Review of the 1000mW 447nm Waterproof Adjust Focus Blue Laser Pen

[The_LED_Museum]

This is a long page with at least 37 images on it; dial-up users please allow for plenty of load time.​

1000mW 447nm Waterproof Adjust Focus Blue Laser Pen, retail $225.20 (www.dinodirect.com...)
Manufactured by: OXLasers China (www.oxlasers.com)
Last updated 09-22-11​

The 1000mW 447nm Waterproof Adjust Focus Blue Laser Pen (hereinafter, probably just called a "blue portable laser" or even just a "blue laser") is a royal blue-emitting, directly-injected diode laser. That is, it produces deep blue laser radiation directly, without the need for messy, fragile nonlinear crystals like those green laser pointers and the amberish-yellow and slightly greenish-blue ones as well. It uses a 18650 rechargeable Li:ION (lithium ion) cell -- you just charge it back up when it poops out...never have to run to the store for batteries.

It is advertised to output 1W (1,000mW) of laser radiation at 447nm.

This is the reason I call it a "portable laser" on my website instead of a "pointer". Lasers designated as "pointers" must -- by US law anyway -- have a power output that does not exceed 5mW.

***EXTREME DANGER!!!***
This laser can produce up to 1 watt of laser radiation at 447nm (royal blue), and can cause instant and permanent eye damage from an accidental reflection or accidental direct exposure!!! You need to know what you're doing and have the appropriate safety precautions for a CDRH Class IV laser device in place before you energize this laser!!!

You must also have the appropriate laser safety eyewear and *USE IT* every time you fire up this studly little laser...you don't want to end up like this guy: --->

This may look funny, but I assure you folks, this is no joke!!!


It comes in a handsome aluminum body with a rather nice looking blue finish.

SIZE

To get the laser to turn on, first be certain that the furnished 18650 cell is installed. If it isn't, then install it (see directly below), and THEN you can activate it.

Aim the laser well-away from your face first.

Press & release the tailcap button to turn the laser on; do the same thing to deactivate it.

The focus is easily adjustable from just a few millimeters from the exit aperture to infinity by simply rotating the bezel (head). Unlike some other focusable lasers, doing this does not leave the head feeling "wobbly" or loose.

To change/charge the battery in your blue laser, unscrew and remove the tailcap, and set it aside.

Tip the used cell out of the barrel and into your hand, and recharge it.

Insert a newly-charged 18650 rechargable Li:ION cell into the barrel, flat-end (-) negative first. This is the opposite of how batteries are installed in most flashlights, so please pay attention to polarity here.

Screw the tailcap back on, and be done with it.



To charge the 18650 cell, place it in the charger, orienting it so its button-end (+) positive is on the bottom of the charger.

Plug the charger into any standard (in north America anyway) two- or three-slot 110 volts to 130 volts AC 60Hz receptacle.

A red light on the charger should now come on; this indicates charging is in progress. When the 18650 cell has reached full charge, the light on the charger will turn from red to green.

At this point, unplug the charger, remove the charged cell from the charging cradle, and install it in the laser as directed above.

Current usage measures 1,632mA (1.6320 amperes) on my DMM's 4A scale.

***EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!***
This laser is extremely powerful for a handheld unit (measured at 891mW!!!), so you ***DEFINITELY*** do not want to shine it into your eyes, other people's eyes, pets' eyes, for that matter, the eyes of any person or animal you encounter.

Eye damage can occur faster than the blink reflex can protect them, regardless of what species' eyes you irradiate with this laser. So just don't do it.

And para los motivos de Cristo (and for heaven sakes and for Pete sakes and for your sakes too) do not shine this laser at any vehicle, whether ground-based like a motorcycle, car, or truck, or air-based like a helicopter, airplane, or jet. And if you shoot it at a person in the dark and he turns out to be a police officer, he may think he's being targeted, unholster (whip out) his gun, and hose you down with it.

Waterproofness is as advertised: The tailcap, bezel, and barrel all held a good partial vacuum when they were suctioned (the tailcap held the vacuum even while the switch was actuated a number of times); there are O-rings present at both ends of the barrel as well. After being submerged in the lavatory (bathroom sink) under ~10" (~25.40cm) of water at 81°F (27.22°C) for a couple of minutes (to simulate somebody taking it on a brief underwater junket), nothing untoward happened to it, and no water was found inside when the ends were unscrewed & removed.

I submit this as proof that I really did dredge it.


The biggest downside to this laser is the fact that while this is clearly a CDRH Class IV laser (making it extremely dangerous!!!), there are no safety features at all that are normally required in Class IV lasers; e.g., there is no "emissions" indicator, no startup delay, no interlock of ANY type, and no mechanical beam shutter. This laser behaves like a Class IIIa laser pointer in this regard, which I believe is a rather severe no-no!!!

Having said that, there is something else that annoys me about this laser.
the instructional material states the following :

"It is suggested that continuous working time never more than 30 Seconds," {yes, a comma and not a period). No "cooling" (off) period is shown; though I would presume that it would be no less than 1 minute (60 seconds).

Does this eval. look an awful lot like the one I made for this laser?
Thought you'd say so.
That's because they appear to be optically and electrically identical; differing only in case color. So I was able to use its evaluation as a template for this one.

Photograph of the "business-end" with the collimating ***'y removed.
That shiny toridial (doughnut-shaped) thing is the front face of the laser diode.​

Beam terminus photograph of this unique (well, "not-so-unique" now) laser on the target at 12".
Beam image bloomed ***SIGNIFICANTLY*** even though it was daylight when the photograph was taken. That white color does not actually exist.
"Not no way, not no how" as they say.​

Beam terminus photograph of this laser on the target at 12"; collimating lens removed.​

Beam terminus photograph on a wall at ~10'.
That white color does not really exist, and beam image bloomed a bit.​

This is a nonsmoking household and nothing was on the stove when this
photograph was taken, so I'm a bit surprised that the camera caught the
actual beam (it's not all that visible in this case, but you can see it
coming from the left of the terminus if you look).​

Power output with the collimating lens in place: 690mW.​

Power output with the collimating lens removed: 891mW.
This shows that the lens housing is vignetting (cutting off) the beam;
this power differential is far greater than would be caused by merely
passing the laser beam through a lens.

After intentional ignorance of the duty cycle recommendation (powered on for 5 minutes constantly): 817mW.

Spectrographic analysis of the laser diode in this product.
Wavelength appears to be ~445nm, which is ***WELL*** within specification for the type of laser diode used in this laser.​

Same as above; but spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 440nm and 450nm.
This shows that the wavelength is in fact exactly 447.00nm and the spectral line halfwidth is ~2.20nm.​

Spectrographic analysis of the laser diode in this product; taken right at lasing threshold.​

Spectrographic analysis of the laser diode in this product; taken right at lasing threshold; but spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 440nm and 450nm.
This shows that the wavelength is 445.85nm and the spectral line halfwidth is ~1.65nm.​

Spectrographic analysis of the laser diode in this product; taken just below lasing threshold.​

Same as above taken just below lasing threshold; but spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 420nm and 470nm.​

Spectrographic analysis of the laser diode in this product after five minutes of continuous opertion (intentionally ignoring the duty cycle recommendation of 30 seconds on, 60 seconds off for cooling). Exterior temperature of the laser head after this test was 123°F (50.55C°); ambient temperature was 69°F (20.55C°)​

Same as above; but spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 445nm and 450nm to pinpoint wavelength, which is 447.30nm. Spectral line halfwidth is ~2.20nm.
Wavelength drift was only 0.30nm longer -- somewhat less than expected.​

Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of a glass marble (infused with an anion oxide of the heavy metal uranium) when irradiated with this laser.​

Spectrographic analysis of phosphorescence of the 405nm Violet Laser Phosphor Target while being irradiated with this laser.​

Spectrographic analysis of fluorescence of a piece of green plastic (part of the latch for the Flashlight / Tool Box) while being irradiated with this laser.​

Spectrographic analysis of fluorescence of a piece of peach-colored paper while being irradiated with this laser.​

USB2000 Spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.​

Beam cross-sectional analysis with beam widened (collimating lens removed; fast {X} axis).
That "dip" to left of center that queered the test

is a defect in the ProMetric's sensor that cannot be compensated for.​

Beam cross-sectional analysis with beam widened (collimating lens removed; slow {Y} axis).​

Images made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.​

http://youtu.be/tqW4DBu35dU
Video showing this laser (well, an identical laser save for the case color!) being focused -- a task which is rather easily accomplished by simply rotating the bezel (head).​

This video is approximately 3.19642346176 megabytes (3,389,893 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than sixteen minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.​

http://youtu.be/T_KVSmhvJ_A
A video showing this laser attempting to nock the Syma S107G R/C Coaxial Helicopter out of the sky by overloading its IR sensor...you can very likely figure out who the victor is here...​

If you guessed "the laser" then ¡¡¡PARA NO DE LOS MOTIVOS DE CRISTO!!!​

The heli wins this one!!! :-D
That music you hear is the song "Régéneration" by Kraftwerk. This heli is not sound-sensitive; the audio may be ignored or even muted .​

This video is approximately 7.59946523476 megabytes (7,790,163 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than thirty eight minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.​

TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased from DinoDiorect.com on 06-08-11 (or "08 Jun 2011" if you prefer) and was received at 3:07pm PDT on 06-28-11 (or "28 Jun 2011").



UPDATE: 07-04-11
The "starfield projector" from the Dapper Stage Laser Light Show screws into and fits this laser if the thin white toroidal (doughnut-shaped) "sticker" over the output aperture is removed.

To wit:

This is the laser with the starfield projector affixed to the end.

This is a photograph of but one of many patterns that can be generated.


http://youtu.be/-xhkJOWpIZc
And this is a video on YourTube showing a holographic starfield projector actually in use on the 1000mW 447nm Waterproof Adjust Focus Blue Laser Pen. The starfield projector from the Dapper Stage Laser Light Show properly fits & screws into the laser aperture -- which does indeed have a female threaded receptacle that this starfield projector fits. The patterns change as I slowly rotate the starfield optic clockwise (as though tightening it) -- it is actually designed to be used in this manner.

That music you hear is the song "The Voice of Energy" by Kraftwerk. This laser is not sound-sensitive; the audio may be ignored or even muted .

This video is approximately 9.30147438955 megabytes (9,494,079 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than forty seven minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.


UPDATE: 07-20-11
This is the "sticker" being removed so that the holographic "starfield" projecting heads from other laser products will fit.

PROS:
Color is very radiant & unusual for a handheld laser
The price is right!
Uses a rechargeable power source; never have to purchase disposable batteries for it
Can directly use the "5 in 1" effects head that is commonly found on other lasers



CONS:
***SERIOUSLY*** underpowered; it is advertised as being a 1 watt laser
Shorter-than-expected duty cycle recommendation (published at 30 sec. "on"; no "off" time stated).
No safety features required of a CDRH Class IV laser -- this is by far what nocked the most off of its rating!!!

MANUFACTURER: OXLasers China
PRODUCT TYPE: Blue-emitting laser
LAMP TYPE: Unknown-type high-power blue (447nm) laser diode
No. OF LAMPS: 1
BEAM TYPE: Adjustable from very narrow spot to medium flood
SWITCH TYPE: Click on/off button on tailcap
CASE MATERIAL: Aluminum
BEZEL: Metal; laser & lens recessed into its end
BATTERY: 1x 18650 Li:ION rechargeable cell; 3.70V 2,400mAh
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 1,632mA
WATER-RESISTANT: Yes
SUBMERSIBLE: Yes; depth rating not known
ACCESSORIES: Battery, charger, hard-sided storage case, spare O-ring
SIZE: 142mm L x 25.50mm D
WEIGHT: Unknown/not equipped to weigh
COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE: China
WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

PRODUCT RATING:

 

[moderator007]

Thanks for sharing The Led Museum. To strong for me, might shoot my eye out. Great review with great pics.:twothumbs
22,361 post WOW! :bow::bow::bow:
You must have been the very first member at CPF. Does anyone have a higher post count than you?

 

[TK35]

That's one bad boy toy there.... Thanks for posting.

 

[jh333233]

$225 for 1W 447nm, great deal
Before i read the content i would not expect a chinese laser(oxlaser china) to give you the rated output
But it really impressed me
Eyewear/eye shield included?

 

[The_LED_Museum]

It is a great deal indeed; however, safety eyewear is not automatically furnished with the laser.
These laser safety glasses on DinoDirect's website might just do the trick.

 

[Edwina]

wow, it's so amazing! well, i konw the laser is sensitive with tempeture, so how long does this waterproof Blue Laser Pointer can turn on?:naughty:

 

[The_LED_Museum]

wow, it's so amazing! well, i konw the laser is sensitive with tempeture, so how long does this waterproof blue laser can turn on?:naughty:

This laser does have a duty cycle recommendation of 30 seconds on and 60 seconds off.

I actually attempted to intentionally ignore the duty cycle recommendation yesterday so that I could perform additional spectroscopy of a "hot" laser diode, but my battery pooped out and my chargers & extra 18650 cells are packed away for a move to take place next week. So the question you have simply cannot be addressed now, sorry about that.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

I ran it for five minutes continuously yesterday, and saw no visible degradation. Exterior temperature of the laser head after this test was 123°F (50.55C°); ambient temperature was 69°F (20.55C°).

 

[Edwina]

Thanks,The_LED_Museum. Good stuff.

 

[Helmut.G]

Great review!
This is one heck of a laser for the price, but I'm not going to buy it, I don't dare handling such a crazily dangerous device.