I've been looking at the Dealextreme 200 mW laser. I'm wondering if it's a good laser for the price? If not, where can I find better lasers for that price?
Dealextreme 200 mW
- Thread starter Nimrad
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200mw from 2 AAA batteries??
Green laser technology is not efficient enough to achieve this right now. Probably in a few years.
I bet this laser has no IR filter and of course it can pump out 200-500mw of energy.....but only 50mw of green.
Green laser technology is not efficient enough to achieve this right now. Probably in a few years.
I bet this laser has no IR filter and of course it can pump out 200-500mw of energy.....but only 50mw of green.
I got the 50mw laser from Dealextreme, and I dont know if it's just me, but the battery time is really, really low.. i mean, its insanely low..
I probably get 1 hour of operating time out of it, and in that hour only 10-20minutes with full power (more likely 10) with Energizer Industrial batteries, so i guess this laser would eat up the batteries a lot faster.
On the topic if it's a good laser or not, I dont know much at all, but reading the comments of other posters the true 50mw laser, or the true 100mw would be a better path to take.
I probably get 1 hour of operating time out of it, and in that hour only 10-20minutes with full power (more likely 10) with Energizer Industrial batteries, so i guess this laser would eat up the batteries a lot faster.
On the topic if it's a good laser or not, I dont know much at all, but reading the comments of other posters the true 50mw laser, or the true 100mw would be a better path to take.
Gunner12
Flashaholic
I've heard runtime of the 200 mW is really short and it runs best with 2 rechargeable batteries or 2 Lithium batteries.
I think someone measured green output at around 160 mW.
I think someone measured green output at around 160 mW.
Hi Nimrad,
From what i've read, Deal extreme lasers are low to average quality at low prices. Good value if thats what you are after.
There are quality issues such as the actual power being below advertised power and IR filter but the low price compensates for these issues.
From what i've read, Deal extreme lasers are low to average quality at low prices. Good value if thats what you are after.
There are quality issues such as the actual power being below advertised power and IR filter but the low price compensates for these issues.
The green (532nm) output will not be anywhere near 200mW. I've tested many of these as well as others. Generally it's very rare to get a laser that runs on 2xAA or AAA's to output more then about 120-130mW.
In very rare cases you get units that output more, I have a CNI model that outputs just over 201mW average and another which I sold that was outputting 164mW. These are the only ones that I've seen of the dozens I've tested in the last couple years capable of outputting more then 150mW.
Wicked has a new Elite series, however even those are rated at 150mW and use excellent crystals, but of coruse cost much more then the DX models.
The problem is... while it may be cheap, the actual green output is a bit of an unknown. If you are paying for 50mW of green, is the price comparable to a true 532nm 50mW green laser from elsewhere? Yeah they are cheap... but not sure if it's actually worth it.
You're better off going with a 125mW from Techlasers which is pretty cheap and it's a CNI laser which although is mass produced is not a bad device. Other companies sell them as well, I just mentioned what I believe to be the cheapest place.
If you rather go for the DX, no worries but keep in mind that even a 5mW laser pointer contains a 200-250mW laser diode...thus high powered IR is really not that expensive.
In very rare cases you get units that output more, I have a CNI model that outputs just over 201mW average and another which I sold that was outputting 164mW. These are the only ones that I've seen of the dozens I've tested in the last couple years capable of outputting more then 150mW.
Wicked has a new Elite series, however even those are rated at 150mW and use excellent crystals, but of coruse cost much more then the DX models.
The problem is... while it may be cheap, the actual green output is a bit of an unknown. If you are paying for 50mW of green, is the price comparable to a true 532nm 50mW green laser from elsewhere? Yeah they are cheap... but not sure if it's actually worth it.
You're better off going with a 125mW from Techlasers which is pretty cheap and it's a CNI laser which although is mass produced is not a bad device. Other companies sell them as well, I just mentioned what I believe to be the cheapest place.
If you rather go for the DX, no worries but keep in mind that even a 5mW laser pointer contains a 200-250mW laser diode...thus high powered IR is really not that expensive.
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stephenmadpotato
Enlightened
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2007
- Messages
- 298
Hey,
I bought this and took it to school. Out of the physics dept. we busted out, and rebuilt a 30 year old laser power meter calibrated it, and when we tested this with a power supply, it measured 178 mw. So that is with a power supply providing the current. AAA's would be useless as this laser probably draws like 500 mah's. You would be in best luck to find one that takes cr123a's, although it would charge you a considerable amount more it is much better quality.
I bought this and took it to school. Out of the physics dept. we busted out, and rebuilt a 30 year old laser power meter calibrated it, and when we tested this with a power supply, it measured 178 mw. So that is with a power supply providing the current. AAA's would be useless as this laser probably draws like 500 mah's. You would be in best luck to find one that takes cr123a's, although it would charge you a considerable amount more it is much better quality.
laserlover2008
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2008
- Messages
- 6
For the pointers,there are no coolers inside,so it can't operating long time.It's common.CNI laser also can produce kinds of 200mW portable lasers.The quality is good I think.You can continuous operating 30mins I think.
For this kind of pointers,the application I think isn't for longer time,and it's not suitable for longer time operation.
For this kind of pointers,the application I think isn't for longer time,and it's not suitable for longer time operation.
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-162692.html
Mine STILL does 170-180mw of green on lithiums. still runs 100-120mw of green on nimh. It eats alkalines and it's very unstable with them. You need to feed it batteries that can deliver an amp+
it does leak IR in the 10% range. I get about 15mw of IR on nimh and about 25 mw of ir on lithiums.
Mine STILL does 170-180mw of green on lithiums. still runs 100-120mw of green on nimh. It eats alkalines and it's very unstable with them. You need to feed it batteries that can deliver an amp+
it does leak IR in the 10% range. I get about 15mw of IR on nimh and about 25 mw of ir on lithiums.
This is good to know... I ordered it yesturday and it already shipped...
But i'm only gonna use Ni-MHs with it.. I want it to live long..
As long as it has a nice bright beam, i'll be happy with it.
rosskim1980
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2008
- Messages
- 17
Better choice
MaybeCNI laser or wicked laser or dragon laser is the best choice, I just have one portable laser from CNI, it performs well. I like it.wow,really fantastic.:welcome:
MaybeCNI laser or wicked laser or dragon laser is the best choice, I just have one portable laser from CNI, it performs well. I like it.wow,really fantastic.:welcome:
I'm thinking of modifying the DX200, so it can take larger batteries, and have a regulated voltage over the entire battery voltage range.. This way, the power wouldn't drop, when the batteries slowly go empty..
But i'm also thinking of active cooling, with a tiny peltier, like i'm building for my open can..
On the other hand, i know that green lasers sometimes have to warm up, before putting out the full power..
So, does anyone know how much sense cooling makes here, and what the optimum temperature is? I think i read around 28°C, and i can just set it to that for best output, since my peltier will have a temperature regulated driver circuit.
I don't want to push it, and as long as it can put out more than 100mW of green for a long time, i'll be happy with it.
But i'm also thinking of active cooling, with a tiny peltier, like i'm building for my open can..
On the other hand, i know that green lasers sometimes have to warm up, before putting out the full power..
So, does anyone know how much sense cooling makes here, and what the optimum temperature is? I think i read around 28°C, and i can just set it to that for best output, since my peltier will have a temperature regulated driver circuit.
I don't want to push it, and as long as it can put out more than 100mW of green for a long time, i'll be happy with it.
Well, if anyone is interested in this laser, i got mine, and tested it extensivelly..
The first thing i noticed was how big the spot is.. Then i noticed, that my beam is splitting in two. This made me very depressed..
I heard about several people getting rid of this problem simply by using Ni-MHs instead of alkalines. So i tried them, but no improovement.
After a while i noticed that the beam is changing in brightness abruptly. I didn't know why at first, but later discovered, that it is related to pressure on the button. By varying the pressure i could actually make it go back to TEM00.
Since the "driver" PCB is soldered directly to the IR LD's leads, pressure on the button moves it, and puts stress on the LD. If it's not mounted strongly enough it can obviously move it slightly, which causes misalignment with the crystals.
To make things worse, there is a spring going up from the board, putting additional force on the PCB, in the same direction as the button.
As a result, the PCB is bent in one direction, causing the battery contact spring not to be in the middle of the enclosure.
So i thought about supporting the PCB from below, since as it is, it is only supported by a piece of foam.. I cut a 2mm thick piece of plastic and put it below the big transistor on the lower side of the PCB. I had to raise the board a little, and after the plastic piece was in position, it pressed against it, and held it in place.
After this, my laser was MUCH more stable, and behaved much better. It stayed in TEM00 for much longer, but again, not long enough.
I really wanted to take it appart, so eventually i did. I was hoping that tightening the IR LD would help with my problem and i also wanted to fix the focus, to make the dot smaller.
Inside, everything is held in place with glue, so after i broke the bond, i had to spend an hour cleaning bits of it out, not to mention brass splinters, left from the manufacturing process.
Unfortunatelly, focusing it didn't really help much. I just couldn't get the spot any smaller.. I don't know why.
Tightening the IR LD made things MUCH worse. The beam lost most of it's brightness, and mode hopping was constant.
After loosening the IR LD nut, i was able to turn the LD around with the power on, to see if i can find the best position for it.
Turning it around actually produced big changes in the brightness and lots of mode hopping.
But i was able to find several positions, where the beam was bright and mode hopping didn't occur.
Right now, it looks like i managed to find an area of the crystals, where there areless imperfections, and i get a nice bright TEM00 beam.
But unfortunatelly, i have a feeling it is not as bright as it was before.
I didn't get all the parts for my LPM yet, so i can't measure the output..
Curiously_Coherent did measure up to 240mW with completelly fresh Energizer alkalines tho.. The laser was put in a chill cell during the test, and peaked at around 240 and later dropped to 180mW, as it warmed up.
On the other hand, i don't know how much of this is in the form of IR..
Also, his laser doesn't have mode hopping problems. He obviously got a good one.
Here's the video of the test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aWEnjYW7Lw
Oh, just a warning about supporting the PCB:
Theoretically, while it worked for me, it could make things worse, if you bend the PCB up, like i did. Simply supporting it, without bending, could prolong it's life on the other hand.
It is something, that should have been done by the manufacturer already. In my oppinion, it's a major design flaw. When i did it, the improovement was incredible. Had it been this way from the start, maybe my laser wouldn't have these problems.
The first thing i noticed was how big the spot is.. Then i noticed, that my beam is splitting in two. This made me very depressed..
I heard about several people getting rid of this problem simply by using Ni-MHs instead of alkalines. So i tried them, but no improovement.
After a while i noticed that the beam is changing in brightness abruptly. I didn't know why at first, but later discovered, that it is related to pressure on the button. By varying the pressure i could actually make it go back to TEM00.
Since the "driver" PCB is soldered directly to the IR LD's leads, pressure on the button moves it, and puts stress on the LD. If it's not mounted strongly enough it can obviously move it slightly, which causes misalignment with the crystals.
To make things worse, there is a spring going up from the board, putting additional force on the PCB, in the same direction as the button.
As a result, the PCB is bent in one direction, causing the battery contact spring not to be in the middle of the enclosure.
So i thought about supporting the PCB from below, since as it is, it is only supported by a piece of foam.. I cut a 2mm thick piece of plastic and put it below the big transistor on the lower side of the PCB. I had to raise the board a little, and after the plastic piece was in position, it pressed against it, and held it in place.
After this, my laser was MUCH more stable, and behaved much better. It stayed in TEM00 for much longer, but again, not long enough.
I really wanted to take it appart, so eventually i did. I was hoping that tightening the IR LD would help with my problem and i also wanted to fix the focus, to make the dot smaller.
Inside, everything is held in place with glue, so after i broke the bond, i had to spend an hour cleaning bits of it out, not to mention brass splinters, left from the manufacturing process.
Unfortunatelly, focusing it didn't really help much. I just couldn't get the spot any smaller.. I don't know why.
Tightening the IR LD made things MUCH worse. The beam lost most of it's brightness, and mode hopping was constant.
After loosening the IR LD nut, i was able to turn the LD around with the power on, to see if i can find the best position for it.
Turning it around actually produced big changes in the brightness and lots of mode hopping.
But i was able to find several positions, where the beam was bright and mode hopping didn't occur.
Right now, it looks like i managed to find an area of the crystals, where there areless imperfections, and i get a nice bright TEM00 beam.
But unfortunatelly, i have a feeling it is not as bright as it was before.
I didn't get all the parts for my LPM yet, so i can't measure the output..
Curiously_Coherent did measure up to 240mW with completelly fresh Energizer alkalines tho.. The laser was put in a chill cell during the test, and peaked at around 240 and later dropped to 180mW, as it warmed up.
On the other hand, i don't know how much of this is in the form of IR..
Also, his laser doesn't have mode hopping problems. He obviously got a good one.
Here's the video of the test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aWEnjYW7Lw
Oh, just a warning about supporting the PCB:
Theoretically, while it worked for me, it could make things worse, if you bend the PCB up, like i did. Simply supporting it, without bending, could prolong it's life on the other hand.
It is something, that should have been done by the manufacturer already. In my oppinion, it's a major design flaw. When i did it, the improovement was incredible. Had it been this way from the start, maybe my laser wouldn't have these problems.
Last edited:
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