Question about Wicked Lasers

Gather App
Candle Power Forums

Help Support Candle Power:

S

Subhadar

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
8
Hello everyone, I am new to this forum and fairly new to lasers. I am an amateur star gazer and a tech geek. I run an astronomy club with several dozen members and along with myself a handfull of them have green lasers that we use. A few of my club members were talking about uber powerful lasers and one mentioned that any laser over a 5mw output was illegal to own in the United States without a special license or permit.

Well I just had to know if he was right because I love proving people wrong =) I'd love to be the first in the club to own a significantly more powerful laser because I know everyone else will just have to have one after I get one, and it's a neat feeling being the envy of others!

Anyways, I have been looking at several sites, zbolt, wickedlasers, and abeland1. I can't seem to get on abeland1's site area that has pwerful units because I lack a password?? Also, it seems that zbolt will only sell their more powerful models (IIIb) for export out of the USA. Wicked lasers, however, does not stipulate any restrictions regarding shipping of their more powerful lasers. Are wicked lasers products moded or are they hand picked units that test at a higher mw than most others? Wicked's
20mw-25mw looks appealing but the wallet is a little tight right now. I don't think I can quite afford Wicked Lasers 20-25mw product so I was wondering how well ZBOLTS mod lasers work. I know they are still only 5mw but would it be noticeably brighter than a standard 5mw?

Any help and info anyone here can provide would be great. I'd really love a 20mw-plus laser but would have to find one in the $175 dollar range, if they exist. Help make me the envy of my peers! =)
Thanks.
 
Well you've run out of luck to prove someone wrong. Yes, 5mW+ is illegal, but as long as your not shining a 5mW+ laser in raw public you shouldn't get cought. On abeland1.com you must email Arnold (the dealer) for the password. Of coarse the modified 4.99mW Z-Bolt laser is brighter, why would they bother modify it if it isn't brighter? Wicked Lasers products are not hand picked they are modified to the the maximum power then they are checked for the mW most measure around 10-20mW, some measure 25-35mW and very, very few measure 40-45mW.

I hope that helps! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
A 5mw+ is NOT illegal to own, BUT is illegal to use in public. If you get one just don't be stupid and shine it at planes, people, cars, ect.
 
This laser mod business is a joke. An hour worth of work adds 5-10x the cost. I think I'm going to buy a $200 lasrer output tester and 100 laser pointers and get rich! Geeze. Also whats with all the crap on Ebay from wicked lasers.

SonyStyle Green Laser WICKED POWER 45mW MAX OUTPUT BEAM

What a joke.

Mac
 
In the description it states modifiable to 45mw. Which is clearly misleading.

Mac
 
cmacclel, are you saying that Wicked Lasers is not a reputable company? I had heard they were good.
 
[ QUOTE ]
lasercrazy said:
I thought ebay banned the sale of laser pointers over 5mw?

[/ QUOTE ]

nope - ebay uk (I havent checked US).... still regularly have modified 5mW+ lasers for sale. Infact, any laser over 1mW is illegal to use in UK without a licence I think... and just about all the green lasers on UK ebay are 5mW (or higher, via mods or "potential" mods) models.
 
on UK ebay - I avoid WickedLasers' products like the plague. They were not particularly good value even BEFORE he offered to modify them "up to 45mw" or so they produced a "light sabre" or "kryptonite ray" effect.

And whats this "made by sony" stuff about? Ok so its a Sony Diode, but as far as I can tell - the two models he has on ebay are the 5mW "new model" (with the LED and un-"tweak"-able output resistor) Leadlight and the 5mW Changchun (sp?)....

Anyone whos actually owned a 5mW (or even higher) green laser will seriously doubt some of the photos uploaded to his (and others) ebay auctions. Describing the lasers as "light sabres", "kryptonite rays", "millitary issue" - and my personal favourite...... "STAR WARS DEATH WEAPON!" are hardly honest descriptions of a product, and just seem attempts to fool potential customers into a sale.
 
Subhader- SAVE YOUR MONEY and mod your own, check out the other posts and just turn the pot, you can even go farther
 
If not Wicked Lasers, how about lasers from Abeland1 ?? His power output ratings seem lower (more honest?) and prices seem good.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Myx said:
on UK ebay - I avoid WickedLasers' products like the plague. They were not particularly good value even BEFORE he offered to modify them "up to 45mw" or so they produced a "light sabre" or "kryptonite ray" effect.

And whats this "made by sony" stuff about? Ok so its a Sony Diode, but as far as I can tell - the two models he has on ebay are the 5mW "new model" (with the LED and un-"tweak"-able output resistor) Leadlight and the 5mW Changchun (sp?)....

Anyone whos actually owned a 5mW (or even higher) green laser will seriously doubt some of the photos uploaded to his (and others) ebay auctions. Describing the lasers as "light sabres", "kryptonite rays", "millitary issue" - and my personal favourite...... "STAR WARS DEATH WEAPON!" are hardly honest descriptions of a product, and just seem attempts to fool potential customers into a sale.

[/ QUOTE ]

"And whats this "made by sony" stuff about? Ok so its a Sony Diode,"

Well, maybe not. Perhaps pefore you bet you hard earned money on this you should ask Leadlight if the pointers supplied to "wicked" have "Sony" diodes or not. Hmmmmm
Ask "Novia" at [email protected]
 
Here is a copy of the email I sent to [email protected]


> I am inquiring about the Leadlight lasers that you supply to WickedLasers.com as I have heard rumors that they are not Sony diodes. I am considering who to purchase my next green laser from and any this info would be useful.

Dear Sir,

Please advise your contact information. We offer many choices of laser
diodes. Of course we have Sony laser diodes, but it's more expensive than
others. Customers can choose which laser diode they want. We do have
several customers who ask to use Sony laser diode. Sorry I don't know who
is WichkedLasers.com. Maybe this is our cutomer's brand name.

If there is anything else I can do, please feel free to contact me.

Best regards,
Ching-Chuan Lee
Leadlight Technology, Inc.
TEL:886-3-319-7711
FAX:886-3-319-7621
[email protected]
www.leadlight.com.tw
 
Arnold, it seems that you already know that he doesn't use Sony diodes?? Do your Leadlights have Sony diodes? I am considering buying one from you and from Chris, comparing them and then selling the one I am not as pleased with.

His claimed power output is higher, but he mod's his lasers and you do not. Would you mind explaining what is done in the moding process and what negatives there are to doing this?
 
At the risk of ruining my credibility in a forum that I've just joined, I'm going to give my opinion here because I own a green Leadlight that I purchased from Chris Tao through eBay. I also own a modified Leadlight from zbolt.com, and a GLP-III 50mW (takes "C" batteries) which I purchased from "Paul" at http://www.blueskymarketing.co.uk (I think the model has been removed from his site). There seems to be about a dozen people on the internet who spend a lot of time either marketing, modifying, or building green lasers, and I've exchanged email with many of them. You will notice though, that if you start doing Google searches, visiting the laser-related forums, newsgroups, emailing people, and visiting websites, that the same people keep showing up over and over again. So, back to the wickedlaser.com product. Chris sold me one of his lasers, which was labeled 42mW on the box. I don't have a laser power meter, but I do believe this rating. It is clearly brighter than the zbolt laser that I have, but not as bright as the GLP-III. So, Chris can provide you with a high powered laser for sure, but you will pay for it. He says himself that only perhaps one out of a hundred Leadlights can be modified to this level, so he sets the price accordingly. I said earlier that the GLP-III laser that I bought from "Paul" is no longer on his site, but you can find it on http://www.laserglow.com for $599, and "Dimitry" from that site is very helpful. In my opinion, the best of the best is what "Blake" has to offer at www.laserphaser.net. I believe the lasers on that site are made by a guy named "Dwight" who REALLY knows what he is doing when it comes to building lasers. He has a site at http://www.backdeckstudio.com/lasermods/. He is a master of his craft, and for the right price can build you a monster, but he also tunes up pointers. I've seen what's behind the password at abeland1.com (although the password has now changed). I believe "Arnold" sells a product which is similar to what "Chris" offers, but obviously with less hype. In short, there are a lot of people who can sell you a tuned up Leadlight, and "Chris" is one of them. I am impressed with the laser I got from Chris, but for a Leadlight, it wasn't cheap. I like my GLP-III better, but that was even more expensive. There are a lot of other options too, but I've dropped enough names for today. I hope I didn't offend anyone, it was an honest opinion.
 
"Shiftlock" States:

"I believe "Arnold" sells a product which is similar to what "Chris" offers, but obviously with less hype. In short, there are a lot of people who can sell you a tuned up Leadlight, and "Chris" is one of them. "
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif
The pointers on my "password protected webpage" are as purely virginal as the driven snow. The have not been Tweaked, Tuned, Adjusted or even prayed over. Any attempt to do so voids the warrantee instantly. Therefor, I state unequivically that I am NOT in competition with any of these people. Apples and Oranges, OK?

If I ever decide to enter this market, the candlepowerforum group will be the first to know, I promise. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/Christo_pull_hair.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/Christo_pull_hair.gif
 
Arnold, I am sorry for that mistake. Now I recall that your "special" lasers are the ones that measure a higher output because of a coincidental more perfect alignment of the optics. In fact, the "1 in 100" laser that Chris can turn up to >40mW may be because of the same optics alignment issue. So if someone were to buy a "special" laser from you and turn up the power themselves, they would probably have something similar to what Chris sells. I'm not sure which of you charges less money. Am I in the ballpark?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Shiftlock said:
Arnold, I am sorry for that mistake. Now I recall that your "special" lasers are the ones that measure a higher output because of a coincidental more perfect alignment of the optics. In fact, the "1 in 100" laser that Chris can turn up to >40mW may be because of the same optics alignment issue. So if someone were to buy a "special" laser from you and turn up the power themselves, they would probably have something similar to what Chris sells. I'm not sure which of you charges less money. Am I in the ballpark?

[/ QUOTE ]

You present a reasonable argument on this. Please consider my reluctance to comment on it. I have made it quite clear that any attempt to modify one of my pointers voids the warrantee. I have read posts from people who are clearly exceeding the safe current ratings of the ATX pump laser diode. This could be OK for the 90 day warrantee period if you did not hold it on for more than 30 seconds at a time, but it would have to effect the working life of the pointer. I wrote spec sheets for devices that I helped design and believe me, with the sales department looking over your shoulder, those specs were absolute maximums for reliable operations.

So, if I said anything that would encourage anyone to increase the pump diode current while I also say that doing so voids their warrantee, what would that make me? An unprincipled jerk, would be my guess.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/knight.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Shiftlock said:
Arnold, I am sorry for that mistake. Now I recall that your "special" lasers are the ones that measure a higher output because of a coincidental more perfect alignment of the optics. In fact, the "1 in 100" laser that Chris can turn up to >40mW may be because of the same optics alignment issue. So if someone were to buy a "special" laser from you and turn up the power themselves, they would probably have something similar to what Chris sells. I'm not sure which of you charges less money. Am I in the ballpark?

[/ QUOTE ]



I'd say so, although i'm not positive you could just buy a laser with good optics and then increase the current yourself.
It makes sense since wicked's lasers are to the max output
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top