Review - Red Laser 5mw, 650nm, 1x16340 from EachBuyer

I won this laser in this giveaway hosted by Sami from EachBuyer. A condition of the giveaway was that the product would be reviewed. The package I received did not include the charger. So that part of the product is not included in the review.

It's nice looking laser and has some heft to it for it's size. As indicated by the inclusion of the words "High Performance" in the product title, this is no 5mW laser. I measured output several times at around 114mW. So this laser is quite capable of causing permanent eye damage. Do not use it to play with your pets. Really don't use any laser for that unless you confirm it is 5mW or less and doesn't output infrared (for 538nm green lasers).

It has decent heat sinking for it's output level. In tests lasting several minutes I detected no thermal sag. Here is a chart of one test. The laser was on about 30 seconds (a guess) before the meter warmed up to the 110mW threshold I had for recording to start:

The reading was consistent with beam visibility. The beam is visible in dark conditions. It was also consistent with burn attempts. 114mW's is not strong enough to ignite matches or cardboard. At least, not with my level of patience.

Set up for the measurement. Laser about 25cm away from meter. Card board box is to reduce effect of air movement in the room. Current measured tail the originally supplied cell was 187mA. Current with an IMR14500 was 189mA.

Beam Shots:

I will try to take a star pointing beam shot tonight. There was too much air traffic last night. I don't point lasers into the sky unless I am sure there is no air traffic within the range of my eyesight and I can confirm by an air traffic web sight like this one.

The power level (combined with the red frequency) is not adequate for star pointing. The human eye is much less sensitive to red than it is to green.

Pointing at a tree top about 80 feet away (Beam was slightly brighter in real life):

Beam across the room to a brick wall about 15-20 feet away:

Similar shot but had exhaled from a e-vape:

Tear down Shots:

The aluminum pill is pressed against the ledge in the tub by a thick, fine-thread retaining ring. The ring has a nice tight fit. The pill is loose enough to slide in an out of the tube without pressing. No obvious wiggle room. So some heat get to the tube that way too.

Tube threads into this heat sink nicely. Based on testing, it appears to do the job for the power level of this laser.

Lens assembly not quite straight. I currently don't know how to disassemble the pill from the diode and lens assembly. The focusing mechanism has some thread lock or something to keep focus set. I believe the beam is just a tad off focus. I haven't tried to adjust it yet though.

Without retaining ring:

Some driver pictures with mouse overs:

A linear driver. Current could be increased with a resister mod (1.25 volt reference). But until I am able to get to the diode and verify a good thermal path to the heat sinking, I don't want to attempt it.

Battery goes in backwards of typical flashlights. This is normal for most lasers.

Warning Label:

Tail of light.

Cell:

We all are leery of these blue wrapped Ultrafire cells for good reason. I charged this cell, used it a bit and then measured internal resistance at 229mR. I am capacity testing it right now and will run it through a few cycles and report back on those results.

UPDATE: After several cycles the internal resistance is still quite high. Lowest measurement has been 169mR. Capacity has measured it under 200mA each time (usually around 170mA).

Conclusion:

Excluding the cell, not bad for this type of laser. Appears to be much better built that the typical mass produced "5mW" lasers available in the market.

Review almost completed. I will try to add some more to it after tonight.

Nice little laser! I've always wondered if these "5mw" lasers were really that low or understated for customs. Great to see they have some power to them :)

You said this 650nm (red) laser is not competitive, price wise with other vendors.

Did you mean as a 5mW laser or 114mW Laser ?—-As a 650nm Laser ?

What do you think this 650nm laser is worth ? What would you pay for it ?

I’m just wondering.

It’s really nice to know that it outputs 120mW of power but can you also make power measurement at the battery (tail cap current reading) please?

“Set up for the measurement” - what these devices are?

202bigmike wrote:

You said this 650nm (red) laser is not competitive, price wise with other vendors.

Did you mean as a 5mW laser or 114mW Laser ?—-As a 650nm Laser ?

What do you think this 650nm laser is worth ? What would you pay for it ?

I’m just wondering.

I just looked around and found this specific laser being sold for less by other vendors. I'm not sure what to think it is worth or what I would be willing to pay for one as I tend to roll my own. Building a reliable laser is tricky and EachBuyer's price seems worth it based on my experience. But in the end, supply and demand and one's specific requirements and desires determine value. Too deep an area for me. So I just look to see what other reliable vendors are selling the same item for.

lagman wrote:

It’s really nice to know that it outputs 120mW of power but can you also make power measurement at the battery (tail cap current reading) please?

Good question. Whish I had a decent cell that fit this laser. I just checked with a IMR14500 and read 189mA. It would be good to know what output this laser gets with that same cell . I may try to rig something up and test it.

I have the supplied cell cycling. I'll charge it and get a measurement for you.

UPDATE: Measured tail current with the originally supplied cell. It measured 187mA.

arekm wrote:

“Set up for the measurement” – what these devices are?

Another good question. You guys are on your game. The device I used it the best budget Laser Power Meter ("LPM") I'm aware of. It's the Radiant Electronics X4 3.7W Laser Power Meter sold by Illumination Supply here. The software I used to datal og is called Lightspeed and you can get it free from Radiant here.

Review completed. Please let me know if any additional information is desired.

What glasses do you use to protect your eyes (link maybe) ?

It's been a while. So I'm not sure where I got mine. I believe they are the LSG08 model listed here. I don't have any high power red lasers. If I did, I would go with the appropriate goggles from the Eagle. Survival Laser sells them here. Specifically this one because it protects against a broad range of reds.