Wicked Lasers 445nm <1W Spyder III Pro Arctic Series

[fabienne]

So up until now, no one has received the shipment of this product since I haven't seen any actual review ? Seems that all the discussion is only based on the specifications released from WL website.

[SmurfTacular]

So up until now, no one has received the shipment of this product since I haven't seen any actual review ? Seems that all the discussion is only based on the specifications released from WL website.

yup. I ordered mine really early 6/11/2010. Once I receive it I will do beamshot comparisons between the 1W 445nm blue, and my Viasho 500mW green. The only problem is deciding witch safety goggles to wear

[Isak Hawk]

yup. I ordered mine really early 6/11/2010. Once I receive it I will do beamshot comparisons between the 1W 445nm blue, and my Viasho 500mW green. The only problem is deciding witch safety goggles to wear

Get yourself a pair of these:

http://store.oemlasersystems.com/ind...&products_id=7

They block both of those wavelengths (and blu-ray too should you need it) with an OD rating of 7+

[Flashanator]

What a LOAD!!

Its from wicked lasers, I beat this thing's average output is miles below 1W & it's output which is prob all over the place probably falls very quickly & would overheat like crazy.

magnet for mischief

[R11GS]

How do you know you are not going to get a nice big patch of melanoma there 5 years from now? Just asking.

As much as I may sound like I lean towards paranoia with regards to the potential for retinal damage, cancer from non-ionizing radiation does not concern me in the least. Although I also believe there is both healthy paranoia (the kind that comes from survival instinct) and unhealthy paranoia (the kind that comes from those pesky voices in your head)! On that old risk scale, an optical laser doing subtle changes to live cell DNA (i.e. potentially carcinogenic changes) and also not effect the surrounding material enough to just cause the cell to die seems extremely low. Ionizing radiation is very good at penetrating and just knocking small bits and pieces off of chemicals which is why it can be carcinogenic. I used to teach a short class on x-ray radiation (ionizing) safety about twenty years ago so while I am not that knowledgeable about the physiology of retinal damage, I have reasonable knowledge about the physiology of radiation hazards, albeit I'm far from being an "expert"....

[Isak Hawk]

What a LOAD!!

Its from wicked lasers, I beat this thing's average output is miles below 1W & it's output which is prob all over the place probably falls very quickly & would overheat like crazy.

magnet for mischief

I don't see why, as it's just a diode (that's not made by wicked lasers). These diodes can easily run at 1W, and many people push them even harder. And really, even if it only has half the advertised output, $200 is still a pretty sweet deal

As for overheating, I don't know. I would think it produces a lot less heat than something like a 400mW green for example. I don't believe wicked when they say it has a continuous duty cycle though

[Advil]

Wicked is known to underpower and overprice their lasers though.

[SmurfTacular]

Its from wicked lasers, I beat this thing's average output is miles below 1W & it's output which is prob all over the place probably falls very quickly & would overheat like crazy.

Wicked is known to underpower and overprice their lasers though.

Woah woah, guys... Wicked Lasers may be freakishly over priced, but they do not under spec their lasers. I bought a 130mW Evolution pro, and they sent me one that averaged 145mW. And there was no heating issues at all even with the DPSS green. With a 1W direct blue non-DPSS diode I don't understand why you would think there would be any heat issues, especially considering how physically large the host is, and it has substantial heat fins around the diode.

[bshanahan14rulz]

<1.5mrad with a 1.5mm aperature beam? I'll believe it when I see it. These diodes are transverse multimode, and WL isn't going to do anything besides use a single aspheric. More likely, they will use the glass 3.lens aixiz.

That said, it's not going to be a flashlight, it's not going to be any worse divergence than, say, a high-power red. Besides, divergence in a pointer is a good thing, IMO.

Thing about diode lasers is, you just can't beat their simplicity. Once you start getting inside the diode, that's when things get complicated.

[SmurfTacular]

I know, 1.5mrad is crazy. But I do not think its false advertising. WL has had crazy mrad readings in the past, and they don't seem to be inaccurate.

[bshanahan14rulz]

Well, with any luck, I should have a blue laser soon as well. Just nothing that looks as fancy as the arctic.

[Raccoon]

I know, 1.5mrad is crazy. But I do not think its false advertising. WL has had crazy mrad readings in the past, and they don't seem to be inaccurate.

I hope you are aware that HIGHER value mRad ratings are WORSE than LOWER values like 1.2 mRad and 0.9 mRad. I cannot find a single laser sold on Wicked's site that exceeds 1.5 mRad (a pretty shitty value), because it wouldn't be much of a laser if the value got any higher.

So seriously, what's so "crazy" about 1.5 mRad? if they said 0.9, THEN I'd be skeptical.

[SmurfTacular]

Yes Im aware that the lower the better. I understand how mrad is measured.
Im basing the fact that 1.5mrad is "crazy" because that is difficult to do with 1W of 445nm for some reason. I don't know exactly why, but I've been doing some reading, and people have been discussing that achieving 1W in 445nm is difficult.

[Raccoon]

Sure, people are contesting whether the 445nm diode can do 1W or not, but nobody really has an issue with the beam divergence of 1.5 mRad... though, some question whether you'll get a nice circle, a football shape, or a rectangle. There's nothing "crazy" about 1.5 mRad -- rather average actually.

[SmurfTacular]

though, some question whether you'll get a nice circle, a football shape, or a rectangle.

God that would really suck; If it was not a circular beam

[Isak Hawk]

Sure, people are contesting whether the 445nm diode can do 1W or not, but nobody really has an issue with the beam divergence of 1.5 mRad... though, some question whether you'll get a nice circle, a football shape, or a rectangle. There's nothing "crazy" about 1.5 mRad -- rather average actually.

According to people in the know, these diodes are transverse multimode (that means the dot is probably not circular SmurfTacular, it's likely a small line). It also means divergence will be pretty high, much higher than 1.5mrad. The only way wicked could get the divergence down to 1.5mrad (or get a circular dot) is if they use fancy optics. That's why some people (me included) are skeptical about wicked claiming a divergence of 1.5mrad, especially considering the price.

1.5mrad is pretty average for a DPSS laser (green lasers for example), but would be very good for a laser using this 445nm diode. 0.9mrad would be insane

Also, getting 1W out of these diodes shouldn't be a problem. Some custom builders are running these at 1.5A which pushes the power over 1W

[SmurfTacular]

According to people in the know, these diodes are transverse multimode (that means the dot is probably not circular SmurfTacular, it's likely a small line). It also means divergence will be pretty high, much higher than 1.5mrad. The only way wicked could get the divergence down to 1.5mrad (or get a circular dot) is if they use fancy optics. That's why some people (me included) are skeptical about wicked claiming a divergence of 1.5mrad, especially considering the price.

1.5mrad is pretty average for a DPSS laser (green lasers for example), but would be very good for a laser using this 445nm diode. 0.9mrad would be insane

Also, getting 1W out of these diodes shouldn't be a problem. Some custom builders are running these at 1.5A which pushes the power over 1W

A small line??? It better not be, or i'd be extremely disappointed.

But realistically, I don't think WL would release a substandard laser of any kind. This laser has received so much attention, when they ship them out, so many people will say negative things about the laser; it would tarnish WL's reputation.

[Shiftlock]

What a LOAD!!

Its from wicked lasers, I beat this thing's average output is miles below 1W & it's output which is prob all over the place probably falls very quickly & would overheat like crazy.

magnet for mischief

What I'm about to point out, I've already said, but many people still seem to be overlooking it. It's right in the subject title of this thread. The laser being discussed is advertised by Wicked Lasers as <1W (less than 1 watt), so even if it's "miles below 1W" nobody can complain. This laser could have an output of 50mW, and <1W would still be an accurate power description. Listing the power output of a laser with a "less than" sign is deceptive in my opinion, and I've never seen it done until now. This is why I'm very curious to learn what kind of numbers we see when someone measures the output of this laser with an accurate power meter. I could be wrong, but if I had to put money on it, I would bet it is indeed miles below 1W. I bet it's closer to 500mW. Can't wait to know for sure.

FWIW, I agree with your opinion of Wicked Lasers. Every DPSS laser I've tested from Wicked has measured lower than the claimed output, and has been very unstable. Could be just bad apples, but nevertheless, I don't hold WL in high regard. Just my opinion.

[SmurfTacular]

What I'm about to point out, I've already said, but many people still seem to be overlooking it. It's right in the subject title of this thread. The laser being discussed is advertised by Wicked Lasers as <1W (less than 1 watt), so even if it's "miles below 1W" nobody can complain. This laser could have an output of 50mW, and <1W would still be an accurate power description. Listing the power output of a laser with a "less than" sign is deceptive in my opinion, and I've never seen it done until now. This is why I'm very curious to learn what kind of numbers we see when someone measures the output of this laser with an accurate power meter. I could be wrong, but if I had to put money on it, I would bet it is indeed miles below 1W. I bet it's closer to 500mW. Can't wait to know for sure.

FWIW, I agree with your opinion of Wicked Lasers. Every DPSS laser I've tested from Wicked has measured lower than the claimed output, and has been very unstable. Could be just bad apples, but nevertheless, I don't hold WL in high regard. Just my opinion.

Keep in mind that WL doesn't manufacture their own laser diodes. They are literally harvested from a home theater projector. And the arctic series is classified as a class 4 laser, meaning it is above 500mW. So Id say that for it to not be considered false advertising, it'd have to be between 500mW and 1000mW.

I realistically think that the actual output would be around 1W; 800mW ~ 1200mW. WL is in the media's lime light right now, and if they disapoint everyone they will tarnish their reputation.
As I previously stated pages ago, I purchased a DPSS 532nm green 130mW Evolution pro and it tested at 145mW AVERAGE.

[Isak Hawk]

A small line??? It better not be, or i'd be extremely disappointed.

But realistically, I don't think WL would release a substandard laser of any kind. This laser has received so much attention, when they ship them out, so many people will say negative things about the laser; it would tarnish WL's reputation.

Maybe small line is not the right way to describe it. Both my blu-ray and red cheapie are the same. I tried to find a picture to show you what I mean, but came up empty. I think most diode lasers are like that, and the only way to make it into a perfect dot is by using some kind of fancy optic.

It's not really a problem, and you can only see it if you look at the dot up close. When shining the laser around it won't make any difference what the dot looks like, all you'll see is the beautiful beam Well, if you're wearing the safety goggles you probably WON'T see the beam but...
This dot shape does decrease the up close burning power though, but with 1W of power I don't think that's going to be a problem

What I'm trying to say is, don't worry, the dot shape probably won't mean anything as far as your satisfaction with this laser is concerned

[Shiftlock]

I realistically think that the actual output would be around 1W; 800mW ~ 1200mW. WL is in the media's lime light right now, and if they disapoint everyone they will tarnish their reputation.
As I previously stated pages ago, I purchased a DPSS 532nm green 130mW Evolution pro and it tested at 145mW AVERAGE.

Only a very small percentage of the people who buy one of these lasers will even know the difference between 500mW and 1W. Most probably wouldn't know the difference between 100mW and 1W. Considering the amount of advertising they do (major magazines and such), and the amount of free publicity they receive through the media, I'm sure the vast majority of their customers are technically ignorant when it comes to lasers. We laser enthusiasts make up the minority of their customer base, I'm sure. So it's hardly going to tarnish their reputation if this laser doesn't has an output well below 1W, and as long as they keep selling product (which they will with the amount of advertising they do), I'm not sure they care much about their reputation. Besides, why would they advertise it as <1W (under 1 watt) if it is actually ~>=1W (approximately greater than or equal to 1 watt)?

I understand you received a laser from WL with an output higher than what was stated. That makes you a satisfied customer, but a sample of one doesn't say much at all about the overall quality of their products as a whole. I've heard from a lot of people who received lasers from WL with power outputs lower than what was advertised, and I've measured a handful of them myself. I always got the feeling that WL cares more about aesthetics (super-futuristic-space-age-looking lasers with wild names like Spyder III Pro Arctic Series) than they do about the actual performance of their lasers.

There's only one way to know for sure what these lasers will do, and I'm patiently waiting until someone receives their order.

[SmurfTacular]

Maybe small line is not the right way to describe it. Both my blu-ray and red cheapie are the same. I tried to find a picture to show you what I mean, but came up empty. I think most diode lasers are like that, and the only way to make it into a perfect dot is by using some kind of fancy optic.

It's not really a problem, and you can only see it if you look at the dot up close. When shining the laser around it won't make any difference what the dot looks like, all you'll see is the beautiful beam Well, if you're wearing the safety goggles you probably WON'T see the beam but...
This dot shape does decrease the up close burning power though, but with 1W of power I don't think that's going to be a problem

What I'm trying to say is, don't worry, the dot shape probably won't mean anything as far as your satisfaction with this laser is concerned

Are you refering to any of the following "dots"?

















http://laserpointerforums.com/attach...e-gaussian.png

[SmurfTacular]

Only a very small percentage of the people who buy one of these lasers will even know the difference between 500mW and 1W. Most probably wouldn't know the difference between 100mW and 1W. Considering the amount of advertising they do (major magazines and such), and the amount of free publicity they receive through the media, I'm sure the vast majority of their customers are technically ignorant when it comes to lasers. We laser enthusiasts make up the minority of their customer base, I'm sure. So it's hardly going to tarnish their reputation if this laser doesn't has an output well below 1W, and as long as they keep selling product (which they will with the amount of advertising they do), I'm not sure they care much about their reputation. Besides, why would they advertise it as <1W (under 1 watt) if it is actually ~>=1W (approximately greater than or equal to 1 watt)?

I understand you received a laser from WL with an output higher than what was stated. That makes you a satisfied customer, but a sample of one doesn't say much at all about the overall quality of their products as a whole. I've heard from a lot of people who received lasers from WL with power outputs lower than what was advertised, and I've measured a handful of them myself. I always got the feeling that WL cares more about aesthetics (super-futuristic-space-age-looking lasers with wild names like Spyder III Pro Arctic Series) than they do about the actual performance of their lasers.

There's only one way to know for sure what these lasers will do, and I'm patiently waiting until someone receives their order.

This is true. We are the minority . Witch is a really bad thing, because it seems as though that us minority are the only ones that fully respect laser safety.

I do completely agree WL focuses way more on the physical appearance of their lasers as being futuristic. But IMHO they still do make above average lasers. Its like the company BOSE. They advertise more than other companies, and they have really appealing designs, but they still have above average sound quality.

If im not mistaken (and don't quote me on this) But I think the majority of WL's are just CNI lasers with a really cool looking host. And CNI has an impeccable reputation.

I still stick by my previous statement. The arctic series will be at least 800mW. But if it isn't please dont rub it in my face .

[Isak Hawk]

SmurfTacular,

Maybe number 30 in the first picture, only without the spaces in between. Also, with a much, much dimmer perfect circle around it.

Here's a horrible photoshop I did that might give you some idea of what i'm talking about:

You'll only see this at short range when studying the dot up close, and only when you're wearing protective goggles (looking at the dot up close without the goggles would be so blindingly bright you couldn't make out the shape of the dot at all, and then you would probably suffer eye damage )

At long range it will probably be more of an oval shape, like an american football. And again you'll only be able to see this if you actually walk up to the dot. If you're 100 meters away, that 15cm diameter oval will look like a tiny perfectly round dot

[Shiftlock]

If im not mistaken (and don't quote me on this) But I think the majority of WL's are just CNI lasers with a really cool looking host. And CNI has an impeccable reputation.

Having been a CNI importer/dealer in the past, I'm pretty sure you are mistaken there. At least back when WL was starting out, I know for certain that their products had nothing to do with CNI. WL *may* have sold a CNI-based laser at some point, but I'm almost certain all of their lasers do not have CNI internals. Both being Chinese companies, though, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the parts come from the same manufacturers. After all, every green DPSS laser consists of the same basic parts. It's the quality of those parts and the precision with which they're assembled that makes all the difference, especially in a DPSS laser. That's obviously less of an issue with a simple diode laser like the 445nm unit this thread is referring to, so we'll see how it turns out.

BTW, while CNI may have been an innovator in the field of portable lasers, their products, too, are nothing I would consider spectacular. Although, it's been years since I was in the business and sold their products, so maybe they've improved. Back about five or six years ago, though, many of their high-powered 532nm PGL-III units were quite unstable and had serious quality-control problems. I once sat down and measured the output of 20 of them. I forget what the power output was supposed to be, but they ranged from 35mW to 380mW, and everything in between. I sold them here on CPF, and based the price on the measured power output.

[Flashanator]

The price is hilarious though, waiting for some reviews, measurements.

Good thing about this is, if it gets confiscated by police its not worth much.

I love the warnings WL put on their website, attract more ppl

[Raccoon]

Having been a CNI importer/dealer in the past, I'm pretty sure you are mistaken there. At least back when WL was starting out, I know for certain that their products had nothing to do with CNI. WL *may* have sold a CNI-based laser at some point, but I'm almost certain all of their lasers do not have CNI internals. Both being Chinese companies, though, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the parts come from the same manufacturers.

If I recall correctly, WL was selling CNI lasers when his site was shut down and he fled the country (US) to China. Remember, it wasn't until he fled to China that he actually had real affiliations with Chinese manufacturing. In the US, he was doing the same thing as everyone else -- cherry picking green laser pointers (What's that pointer that Arthur still sells?) and just getting into CNI PGL-III's (or was it GPL or GLP?).

I'm curious. Does Tao (Wicked Lasers) still have an arrest warrant or other legal trouble preventing him from entering U.S. soil?

[StarHalo]

If I recall correctly,

Too much drama.

Less soap opera, more photons burning sh*t..

[Shiftlock]

If I recall correctly, WL was selling CNI lasers when his site was shut down and he fled the country (US) to China. Remember, it wasn't until he fled to China that he actually had real affiliations with Chinese manufacturing. In the US, he was doing the same thing as everyone else -- cherry picking green laser pointers (What's that pointer that Arthur still sells?) and just getting into CNI PGL-III's (or was it GPL or GLP?).

I'm curious. Does Tao (Wicked Lasers) still have an arrest warrant or other legal trouble preventing him from entering U.S. soil?

I don't want to get into discussing Chris Tao and his legal problems, because it's off topic and I may say things that are better left unsaid. He has to live with the choices he's made in life. For someone who is so friendly in person, he sure has deceptive business practices. And that's all I'm saying about that.

He did have connections with Chinese manufacturers when he was living in Connecticut and attending UCONN, though.

[Raccoon]

Yes, but wouldn't it be fun if all the journalists reading our posts with bated breath were to dig into Wicked Laser's shady history? I digress. WL's FBI rap sheet is for another thread.