Optotronics PPL-125 Handheld Laser - Comments & Pics

Just wanted to make a few comments on the Optotronics PPL-125 Laser I purchased.


The PPL-125 comes with a nice padded case.


Inside, you will find the the Laser in its anti-static bag,
and a certified document, with the lasers tested mW output.
Mine tested out at an average of 131 mW over a 20 second test.


Mine has a slightly different shutter lever up front, as you can see in the pics.
I like my newer version better, doesnt stick out the side.


The Laser is operated, by taking the provided "key",
and placing it in the tailcap, in order to rotate a small flat head screw switch.


The switch is set to "0" when the Laser is deactivated, or "locked out".
There are 9 power levels that you can select.
1 being the lowest (20 to 30mW)
9 being max power. 131mW in my case.



There is no o-ring on the tailcap,
but, the rest of the laser if not water resistant either,
so it is not really needed there either.

After you have one of the power levels selected,
the indicator led located above the red power clickie switch,
will turn green, showing that the Laser is now activated, or un locked.


Pressing the red clickie switch will now turn on the laser.
The indicator led will also turn red.
There is no delay when pressing the red button,
the button is a normal clickie switch, and can also be pressed lightly for momentary use.


The PPL lasers are powered by 2 C cells batteries,
so they are rather large, but they arent exactly considered a "pointer" either.



I compared the PPL-125 to my GBS-100 module, which is 100mW.



The beam is much tighter and round on the PPL Laser.
The GBS-100 has a rated divergence of 1.5 rad,
the PPL-125 is a TEM00 beam rated at 1.2 rad or less.
I hope to do some long distance shots soon to compare this.

The only thing that I would like different is the way the tail switch power level works.
I would like to be able to just set that to what ever I want,
and leave it that way, instead of having to remember to turn it back to "0" when putting the laser away.
Otherwise, the laser will still be activated, and will drain the cells over time.
But, this is a safety feature, and is needed with a laser this high of power.

All in all, I am very pleased with the PPL-125 so far.
Jacks service was excellent, and answered many of my questions before the purchase.

~John

NICE REVIEW!!! Are theses built similar to the PGL-III's from CNI? If so you should try the pot mod.I've done it to my 125mW and it bumped it to around 220mW's.

I have no idea how similar they are to the PGL lasers,
and I have no idea if they are pot moddable.

But, I do know, that I am NOT going to mod this laser.
its way too much money to risk messing it up by cracking it open for a mod.

~John

jtice said:

I have no idea how similar they are to the PGL lasers,
and I have no idea if they are pot moddable.

But, I do know, that I am NOT going to mod this laser.
its way too much money to risk messing it up by cracking it open for a mod.

~John

Click to expand...

Hi John,

You made a good decision not to void the warranty. If you want to mess around, wait until the warranty period is over. I'm not sure what your laser experience is, but these are not like pot modding and messing with leadlights. They are much more precision instruments. The leadlight type pointers are mass produced by the thousands and no time is spent adjusting each laser, so a pot mod might gain you something. Each of the PPL/RPL lasers are hand built and optimized for maximum output at the factory using top motch optical alignment tools. It is to the advantage of the manufacturer to get as much as they can from each laser without seriously decreasing it's lifetime. This is because the rate I pay them is based on the average output that I measure on them when they're delivered to me.

I really cringe at the thought of all these people who bought the CNI-80mW lasers in this group buy, messing with them before the warranty is up. It might be possible for them to get an output incrase for short time, but these lasers, if they don't die within minutes of doing this will die soon. They will then have a $200 paper weight. CNI is not dumb, they can tell as soon as they open them up and examine the crystal and or diode if the laser has been over driven either by a pot mod, increase of voltage or decrase of resistance in the end cap. They won't cover these repairs under warranty. They will charge at least $80 to $100 for the repair, but this is after the owner pays ~ $30-$35 to send it bacdk to China. Then after they pay for the repair, it will cost them another $30-$35 to get it shipped back to them afterwards....

In the end, that great $200 80mW laser has cost them $350 because they got hungry for a few more milliwatts.

I glad your happy with your PPL John, Treat it with care, don't tinker with it and it will last a long time.

Have a good weekend
Jack

:wow: that thing is NICE!!! Can you leave it on for a long duration? Again nice score! :goodjob:

You can leave it on as long as you want,
it is rated for 100% duty cycle.

Lot of mass to the head, seems it should handle alot of heat.

~John

jtice said:

You can leave it on as long as you want,
it is rated for 100% duty cycle.

Lot of mass to the head, seems it should handle alot of heat.

~John

Click to expand...

That's awesome. Looks like enough mass to be a nice self defence device... That's why I always liked a good Mag Lite; from what I've read here it may not be the best light producer, but it sure can be used to beat the **** out of someone gettin to close to ya...

heh, its plenty beafy to knock someone simple,
but I am betting it wouldnt work after that.

Remember, all green lasers, and many others, are very fragile.

~John

jtice said:

heh, its plenty beafy to knock someone simple,
but I am betting it wouldnt work after that.

Remember, all green lasers, and many others, are very fragile.

~John

Click to expand...

That's a good excuse to have that "cheap" Mag Lite around... :laughing:

lol, none of mine are real CHEAP now,
they have all been modded

But yea, they still pack a nice wallop

looks really nice! what is the anti-static bag for?

like pretty much any other piece of elec. you buy, there is a small risk of static shock messing it up.
much like when you buy computer parts.

I dont think it HAS t be stored in it, but I guess it couldnt help either.

~John

ok, thanx. my pgl lllA's came with them but not my other one i bought last year. cant recall the model (>150mw).
the AAA pointers dont have them either.

jtice,

I just received my PPL-165, very impressive.

Visible on target even at high noon sunlight - 20% power @ 500ft, 50% power @ 1500ft. Now to create a recoil resistant mount... BTW I'm trying to create a GBD-III on the cheap.

ohhhhha 165, nice

I still need to get around to doing some more tests with mine.
I want to do some more comparisons with my GBS-100 module.

I find even my 131mW PPL-125 hard to see outside at any great distance.
Night time is a different matter

Your planning to weapon mount yours????? oo:
I would never trust a green laser for that. I just dont see it taking the abuse.

what is a GBD-III ?

~John

jtice,

I know... I'd have to mount it shock proof in a way I don't even know how. M2HB - I might mount it just for looks.

GBD-III is the 200 watt greenie issued for the M2HB, that's why I thought it could be done(sort of).

Google B.E.Meyers for cool pics of the M2 w/laser @1000 meters. Day/Night usage.

How long does it take you to light a match with this thing?

Phased,
Those are some Very nice looking lasers !!!!
but then, I would expect nothing less from the military.
I am going to experiment with some lens etc. to get different wide beams with mine also.

btcomm,
As I said, some matches work, some dont,
but the ones that do, light within a couple seconds.
This is from just a few inches away though.

~John

Very Nice Review and them pic too jtice.

Now this particular model peaks my interest, but they're back-ordered until September. That'll give me enough time to shore up some funds. I sure did not know that the Optotronics PPL-125 was robust, but then again, as you said, it's not "exactly considred a pointer."

Enjoy!

CHC,
I would say robust not large. In the hand it has the feeling of a C-cell Maglite, fits right in to my display of black Maglites.