REVIEW - Wicked Lasers 1W 532nm Reference Series

[ElektroFreak]

OK, so here’s my review of the Wicked Lasers Reference Series 1W 532nm show/lab laser system.




When I agreed to test this system it was with the requirement that I be allowed to evaluate the unit for no less than 4 months before reviewing to give me some time to really use the system. Now that the 4 months are up, it's time for a writeup:

The laser arrived brand new from the factory packaged impeccably in foam and bubble wrap. These are made to order, so it doesn’t get much fresher than this.

The unit comes with an FDA-style PSU which contains the necessary keylocks and safety interlocks.

My initial power measurements using a Scientech meter at a local university physics dept. indicated that the unit was giving ~1.32W of output with <5% CW power stability after warm-up. Not too shabby.. Divergence is very good, I measured it at 1.24 mrad.

My initial impression was that the Reference Series is solidly built, easily on par with the best Chinese systems I’ve seen. The output is up to snuff and nice and stable. As of 1-12-10 the power is still at ~1.30W and <5% CW stability measured with a Laserbee I LPM and a 50/50 beamsplitter. There are some very small losses from the beamsplitter, but they are negligible.. Modulation stability is good, with only very minor power fluctuations occurring occasionally. This review unit seems to be TTL only, so I can’t say anything about linearity.

According to Wicked’s site, the specs are:



The beam quality isn’t perfect, but it appears to be within the m^2 <2 specification, near TEM00. Beam profiles are rarely perfect with Chinese high-powered DPSS (>500mW) so this system is right on par. There is a small amount of structure in the beam, so the power distribution is not Gaussian. The beam is perfectly round with a single spot. I used a magnifier to expand the beam at the aperture to avoid as much marring of the profile by airborne impurities as possible. At this scale (the beam diameter is 3mm) a little dust can change things a whole lot. The expanded beam is then projected onto a wall about 6m away. The spot is expanded to about 8 inches across here:



Wicked’s website states that these systems include both TTL and analog modulation capability, as any analog driver does, but Steve (CEO of Wicked) was unable to tell me how to enable analog modulation (there is no labeled control for this on the PSU), and my example accepts TTL signals only in it’s current configuration. Analog blanking is very important for show use, so I feel that Wicked should be knowledgeable enough about their own products to be able to describe how to operate them in accordance with their specs or tell me if this test system is simply TTL-only, which I believe to be the case.

I installed the laser into a scanner and fired it all up. The unit functions perfectly in the projector, even running cool enough that I was able to use a wood case and forced-air cooling rather than a metal plate. The system remains completely cool even in the hottest room I’ve used it in (~85F). (There are some drawbacks to this design, but I don’t have access to a machine shop so I’m limited to my own creativity in terms of enclosures and cooling. Upgrades will occur gradually, including a proper metal case..) It’s an impressive looking projector in terms of output, that much is for sure. I was absolutely blown away by the room-filling power, and a little over 1W really isn’t all that much in terms of stage projectors.





The only cons I’ve found after spending 4+ months with this laser are the price and WLs inability to tell me how to set the PSU to accept analog modulation. This system retails currently for $3995US. This is far too expensive IMO, and I have informed Steve of this and supplied him with rates for comparable lasers from other retailers. He has been very receptive, and has assured me that they intend to lower the price soon to become competitive in the current market. Until then my verdict is that the Reference series is an excellent line of lasers with very good specs and first-rate construction, but the price keeps me from being able to recommend them as a good value.

[mccarrot]

Nice review Electrofreak!

A stability of <5% is really bad! My 500mW viasho got 0,5% stability, and my 100mW test labby got a deviation of only 500nW (yes nano)
So it looks like it got no separate tec for the crystal which is bad.

Also a 1W laser TTL only is insane. I think each class4 laser must be analog. I hope it will not go ON when there is no modulation connected like some cheap chinese TTL lasers. else it would be a very dangerous device.

Also the price, didn't you missed a dot somewhere in the number or is it really 4 digit?

You can get way better, stable and analog lasers for 1/3th of that price.

My final verdict... Its a piece of CRAP!!!

[ElektroFreak]

I agree that TTL only is pretty nuts.. and yes, like most Chinese systems it does produce dangerous output if the modulation signal is not present.

Regarding stability, I personally don't have the capability to read fluctuations that small or log output, so my stability measurements are done periodically by eye. I only checked to make sure it meets spec, which it does. The actual stability is better than that. My meter measures 1mW increments, and there was +- 1-3mW fluctuation over a 1 hour period checked at 2-3 minute intervals. Output logging would be far more precise, but I'm satisfied with the stabiity. Stability would no doubt improve even more if the laser was bolted to proper baseplate.

These units are manufactured by CNI and do have separate TECs. They are comparable to the MGL-H-532 series.

The price is printed correctly, and is insane, no doubt. Can't argue with that, and it's by far the worst thing about the laser. I have been speaking with Steve about this like I said, and I have shown him several other sources of comparable 1W lasers with more realistic pricing. obviously being 'dressed up" is not sufficient to explain a $2000+US difference in price between Wicked and oemlasersystems.com (and other CNI dealers). He was very receptive, and has assured me it will drop.

The problem is that Wicked charges premium money for their products. With pointer people, many of them don't know better so it works. With lab lasers, anyone who would be seriously interested in this kind of system will be immediately aware of these shortcomings.

[daedal]

Thanx for the excellent review

With pointer people, many of them don't know better so it works. With lab lasers, anyone who would be seriously interested in this kind of system will be immediately aware of these shortcomings.

You would be surprised... Dare I mention laserworld

--DDL

[ElektroFreak]

You would be surprised... Dare I mention laserworld

--DDL

very true! didn't even think about laserworld...

[Laser Ben]

Thanx for the excellent review



You would be surprised... Dare I mention laserworld

--DDL

Well Put!!!!!!!

[buffo]

Does it come with a CDRH accession number? That might explain the high price...

I must admit that I'm rather surprised at the 1.2 mrad divergence though. I've tested several DPSS greens that were under 1 mrad.

Adam

[ElektroFreak]

^not that I'm aware of..

I've never seen a CNI DPSS with under 1mrad divergence, myself.. I'd be interested in seeing your data on them if you've seen some.

[buffo]

I've never tested a CNI green. I have tested a re-labeled CNI blue, however, and it came in at .7 mrad. Granted, it was only making 75 mw though.

I've tested several Lasever DPSS greens up to around a half watt or so, and they usually come in at between .6 and .8 mrad. Both of the DPSS units I have in my projector right now are well under 1 mrad.

Here's a comparison picture I shot in my backyard back in 2007 that shows the beam spots of a bunch of different lasers at ~ 105 ft from the apertures. Note the Lasever DPSS blue - it's a freak. 20 mm beam spot... (.5 mrad!) I still have that laser in my projector to this day...



All of the lasers in the test above had roughly equivalent beams at their apertures. (I don't have the exact figures anymore, as this was nearly 3 years ago.)

Adam

[ElektroFreak]

Nice! All of those beams but the maxyz and the green lasever are true TEM00, though, and much lower power. With what I've seen of high-power CNIs, I attribute the divergence to the fact that they are not actually TEM00.. If the power distribution isn't truly gaussian (with DPSS, diodes like the maxyz are completely different) the divergence will not be quite as good. I'm OK with ~1.2mrad from a laser with specs stating a divergence of <2.0mrad. There are high-powered Chinese systems with better beam quality than CNI, but so far I haven't seen any that are true TEM00. They come close, but in every profile I've seen there are always issues like imperfect beam roundness, hot spots, etc. that detract from the quality. True TEM00 at high powers (>500mW) typically requires a more complex cavity.