cheap LPM

[Bubbascrub]

Hey guys there was a thread about a cheap LPM for around $50 but I can't seen to find it. Any help?

 

[Pi R Squared]

Hey guys there was a thread about a cheap LPM for around $50 but I can't seen to find it. Any help?

Yes its this one: http://laserpointerforums.com/f42/diy-thermal-lpm-under-50-a-51129.html but you have to build it yourself, and its good to over 1W but you also need access to a laser of known power or another LPM to calibrate it. Your probably better off buying the new Radiant X4, I just got one and it works good and goes up to 3.7W.

Alan

 

[Bubbascrub]

Okay I see, the Radiant was the one I was talking about lol I had gotten the price confused with the DIY. Is that LPM recommended for beginners or is there something better?

Thanks

 

[Pi R Squared]

Okay I see, the Radiant was the one I was talking about lol I had gotten the price confused with the DIY. Is that LPM recommended for beginners or is there something better?

Thanks

Well I would recommend it for beginners, its the lowest priced one you can get, but it has a slow response time, so maybe some of the Laserbees would be better but they are too high priced for me. There's another one here that's new but also high priced and high quality, I forget now what its called.

Alan

 

[ARG]

Any alternative ones cost $220 and they have less features. The Radiant x4 has the most features of LPM's in the $100-250 price range.

Check the LPM comparison chart in my signature, it has all LPM's affordable to the hobbyist (sub $500)

 

[Bubbascrub]

Oh okay Thanks a lot!

 

[NO4H99]

I love my radiant, and would absolutely suggest it unless you are willing to spend a few hundred on an ophir.

 

[Bubbascrub]

Looks like it's a good deal then!

 

[Arshus]

How slow is the Radiant exactly? Can it be THAT much slower than say a Laserbee I?

Edit: LPM comparison Chart isn't showing for me on Chrome.

-Sal

 

[Pi R Squared]

How slow is the Radiant exactly? Can it be THAT much slower than say a Laserbee I?

Edit: LPM comparison Chart isn't showing for me on Chrome.

-Sal

Same here, ARG check your web site, there is a blank box where the chart should be.

The Radiant X4 has a 95% response in about 25 seconds, meaning that if you are measuring a 1W laser then it will read 950mw after 25 seconds but needs about 60 seconds to read the full 1W. This could be an issue with some small powerful lasers that you don't want to leave on for a whole minute.

Alan

 

[Tmack]

The budget laserbee lpm have a 30 sec to 95% response. The laserbee II and more expensive laserbee have a 15 sec to 95% response due to a difference in the size of the tech. And the ophir s are basically instant.

 

[Arshus]

I have an old Laserbee I which i housed in a custom acrylic case, and it seems to be even a little faster than 15s

For the price 25sec response isn't bad, and its nice to have 3.7w. But you get more detailed LPM graphs with the better response time

-Sal

 

[Tmack]

The response time depends on your tech size . The smaller the tec the fester the response. S if your laserbee I has the smaller tech, it would have around a 10-15 sec response time. Im not sure which models had which size tec. Mine also seemed a little faster then 15 sec an im possitive mine had the smaller sensor. That's an awesome case man. I like still being able to see the internals. Very nice work.

 

[NO4H99]

I get somewhere between 40 and 65secs. My blue hits max at 42s, but most of the reds I test take almost a full minute to peak.

 

[Arshus]

65secs seems long, specially for a DPSS.

 

[NO4H99]

Can upload more graphs if it helps.