# Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) Laser is here!!! :)



## The_LED_Museum (Jun 18, 2007)

The Wicked Lasers Sonar Blu-ray laser module came today — I've been waiting since sometime in March for it.

Once I have converted the evaluation to UBB code, I'll post the evaluation in this thread.   :twothumbs


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 18, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

This is a long post with at least 111 images in it (33 are fairly large; the rest are small); dial-up users please allow for plenty of load time.

*Wicked Lasers Sonar Blu-ray Laser Module, retail 11,608.3 CNY ($1,699.99)** (www.wickedlasers.com...)
*Manufactured by Wicked Lasers* (www.wickedlasers.com
*Last updated 12-08-09*

** IMPORTANT:* Pricing is accurate as of 03-20-09. Please visit the Currency Calculator for the latest currency conversion rates from US dollars to Chinese yuan.






​





(In reference to the small package I received from Wicked Lasers around 3:43pm PDT on 06-18-07):
{_sung like the Foreigner song "Feels Like the First Time"_}





This is a violet-emitting portable laser based on the Sony Blu-ray laser diode — the first commercial portable (self-contained) Blu-ray laser pointing device — that I'm aware of anyway.

It comes in a handsome aluminum body with the "Wicked Lasers" and "Blu-ray" logos smartly laser-engraved into it, and feeds from two CR123A cells.

As I stated earlier, it uses a Sony Blu-ray laser diode that is reported to output 20mW of laser radiation at 405nm in the violet part of the spectrum. Because it is at the violet end of the spectrum, it will not be as visible mW-per-mW as blue, green, yellow, or red laser pointers, but the color is absolutely gorgeous, and is very radiant and unusual for a handheld laser.

Blu-ray laser diodes (400-410nm) are currently so hard to come by that Wicked Lasers (and anybody else who makes laser modules/pointers out of these diodes) disembowels Blu-ray disc players and (not Wicked Lasers but some other individuals) PS3 video game consoles specifically to harvest the rare & expensive Blu-ray violet-emitting laser diodes from them.

This is only the second Blu-ray laser module I've seen; this is the first — it is a homemade device. I was able to get this web page published so quickly after receiving the Sonar because I was able to use the other Blu-ray laser's web page as a template and because I went to the Sonar's web page for pricing info, information on the Sonar's TEM (transverse electromagnetic mode), beam divergence, and things like that. So I only needed to add product photographs, optical & electrical measurements, spectroscopy, and text specific to the Sonar itself (like the fact that it is pulsed, not CW).

The beam is rapidly pulsed, not CW (continuous wave), so you'll see a dotted line on the target when the laser is rapidly waved about.
















Here are the laser-engraved logos on the aluminum body.
Nice, aren't they?​



SIZE






Feed the laser module a pair of CR123A cells (not included) (see below), remove the purple plastic cover from the laser aperture (the hole in one end), and then you'll be ready to rock.

To use the laser module, just aim it at something you wish to point out, and press & hold down the button on the barrel for as long as you need the violet laser spot. Violet laser radiation will literally pour out of the "business-end" for as long as this button is held down. Release the button to turn the laser module back off. Yes, it really is as easy as that.

The laser module comes with a hinge-lidded presentation case (that has a magnetically-closing lid) with a foam cutout for the module. You may store the Sonar in this case if desired.






To change the batteries in your Wicked Lasers Sonar, unscrew and remove the tailcap, throw it in the toilet bowl, yank that silver handle on the front of the cistern down, and flush it away...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead. 

Tip the two used CR123A cells out of the barrel and into your hand, and dispose of, recycle, or recharge them (only if they're rechargeables!) as you see fit.

Insert two new CR123A cells into the barrel, button-end (+) positive first. This is the opposite of how batteries are installed in most other laser pointers/laser modules, so please pay attention to polarity here.

Screw the tailcap back on, and be done with it.
Aren't you glad you didn't flush away that tailcap now? 

Current usage measures 41.6mA on a set of known-new WF brand CR123A cells.

The website does not state not to use rechargeables; there is a circuit that pulses the laser diode so it *SHOULD* be ok to use them.
But I can offer no guarantees here...do so at your own risk until or if I hear otherwise.

I also do not know if reverse-polarity protection (mechanical or electrical) is present in the Sonar; I'd rather not risk the destruction an irreplaceable $2,000.00 laser just to find out. :shakehead
(*Update 06-26-07*): If the Sonar has reverse-polarity protection, it is *not* mechanical. I determined this by intentionally installing the batteries backward and metering for voltage between the battery's exposed (+) positive nipple and the laser's case, and found close to 6 volts when the button was pressed. The DMM's series resistance (when set to the +40 volts scale) was enough to protect the Sonar's circuit here.

(*Update 07-03-07*): My contact at Wicked Lasers says a rather emphatic "*NOOOOOOOOO!!!*" for use of both RCR123A rechargeables and reverse-polarity protection; the Sonar has not been tested with/for either. At $2,000.00 a pop, I can understand - it could be what $4,000.00 whirling down a {_white porcelain fixture used for defecation_} looks like.










This is a laser module, not a flashlight. So I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, try to drown it in the toylet bowl or the cistern, run over it, swing it against the concrete floor of a patio, bash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannonada (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piñata" too much again  — candiosity is usually checked with a scanner-type device on a platform or a handheld wand), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or inflict upon it punishments that flashlights may have inflicted upon them. Therefore, this section of the laser's web page will seem a bit more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.

This is a directly-injected laser though, who's active components are the laser diode and the collimating lens. So it should withstand accidents better than a DPSS (diode pumped solid state) laser — the type of laser assembly found in yellow (593.5nm), green (532nm) and blue (473nm) laser pointers & laser modules (handheld or laboratory). These lasers have several additional components (crystals, filters, etc.) in the optical train, and you can knock them out of alignment by doing little more than looking at them the wrong way. And if any of these components are knocked out of whack, you'll no longer get your yellow, green, or blue laser beam.




You still do not want to intentionally drop your Sonar though, because it's a rather expensive precision optical instrument.

****EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!****
This laser is a CDRH Class IIIb instrument, and the photons generated by it are much higher in energy than the photons generated by a red laser of equivalent power; so you definitely do not want to shine it into your eyes, other people's eyes, pets' eyes, for that matter, the eyes of any person or animal you encounter.



Eye damage can occur faster than the blink reflex can protect them, regardless of what species' eyes you irradiate with this laser. So just don't do it.




And fer chrissakes (and for heaven sakes and for Pete sakes and your sakes too) do not shine this laser at any vehicle, whether ground-based like a motorcycle, car, or truck, or air-based like a helicopter, airplane, or jet. And if you shoot it at a person in the dark and he turns out to be a police officer, he may think he's being targeted, unholster (pull out) his gun, and hose you down with it. :shakehead :shakehead :shakehead :shakehead :shakehead :shakehead :shakehead

*EXTREMELY, VERY, SUPER DOOPER IMPORTANT!!!* I know I just said this, but it bears repeating: You *MUST NOT* shine it in your eyes, not even when the Sonar's batteries have pooped out and it is below lasing threshold!!!!!!!!! You will have bright, long-lasting (several days!!!) afterimages if you do!!! The human eye was not designed for wavelengths much below 420nm in the blue-violet region of the spectrum.

This is a CDRH Class IIIB laser device. Treat it with respect, and it'll treat you with respect.

This laser is not water-resistant, so please be extra careful when using it around sinks, tubs, toilets, fishtanks, pet water bowls, or other places where water or water-like liquids might be found. And you'll probably want to cover it up or otherwise get rid of it (such as by putting it in a pocket or bag) if you need to carry it in rainy or snowy weather.

The case is made from 6061-T6 Aircraft-Grade Aluminum, and is both tough and looks nice.

The beam has a divergence of 1.5mRad (milliradians), and has a diameter of 2.50mm when it exits the product.
According to the web page on the Sonar, it produces a TEM00 (transverse electromagnetic mode 00) beam — that is, it produces a beam with a Gaussian power distribution; circular with a central hotspot and dimmer corona. This is a typical laser mode, and is how many lasers (well, most lasers for consumer use anyway) are designed to operate.

The beam from the Sonar is not perfecly circular; it is oval (somewhat egg-shaped) like beams from all directly-injected diode lasers that do not have special beam shape corrective optics.

The beam emerges from this laser larger in diameter than is usual for pointer-style lasers, but the beam "waist" (the smallest beam diameter) occurs approximately 6 feet away. At ~18 feet, the beam diameter is still smaller than it is at the laser aperture.

Visibility of the Sonar's spot is similar to a 1mW to 2mW red diode laser, but it can do something that *NO* red laser can: it causes fluorescence (glowing) in many colored objects and white paper.

At normal viewing distances (~6 feet to ~100 feet), the beam spot may have a "furry" or out-of-focus appearance to it. This is *NOT* a fault of the Sonar (it's quite well collimated actually), it's because human eyes can't properly deal with deep violet light and cannot focus correctly on it, even if the Sonar's spot is the only object visible.

Because of the low current usage, battery life should be quite a long time — more than other laser pointers — including those red ones that use two AAA cells.

Do ***NOT*** unscrew the front cap while the batteries are installed; doing so may cause the laser to malfunction (it became stuck in the "on" position in my case); this was remedied by screwing the front cap firmly back in place.
Although this may indeed work (it worked with my laser), it is not guaranteed to work.
If you removed the cap with batteries in the laser before reading not to do that here, that's ok.
But if you did that after reading about me telling you not to, then shame on you!!!





There is no CDRH laser warning label on the Sonar itself or on/in the presentation case (yes, I even removed the foam insides to look underneath). However, I will not consider this a negative because Blu-ray lasers are still so new and it is entirely within the realm of possibility that a label reading "Diode Laser 405nm" has not yet even been created.

This is a pulsed laser, not a CW laser...it strongly reminds me of the Nintendo coin-op arcade video game ''R-Type''; in that at some points in the game, you can collect a bonus called "PULSE LASER" (and an on-board speech synthesizer says this phrase at that time) and you'll have...what else...a pulsed laser. 
Why the Sonar is pulsed I don't yet know. It has been proven that Blu-ray laser diodes do well in continuous mode; perhaps it was done to increase diode life.
I've never measured a pulsed laser before, so I had to enlist the aid of a laser expert to get the job done properly. 

After I wrapped the Sonar in some store brand nasal tissue (functionally identical to Cleanax) and put it "where the sun don't shine" (get your mind out of the gutter!!! I did not place it in my toilet muscle!!! I just didn't want to put the Sonar in the oven!!!) to raise its temperature to 96°F (35.5°C), I measured its power output at *2.897246mW*. This is average power; peak power is 17.38mW.

I would have liked it if the word "SONAR" was laser-engraved on the laser, but this is just personal preference, and in no way does it affect how I feel about the laser.

Walking around with the Sonar is like walking around with a laser "blacklight"...you'll end up shooting it at a lot of objects to see if they fluoresce (glow), and a surprising number of objects *DO* fluoresce! Many types of white paper glow a brilliant whitish-blue, and many "day glow" plastic items glow very brightly when irradiated by the Sonar's 404.6nm (yes, measured spectroscopically) violet laser radiation!!!

Battery and switch button rattle is totally nonexistant. I shook the Sonar quite vigorously both vertically and horizontally, and did not detect any sound.

The Sonar has three circumfrential ridges in its body; so retention (the ability to hold on to the product when your hands are cold, oily, or soaked with Diet Pepsi, Coke, coffee, chocolate milk, pee, Fanta, strawberry milkshake, bird poop, Mug old-fashioned root beer, or water) should not be an issue.

The Sonar is a wonderful laser, and to use "1337 5p34k" ("leet speak"), "this laser ROXORS!!!" :twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs







Beam photo at ~12".
That white & blue color does not really exist; the spot appears to be a very deep royal purple to the eye.
Digital cameras have a tough time at these wavelengths.

And yes, I know that the colors purple and violet are two different critters, but the phrase "royal violet"
would not make very much sense; however, most everybody knows what "royal purple" looks like.
Purple is a mixture of red & blue; violet is a spectral color, encompassing wavelengths of ~390nm to ~410nm.

Power output measures *2.413816mW** on a laser power meter specifically designed for this purpose.
Known-new WF brand CR123A cells were used for this measurement.






Beam photo at ~12".
Argon laser goggles were used; that's why this image appears amber.






Beam photo on a ceiling; unit was waved about so you could see the pulsed operation.
Again, the blue & white color does not actually exist.






Beam photo on the front of a dresser; unit was waved about so you could see the pulsed operation.






Beam photo of the Sonar and the Blu-ray Laser Module.
The Sonar is on the right - note the pulsed operation.






Photograph of a clock after I irradiated one of the hands with this laser for ~2 seconds.






Photograph of a bottle of green glow powder after I irradiated it with this laser for ~2 seconds.






Photograph of a screwdriver with orange handle; photoflash was used.






Photograph of a screwdriver with orange handle; shown being irradiated with this laser.






Photograph of a Votive LED that I'm about to irradiate with this laser.
It has a white SMD LED.






Photograph of the product's LED fluorescing rather strongly in the Sonar's 404.6nm violet laser radiation.






Photograph of a small flashlight fluorescing rather strongly in the Sonar's 404.6nm violet laser radiation.






Photograph of fluorescence in a CD259 Oakman insulator.
The yellowish beam usually indicates the presence of manganese in the glass, a clarifying agent.
But this is an aqua insulator, so I don't know what's causing the fluorescence.






Comparison of the Sonar and another Blu-ray Laser Module causing salmon-colored
fluorescence in a compact fluorescent light bulb.
The Sonar's wavelength is 404.6nm, and the other Blu-ray laser's wavelength is 409.4nm.
The difference is *MUCH MORE* pronounced in real life.






Photograph of the Sonar's beam ~49 feet away. Note the ruler for a size reference.






Fluorescence in the green part of a Team Edge RC remote control.






Photograph of oscilloscope screen showing that the Sonar is not CW.
For this test, I connected a silicon solar cell to the oscilloscope's inputs, and irradiated it with this laser.






Here's proof that the solar cell has a fast enough fall-time; the gentle fall-off in the above plot is not the result of the PV cell.
(Update 06-19-07): The solar cell *MAY* be at fault here; I'll know more when I connect the correct resistor across the PV cell.
This is of the red LED in the LRI Proton.

(Update 06-20-07): I redid the test with a 330 ohm resistor connected across the solar cell; no significant change was noted.






Beam photo at ~10'.
Once again, the blue & white color does not actually exist.
Beam image also bloomed significantly; it is smaller in real life.






Beam photo at ~10'; photoflash was used this time.
Once again, the blue & white color does not actually exist.

Those rectangular graphic things near the center of these photographs are marquees from:

Nintendo ''R-Type''
Super Tiger...er...uh...Konami ''Super Cobra'' 
Midway ''Omega Race''
Sega ''Star Trek''
Williams ''Joust''
Venture Line ''Looping''
Universal ''Mr. Do!'s Castle''
Jaleco ''Exerion''
Gremlin/Sega ''Astro Blaster''
Atari ''Tempest''
Gottlieb ''Q*bert''

upright coin-op arcade video games from the 1980s.

And that graphic toward the right is:
A "*BIG SCARY LASER*" poster sent by www.megagreen.co.uk






Beam photo comparing the Sonar with a homemade Blu-ray Laser Module.
The Sonar is the spot on the right.

Those rectangular graphic things near the upper left quadrant of this photograph are marquees from:

Venture Line ''Looping''
Jaleco ''Exerion''
Atari ''Tempest''

upright coin-op arcade video games from the 1980s.

And that graphic toward the right is:
A "*BIG SCARY LASER*" poster sent by www.megagreen.co.uk.






Beam photo on a ceiling; unit was shot through a pair of binoculars to widen the beam.
Yet again, the blue & white color does not actually exist.






Beam photo on a patio floor; first day of summer 2007 (06-21-07).
Yet *again*, the blue & white color does not actually exist.






Spectrometer plot of this laser.






Spectrometer plot of this laser, with spectrometer's response band limited to 400nm - 410nm.
Wavelength appears to be ~404.6nm, and spectral line halfwidth appears to be ~2.2nm.






Spectrographic analysis of this laser; spectrometer's response narrowed again to a range of 401.0nm to 404.5nm.
Peak wavelength appears to be 403.57nm this time.






Spectrometer plot of this laser under lasing threshold, with spectrometer's response band limited to 390nm - 410nm.






Spectrometer plot of white paper fluorescing (glowing) in the 404.6nm violet laser radiation.






Spectrometer plot of the fluorescence in a Team Edge Radio-Control GyroMax remote control unit when irradiating it with this laser.
The laser line is at the far left; the fluorescence hump is broadband and just to the left of the chart's center.






Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of a uranated* glass marble when irradiated with this laser.

***_ "*Uranated*" - infused with an oxide of uranium, **NOT** peed on._





Note spelling: "ur*A*nated", not "ur*I*nated".
Commonly referred to as "Vaseline glass" because it has a distinct pale yellow-green color when not being irradiated.






Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of a piece of green acrylic when irradiated with this laser.






Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of the greenish-yellow "day glow" safety stripes of the VestLED when irradiated with this laser.






Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of the orange mesh of the VestLED when irradiated with this laser.






Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of the handle of the screwdriver included with the Flying ''Frack'' R/C Helicopter when irradiated with this laser.






Fluorescence of the orange part of a large plastic clip when irradiated with this laser.






Fluorescence of the green part of a large plastic clip when irradiated with this laser.






Spectrographic analysis of fluorescence of the pink body of a Patrick Star plush (stuffed critter) when irradiated with this laser.






Fluorescence of the 2009 NIA Commemorative Insulator in Uranated* Glass when irradiated with this laser.

***_"Uranated" - infused with an oxide of uranium, **NOT** piddled on.




Commonly referred to as "Vaseline glass" because it has
a distinct pale yellow-green color when not being irradiated._

Note spelling: "ur*A*nated", not "ur*E*nated","ur*I*nated",
"ur*O*nated", "ur*U*nated", or sometimes "ur*Y*nated".






Fluorescence of the white part of the shirt of a SpongeBob SquarePants plush (stuffed critter) when irradiated with this laser.






Fluorescence of the white part of the eyes of a Squidward Tentacles plush when irradiated with this laser.

Ocean Optics USB2000 Spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.






Beam cross-sectional analysis (X-axis).
Beam widened with the lens furnished with this product.






Beam cross-sectional analysis (Y-axis).
Beam widened with the lens furnished with this product.
_Images made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging._


WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the laser irradiating (and spinning) the vanes of a radiometer.
This clip is approximately 7.1 megabytes (7,305,974 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twenty five minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

The sound you might hear is the TV game show "Weakest Link", and may be muted or ignored if desired.






The laser diode inside the Sonar; argon laser goggles were used which is why this image appears yellow.






The laser diode inside the Sonar again; this time it was well below threshold so the goggles were not necessary.






And here's a photograph of an Exveemon plush with this laser. Exveemon is blue, and has a weapon called a "Vee Laser".
Veemon, digivolve to...EXVEEMON!!!
{shouting} *VEEEEEE LASERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!*

The Vee Laser isn't blue (and the Sonar isn't either {it's violet} — it's called a "*Blu*-ray" laser), but Exveemon himself is,
so I believed it appropriate for this web page.










And just for "funzees", the bumper sticker I received with the Sonar.​

*TEST NOTES*:
Test unit was sent by Steve of www.wickedlasers.com and was received on 06-18-07.

Product was made in China.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.

* How I measured its power:
1: I irradiated the sensor of a Sper Scientific model # 840011 laser power meter with the Sonar for 60 seconds (1 minute).
2: I multiplied the maximum reading of 1.448 by 10 to arrive at 14.48.
3: I then multiplied this by 0.1667 (the laser's duty cycle) to obtain the final reading of 2.413816mW.

*UPDATE* 06-20-07:
I have decided to rate the Sonar 4 1/2 stars and place it in The Trophy Case on this website!!!




The primary reason it did not receive five full stars is the cost: almost two grand!!! For a handheld laser!!!






*UPDATE* 06-23-07:
This website shows how the Sonar comes to life — Blu-ray laser disc drives are disembowelled for their precious cargo — the expen$ive Blu-ray laser diodes of course.


*UPDATE* 06-23-07:
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
I have decided to increase its rating from 4 1/2 stars to 5 stars...cost is a rather irrelevant issue here, and should not be affecting my judgement on this laser.


*UPDATE* 06-24-07:
From Jack O'Neil at Optotronics (a very knowledgeable person when it comes to things that lase) comes this:

_Hi Craig, I wanted to chime in on the way output power is calculated for a pulse laser.

RMS is for AC waveforms, this is because for part of the cycle the current is going in the opposite direction and thus goes below zero and then to a negative value.

With laser diodes, the current will only flow in one direction (that's what a diode does). So instead of RMS, you need to use the average output power during the "on time" of the laser and multiply that by the duty cycle of the laser pulses.

The duty cycle of the laser can be calculated by measuring the ratio of the on/off time in your picture above.
Your picture shows a slow fall time/decay, this is an effect of the solar cell, perhaps it is being oversaturated and falls slowly. 
So, to find the duty cycle, the "on time" is from the point when the positive edge of the pulse begins to the point where the pulse no longer is at it's flat positive value and begins it's decay.

This measurement can even be done from your browser screen as it is only a ratio and not affected by size or even if the aspect ratio of the picture was changed. 

I used my digital caliper and measured the length of the "on pulse" as 5mm. I then measured the length of one positive pulse edge to the next positive pulse edge, this length was 30mm. This gives a duty cycle of 16.67% for the Sonar.

Now to figure out the power output.
A meter that uses a thermal sensor is usually the most accurate, but you have to look at the specs of the meter and see what the integration time of each sample is and to make sure the pulse rate of the laser is much faster than the integration time; it's best if pulse rate is at least 10x the sample integration time as this will reduce the margin of error to a much lower level.

Actually, since this laser has a pretty flat (peak), a lasercheck (which measures (peak value over 2 second time period) will work good or you could use a thermal meter that records peak value over time as well.

The output power would them be calculated by multiplying the lasercheck reading by 0.1667 to find the true average output power/energy. If your meter is recording a peak value like most inexpensive silicon meters do; the 11.6mW you measured at room temperature is really only 1.93mW and the 17.38mW at high temperature converts to 2.89mW.

You had asked why the laser was being pulsed when they could be used CW.
Well, it is done to save money.
It takes extra components to make the laser pulse on and off and these cost money, but this allows the use of a lower power diode and this can save a huge amount on the final build cost. This way a lower power rated diode can be overdriven by a great deal if the duty cycle is short like the 16.7% shown here. With this duty cycle, the diode can be overdriven by 6x it's CW rate because the diode can be cooling off for 5/6 of the time and the average power rating is never exceeded.

Thanks Craig for doing this review.
Jack_


*UPDATE* 06-25-07:
Beam divergence appears to have slightly but noticeably increased over the last couple of days. Disassembling (removing the tailcap, batteries, and front cap) & then reassembling the Sonar in reverse order appears to have had no effect. The beam is "waisting" closer to the laser; at ~18 feet, the beam is now a little larger than it is at the aperture; it was a little smaller than it was at the aperture before.


*UPDATE* 06-25-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
The beam waist (the point at which the beam is at its smallest diameter) is now 7 feet, instead of the 6 feet it was earlier today. So disassembling (removing the tailcap, batteries, and front cap) & then reassembling the Sonar in reverse order did make a minor improvement. This tells me that the overall divergence would be slightly lower.


*UPDATE* 06-25-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, another same-day update.
After I once again wrapped the Sonar in some store brand nasal tissue (functionally identical to Cleanax) and put it "where the sun don't shine" (once again get your mind out of the gutter!!! I did not place it in my bunghole!!! I just didn't want to put the Sonar in the oven!!!) to raise its temperature to 93°F (33.9°C) to see if there was any change in beam size at short distance, the beam was just slightly larger than it is at lower temperatures. This also tells me that the overall divergence would be slightly lower.


*UPDATE* 06-25-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a _TWELFTH_ same-day update.
I attempted to use a small screwdriver to screw the lens assembly inward slightly, and was not successful.
Actually, I *did* meet with some limited success; the beam spot appears approximately the same size at ~18 feet as it does at exit.


*UPDATE* 06-26-07:
Beam waisting now appears to occur ~8 feet away from the laser aperture.



*UPDATE* 06-27-07:
Wicked Lasers will be coming out with a "Blu-ray Burner" edition of this laser sometime in the near-future.
It will be considerably more powerful than the Sonar on this web page.



*UPDATE* 06-28-07:
Just an observation here...not impirical science. Holding the Sonar feels like holding a small piece of the future. I remember purchasing a red laser pointer around 1990; it cost almost $500.00 for a 3mW 650nm unit. It came with a 30 day money back guarantee, so on day 30, I returned it, giving some bullpoop excuse like "it's just not bright enough" or some such horse puckey. I would have never even *DREAMT* that a true handheld violet laser would exist in my lifetime...but look!!! We now have the Sonar!!!






















Just think...only 17 years from red diode lasers produced en masse to violet diode lasers!!!
When green lasers came out, I thought they were "the bomb". Same with yellow lasers and blue lasers. Now that the violet laser is here, I once again think it's "THE BOMB!!!".



*UPDATE* 06-29-07:
Just a random measurement here...I saw the laser, and saw the power meter, and thought to myself "I think I'll take a measurement" and I did.
Measures 2.347136mW.

How I measured its power:
1: I irradiated the sensor of a Sper Scientific model # 840011 laser power meter with the Sonar for 60 seconds (1 minute).
2: I multiplied the maximum reading by 10.
3: I then multiplied this by 0.1667 (the laser's duty cycle) to obtain the final reading of 2.347136mW.


*UPDATE* 06-29-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
You must not **** UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES **** use the Sonar as a pet toy!!!




Even though the average power output is just ~2.5mW, the peak power is consistently over 14mW, and that much laser power makes using the Sonar as a pet toy a rather severe no-no!!!







*UPDATE* 07-01-07:
*O NOOOOOO!!!* :shakehead 
The switch appears to be failing - if it is pressed with moderate force, the laser comes on, but if it is pressed quite firmly (but not so firmly as to risk switch breakage), the laser sometimes brightens quite noticeably. Because of this unwanted behaviour, I have little choise but to derate it by one half star (from five stars to four and a half) - continued malfunction will derate it farther and result in the Sonar's removal from The Trophy Case on my website. A $2,000.00 laser should ***NOT*** do this.
:shakehead :shakehead :shakehead :shakehead :shakehead :shakehead :shakehead


*UPDATE* 07-01-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
The Sonar does not behave this way *ALL* of the time, just *SOME* of the time.


*UPDATE* 07-01-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, another same-day update.
Sometimes, the solution to the most vexing problem can be the simplest.
In this case, if you press the button fairly firmly right from the get-go, this issue may never come up in your Sonar.


*UPDATE* 07-01-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, yet _another_ same-day update.
The beam divergence appears to have decreased slightly. At ~18 feet, the beam diameter is smaller than it is at the laser aperture; and at ~49 feet, the beam spot appears smaller than it did several days ago.
Laser temperature was 82°F (27.8°C).


*UPDATE* 07-01-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, yet *another* same-day update.
At ~18 feet, the beam diameter is even smaller than it is at the laser aperture than it was earlier today. Laser temperature critical ...er...uh...laser temperature was 82°F (27.8°C).



*UPDATE* 07-01-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, YET *ANOTHER* same-day update.
At ~18 feet, the beam diameter is yet ***SMALLER*** than it is at the laser aperture than it was the last time I checked it today.
If I had to guess, the beam diameter is ~1.25mm at this point!!! :twothumbs



*UPDATE* 07-01-07
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, YET *ANOTHER* same-day update.
From a Candlepower Forums member, comes this:

_*{quote text}* RMS is for AC waveforms, this is because for part of the cycle the current is going in the opposite direction and thus goes below zero and then to a negative value. *{end quote text}*

Just so you know, this is BS. The waveform does certainly not have to be AC for RMS to become useful. Also, that the current is sometimes negative is hardly the problem why you want to measure with RMS as full-wave rectifiers have taken care of that problems since the early tube-times._



*UPDATE* 07-02-07:
*O NOOOOOO!!!* :shakehead
The switch button on my Sonar no longer has that satisfying tactile "click" sensation that it had before. It still functions (as far as I can determine, properly), but it has a kind of "mushy" feel to it. This is totally unexpected from a $2,000.00 laser.



*UPDATE* 07-02-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
I just had a terrible dream. In this dream, I accidentally dropped my Sonar approximately 18" onto a concrete floor, and it no longer functioned. When I looked down the barrel (something I would *NEVER* do in the waking world!!!) and activated the laser, I could see a point of violetish-white light of a low enough intensity that it could be looked at indefinitely. The insides were also somewhat well-illuminated in this dream; in actuality, the insides would be nearly totally dark. The dream was vivid & realistic enough that when I awakened, I immediately went for my Sonar and blasted a wall with it just to be certain it still functioned.



*UPDATE* 07-02-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, another same-day update.
I think I figured out what's going on with the switch. I believe the batteries are shoving the Sonar's internal laser module a bit too far forward. Loosening the front cap just one turn is all it takes for the laser to become "stuck" in the ON position now; this also explains why the switch button feels "mushy" and is more sensitive than it was before. I'm going to attempt to fashion a shim out of household aluminum foil to place inside the front cap - a washer would work better for this test, but I do not have or have access to any...o wait, I'll see if Longs Drugs has any when I go there in less than an hour...BBS...



*UPDATE* 07-02-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, yet another same-day update.
I went to Longs Drugs, Raleys, Nugget Market, Radio Shack, Big Five, and Right Aid, and nobody had washers. There is no hardware store (Home Depot, Loews, Eagle, Ace, etc.) that I can get to, so I'm going to attempt to fashion a washer out of kitchen aluminum foil, and see if I meet with any success.



*UPDATE* 07-02-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, _yet another_ same-day update.
I had no success with the foil washer; if anything, it made things worse. :shakehead



*UPDATE* 07-02-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, *yet another* same-day update.
*O NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*
The switch button has now fallen out of my Sonar!!! :shakehead
I have it taped in now, and I'm going to (regretfully) remove some points off its rating and remove it from The Trophy Case on my website. :shakehead


I have emailed my contact at Wicked Lasers regarding warranty service:
_
Hi {censored},

My Sonar Blu-ray Laser requires warranty service; the pushbutton has fallen out.
I have it taped on; the laser itself is still operational.

What is the procedure for obtaining warranty service?
And what address should I send my Sonar to?

Expect me to mail it no sooner than July 23; I probably will not have sufficient funds at my disposal until then._



*UPDATE* 07-02-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, *YET ANOTHER* same-day update.
I have fastened the switch button with some Super Glue, so the tape is no longer necessary.



*UPDATE* 07-02-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, *AN EIGHTH* same-day update.
Beam divergence appears to be at an all-time low!!!
Spot size at ~18 feet appears to be significantly less than 1mm. :twothumbs
Beam size at aperture is ~4mm by ~2.50mm.
Because the switch button was such an easy fix and because the beam divergence is lower than it has ever been, I'm going to increase its rating from 3 1/2 stars to 4 stars. Although this still does not place it back in The Trophy Case, a 4-star rating is certainly nothing for Wicked Lasers to hang their heads in shame over.



*UPDATE* 07-02-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, *A NINTH* same-day update.
I'm normally pretty anal when it comes to examining & describing things on my website, but I see I failed to mention that the end cap has a threaded aperture. That is, the small hole is threaded inside, making it female in gender. The hole appears to have an ID (inside diameter) of 4.5mm.



*UPDATE* 07-03-07:
Power output measures 1.793692mW on batteries that have had ~2 minutes of prior use on them.
Peak power was approximately 10.74mW.



*UPDATE* 07-03-07:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
I have heard back from my contact at Wicked Lasers, and the "fix" I made to the switch button was the correct course of action; they would have done the exact same thing if I had returned my Sonar. The external switch button may have been glued on right from the get-go.



*Update 07-03-07*:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, another same-day update.
Now that I think about it (and "thinking" is never a good thing with me!) , I honestly cannot remember if the switch had a tactile "click" sensation to it when actuated or not. So that "mushy" feeling I described in one of yesterday's updates might be at least somewhat incorrect.



*Update 07-03-07*:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, yet another same-day update.
After warming the laser to 92°F (33.3°C), the beam spot at 49 feet was ~0.4" (~10mm) in diameter; I believe this to be the smallest beam diameter at this distance I have seen to date. :twothumbs



*Update 07-03-07*:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, _yet another_ same-day update.
I checked it just a short time ago for the possibility of cyanoacrylate vapour (from the Super Glue I used to repair the button with) clouding the lens and/or laser diode face, and found no evidence of that whatsoever. The laser beam is as "clean" now as it was when I received the Sonar.




*Update 07-04-07*:
From somebody who knows his "stuff" about lasers & optics, comes this:

"_0.4 inch at 49 feet is 0.68 milliradian. A good Gaussian TEM00 beam of this wavelength with that divergence would diverge at that rate from a waist almost a millimeter in diameter.

If the waist is at 18 feet and the beam is 0.4 inch at 49 feet (31 feet from the waist), then the divergence is 1.07 milliradian. If the beam is a nice Gaussian TEM00 one, then the waist diameter is about 0.6 millimeter.
The beam may have some astigmatism, with two oblong waists maybe 0.6-0.8 mm in the narrow direction and a little wider in the wide direction, with these ellipses perpendicular to each other. Between those may appear to be an "oversize" round waist if you don't check for an astigmatic waist pair (if you have that).
Many red diode lasers have astigmatism in addition to oblong beam divergence. The astigmatism, if corrected, is corrected by a "cylinder" lens (converges or diverges only perpendicular to a specific axis) or a "convex plus cylinder" lens (converges slightly more about one axis than the other)._"




*Update 07-04-07*:
No, you're not seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
The beam probably *DOES* have some astigmastism - it is oblong (like many directly-injected lasers without corrective optics) rather than being circular like the beams of most small-frame plasma lasers. And the lens on the Sonar appears to be either plain old ordinary old PCX or DCX; however I can't tell for ***CERTAIN*** without destroying the unit.



*Update 07-07-07*:
I measured 2.548843mW from the Sonar with new batteries.
I just saw the laser & meter there, and thought "I think I'll take a measurement" and so I did.
Remember, this is a pulsed laser; the peak power output for this measurement was 15.29mW.
Laser temperature was 92°F (33.3°C) for this measurement.



*Update 07-07-07*:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
Beam waisting appears to be the longest and divergence the smallest when the laser temperature is between 90°F (32.2°C) and 95°F (35.0°C).



*UPDATE* 07-11-07:
I purchased some Panasonic brand CR123A cells on Ebay specifically for use in the Sonar, and they ***DO NOT FIT!!!*** These cells appear to be just slightly too large in diameter to fit the barrel. :shakehead I bought 30 of the little farkers to use in this laser, so I had to go out and buy 20 more of another brand.



*UPDATE* 07-12-07
In my opinion, this laser should have been called the "Pulsar", and the Pulsar should have been called the Sonar. The reason is that this laser (the Sonar) is pulsed, and the Pulsar is CW. Make any sense?



*UPDATE* 07-17-07:
The Powerizer brand CR123A cells I purchased on Ebay to replace the Panasonic cells *do* work in the Sonar.



*UPDATE* 09-03-07:
The switch appears to be flaky...as you can see in the movie clip below, the intensity varies depending on how hard you press the button.

WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the laser's brightness variations.
This clip is approximately 0.9 megabytes (959,178 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than four minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

That sound you might hear is The Simpsons on the boob tube; the product
is not sound-sensitive, so you may ignore or mute the sound if desired.


*UPDATE* 09-26-07:
Beam waisting appears to occur approximately 18 feet (~5.4864 meters) from the laser aperture.
This means the overall beam divergence would be lower.



*UPDATE* 10-03-07:
I saw the Sonar sitting there, and I saw the laser power meter sitting there, and thought "I think I'll take a measurement", and so I did.
Measures 2.405481mW.



*UPDATE* 05-18-08:
I measured its power output at 3.560712mW (pulsed output was 21.360mW; I adjusted this to average power) after leaving it for awhile outdoors at a temperature of 102°F (38.9°C).



*UPDATE* 10-30-08:
This laser is now being offered for sale to help pay the electric bill before our power is disconnected - this is scheduled to occur on 11-01-08. Since I use an ****ELECTRIC**** wheelchair, this is a very critical - if not downright life-threatening situation.







*UPDATE*05-07-09:
As you can see, I still have the Sonar.
The wayward electric bill was paid after other items were sold, so I did not have to let go of this wonderful little laser.




*PROS*
Color is very radiant & unusual for a handheld laser
Case is hefty and nice looking
Beam is "clean", with no visible speckling or artifacts around it
Potential for long battery life
Color is very radiant and unusu...o wait I said that already.







*CONS*
Costs a lot of $$$, so please be careful with it
Not waterproof or submersible - but most lasers aren't. Will not figure into rating
Switch *MAY* be flaky - the Sonar is at extreme risk of falling out of The Trophy Case on my website. :shakehead




*

MANUFACTURER: Wicked Lasers 
PRODUCT TYPE: Portable violet-emitting laser module 
LAMP TYPE: Sony Blu-ray laser diode 
No. OF LAMPS: 1 
BEAM TYPE: Very narrow spot; it's a laser, remember?




SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton momentary on/off on barrel 
CASE MATERIAL: Aluminum 
BEZEL: Metal; has aperture (hole) for laser beam to emerge 
BATTERY: 2x CR123A cells 
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 41.6mA 
WATER RESISTANT: No 
SUBMERSIBLE: No 
ACCESSORIES: Presentation case 
SIZE: 20mm D by 123mm L 
WEIGHT: ~4.2oz (~119.06 grams) with batteries 
WARRANTY: 90 days 


PRODUCT RATING:*


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## allthatwhichis (Jun 18, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

:goodjob: as usuall Craig! IS this strickly for review or do you now own two violet lasers?


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 18, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

I now have two violet lasers - this one was paid for with banner advertising on my website - I certainly didn't have the $2,000.00 lying around.


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## ooopretty (Jun 18, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

Great Review~

You are one lucky SOB :twothumbs


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 19, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

*BTTT* (*B*ash *T*elegraph *T*elephone *T*elstar)...added the "oscilloscope" photograph on 06-19-07.


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## greenlight (Jun 19, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

Glad to see the banner ads increasing!!


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## nero_design (Jun 20, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

I was keen on the Sonar a while ago but others had talked me out of it. I was wanting to use it (yes, I know it's Class 3B) to illustrate some displays during a demonstration yet users felt that it would not be visible. Looks fine by your results here. Very nice review by the way!


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 20, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

The visibility of the beam spot is lower than it appears from my photographs; think 1-2mW red laser pointer and you'll have a fairly decent idea.
Digital cameras have a tough time at these wavelengths; they render the spot brighter than it appears, and the color is shown as blue & white, when it is in fact a very deep violet.
Thank you for your compliment regarding my review. :thumbsup:


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## Daedal (Jun 20, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

Great review Craig. I would have personally spent the $2000 on some 1Watt+ greenie, but it's great to see you heave one nonetheless.

Hopefully now that Sony's cost on these is less than $8 a pop, we'd see them drop in price significantly and fairly quickly too.

--DDL


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## Corona (Jun 21, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) is here!!! *

Is that really the asking price? >$1000?!?!? For less money, you can get a IIIb 473nm pointer. And a 405nm can be cobbled together for under $150 (easily).

The photon energy of these 405nm pointers is really amazing; the "radiometer test" shows that a ~10mW violet just spanks the bejeezus out of a ~25mW 532nm greenie. Yep that's a recognized optical term.

At the same output power level, the photon energy (normalized to a 632nm laser), is:

632nm (orange-red) = 1.00 Bejeezus

532nm (green) = 1.19 Bejeezuses

473nm (blue) = 1.34 Bejeezuses

405nm (violet) = 1.56 Bejeezuses

And radiometers are the best indicator of the photoelectric effect that I've come across lately, though they are clearly not a direct Bejeezus-reading instrument, as a 405nm has a Bejeezus factor of 1.313 relative to a 532nm and 10mW * 1.313 < 25mW, and the radiometer spins FASTER with the lower powered violet... Still with me?

The florescence effect of the Blu-Ray diode wavelength is what really sets them apart from even the 473nm blues, and taking a "true color" photo of a violet laser is near impossible because so many surfaces fluoresce when irradiated with that near-UV 405nm light. 

I think maybe I should push back from the keyboard now


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 21, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) is here!!! *

I irradiated a radiometer with my Sonar last night; the vanes only spin slowly.
The pulsed operation of the Sonar may have something to do with this though.


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## Bravado (Jun 22, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) is here!!! *

Looks awesome thanks for the review.


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## Corona (Jun 22, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) is here!!! *



The_LED_Museum said:


> I irradiated a radiometer with my Sonar last night; the vanes only spin slowly.
> The pulsed operation of the Sonar may have something to do with this though.


 That's a really good point. The RMS power is what matters for doing work and the "area under the curve" must be calculated from an irregular waveform (or approximated from the duty cycle, _assuming_ it's a rectangular wave). It looks to me that the duty cycle is approximately 25% and for a square wave, RMS = Peak times the square root of the duty cycle - work it and you'll see the laser power is only ~50% of what it would be if driven CW. So a thermopile power meter should read the RMS output power, and the peak output power will be 2x the RMS power (at 25% duty).

And I am really not sure WHY they drive the Blu-ray diode pulsed, seems strange since many of us have had no problems running them CW. But I suppose if I was selling them for $1k, I'd want to be absolutely sure they last awhile. 

It does look way cooler that my home-rolled Vio-Elly though, and if I had a CO2 laser to etch the Blu-ray symbol on mine, I'd go ahead and smack on the Blu-ray consortium trademark as well...

Good review and love the T-word references


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 22, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) is here!!! *

I'm currently uploading a movie clip showing the Sonar spinning the vanes of a radiometer.
This could take awhile though, because the file is ~7.2MB in size and I'm connected at 26.4Kbps (broadband is not available at this time).


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## Luap (Jun 23, 2007)

Nice review, as usual. And it seems like a nice laser for sure. 
But may i ask why you put that C64 stuff into every single review? Feels like a flashlight, looks like a laser! Or whatever it is. It just seems a bit, well.. Old, and corny now? Not to mention irrelevant. Same for the coin-op arcade games stuff.
But as I say, otherwise its a very good review with all the right info  :thumbsup:


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## bootleg2go (Jun 23, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) is here!!! *



Corona said:


> That's a really good point. The RMS power is what matters for doing work and the "area under the curve" must be calculated from an irregular waveform (or approximated from the duty cycle, _assuming_ it's a rectangular wave). It looks to me that the duty cycle is approximately 25% and for a square wave, RMS = Peak times the square root of the duty cycle - work it and you'll see the laser power is only ~50% of what it would be if driven CW. So a thermopile power meter should read the RMS output power, and the peak output power will be 2x the RMS power (at 25% duty).
> 
> And I am really not sure WHY they drive the Blu-ray diode pulsed, seems strange since many of us have had no problems running them CW. But I suppose if I was selling them for $1k, I'd want to be absolutely sure they last awhile.
> 
> ...



Hi Craig, I wanted to chime in on the way output power is calculated for a pulse laser.

RMS is for AC waveforms, this is because for part of the cycle the current is going in the opposite direction and thus goes below zero and then to a negative value.

With laser diodes, the current will only flow in one direction (that's what a diode does). So instead of RMS, you need to use the average output power during the "on time" of the laser and multiply that by the duty cycle of the laser pulses.

The duty cycle of the laser can be calculated by measuring the ratio of the on/off time in your picture above.
Your picture shows a slow fall time/decay, this is an effect of the solar cell, perhaps it is being oversaturated and falls slowly. 
So, to find the duty cycle, the "on time" is from the point when the positive edge of the pulse begins to the point where the pulse no longer is at it's flat positive value and begins it's decay.

This measurement can even be done from your browser screen as it is only a ratio and not affected by size or even if the aspect ratio of the picture was changed. 

I used my digital caliper and measured the length of the "on pulse" as 5mm. I then measured the length of one positive pulse edge to the next positive pulse edge, this length was 30mm. This gives a duty cycle of 16.67% for the Sonar.

Now to figure out the power output.
A meter that uses a thermal sensor is usually the most accurate, but you have to look at the specs of the meter and see what the integration time of each sample is and to make sure the pulse rate of the laser is much faster than the integration time; it's best if pulse rate is at least 10x the sample integration time as this will reduce the margin of error to a much lower level.

Actually, since this laser has a pretty flat (peak), a lasercheck (which measures (peak value over 2 second time period) will work good or you could use a thermal meter that records peak value over time as well.

The output power would them be calculated by multiplying the lasercheck reading by 0.1667 to find the true average output power/energy. If your meter is recording a peak value like most inexpensive silicon meters do; the 11.6mW you measured at room temperature is really only 1.93mW and the 17.38mW at high temperature converts to 2.89mW.

You had asked why the laser was being pulsed when they could be used CW.
Well, it is done to save money.
It takes extra components to make the laser pulse on and off and these cost money, but this allows the use of a lower power diode and this can save a huge amount on the final build cost. This way a lower power rated diode can be overdriven by a great deal if the duty cycle is short like the 16.7% shown here. With this duty cycle, the diode can be overdriven by 6x it's CW rate because the diode can be cooling off for 5/6 of the time and the average power rating is never exceeded.

Thanks Craig for doing this review.
Jack


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 23, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) is here!!! *

Thank you for that information!!! :twothumbs
I'm going to add it to my Sonar's web page as an update for tomorrow morning!!! :thumbsup:


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 24, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) is here!!! *

*BTTT* (*B*ash *T*elevision *T*elstar *T*elnet)...performed spectroscopy, added a photograph, and added to the batteries info on 06-24-07.


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## bootleg2go (Jun 24, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) is here!!! *



The_LED_Museum said:


> *BTTT* (*B*ash *T*elevision *T*elstar *T*elnet)...performed spectroscopy, added a photograph, and added to the batteries info on 06-24-07.



Hi Craig,
What type of meter and sensor are you using to measure the power of a pulsed laser?
I think you misunderstood the duty cycle vs. average output power. Unless the meter head is designed to measure short duration pulsed beams (it'll be listed in the meter/sensor spec), you need to take the peak power reading and multiply that number by the .1667 duty cycle to get the average output power. The peak readings you get on your meter will be the maximum output, but this output level is only maintained for a very short period of time in each cycle. I think you were dividing rather than multiplying the .1667 duty cycle.

Anyhow, the color of this laser must be very beautiful, none the less.

Jack


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 24, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) is here!!! *

I'm using a Sper Scientific model # 840011 laser power meter, with what I believe is a silicon detector. It is *NOT* a thermal detector of any type.

Inside the cover is a table used to multiply the CW power reading by a certain amount depending on wavevelength. The meter uses the 632.8nm laser line of a HeNe laser as a baseline reference - multiply by 1.0. In the case of the 404.6nm wavelength output by the Sonar, it is multiplied by exactly 10.00 to obtain the CW power.

I multiplied the resulting value by the duty cycle to obtain the values shown here. For 50% duty cycle I multiplied by 2, for 25% duty cycle I multiplied by 3, and for 16.67% duty cycle, I multiplied by 3.50.

I sincerely hope I didn't **** up and get them all wrong. :green:


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## bootleg2go (Jun 24, 2007)

Hi Craig,
I'm familiar with the Sper 840011 meter, a friend of mine owns one.
Yes, it has a silicon sensor; like the lasercheck does. The silicon sensors do not have a flat response across it's spectrum range like the thermal sensors do. This is why they have a "look up table" to multiply the resulting meter by depending on the wavelength. This kind of meter is displaying the peak value of the laser. 
This would be the power output while the laser is in the on state of it's pulse cycle.

So, say for instance you measure the power of the Sonar and the meter is reading 5mW. You would multiply the 5mW by the amount that the lookup table says you should for a wavelength of 404nm. This would give you the peak output of the laser (50mW in my example). The peak power is independent of duty cycle. Then (using my example), you would multiply the 50mW peak power by the duty cycle (.1667) to get the actual energy output/average output, the answer for the example would then be 50x.1667=8.33mW.

All of your numbers are wrong, for a 50% duty cycle you would multiply by 0.5 (not 2), for 25% duty cycle you would multiply by 0.25 (not 3) and for a 16.67% duty cycle you would multiply by 0.1667 (not 3.5). I have no idea how you came up with multiplying the peak by 3 for 25% or 3.5 for 16.67%.

The Sper meter is not designed to measure a pulsed laser. What I would do to test it with this meter is to turn the laser on, then after the laser is activated, use the "peak/max hold function of the meter and collect this peak/max value several times (will probably need to reset the hold function by repressing / or activating the max hold function. If you do this 3 or 4 times and the numbers are within 5% or so of each other, I would then average them and use ths as your "peak output value", then multiply that by 10 to get the 404nm calibrated peak power, then multiply that number by .1667 to get the energy/output power.

Jack


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 24, 2007)

I retested the laser and applied your mathematics to the power readings, and changed them as appropriate in my review, thank you!!! :thanks:


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## stephenmadpotato (Jun 24, 2007)

I must ask, how the hell did you afford that! :naughty:


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 24, 2007)

stephenmadpotato said:


> I must ask, how the hell did you afford that! :naughty:


It was paid for with banner advertising on my website - I'd ****NEVER**** have been able to afford it otherwise.


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## Corona (Jun 25, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) is here!!! *



bootleg2go said:


> a lower power rated diode can be overdriven by a great deal if the duty cycle is short like the 16.7% shown here. With this duty cycle, the diode can be overdriven by 6x it's CW rate because the diode can be cooling off for 5/6 of the time and the average power rating is never exceeded.


 Yes my measurement was sloppy, it is closer to 17% duty cycle. My turn!

While ratiometric methods are of course valid to determine the duty cycle, pulse width (on TIME) is extremely important due to the thermal time constant of the device. For example, one cannot assume that a CW diode can be operated at 17% duty cycle with a one _second_ ON time and 5 seconds OFF time, at 6x the CW current. ON times in the order of tens of microseconds (or less) are typical for pulsed devices and from the scope plots, it appears this laser driver is using an ON time of a couple milliseconds.

The laser diode's die and bonding wires have absolute limits as to how much current the device can withstand. Taking this to extremes, assume a laser diode is rated at 35mA CW (about what the Blu-ray diodes operate at) - running at a 1% duty cycle and 3.5A pulses is unlikely to be survivable. 17% duty / 200mA pulses seems a bit high as well and I would be hesitant to try this with my diode. 

I would be very interested to know what the peak current is in the laser diode. Probably can't measure it from the battery current as it will be averaged by any input capacitor in the drive circuit. Only way is to butcher the pointer, probably not something Craig is even having nightmares about...

Specs on these diodes would clear up much of the speculation over the device's operating characteristics. Something I've hoped to find for a while now, but had little luck with. Hmmm. Anyway - 

The laser's facets (mirrors) also can withstand only a finite level of output power, and this is nearly an instantaneous effect due to the very low mass of the facets. Ablate the mirror(s), and you are done with that laser. Another reason I don't feel they are driving these to 6x the current.

Most important of all, the human eye is not a peak detector; it is an integrator, and the laser beam itself will appear only as bright as the average power. In fact as the ON time gets shorter, the eye's response falls off (not being a peak detector...) and it will appear less bright, no matter how hard it is driven. 

Where the peak power IS a significant advantage is in the fluorescence of other materials; these will be excited to a higher degree by the pulsed near-UV radiation and release their visible energy over a longer time span.

What was the measured output power of the little Dorcy-based Blu-ray device again? Compared to this pointer, how does a CW device stack up?


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 25, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar (Blu-ray) is here!!! *

The output power of the little Dorcy Blu-ray modification is *8.82mW* CW.
The unit is currently out for loan to a laser expert on the east coast of the US, so I do not have it at my disposal for a comparative analysis.


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## LuxLuthor (Jun 29, 2007)

WOW....I have not been drawn to getting another laser after my Wicked greenie....but this one looks quite amazing. Great review....you get the idea of the purity with the spectral graphs


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 29, 2007)

Until Blu-ray lasers came along, I had never before seen a near-pure violet - laser radiation or normal light - it almost literally blew me away! :thumbsup:


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 30, 2007)

Just as a nontechnical bit of trivia, I've had *66* updates on my website about the Sonar - ***BY FAR*** the most updates I've made to any product in the just under twelve days I've had this fantastic little laser! :twothumbs
There are some photographs on the Sonar's web page on my website that are not here, because posting them here would be a rather severe CPF no-no.


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## winny (Jul 1, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *



The_LED_Museum said:


> RMS is for AC waveforms, this is because for part of the cycle the current is going in the opposite direction and thus goes below zero and then to a negative value.



Just so you know, this is BS. The waveform does certainly not have to be AC for RMS to become useful. Also, that the current is sometimes negative is hardly the problem why you want to measure with RMS as full-wave rectifiers have taken care of that problems since the early tube-times.


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## The_LED_Museum (Jul 1, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

Thank you for the message...I added it to my Sonar's evaluation as an update - leaving out your name and email address of course to protect your privacy.


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## bootleg2go (Jul 2, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *



winny said:


> Just so you know, this is BS. The waveform does certainly not have to be AC for RMS to become useful. Also, that the current is sometimes negative is hardly the problem why you want to measure with RMS as full-wave rectifiers have taken care of that problems since the early tube-times.



Hi Winny,
Read this link for more information about RMS.
http://www.opamp-electronics.com/tutorials/measurements_of_ac_magnitude_2_01_03.htm

Yes, RMS can and is used for for rectified sinusoidal waveforms; but it's not the accurate or correct way to measure a DC square wave or series of DC pulses which is what the Sonar creates.

Jack


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## winny (Jul 3, 2007)

The_LED_Museum,

Oh. I mainly intended it for your information, so you wouldn't buy it and live in unknowledge (didn't find a better word). 


bootleg2go,

I didn't say that either, but the quote I commented on was wrong as RMS can be used for measuring anything, as long as you know what you are doing and square-weighted results is what you are looking for.
I'll check your link later as I have to go now.


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## The_LED_Museum (Jul 8, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

Just curious...does anybody else here on CPF have a Sonar, or am I the first?
If I remember correctly, I was first to get my hands on yellow DPSS and blue DPSS lasers too.


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## Kenom (Jul 8, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

yeah your probably going to be too. Most of us don't have access to banner advertising funds.


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## nero_design (Jul 13, 2007)

*Wicked Lasers Sonar - in Australia! (Mine anyway)*

My *Sonar* just arrived. I'm extremely happy with the results and have spent an hour with a true laserist (not just a hobbyist) here at my place of work (Animal Logic VFX). Incidentally, he brought his pocket sized IR laser with him to show me yesterday. Small as a box of matches (sans the powersupply) but ouputting 40Watts. Yeouch! Back to the Sonar from Wicked Lasers...

We' re both absolutely stunned with the results and the unusual attributes associated with this laser. I'll post later in another thread when I can get some photographs although I note in your review that it is VERY difficult to take pictures of this laser in it's actual appearance. I will now also go so far as to suggest that it cannot be done at all since the human eye is responsible for the strange effect. The effect of the dot on many surfaces is to appear like a pinpoint of true blacklight. Kind of as if there's some sort of spacial anomaly there. Really!

One of my coworkers attempted to close the blinds because the room was too bright for her computer monitor and I placed the dot high up on the wall (more than 18 feet over her head... it's a very high ceiling!) and her reaction was not to look around for someone with a laser but to look at the dot and screech at it trying to determine what it was. This is how people used to react to red laser dots when laser pointers first appeared in 1984. (Yes, I have one from that era, it's HeNe, we were playing with it yesterday and it's HUGE). Peple didn't think to look for a guy with a laser pointer. And now this is how they react to the Sonar.

On most white surfaces, the dot is a vivid blue. On everything else, it varies but is frequently an ULTRA violet with strange ghosting properties to the eyes.

Thank you again for your fantastic and down to earth (yet technically fulfilling) article. I was skeptical about this laser until I read your review and saw your pictures. The laserist I work with was grinning from ear to ear when he held it. This is an extremely unique laser and I look forward to sharing observations with you in future. And you are quite right, this is a Class 3B laser (and pulsed) so it should *not* be used on specular surfaces or as a pointer/pet entertainer.


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## The_LED_Museum (Jul 13, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar - in Australia! (Mine anyway)*

I'm extremely happy with mine too!!!
The primary reasons I did not award it five full stars were physical (the end-cap and the button issues), not optical or electrical. Optically, it is a fan-freakin-tastic little laser, and I wouldn't trade it for anything...well, except maybe the new (not-yet-available) "Blu-ray Burner" version of the Sonar. :thumbsup:

On flat white interior house paint, the spot looks to be a vivid violet; it turns bright whitish-blue when directing it at most white paper and white cotton fabric such as washrags & T-shirts.

The "ghosting" properties you describe are perfectly normal; the human eye simply wasn't designed to see light this short in wavelength, so the Sonar's spot can have a furry or blurry appearance or even a "not really there" appearance to it.

You're more than welcome for my article on the Sonar. Even though I'm not a true laserist, I do know enough about lasers to write about them without making a total @$$ out of myself. :twothumbs

(Edit a little later the same morning)
I forgot to ask...is your Sonar pulsed or CW?
If pulsed, it would be in the low AF range, and can easily be detected by rapidly waving the Sonar about and observing its beam spot on a white or fluorescent surface. Do you get a solid line or a dotted line?


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## nero_design (Jul 14, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar - in Australia! (Mine anyway)*



The_LED_Museum said:


> I forgot to ask...is your Sonar pulsed or CW?
> If pulsed, it would be in the low AF range, and can easily be detected by rapidly waving the Sonar about and observing its beam spot on a white or fluorescent surface. Do you get a solid line or a dotted line?



Here's one of the pictures that I took last night...






Original size can be found here...
http://www.pbase.com/image/82181031/original.jpg 

Clearly the laser is pulsed, just like some of the world's first HeNe handheld lasers. Will post a set of interesting shots on the new SONAR very soon. It's my wife's birthday today so I have my hands full for the day. The pic above was taken last night. The strobe effect of the SONAR is only visible when the laser is moved back and forth very rapidly. I chose to use a television screen as a background because of the lovely contrasting effect of the SONAR against the screen... plus I discovered that the BlueRay laser excites the Phosphors on the television when it's off.

I believe my HeNe red/orange laser pointer from 1988 is pulsed as well. But the pluse effect was only visible when the batteries began to drain and the frequency gap changed. LOL: Gas powered pointers were once king. When I saw my first Diode laser, my jaw dropped. Will post more material shortly in another thread when I finish testing.


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## The_LED_Museum (Jul 14, 2007)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar - in Australia! (Mine anyway)*

That's a fantastic photograph!!! :thumbsup: :twothumbs :thumbsup:
I see that your Sonar is pulsed, just like mine. This tells me that they were designed like that; I just didn't get a bum one. 

I saw somebody with a HeNe laser pointer (ran on two 9 volt transistor radio batteries) around 1990, but I do not remember it being pulsed - it was CW.


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## 360freak (Sep 3, 2007)

why in the world would you pay $2000 for a laser pointer? in all honostly, im baffled.


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## The_LED_Museum (Sep 3, 2007)

Some people just need to have "the latest & the greatest" - otherwise known as "bleeding edge technology".
And a commercially-available Blu-ray laser module fits that criterion.


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## The_LED_Museum (Mar 29, 2009)

*BTTT* (*B*ash *T*rombone *T*rombone *T*rombone {_O NOOO!!!!! Now I'm beating the living tweedle out of a poor defenseless musical instrument AGAIN!! And that trombone player had such fabulous embouchure (pronounced as though it were spelled "ombusher") too!!! _})
Performed spectroscopy of the fluorescence of a piece of green acrylic when irradiated with this laser.


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## The_LED_Museum (Apr 23, 2009)

*BTTT* - Added three spectrographic analyses.


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## The_LED_Museum (Apr 24, 2009)

*BTTT*: Added two beam cross-sectional analyses.


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## The_LED_Museum (Dec 6, 2009)

*BTTT:* Performed spectroscopy of fluorescence of the 2009 NIA Commemorative Insulator in uranated glass when irradiated with this laser.


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## The_LED_Museum (Dec 7, 2009)

*BTTT:* Performed spectroscopy of the fluorescence of the white part of the shirt of a SpongeBob SquarePants plush (stuffed critter) when irradiated with this laser.


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## The_LED_Museum (Dec 8, 2009)

*Re: Wicked Lasers Sonar is here!!! *

*BTTT:* Performed spectroscopy of the fluorescence of the white part of the eyes of a Squidward Tentacles plush when irradiated with this laser.


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## matt304 (Jan 3, 2010)

I was looking at the date of this thread and the progress made since then amazes me. This laser was $2000 and in the 2-3mW range not all too long ago. Now there are 500mW output blu-ray handhelds using the 8X diodes for ~$300.


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