other ebayers, you might as well have got a 260RPL from Jack or a 50MW from arnold. So unless you like borrowing a laser for about $40 and sweating over whether you got IR exposure, its best to read the forums and be PATIENT (unlike me) and figure what you will want. Like the saying goes about dont lend what you cant afford to give a way, same goes for overseas lasers sorry had to vent


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## soapy (Oct 5, 2006)

Is there a quick and dirty way to tell if your diode is putting out IR? 

Aside from using something to split the beam (like a prism) and then looking for IR with a NV camera whilst dumping the green beam, or simply sticking your hand in the beam, I haven't come up with anything yet.


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## Athoul (Oct 5, 2006)

You mean just an unknown bare diode? Or do you mean in a green DPSS setup?

I think you mean a bare diode, but incase it's the DPSS laser, then just look to see if there is a green/blue piece of glass behind the lens. If not then there is IR in the beam.

If it's an unknown diode, then the cheapest ay is to remove the IR filter from a cheap webcam and see if there is a dot showing up on a wall. Other then that it's not going to be very easy to tell if it's emitting IR or not.


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## livetofall (Oct 6, 2006)

FNinjaP90 said:


> In my opinion, no AAA laser is worth more than $150, no matter how high they "claim" the output to be. Yes, they were worth hundreds a few years ago, but now, they're commonplace items that are highly mass produced. They're nothing more than a small diode, driver board, and a brass tube, all of which are mass produced overseas.
> 
> Yes, you might get lucky with a module that doesn't burn up past 100mw, but it's still taxing the laser very hard and will probably fail within a few hours of use. The components, design, and heat dissipation of a AAA laser physically limit its output. I can guarantee that it will NOT put out 200mw. Anybody trying to sell you a AAA laser for $500 is downright ripping you off, especially the ones on eBay.


these are actually AA batteries but same difference, decide how much you are willing to put out for a laser and stay with reputable sources...the guys with the good lasers need not go to ebay sales


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## amph1bius (Oct 7, 2006)

yeah


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## soapy (Oct 7, 2006)

Athoul, no, I meant in the whole unit. I'm not about to rip my shiny DPSS Sony laser apart to check for a bit of IR filter that might be a spot of lacquer on a compound lens.

I might try using a prism and a webcam/night vision camera.


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## abeland1 (Oct 7, 2006)

With all the discussions about the effect on power ratings of the presence or absence of an IR filter, I decided to sacrifice one of my 35 mW CPF specials for the group. I removed the IR filter from the MCA and then measured the output with my Coherent Lasercheck. The result, a whopping 261 mW. With devices such as this being delivered to users of all ages and degrees of competence, it is only a matter of time until a documented case of permanent eye injury from a handheld laser device will be published. That is all the federal authorities need, and they are waiting for it. We can then say goodbye to our hobby.


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