How much is my 385mW PGL-III & accessories worth?

[Shiftlock]

I was going to post a message in the B/S/T forum to sell my first-generation PGL-III, but I have no idea how much to ask for it, so I thought I would post a message here and see what people think it's worth. I hope this is within the forum rules. I'm not accepting offers here, so please don't make them - I'm just wondering what people think is the value of the most powerful handheld laser I know of.

This laser has an adjustable power switch (0 through 9) in the end cap. When powered by two rechargeable NiMH "C" batteries, it has a minimum power output of 11mW (power setting 1) and a maximum output of 115mW (setting 9). When run on two alkaline "C" batteries, it has a maximum output of about 165mW. When run on one rechargeable Li-Ion Pila 186A (2000mAh, 4.2V) plus custom adapter and battery sleeve so it fits snugly in the laser, it has a maximum output of 385mW. So essentially the laser is adjustable from 11mW up to 385mW, depending on the power setting and the batteries being used.

I would include:

First-gen unregulated adjustable power PGL-III laser.
4 rechargeable 4500mAh NiMH "C" batteries.
Very nice dual-channel NiMH charger.
2 rechargeable Pila 168A Li-Ion batteries.
The Pila Li-Ion charger.
Two custom Pila sleeves made from garden hose.
A custom adapter to allow a Pila battery to make contact.
Mini screwdriver for accessing the recessed power adjustment switch.

It's all in perfect condition. It's at least a couple of hundred dollars worth in battery stuff alone, but I'm wondering what someone would pay for the whole package. Like I said, in order to comply with the forum guidelines, I'm not accepting offers here, so please don't make them, I'm just wondering what I should ask if I post it on the B/S/T forum. Thanks for your opinion.

 

[bootleg2go]

Hi shiftlock,
I'll think about what it's probably worth, I guess it's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.
I have an OT question that maybe you can answer either here or in a PM. Do you have instructions on how to build/adapt the Pila battery into the PGL-III? If so could you post them or PM them to me? Another question, does this PGL-III have FDA cert? ie. all the safety interlocks? If not and I'm not sure if your aware, CNI will put all these fixes in for free and bring it up to FDA cert. The reason they do this for free is because the FDA ordered them to. I found this out while I was searching for info on CNI; I found a warning the FDA sent them last April that told them they were not FDA cert. even though they had been using their FDA accession number. The letter tell them that in order to continue and have FDA cert. they need to recall and fix at no cost all the PGL-III units in the US. It would be a good idea to bring it up to cert before selling it. Hopefully that would not affect the variable power output. Is the varible power output a custom thing you did or is it something CNI stopped doing? If they stopped, I wonder why as that is a great idea and certainly would amke it worth more to me.

Jack

 

[Shiftlock]

I'm aware of the correspondence between CNI and the FDA, but this unit was made by CNI for sale outside of the US. I purchased it from an overseas distributor, and had it imported into the US by them, so the demand of the FDA to bring the units sold in the USA up to certification do not apply to this unit. Besides, all CNI did to the non-cert units like this that were in the USA was exchange them for the units that have an accession number. Those units have a regulated driver board, and no adjustable power output. One of the things that the FDA requested from CNI is that the driver board be located somewhere other than the end cap (where it's too easy to modify) and that it be regulated so that additional voltage will not increase the power of the unit (that eliminated the liklihood of the adjutable power output feature). The things that make this laser so powerful and unique are exactly the things that the FDA wanted changed.

The process of adapting the Pila battery to the PGL-III is as simple as wrapping something around it so that it fits snug in the housing. I used a piece of garden hose split down the side and wrapped around the battery. Then, since the Pila battery is too short, you need a conductor to make up the difference in length. I cut about a 1 inch peice of wooden broom handle, wrapped it in aluminum foil, and then wrapped all by the tips in insulating tape.

 

[bootleg2go]

does that mean the unit coming in to the US now will not have higher output by using the Pila battery? Do you know of anyone who has modded a US version? I wonder, even though it might not increase the power, since it is a higher voltage, would using the Pila and having the higher voltage regulated down internally, mean that the Pila would keep the voltage above 3 v. for longer and keep the brightness more constant for a longer period.

Jack

 

[Shiftlock]

If you use a Pila battery in one of the new units, the driver will trim the voltage. The beam will not be any brighter, but the driver board will get hot. I've run a new-style PGL3 on various power sources all the way up to 6V. It does nothing for the output. I don't know of anyone who has modified the US-cert version of the PGL3 for more power. I don't know of anyone who has even successfully disassembled one. If you could get to the driver board, you would have a very hard time getting the thing back together in working order, and I don't think you would have much success in modding the driver anyway. That being said, if you did find a way, that 1.3W C-mount pump and those crystals can deliver >300mW of 532nm.

 

[lasercrazy]

I'd say about $1100-1200 would be reasonable.

 

[Kiessling]

Re: How much is my 385mW PGL-III & accessories wor

Shiftlock, if you are unsure about the price of this item and want to sell it for the maximum $$, you can put it on ebay and post a notice in the "Other Auction Notices" forum to make your fellow laser-nerds notice it.
bernhard

 

[ACMarina]

Re: How much is my 385mW PGL-III & accessories wor

I was going to say it's worth about 25 bucks, and I'll paypal you right now /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[LaserMod]

Re: How much is my 385mW PGL-III & accessories wor

Nah, $25 is way too much I'll bid $15 including the postage. You won't be able to sell a 385mw PGL-III + extras, you've got to be kidding. I give you very good price. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Why do you want to sell it anyway. If it was mine I would keep it locked in a display cabinet and stand and stare at it all day. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/drool.gif

 

[Shiftlock]

Re: How much is my 385mW PGL-III & accessories wor

Kiessling, unfortunately, eBay will not permit a modified laser like this to be listed.

 

[Kiessling]

Re: How much is my 385mW PGL-III & accessories wor

Oh ... didn't know that.

bernhard

 

[paulr]

Re: How much is my 385mW PGL-III & accessories wor

There's also CPF auctions, which doesn't get used much.

 

[senecaripple]

Re: How much is my 385mW PGL-III & accessories wor

needs to be pro-rated, how many hours have this laser been used? how much is left?

 

[gecko991]

Re: How much is my 385mW PGL-III & accessories wor

If it is not FDA be careful right now.

 

[Bond007]

Re: How much is my 385mW PGL-III & accessories wor

Shiftlock, I think you should post a video of this 385mw unit in action. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Spec]

Re: How much is my 385mW PGL-III & accessories wor

Shiftlock, assuming the diode is not being over driven (voltage or amperage) I would venture a safe guess that its worth over $1000 in open market.

The problem is finding an appropriate location to sell the unit that guarantees maximum user exposure, unfortunately Ebay will always err on the the side of caution and stupidity when allowing items.

They wouldnt even allow certain handgun parts to be listed for a while, I dont know if it has changed since a year ago, but it was quite annoying.