You think it's really 100mW?
Foy
Nope......nothing >5mw. Idiots keep blasting them at airliners on landing approach (last incident ~2 weeks ago in Sydney).
I live near an airport (McCarran) and an appraoch brings arriving flights over my house. It's far enough away that they can barely be heard but I'm afraid to point it in the sky.
stayoutofjailFoy
I think it is right in there between 50 and 100mW. Did you see my balloon video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fla0a7rjXE
What's that other laser you have - the one that didn't pop the baloon.
Foy
That’s the $7 DX branded one. It will pop a balloon but takes a few seconds. That one is probably 15 to 20mW. That little laser is so cool. That’s what got me going.
looks to be atleast 50mw and I believe the limit ins oz is 1mw not 5mw . crazy
http://www.bestofferbuy.com/ultrafire-c1-200mw-flashlight-shape-green-laser-200mw-532nm-p-68957.html
I found this for $32 in february w/battety. Not only does it emit a nice green beam it will also light your cigar.
Some of the e-bay $5 lasers will pop ballons if they don't check out YouTube " laser potmod"
I'm new to lasers so it may be that I'm easy to impress and I would love 200 mW. For a beginer like me, this seems like a lotta laser for $18. Actually, that 200mW unit is a lotta laser for $32.
lottaFoy
Another thing; either the included Ultra Fire CR123 was weak or this thing sucks down a battery real fast.
Foy
Mine came with an ultrafire unprotected 16340. Once I gave it a charge it has lasted a lot longer. My son wore the battery down all the way before I got home from work and had a chance to charge it. Didn’t wreck it though. It still works fine.
Oh man . . . ! Greg, you saved my life. I thought that was just a primary. Had to go fish out of the garbage!! Also, I put the damn thing in backwards too. When it didn't come on, I remembered what you said.
LangsgotmybackFoy
You were suffering from mail goodness overload today. It happens, you get all giddy like that.
Hey Foy/Lang i was curious if youve opened it up and if you know if the insides is just like a p60 dropin. as in will it drop into a SF host.
Foy... where did you get your new toy?
Green DPSS lasers are very ineffecient. Mine draws 2.2amps for the 2W IR diode and puts out only >400mW. My 200mw drew about .7amps
Hehe, nearly a bad mistake there Foy :)
I'm still trying to figure out how to make my Duraloops look less disposable.
I swear . . . I guess I've never seen an Ultra Fire 16340 before.
Nutz - GadgetTown, here's the link: http://www.gadgettown.com/50mW-532nm-Flashlight-Style-Green-Laser-Pointer-Pen-with-Clip-and-Free-Battery-HKE03431.html
james - After a quick look it looks like a press fit. I'll take some close ups soon. Wife had me hopping with a semi-large back yard chore this weekend.
33969633 - I could use some of your knowledge. (I'm even less laser savvy than I am with flashlights) What is DPSS and why is it less effecient. I'm planning a review and don't want to butcher the facts.
cantbelieveIalmostthrewitawayFoy
How a green laser pointer works
As you can see, it's not a straightforward process, as is the case with red, blue, violet laser pointers. (common wavelengths are 650nm for red , 445nm for blue , and 405nm for purple)
In a green laser pointer, 808nm laser radiation from a pump diode is used to generate 1064nm light in the gain medium (in this case, the YAG or YVO4). This 1064nm light is then doubled by the KTP to from 532nm light. There's no colour filters involved, it's a laser-pumped laser.
To achieve even a low-power output requires large amounts of 808nm IR pump radiation. For example, the pump diodes found in a 50mW green laser pointer will often average around 300mW IR output.
The human eye isn't very sensitive to 808nm IR- and it's barely visible. It takes several watts of 808nm to achieve visual parity with 1mW of 650nm. As a result, what is mistaken as a dim red light is easily capable of causing instantaneous eye damage.
Although this diagram shows an IR filter (which would cut out all of the infrared from the green beam), most cheap pointers and modules lack this IR filter.
The most common causes of this type of pointer failure are either driver/pump diode failure, or crystal set failure.
Something kinda fun to try is... Take the head off and then remove the focusing barrel (should just unscrew) and your laser will have a green beam similar to a cree zoomie at full zoom. Works well with a gun mount for coyote and other preditor hunting applications. You won't be able to lite matches or pop ballons with it this way but it's easy to change it back to the way it was.
My C1 is just begging for a Foy-bezel makeover.