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Thread: OK, so this had to happen someday...

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by dsli_jon View Post
    Hey P'fessor...



    Umm, maybe I'm 'missin somthin', here.... but the laser in the 'pic' you posted, there is Greener than Shrek...

    Or, am I 'making your point', about the 'perceptional color-shift' thang here?

    peas..
    j
    I'd suppose it was intentional.

    WL have bungled up a whole load of stuff in the past, I'm not surprised. I take it that none of you have heard of the projector fiasco, when the 445s first appeared on the block?

    The only reason why the Arctic is compliant is because they no longer have to meet the CDRH/FDA's 5 point safety system. They now have the mandatory secondary interlock pin (which is useless, because it takes a f$cking screwdriver to remove), and the output delay (which works, surprisingly).

    The reason why these review samples went out was because WL was acquired by a larger company (presumably CNI, from the sources I've heard from, but VERY unlikely), and now they want to try and turn their image around.

    I don't know whether to believe them or not, and neither do most of the people on the other forum. They're as hated over there as they are here.

    I didn't have to pay a cent for the laser. The whole review cost me $7. $4.50 for the heatsink you see being used as the beamstop in the Thermals video, and $2.50 for a train ticket to go to a friends' place to have it metered.

    Now here's the thing- If it's worth doing, then it's worth doing properly. I didn't just try and put together a half-assed review for a free laser unlike one of our (very respected, supposedly) members last time a company gave out review samples.

    Speaking of safety, I've had the video TL;DW'd by quite a few people. It seems 20 seconds of safety warnings is a big turn-off. I felt it was necessary, so I included it.

    Here's an identical video, from a 'respected' forum member.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rl3w...eature=related

    The only warning is: "This laser is extremely dangerous!"

    Now, at the very least WL mentions on their website that eye protection is a MUST.

    EDIT: Speaking of airliner pilot forums, I got a linkback for a thread of mine about lithium and lithium-ion batteries. Irony, isn't it?

    EDIT No 2: Well, that isn't the end of it, I guess. It's only going downhill from here.

    Taken from their Facebook page:

    We are gearing up for the next rendition of the Spyder III model, the deadly bright <1W 532nm.
    Last edited by goninanbl00d; 12-04-2010 at 15:51.

  2. #22
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    Default Duh! ;)

    Quote Originally Posted by goninanbl00d View Post
    I'd suppose it was intentional.
    Doh! How could I miss such a brilliant 'Satire x 4'?... I'm tired 2day, I guess...

    Steve - when you sent the "blue" pointer back - did you include a packet of vaseline and a napkin, with instructions on how they could stick it in their * ?

    ...Friggin' Wanton Lasers... oh well...
    j
    ....and armed only with his trusty 21 Zorgawatt KTiOPO4...

  3. #23
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    Jon,

    Yes, I was supposed to review a blue, I was shipped a green.

    That was satire.

    I did offer to send it back, no reply.

    I'm told it is/was a particularly valuable green, and it does have a fairly tight beam for a DPSS green. It cycles between 180 and 150 mW about every minute with some minor mode shifting.

    Wicked did include a stability graph, showing it cycling about the same time period and amplitude.

    I really have no use for pointers above 30 mW, and really not much use above 5 mW. I use one once in a long while for a lecture. I rarely use one for a setup tool at show sites or checking the odd lumia wheel. If I'm teaching laser theory I reach for a HENE.

    I don't get any jollies off burning things, I've used co2 cutting systems to the point it is no longer fun. It is a "E2" case based on the current web site, and its only selling point is a nice AR coated output window which means it may last a while.

    Yes, you need to pop the interlock pin with a screwdriver, and the emission indicator must be used as a cheap zener or something in the driver circuit, because the indicator looks like say 670 or 680 nm and is too dim to be a indicator.

    In other words, it is a shelf decoration.

    Steve

  4. #24
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    Quote:

    Now here's the thing- If it's worth doing, then it's worth doing properly. I didn't just try and put together a half-assed review for a free laser unlike one of our (very respected, supposedly) members last time a company gave out review samples.

    End quote.

    For the record, I was in no way implying your review was improper. Its a damn sight better then 99% of the ones I have seen. The pics are good and the data is solid. You did everything short of bandsawing it for a cross section.

    Steve
    Last edited by mixedgas; 12-04-2010 at 19:35.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mixedgas View Post
    Quote:

    Now here's the thing- If it's worth doing, then it's worth doing properly. I didn't just try and put together a half-assed review for a free laser unlike one of our (very respected, supposedly) members last time a company gave out review samples.

    End quote.

    For the record, I was in no way implying your review was improper. Its a damn sight better then 99% of the ones I have seen. The pics are good and the data is solid. You did everything short of bandsawing it for a cross section.

    Steve
    Sorry, that comment wasn't aimed at you, and apologies if you took offence.

    I was just taking a jab at a few forumers on LPF (or maybe the majority, who knows ).

    When I joined up back there it was a nice place, where people helped each other, and where technical discussion was actually valued. It's been going downhill ever since the whole 445nm craze. Sad, really.

    Anyway, enough about that forum.

    I've unscrewed the lens retainer, and replaced the lens (surprisingly, with the exact same one). They're using AixiZ full threaded glass lenses (same as the ones available from O-Like). There's a slight yellowish tint to it (you have to try extremely hard to notice it, unlike with AR coatings for red, where it's obvious).

    I've also left the lens slightly unfocused. Although there's a beam waist around 1~1.5m from the aperture, the beam is now a square at 2m+, with approximately 2~mRad on each axis. Not as good as the 1.67x1.1mRad, but it's much more pleasing to look at. Also gone is the visible point in the beam where the two axes cross over.

  6. #26
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    Nice well executed and detailed Review... The technical data on this review
    and the points of the importance of Laser Safety was probably what kept
    some of the Pointer bashing at bay...LOL

    BTW.... in your Video.. Burning all that material inches away from the
    LaserBee I Thermopile sensor was perhaps not such a good idea...
    I can see the burnt particulate flowing towards the sensor and possibly
    being deposited onto the coating... This could possibly change the sensor's
    calibration..
    Just an observation....


    Quote Originally Posted by goninanbl00d View Post
    EDIT: The re-render finished, here's the video.

    Changes included an easier-to-read safety warning, and a clarification on why a beam-dump is a good idea. Some people thought having 20 seconds worth of safety warnings was silly, I thought it was necessary. Enjoy!


    Just out of curiousity... and since you brought it up...
    who was that comment aimed at...???
    I also have done reviews of Lasers...
    It may be simpler to state who it is rather than stating who it isn't...

    Quote Originally Posted by goninanbl00d View Post
    Now here's the thing- If it's worth doing, then it's worth doing properly. I didn't just try and put together a half-assed review for a free laser unlike one of our (very respected, supposedly) members last time a company gave out review samples.


    Jerry
    Last edited by lasersbee; 12-08-2010 at 05:16. Reason: Spelling errors
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  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by drlava View Post
    The world has gone mad
    Quote Originally Posted by flecom View Post
    These two posts really had me cracking up for a moment. If someone had walked in, they may have arrived at the conclusion that I had lost my marbles there.

    I *never* could have imagined ILDA associating themselves with that particular manufacturer in this manner.

    -Jonathan

  8. #28
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    Quote:
    I *never* could have imagined ILDA associating themselves with that particular manufacturer in this manner.

    -Jonathan[/QUOTE]

    Probably neither can most of ILDA's members have imagined this. I'm not even going to bother to ask the executive director what he is thinking. I'm hoping for some good excuse like "We bought this one for measurements. Thus we have to dispose of it per the acts of incorporation".

    Steve

  9. #29
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    [QUOTE=goninanbl00d;174005]Sorry, that comment wasn't aimed at you, and apologies if you took offence.

    None taken.

    Steve

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by lasersbee View Post
    Nice well executed and detailed Review... The technical data on this review
    and the points of the importance of Laser Safety was probably what kept
    some of the Pointer bashing at bay...LOL

    BTW.... in your Video.. Burning all that material inches away from the
    LaserBee I Thermopile sensor was perhaps not such a good idea...
    I can see the burnt particulate flowing towards the sensor and possibly
    being deposited onto the coating... This could possibly change the sensor's
    calibration..
    Just an observation....

    Just out of curiousity... and since you brought it up...
    who was that comment aimed at...???
    I also have done reviews of Lasers...
    It may be simpler to state who it is rather than stating who it isn't...


    Jerry
    Another interesting observation- the heatsink's the exact same size as the one used on bobhaha's pre-production meter. It's going to have to do while I find some flat razors for my proper beam-dump. It's surprisingly non-reflective (moreso than the coating on bobhaha's TEC). I was surprised, actually. But the problem is that it is possible to burn the anodizing off clean, leaving highly-reflective patches.

    I don't care if nobody reads my review because of the safety warnings I've dropped everywhere- It's 700mW of tightly-collimated photons in a handheld device. You've got no room to error. And if you're a dumbass, it's not just yourself either- you're putting others at risk.

    I'd give you a name at this point in time, but that would be unprofessional. It did have something regarding the laser you were *meant to* get, though.

    But rest assured, I've read some of your reviews in the past, and you do a very good job.

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