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5000MW 650nm burning laser from Widelasers.com

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Abclaser1

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Just bought a so called 5000MW 650nm burning laser from Widelasers.com. Measured the output power with a photodiode. The output is less than 20mW. What a ripoff. It costs me $80. It should worth less than $30. With 20mW it's not going to burn anything, even focused, except your wallet. Their advertising bears no relation with the reality, not a bit. I should know better.
 





Right, you should have known better---you can get a more powerful 650 on eBay for $5---they are a scam/fraud site misrepresenting and overcharging for laser products. From what I can see not one laser is represented even close to reality.
They are a bad joke outlaw site. They say 30 day money back guarantee. Maybe you can get a refund.

Return it if you can.
 
You might be able to send it back..., but it seems unlikely based on their advertising. This is why you should do your homework before buying lasers. 5w lasers at 650nm are very unusual, and the source would be a c-mount diode, and they are rarely used in portable lasers. Sorry you got burned.

There are many great places you could get a better laser for less. There are many red lasers on eBay, but in my personal experience, they are rarely above 80-100mw. If you are looking to get a replacement, would suggest you get the so-called red "prome" laser which used to be sold on eBay but now seems to be found on laserpointerstore.com. I have one, and it came in at 250mw. Should be able to light matches easily. Looks like it’s only $9 right now. Make sure to get good safety glasses with it. Survival Lasers’s eagle pair glasses are pretty good, and though they may seem a little pricey, your vision is worth a lot more than $40.

Hope this helps.
 
Hey telephony. Hope it works out for you. It was a while ago that I got mine and this Chinese stuff is subject to change. Interestingly, the seller I got my laser from was called Ayobox. They used to have a website, and when I entered the URL, it took me to Laserpointerstore. Looks like they just changed their import operation to focus on lasers. Some of their products are certainly questionable (Like the now notorious pocket "LPM"), but it seems like there is a decent chance you will get a 200mw laser. It likely contains a cheap dvd burner laser diode. From what i've seen, there used to be many more lasers like this available from China but they have since become much harder to find with the rise of so many crappy green lasers recently.
 
I purchased a couple of 650nm lasers on eBay a few months ago from a seller called shadowlasers. They are $9.99 each and the first measured 211 mW. The second one was 157 mW. These have a focusing lens at the front that can focus the dot to a fraction of a mm at a few inches away from your target. It will burn black plastic and light matches, if that is what you are looking for.
 
That seems a lot more reasonable indeed. The 200 mW-ish mark for 650 nm diodes is reasonable, these are just dvd writer diodes, with actual power depending on drive current and lens quality, but generally that range is possible with a very cheap setup.

If you were to buy an actual 5 watt laser i recommend you don't test that with a photodiode though - if it's anywhere near spec you'll need a new meter.

Those guys take making up specs to a new level though... https://www.widelasers.com/p/30000m...-laser-pointer-kits-high-power-black-333.html - a 30 watt handheld running off 2 18650's? The fake reviews are funny though:

"It works well as described. I use it for star pointing, but I think the laser output is far more than 30000mw. I am concerned about the safety and distraction it causes. For my use, I could use dimmer light. I care very much about safety and distraction. "

Distraction he says... if it actually was 30 watts the 'distraction' probably would be setting furniture, wallpapers and drapes on fire when you test in indoors, as well as severe burns if you managed to put your hand in the beam :D
 
Those reviews are pretty funny. Looks like some employee was forced to put one on every listing. Do they really expect to fool anybody?

Also noticed that many listings include a “laser classification” list. To my knowledge, The descriptions do seem acurate to some degree. Probably intended as a marketing tool in this case.

Also noticed this passage. Seems a little dodgy considering they are selling “30w” laser pointers.

Potential Hazards
The hazards of laser pointers are limited to the eye. Although with most visible lasers, the largest concern is potential damage to the retina, most laser pointers are not likely to cause permanent retinal damage.
Responsible laser owners should take some time to fully understand the FAA regulations surrounding the use of laser pointers. There is an extensive Wikipedia article about Lasers & Aviation Safety.

 
Yeah, these things will probably burn holes in aircraft from 20 miles away, $19.98 each in two easy 9.99 payments without any interest... or was that just some tell sell block playing in the background? :D
 
hakzaw1 said:
We thank you for the years of service you have given us freely.
(y) Sorry we no longer have the 'Bow down/Not worthy' emogee
hak
Click to expand...

I received this laser an hour or so ago today (01-24-19) but my spectrometer and LPM are still in Washington (I couldn't afford to ship the box before I left so it'll have to wait until after the 1st). I "eyeballed" the wavelength at 658nm and output power at 120mW.
We'll know for certain what these values are once I have access to my instruments. :)
 
Ok, got the spectrometer but my LPM wasn't in this shipment, so no power output value yet. But I wasted no time in spectroing this laser; here are my findings:

prome-w.gif


prome-n.gif

Wavelength is 665nm.

And the data file, comma-delimited that can be imported directly into MS Excel or other spreadsheet handler.
 
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