# 200mw green laser?



## eztune (Jul 20, 2007)

I seen this *GREEN LASER POINTER 200MW - CLASS IIIB 200 MW*




on ebay and was wondering if anyone has bought one and </IMG>tested it out? Some have been won for about $260 US . If it puts out somewhere around 200mw? average, then it looks like a good deal? I just dont know about buying from someone overseas selling just a few at a time? His feedback looked ok.


----------



## Aseras (Jul 20, 2007)

I've not seen that model before but I'd be very doubtful of the 200mw rating, be wary of almost any pointer style on ebay. Also 200mw green is barely doable with 2 AA alkalines, be suspicious of any grennie that uses anything but lithium cells for anything over 100mw.


----------



## andy71600 (Jul 20, 2007)

Aseras said:


> I've not seen that model before but I'd be very doubtful of the 200mw rating, be wary of almost any pointer style on ebay. Also 200mw green is barely doable with 2 AA alkalines, be suspicious of any grennie that uses anything but lithium cells for anything over 100mw.


I may have gotten lucky, but I'd go for a DX 200 if you want a cheap powerful laser... Mine burns skin instantly, lights matches as soon as the beam hits 'em and can cut through electrical tape like butter. At $120 i think that it is a steal


----------



## Comidt (Jul 21, 2007)

It looks pretty nice, is that not a CNI laser?
I've seen one of those ona reputable website before.
It looks really cool though...
Jonno


----------



## Sgaterboy (Jul 22, 2007)

andy71600 said:


> I may have gotten lucky, but I'd go for a DX 200 if you want a cheap powerful laser... Mine burns skin instantly, lights matches as soon as the beam hits 'em and can cut through electrical tape like butter. At $120 i think that it is a steal



I'd be very cautious about giving this review any merit. judging from the fact that it came from someone with ONE post, and the sheer amount of underhanded marketing techniques which many laser companies are taking part in these days (I won;t say any more). . .

anyhoo, I HAVE heard good things about the DX lasers in general, I would have no reason to doubt that the 200mws arr pretty good. they DID recently change suppliers and are being a little confusing as to which lasers are from the new, "lower quality" supplier (non-new wish)


----------



## eztune (Jul 23, 2007)

dx 200 is a good price, but their website says that the laser doesnt have a IR fillter? Can this be harmfull to your eyes? I would never point it close to any one. Can it be bad for the one useing the laser or anyone in the same room? I thought i read some where that the beem itself can give off some IR with out a fillter? 
I was looking into the ultra laser 120mw after reading the thread Shanghai Daheng DHL GB-100 100mW 532nm Laser Pen - Eval Report if IR is a inportant factor. 
And thanks for the replys.


----------



## andy71600 (Jul 23, 2007)

Sgaterboy said:


> I'd be very cautious about giving this review any merit. judging from the fact that it came from someone with ONE post, and the sheer amount of underhanded marketing techniques which many laser companies are taking part in these days (I won;t say any more). . .
> 
> anyhoo, I HAVE heard good things about the DX lasers in general, I would have no reason to doubt that the 200mws arr pretty good. they DID recently change suppliers and are being a little confusing as to which lasers are from the new, "lower quality" supplier (non-new wish)



I didn't realize that was my first post... Go check over at LPF, I've been there a little bit longer


----------



## VaThInK (Jul 23, 2007)

Based on what I can see, it looks pretty much the same as PGL-IIIA / Lucent Optics Envee / LaserGlow Pyxis / NOVALasers Alpha / CNI laser.

I'm guessing the maximum power output would be around 125mW. This guesstimate is based on not entirely because the use of AA batteries but more because of the size of the unit. It would struggle big time to dissipate the heat generated from higher wattage pump diode. Todays AA batteries are capable of giving out 2A+ easily, which is enough for a 2W pump diode. Although, most likely they won't last very long while giving out that much current, but it's doable nonetheless.

Personally I've build a 200mW DPSS portable laser using 2W pump diode powered by 2x AA batteries. It works no problem. Crap runtime though as expected.

I reckon even if it's rated at 125mW rather than 200mW it's still an absolute bargain at $260.


----------



## VaThInK (Jul 23, 2007)

Sgaterboy said:


> I'd be very cautious about giving this review any merit. judging from the fact that it came from someone with ONE post, and the sheer amount of underhanded marketing techniques which many laser companies are taking part in these days (I won;t say any more). . .
> 
> anyhoo, I HAVE heard good things about the DX lasers in general, I would have no reason to doubt that the 200mws arr pretty good. they DID recently change suppliers and are being a little confusing as to which lasers are from the new, "lower quality" supplier (non-new wish)



Does this apply to all DX green lasers or just a few models? Does it affect the 200mW model? I thought this is only true for the 50mW model. Can anyone clarify this?


----------



## eztune (Jul 23, 2007)

Dx ? Take a look at their website saying no IR fillter. 
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1997 
Is says ''Most of these and other made in China green lasers do not have IR filters and thus can be hazardous to eyes without proper protective eye wear. By all means if you are unsure of what this means get the 5mW version for your safety''


----------



## Aseras (Jul 23, 2007)

I have a dx200 as well, the highest I've seen mine go is 180mw of green and 25mw of IR when it's on lithiums. Normally I hagve it on rechargebale nimh, and it does ~120mw of green and 15mw of IR.

The IR is the least of my worries. I have a 1.1 watt handheld IR laser, 25mw or less is a joke.


----------



## Sgaterboy (Jul 23, 2007)

andy71600 said:


> I didn't realize that was my first post... Go check over at LPF, I've been there a little bit longer



well, certainly no offense was intended, and if you have been around LPF for a while you know EXACTLY what I am referring to  ... (oh, and welcome to CPF!)



VaThInK said:


> Does this apply to all DX green lasers or just a few models? Does it affect the 200mW model? I thought this is only true for the 50mW model. Can anyone clarify this?



I believe that the new manufacturer is supplying lasers of all power levels, it seems that they have taken to identifying the old models as "TRUE 30mw" while the older ones are just "30 mw"... for example. so if it says "true", then I think its one of the older (thus, better) ones.


----------



## VaThInK (Jul 24, 2007)

eztune said:


> I seen this *GREEN LASER POINTER 200MW - CLASS IIIB 200 MW*
> 
> 
> 
> on ebay and was wondering if anyone has bought one and </IMG>tested it out? Some have been won for about $260 US . If it puts out somewhere around 200mw? average, then it looks like a good deal? I just dont know about buying from someone overseas selling just a few at a time? His feedback looked ok.



I have received mine and I can confirm it's the same unit as I have mentioned above and it is actually rated at >80mW by CNI. The exact model is PGL-III-532-A. I checked the output using LPM-1 and I get 103mW peak. Not bad I guess considering I only paid for $280 shipped for it. I'm very surprised by its build quality. Excellent is all I can say. :twothumbs


----------



## VaThInK (Jul 26, 2007)

Update: I complained to him that the laser is not giving out the advertised power output, which is 200mW as he said, which also I find it very difficult to believe as 200mW green laser powered by 2 x AA batteries is not exist yet on the market. Not to mention where's the logic behind 200mW output from 500mW pump diode. 40% efficiency? I wish!!! Anyway, he then gave me $110 partial refund as the result of my complaint. CNI PGL-IIIA rated at >80mW putting out 103mW and I ended up paying for only $170 shipped in the end. I really can't complain. 

*A COUPLE OF MODS THAT I CAME UP WITH FOR THIS LASER:*
Anyone who own this type of laser and find the ~3 secs delay a little longer than their liking can make this delay shorter by making the 470k (474) resistor value smaller (or the 4.7uF capacitor). I've done it and it works. Here's the formula: 1.1 x 4.7uF x 470k = 2.43 secs by default. Just be careful when doing this mod as the space to work on is very restricted. I took mine apart completely when I did it. Easier that way. 

The delay circuitry used employs an ancient 555 timer IC. Looking at the circuit, I'm pretty sure this laser can be modified to accept TTL input effortlessly just by disconnecting the pin 3 (output) of the 555 timer IC and making the other end of the connection (not from the IC) available to a TTL signal. Remember though, I haven't done it so I can't prove this yet, but I reckon it should work no problem as I think the output from the IC is at TTL level and no signal conversion is needed. Feeling lucky? :naughty:

PS: I also can confirm that the seller is not lying when he said this laser has 100% duty cycle. I tried to graph the power output of my laser for 3 hours to see what kind of power dropout I would get when this baby is paired with Energizer alkaline batteries. After I turned it on for 3 hours I held it up and I only felt a very slight warm feeling on my palm (my room temp is about 25C). Graph result is ok if anyone is wondering. It was able to sustain >80mW for 25 minutes constant on. Then it will drop about 10mW in roughly every 30 minutes. After I did this test, my meter reads 19.56mW. 

I hope you guys enjoy this mini review and find it useful.


----------



## eztune (Jul 26, 2007)

Thanks Vanthink for taking the time to give this review its ben very helpful. Does it have an IR fillter?


----------



## Lew Fong (Jul 27, 2007)

eztune said:


> Dx ? Take a look at their website saying no IR fillter.
> http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1997
> Is says ''Most of these and other made in China green lasers do not have IR filters and thus can be hazardous to eyes without proper protective eye wear. By all means if you are unsure of what this means get the 5mW version for your safety''


 
_*Absolutely correct.*_ So far, the Shanghai Daheng/Ultralasers units are the only mainland-Chinese made pointers I've seen with factory-installed IR filters, notwithstanding claims to the contrary by unscrupulous dealers. 

Un-filtered DPSS lasers are not especially dangerous if you understand that the IR emissions diverge at a greater rate (10 mrad or more) than the visible beam, and plan accordingly. But even with all the talk about the dangers, power equations, and special handling requirements of non-filtered greenies here and on other forums, I still see a lot of posts indicating a general lack of understanding of how to safely operate the things. 

I think the Reds won't put filters in because it makes them read 3 to 4 times higher on a power meter than they would with a filter, and filtering drops the visible output about 10 to 15 percent as well. So a laser that can be sold as a 100mW without filter ( actual total output of all emissions) might only make 20 mW of green with one installed. That is also how you can get a "True 30mW" laser (true power of emissions at 532 nm only) that will pop balloons and burn stuff.

Look at the sticky about Stephenmadpotato and his eye injury...caused by a "True 30mw" laser....yeah, 30 mW of green and 125 mW of IR that he couldn't see and didn't know was there. 

As long as people like us keep buying un-filtered lasers, they will continue to produce them without that simple and inexpensive safety feature. 

And buying an un-filtered "true" 200mW without a full appreciation of what that means is like asking for a permanent pirate eye-patch, IMHO.



Cheers All,

Lew

_"Do not look into the laser beam with your remaining good eye."_


----------



## VaThInK (Jul 27, 2007)

eztune said:


> Thanks Vanthink for taking the time to give this review its ben very helpful. Does it have an IR fillter?



You bet. I saw a cyan colored square lens before the final collimation lens, which I believe is the IR filter (I also confirmed this by measuring it's power output with and without this filter). Based on the spec from NOVALasers, the filter has 99.5% efficiency. Check out this link:
http://www.novalasers.com/NOVAstore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=7&idproduct=51

That page got it's specification. It's basically the same laser pointer (CNI PGL-III-A) just rebranded by NOVALasers to Alpha85.


----------



## Lew Fong (Aug 2, 2007)

VaThInK said:


> You bet. I saw a cyan colored square lens before the final collimation lens, which I believe is the IR filter (I also confirmed this by measuring it's power output with and without this filter). Based on the spec from NOVALasers, the filter has 99.5% efficiency. Check out this link:
> http://www.novalasers.com/NOVAstore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=7&idproduct=51
> 
> That page got it's specification. It's basically the same laser pointer (CNI PGL-III-A) just rebranded by NOVALasers to Alpha85.


 
I'm confused...it has been established that the eBayser originally the subject of the thread was in fact a CNI PGL-III, but was someone also saying that the DX 200 mW is a CNI as well? Aren't the DX 200's made by New Wish?

Thanks


----------



## VaThInK (Aug 3, 2007)

I have no idea who made that statement, but for sure the DX 200mW is definitely not made by CNI. The quality of CNI lasers is way better than DX 200mW in every aspect all the way. In fact, the best lasers I own so far. From what I've heard, the old model of DX green pointers are made by NewWish. Don't know about the new ones though.

On a side note, anyone who are planning to buy this laser from eBay, I suggest buying it from Lucent Optics or NOVALasers instead. No hassle of bidding, warranty assurance, cheaper, comes with a fancy storage box for your laser as standard and you're not being fooled by the seller statement claiming 200mW out of it . Unless if you are able to get a partial refund like I did which is quite a good deal, then eBay is your friend .

In the end, it's all about what are you going to expect from the lasers really. If you just want to play around with it for a short period of time. DX offer a pretty good deal. If you want quality and serious about lasers, go with more reputable company such as CNI. The extra money you're going to spend is very much worth it. In most cases, you get for what you paid in the end really.

If any of you would like to know some of the differences that I notice between DX 200mW and CNI PGL-III-A lasers, just let me know. I'll do a short one based on my findings.

Cheers.


----------



## Aseras (Aug 3, 2007)

the dx200 and most of the real newwish lasers on their site do have IR filters, they are just cheap IR filters, and once you get over about 50mw there's more and more bleedthrough. anything below about 50mw is filtered fairly well. once you get past that you start leaking about 5-10% of the output.

the DX lasers are newwish lasers, they are not CNI pgl-IIIa's that's a whole diffrent monster. Most CNI's are filtered very well.


----------

