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Thread: Laser-Wave 100mw 473nm DPSS

  1. #1
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    Thumbs up Laser-Wave 100mw 473nm DPSS

    This is a review of the laser I bought from Bridge and Sandy about a month back. It is a 100 mw dpss blue that is doing 143 mw. I metered it at Laser-Wave when I bought it. Im on tour with 42nd street right now, and we're going all over Asia, we started in longgang, china, and have gone all through it in the past four months. the China leg of our tour terminated in Tianjin, with a week off in beijing (if you ever find yourself here, be sure to stop by the tree in sanlitun).

    Anyway, the laser. Let me just say that I'm impressed with the build quality, it looks to be a sturdy piece, and has already held up after a few not-too-gentle truck rides, not to mention a small ocean voyage. when looking at the laser, it's easy to notice the nice package the head comes in. it Looks sleek and professional, and it feels solid. there are fans on everything, and indeed, this laser doesn't even get warm while running. the driver board stays fairly cool as well. I don't have an infrared thermometer, but at some point I'll pick one up and then I can give you guys actual data.
    Looking past the obvious points, it is clear that some earnest, dedicated work has gone into the production of this laser. the power lead from the driver to the supply has crimped ring terminals that have been insulated with heat shrink tubing. this is a process that takes considerable extra time than just using insulated crimp terminals, but it gives a much cleaner looking and more durable product. this is a good indicator of the attention to quality a company pays to it's manufacturing process.

    as for the driver board, it's a nice, solid little unit with better cooling than a ford escort. the only time it got warm was when I left it running overnight on top of the power supply, and then it was only warm to the touch, nothing major.

    as for the head, it's pretty much the same story, it is solidly built and pretty to look at. My only gripe is the cable entry into the laser head itself. On mine it just goes through a hole in the back of the laser, I don't know what kind of strain relief is in there, but the cable has quite a bit of movement. Since this laser was designed to be mounted in one location and not moved after that, I don't consider this to be a big issue,but I consider it worth mentioning.

    anyway, as far as actual beam data, the only thing I can give you is spot sizes. at 6 inches from the aperture, the spot was approximately 2.6 mm in diameter (not really that easy to measure, so this is not a precise number by any means).

    at 10 feet, the spot is 3.64mm in diameter, and at 74 feet (the farthest I can shoot the laser in this particular theatre), the spot size is 17.06mm. also at this distance it does not appear to be a consistent dot, it has a few lobes that seem to be focused to one point. this is only noticable if you walk right up to the dot and look at it, something I was wary of doing, even with safety glasses (bridge threw those in for free). I was going to take a picture of the dot, but the camera I borrowed died on me. at some point I'll try to get a picture of it so you can see what I'm talking about.

    anyway, I feel I got one hell of a deal on this laser, and had a great time picking it up. how often do you get to meet a manufacturer, tour their facility, and sit around talking and drinking tea befor you take a laser home with you? I had a great time, and cannot wait until I can buy a dac and get my projector build underway.

    here are a few (bad) pictures of the laser and beam, including a shot of the smaller supply that Laser-Wave makes, this one is 85-265v autosensing. it kicks out 5v/8a.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails P1090010.JPG  

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    Last edited by Mr.Coffee; 01-18-2008 at 22:20.
    "TO DO IS TO BE" - Nietzsche
    "TO BE IS TO DO" - Kant
    "DO BE DO BE DO" - Sinatra

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee View Post
    My only gripe is the cable entry into the laser head itself. On mine it just goes through a hole in the back of the laser, I don't know what kind of strain relief is in there, but the cable has quite a bit of movement. Since this laser was designed to be mounted in one location and not moved after that, I don't consider this to be a big issue,but I consider it worth mentioning.
    I mentioned this concern with Bridge, and I will continue to work with him to improve things that I feel need the improvement.

    I have to ask what are you doing on the tour? I've been on one tour... and right now, I could really take a break from school and go again

  3. #3
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    Im the A2 for this particular tour, for those of you who may not recognize the term, it's basically the assistant audio position. I load the system in and out, and during the run am responsible for maintaining the wireless mics (48 in this case), and keeping the rest of the equipment in check.
    "TO DO IS TO BE" - Nietzsche
    "TO BE IS TO DO" - Kant
    "DO BE DO BE DO" - Sinatra

  4. #4
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    Awesome gig man! I bet you go through a lot of batteries

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee View Post
    Im the A2 for this particular tour, for those of you who may not recognize the term, it's basically the assistant audio position. I load the system in and out, and during the run am responsible for maintaining the wireless mics (48 in this case), and keeping the rest of the equipment in check.

  5. #5
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    I got a 200 mw version of one of these and I would have liked to have written a review but I dont have anything to test the beam with for power and have a long enough space to test divergence so I'm glad Mr.Coffee has done one.

    I would like to second the issue about hte wire comming out of the laser head. It's a little wobbly, but no biggy once it's mounted I guess.

    One thing I did'nt like about the driver board is that I will find it hard to mount being as there are no screw wholes in it.
    Dave from laserShowParts.com suggested drilling a hole in the heatsink which I did sucsessfully....see pics below....
    Dave also said the laser was doing 300mw before he sent it to me



    I havent played with the laser much because I tend to break things but I did blast my laser goggles case with it and go some smoke 'wehey'
    Graham
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails IMG_2207.jpg  


  6. #6
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    Sorry just realized there was hardly any positive points in there....

    The build is well solid.
    All seems well put together. The size is small, but not so small it's going to get hot.....the 200MW LW Blue is actually smaller than my 100MW CNI Green.

    The price is better than CNI.

    I'm wetting my pants just imagining what this is going to be like in the final projector, wish I'd have got more green now

  7. #7
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    Hello Graham,
    Glad to see you here.
    Yes, I had read your welll advices.
    (1) the wire comming out of the laser head, yes, glad to say, we had solve it with suited wire and hole, yes, later I will take a photo of this to show all of you.anyway, thanks very much for your kindly advices.
    (2)the driver board building problem , for convenience customer install, we hadn't any fixed crew on the heatsink,so they can install anyway they want, sorry for this, later , I also will take a photo of us how to building it, maybe will give all of you some idea. sorry again, we used our Chinese thinking, as you know, drill or something like in China is simple and cheaper, now, we know it and we will consider how to change this design for really convenience all of you use.maybe all of you can give us some good idea, thanks very much.
    thanks again for your kindly advices, Graham, any questions , please don't hesitate contact dave or me, we are pleasure that can do something for you.
    Best regards!
    Bridge
    Quote Originally Posted by laserLips View Post
    I got a 200 mw version of one of these and I would have liked to have written a review but I dont have anything to test the beam with for power and have a long enough space to test divergence so I'm glad Mr.Coffee has done one.

    I would like to second the issue about hte wire comming out of the laser head. It's a little wobbly, but no biggy once it's mounted I guess.

    One thing I did'nt like about the driver board is that I will find it hard to mount being as there are no screw wholes in it.
    Dave from laserShowParts.com suggested drilling a hole in the heatsink which I did sucsessfully....see pics below....
    Dave also said the laser was doing 300mw before he sent it to me



    I havent played with the laser much because I tend to break things but I did blast my laser goggles case with it and go some smoke 'wehey'
    Graham

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by mliptack View Post
    Awesome gig man! I bet you go through a lot of batteries

    yup, an even 60 per show actually. all dead at the end though. too bad.
    I have an entire 3' cube that's full of nothing but batteries. when the locals piss me off, I make them stack it on the truck. Of course, that's nowhere near as much of a punishment as it was four months ago,but what can you do, eh?
    "TO DO IS TO BE" - Nietzsche
    "TO BE IS TO DO" - Kant
    "DO BE DO BE DO" - Sinatra

  9. #9
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    some pictures to show how to building the power board and the wire problem.
    Best regards!
    Bridge
    Quote Originally Posted by bridge View Post
    Hello Graham,
    Glad to see you here.
    Yes, I had read your welll advices.
    (1) the wire comming out of the laser head, yes, glad to say, we had solve it with suited wire and hole, yes, later I will take a photo of this to show all of you.anyway, thanks very much for your kindly advices.
    (2)the driver board building problem , for convenience customer install, we hadn't any fixed crew on the heatsink,so they can install anyway they want, sorry for this, later , I also will take a photo of us how to building it, maybe will give all of you some idea. sorry again, we used our Chinese thinking, as you know, drill or something like in China is simple and cheaper, now, we know it and we will consider how to change this design for really convenience all of you use.maybe all of you can give us some good idea, thanks very much.
    thanks again for your kindly advices, Graham, any questions , please don't hesitate contact dave or me, we are pleasure that can do something for you.
    Best regards!
    Bridge
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails DSC02488.JPG  

    DSC02490.JPG  


  10. #10
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    Cool

    Those are some impressive beam specs, Mr Coffee! Rivaling the best I've measured on any laser here...

    Nice pics, too. And I like the way Bridge addressed everyone's concern about the wiring to the head. That's a quick response to customer feedback!

    And all based on CNI technology too? Damn, I might have to start saving my pennies for another laser! (Been meaning to add another blue to my projector and replace my green with something that has better blanking performance...) Wonder what my wife will say when I tell her I'm thinking about buying another laser? (Will you all come visit me in the hospital after she attacks me with the frying pan?)

    Great info guys...

    Adam

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