Laserwave Distribution

[planters]

I want to thank everyone who posted and PMed me with their interests re lasers and optics. I have been interacting with individuals from Laserwave, including Bridge and I have ordered a substantial quantity (gasp) of lasers for testing and then distribution in North America. I will be stocking 1W, 2W and 4W DPSS lasers only and only the Lasrewave brand. They are anticipated to arrive in 2-3 weeks. I will be receiving spares and if a laser fails to meet spec then obviously I will not ship it, but if it fails later then it may be returned to me and I will repair or replace and this will depend on my capabilities and Laserwave's decision as to the best course.

I will also have a selection of optics and I am leaving it to Bridge and his colleagues as to what they send me in the goodie bag. I expect a quantity of the dichroics and PBS cubes and I will send a sample of these to Danielbriggs for broadband testing.

I'll post when I actually have everything in my possession and if anyone is interested then PM me and I will give pricing. This is not because the prices will vary from member to member (you can compare notes), but because I do not want any casual viewer to see them. I own Laserwave, CNI, DHOM, and Vashio lasers and I do not think you will be able to get more watts/$ to your door particularly because Laserwave tend to run substantially over spec (now I know why).

One of the concerns I've discussed with Laserwave (and others) is, will DPSS be around much longer with the development of direct diode green? I believe it will because as one who has constructed many multiple diode systems for combined output modules, there is a lot of work and ($) involved with drivers, mounts,collimators,prisms,wave plates, PBS cubes and for multimode, beam correction. The price of the diodes will have to fall quite far and the power increase substantially before this becomes a much better solution than a plug and play head. As an example, consider the professionally made red and blue diode modules. You all know what the individual diodes cost and the power output to expect from each. Compare the prices for these two colors in module form. I believe that until the greens make the jump to blue watt/$ levels will the DPSS be undesirable. At that point the modulation advantage of the direct diode will be a winner. Anyway...

I'm looking forward to this.

[planters]

The lasers have all arrived and the packages were delivered by DHL in superficially good condition. The individual lasers and optics look to be well protected and I cannot see any problems so far. I will test each laser for output, divergence and stability. In addition, the wiring for the power supply to driver board connection that you normally receive is pretty stiff and so if you order these lasers I will include some very flexible silicone insulated alternative wire for this connection. Just let me know how long you need otherwise I will simply equal the length of the 25cm wires already supplied.

The most recently published price list from Golden Star is VERY LOW and as I promised I will remain competitive for the North American market, therefore the price you will pay including PayPal and shipping will be within a few $'s of theirs.

The optics, most notably the dichroics, have arrived as well and I can send these out immediately.

Anyone who has expressed an interest and still is or if you have become interested just PM me and I will move on these.