My RPL- 260 review. Pictures and videos!

[Aseras]

Since there's almost no data on the RPL that I could find, I decided to whip up a little review.
I bought this RPL second hand. It was confirmed by Jack of www.optotronics.com that is was a rpl260,and the certification I recieved with the laser was authentic at 269mw average by his testing.
I work for a nonprofit, and I'm not affiliated in any way with any manufacturer

RPL -260 http://www.optotronics.com/r-lithium-ion.php

Only other review I know of here at the LED musuem, another excellent site.
http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/sixth/rpl-260.htm


Let's begin:

So here she is:

And another view from front:

In my own testing with the LPM-1, ( which I will redo shortly due to a slight issue with the acrylic nd8 filters melting with high powered lasers such as the rpl. ) I recorded a peak of 369mw.

Not initally but after nearly 2 minutes of warm up time. The rpl seems to need to warm up to operate correctly like many lab modules. During this time it mode hops quite nicely. It's not noticable at all since my rpl beam size is ~1mm, it must be observered through a diverging lense. I've seen it do almost every mode, it actually looks like a little light show until it starts to warm up and stabilizes in tem00. Many of the spikes in the graph are the result of my spinning of the laser and crossing the segments of the photovoltaic ( solar cell ) that measures the power, If it stays in one place for more than a few seconds, the acrylic starts to melt. When the new filters arrive I'll update this with the new results.

Enough with the numbers, lets get to looks and some power.

Everyone has heard of just how tight and awesome the rpl's beam is. It's fantastic for a handheld. My beam measures right around 1mm at the aperture and I measured the divergance to be .95 mrad at 100feet.

For this review I measured off 100 feet down the hallway next to my office. I setup the rpl to shoot down the hallway and at the end of the 100ft, I measured the beam diameter as viewed through laser goggles with a set of calipers. You'll be amazed at just how visbile the laser is in daylight ( no smoke or fog just a normal hallway in our building that I secured for testing ).

Beam shot from top of rpl

Beam shot from side of rpl

Beam shot looking back along the beam from 100 feet ( with flash, it came out the best )

Video of the test: http://208.219.69.31/laser/rpl/rpl.mpg ( 16mb )
The blue tape is the 100 ft line from the far wall.I tired my best to make the video settings as close as possbile to they way they looked in real life.

Now for the good stuff. I know how much you all get off on burning things.. it's fun

There's no way to show you but video :
Burn Test
http://208.219.69.31/laser/rpl/rplburn.mpg ( 6mb ) This is unaided; note that I pan the camera over to the laser head to show you this. I'm not cheating with a lense.

this video is viewed through a set of dewalt "laser enhancement glasses" http://www.toolbarn.com/category/dewalt/laserglasses/ $10 Highly recommended for high powered greenies!

aftermath of the video here: http://208.219.69.31/laser/rpl/aftermath.jpg
I deliberately linked it because i want you to watch the video first. all of this was done during the 43 second video.

Everything my rpl touches smokes instantly. Electrical tape is FUN. I've fried lovebugs mid-air. ( keep in mind I have 700 acres of campus to myself and of course, I hate those damn bugs ). I can light white ( not sharpied, not red ) book type matches instantly ( http://208.219.69.31/laser/rpl/matchlight.mpg ), I've even lit a candle once (that took a while and i've never been able to reproduce it ). Burning/smoking range unaided seems to be about 25 feet with electrical tape and foam.

I think this laser speaks for itself. It's loads of fun. It's my favorite handheld laser, and has impressed me very much. I was initially cautious about the runtime on this laser; well no more. Off of a full charge, on full power setting, the laser will run for ~10 minutes straight before it gets warm to the touch and the protection circuit kicks in. On my rpl level "4" is max power. Level 3 is ~ 180mw, level 2 is 80-100mw and at power level 1 it's 44mw. Below level 3 the laser will operate indefinitely. I've left it running on my desk at a night light for over an hour and it's cool to the touch.

Overall this is a great laser for the price, it has an excellent tight beam that just goes and goes, great power, it's rechargable and it has top notch support. Even though I've never paid jack a dime ( yet ) He's returned my emails very quickly, looked up the history of my laser and answered every technical question he could. Out of all the laser companies I've dealt with ( I work with lasers as a profession, I've talked to them all ) he's the best. If you need a highpowered laser, this is the one to get. :thumbsup:

I'll update this thread some more video's and a updated power graph once I return my LPM-1 for calibration and a new glass nd8 filter.

 

[ooopretty]

Very nice laser! How did you get it second hand and how much less was it?

Get some vids of that thing up

 

[allthatwhichis]

Nice review... :twothumbs I'm not really a portable laser type of guy but that beast looks more like a self defence device than a "laser pointer"... :devil:

 

[stevetexas]

your RPL is a VERY NICE laser.

 

[Aseras]

Very nice laser! How did you get it second hand and how much less was it?

Get some vids of that thing up

Saw it on ebay, messaged the guy and got the details and picked it up for $600. I planned on dismantling it, and chalked the $600 as a r&d expense. It had some serious optical issues, the lenses were all messed up and it had bad scatter. an hour under the microscope and it's all better except for one tiny artifact. if I try and fix that I have to open up the crystal set and I'm not going there since the laser is flawless besides that and the performance is so good.

I may remove the whole assembly and take a look at the circuit overload protection( the laser supposedly uses a overcurrent protector for the lithium cells that cause the shutdown prior to overheat https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/162662 ) to try and increase the runtime and to reverse engineer the circuit.

 

[Aseras]

Matchlight video added.

This is a white "book" type match. not a red one and not sharpied.

http://208.219.69.31/laser/rpl/matchlight.mpg 2mb

 

[Aseras]

Some new pics

rpl vs hercules size comparison

 

[Patriot]

Holy cow! I knew the Hercules was big but that really puts things in perspective. Thanks for the pic and your great review.

 

[photonxiii]

Damn that's herc's huge. Anyway, awesome laser bro! Post more pics! :thumbsup:

 

[steluta]

SPAMMER removed.
bernhardhttp://www.pharmasport.org/

 

[Aseras]

More new pics...

The HIGH quality aperture shutter

The nice lense beneath the removeable aperture shutter ( so you can clean it )

Inside the "Heatsink"

Another view

Why the RPL has such a good beam diamter, look how big the aperture is! It's TINY.

A view of the tail with the 18650 L-ion battery loaded

The tailcap ( inside )

The adjustable tailcap with power level indicator

 

[allthatwhichis]

Um, I think these are the parts we are NOT supposed to see... You gonna POt mod that beast? :naughty:

 

[Aseras]

No modding in store for this one. Just peeking up the skirt

some new videos, thanks to TD 10 and a LOT of rain and a cool night making some fog.

AND THIS

http://208.219.69.31/laser/rpl/rpl.921.wmv ( 2mb ) sorry I had to keep the res high so you could see the beam )

this was a opportunity I could not pass up.

More vids

http://208.219.69.31/laser/rpl/rplvis.wmv ( 700kb )

http://208.219.69.31/laser/rpl/rplmatchlight.wmv ( 1mb ) you can see the beam isn't nowhere near as visible now even though the lighting is the same.

 

[beach honda]

thanks for sharing!

are laser goggles needed when shining the beam around the house\outdoors or are they just for when you think you might hit yourself in the eye with it??

 

[Aseras]

Lasers are pretty without goggles but are dangerous. If you can control the environment both the laser ( like a tripod or some fixed position ) and where you using it ( locking the doors to a room and avoinding reflective material ) it's generally safe to operate a laser without protection. If there's a risk of inadvertant exposure, then you shoud have protection for yourself and anyone else.

There's plenty of ways to mitigate exposure and enjoy a laser safely. Most are straightforward, treat the laser like a gun, never point it at anyone or animals etc..

avoid reflective surfaces, any non-matte/rough surface should be avoided unless you are sure of where the reflection may go. clear round things like a glass are very dangerous as they throw beams everywhere.

know exposure levels and how far away you need to be to have a safe viewing distance. if looking at a spot makes you see spots after looking away, it's too bright.

Just simple things like that can make it safer. Just remeber that accident can happen and the more you control the safer it is.

 

[photonxiii]

Your "rpl" and my "skybolt" are basically twins...although you win in the mW department since mine's a 200mW.

My Skybolt 200mW green laser.

I took the shutter off like you did and looks like the glue used is also the same.

And this is the battery compartment.

And finally, the cap...I think mine looks better.

I wanted to take the top section off but that would void my warranty. I'll see if I can take it off in a few months.

I'll try to take beam pics next...probably in another thread.

 

[Aseras]

I'd really like to know as much as I can. I'm mainly interested to know if techlaser products are counterfeit cheap knock offs or if they are just gray market lasers that are as good as the originals without the middlemen and such.

I know Jack is pretty serious about them from his page here http://www.optotronics.com/counterfeit.php

Can you accurately weight your laser without the battery or tailcap so we can perhaps get a idea of what's inside to match up with Jack observations of a true counterfeit? tose two diffrecnes aside I'd expect mine and yours to weight nearly the same.

Also your tailcap is the non adjustable kind. We are having quite the discussion about them over on the LPF and the internals of the RPL if you or anyone else is interested.

http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1190906838

 

[photonxiii]

First of all let's get things straight shall we; you bought your laser second hand from some stranger and I bought mine from techlasers and you start saying my laser might be a fake?

You didn't buy that laser from optotronics and you asked them to verify if it is real? I'm surprised that they even took the time. Can you tell us exactly how they verified your laser? That would be more than helpful.

It's actually interesting to note that these "fake" laser claims are only to be found on their site. I'm more inclined to believe that this is a sales gimmick. Why? Their "how to tell" also says something like "original lasers come with a battery, charger and case"...what does that have to do with the laser unit? Could they give us more info like how to really tell? Mine came in a box with styrofoam and I can tell you it's not fake. How? It didn't fall apart when I took it out of the box, it performs very well and it comes with a warranty. Can you tell me more of these "original lasers" you mentioned that you compare others against?

I bought my laser with my hard earned cash and I'm very satisfied with its performance and it annoyed me a great deal when you said it might be fake just because it's not from optotronics.

I only said that I was surprised to see my laser looked similar to yours from the casing right down to the glue patterns. You would have us believe that these guys who make knock-offs are really into detail, copying even how glue is applied? You've got to be kidding.

Here's a question for you and that Jack guy. Does optotronics manufacture these lasers or are they also a reseller? If they manufacture these lasers themselves then they can claim that other lasers similar to theirs are clones. But if they are a reseller then that's a 100% sales gimmick right there.

I highly doubt they'll even tell you where and what company/companies they get their lasers from.

 

[allthatwhichis]

Actually man, he was wondering if that might be a fake, he never said it was. He is asking you to verify a few things before making that claim. There are many lasers out there that are clones of well know manufactures out there that work just as well as the lasers they are cloned from. Jack is a very well know and respected member of this community. From what I have read here, I would place Optotronics up there with Atlasnova for respected products and customer servie. Most community members here are bound to "have his back" and try and help him out because of his customer service and community support here. I'm slightly offended you would lash out at a fellow member for asking you to help determine if your laser might be a fake or "gray market lasers", which I assume is an unlabled original. He is trying to help Jack out as would most of us here, he is not pointing a finger at your laser... yet.

Me personally, I woud want to prove my laser is not a fake, and would put together a nice review and talk with Aseras about maybe filling out a spec sheet to do a side by side for the rest of us community members.

Be gentle, he wasn't charging, ruling, and sentencing you laser to fake status... He was asking you to show us the facts, and to help determine the truth. :candle:

 

[Freyth]

First of all let's get things straight shall we; you bought your laser second hand from some stranger and I bought mine from techlasers and you start saying my laser might be a fake?

You didn't buy that laser from optotronics and you asked them to verify if it is real? I'm surprised that they even took the time. Can you tell us exactly how they verified your laser? That would be more than helpful.

Each RPL or PPL comes with a certificate of authenticity which clearly documents the power rating and the date it was done. I can scan a picture of the certificate if you want. Also, each laser is assigned a Serial Number which Jack from Optotronics keep track of. So that should give you an idea on how they determined his laser was authentic.

It's actually interesting to note that these "fake" laser claims are only to be found on their site. I'm more inclined to believe that this is a sales gimmick. Why? Their "how to tell" also says something like "original lasers come with a battery, charger and case"...what does that have to do with the laser unit? Could they give us more info like how to really tell? Mine came in a box with styrofoam and I can tell you it's not fake. How? It didn't fall apart when I took it out of the box, it performs very well and it comes with a warranty. Can you tell me more of these "original lasers" you mentioned that you compare others against?

The reason why it's called a fake because Jack has got a contract with his manufacturer which clearly states that only he has exclusive rights to this laser, if I'm not mistaken. And it would be bad business ethics for the manufacturer to go back on his promise. And I highly doubt that they would because Jack wouldn't be using them if they were weren't they? But then again, you don't know Jack or his company.

Even though your laser didn't fall apart, it doesn't mean it's a real one. Sure, it comes with warranty, which leads me to believe that TechLasers "cloned" these lasers or perhaps even take the lasers that were not up to Jack's desired specifications.

I bought my laser with my hard earned cash and I'm very satisfied with its performance and it annoyed me a great deal when you said it might be fake just because it's not from optotronics.

Hey, don't feel bad, everybody gets conned every now and then. It's just your luck I guess. :shrug:

I only said that I was surprised to see my laser looked similar to yours from the casing right down to the glue patterns. You would have us believe that these guys who make knock-offs are really into detail, copying even how glue is applied? You've got to be kidding.

Here's a question for you and that Jack guy. Does optotronics manufacture these lasers or are they also a reseller? If they manufacture these lasers themselves then they can claim that other lasers similar to theirs are clones. But if they are a reseller then that's a 100% sales gimmick right there.

I highly doubt they'll even tell you where and what company/companies they get their lasers from.

Oh just another note, it says that the Skybolt has a divergence of less than 1.00mRad, I'd be REALLY interested to see if it's up to par and since Techlasers say that theirs are from the same manufacturer, I think it would be safe to assume that your Skybolt has the auto shut-off function when too much current is being drawn than it should be, or possibly when the laser gets too hot.


P.S. I'm not saying your laser is fake or real, just want to find out what's going on here. By the way, if you took the time to read Aseras' post, he wasn't challenging you in any way, perhaps if you took the time to see his intentions, you'd realise that he too is trying to ascertain the "situation" that's going on here... and you wouldn't need that spiteful tone of yours.

and +1 to whatever allthatwhichis said.