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NOVOPHONE GREEN
PORTABLE LASER

Novophone Green Portable Laser, retail $49.95 ()
Manufactured by (Unknown) for Novophone (www.novophone.com)
Last updated 11-25-12

(In reference to the padded envelope I received from an Ebay seller at 11:47am PST on 02-14-06):
{sung like the Foreigner song "Feels Like the First Time"}
Feels like a flaaaaaash-liiiight...feels like a FL

BREAK IN 50276
READY.
CONT

?OUT OF DATA ERROR IN 65535
READY.

Let's try that again...as soon as I saw the address on the package, I *knew* it wasn't a flashlight...

Feels like a laaaaaa-sssser...feels like a LAAAAA-aaaaa-ssser!!!
Feels like a laaaaaa-sssser...feels like a LAAAAA-aaaaa-ssser!!!

This is a green DPSS (diode pumped solid state) portable laser. It comes in a nylon pouch, and includes the CR123A lithium cell it feeds from.

It is significantly fatter (larger in diameter) and shorter than a traditional "pen-style" green laser pointer, and is meant to be used for astronomical purposes (pointing out planets, stars, nebulae, and other astronomical phenomena).

SIZE

Feed the portable laser the included battery (see below), and then you'll be ready to rock.

To use the portable laser, just aim it at something you wish to point out, and press & hold down the button on the barrel for as long as you need the laser spot. Release the button to turn the portable laser back off. Yes, it really is as easy as that.

The portable laser also comes with a nylon storage case with room for the laser and a spare battery. This storage case has a loop on the back that fits belts up to 1.0" wide, and can be threaded through the belt. I do not own or use pants that require a belt however, so I cannot test this accessory in the manner in which it was intended to be used.

This product also comes equipped with a wrist lanyard, already attached.

To change the battery in this laser, unscrew and remove the tailcap, throw it in the {vulgar term for feces}bole, yank that silver handle on the cistern down, and flush it away...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead.

Tip the used CR123A cell out of the barrel and into your hand, and dispose of or recycle it as you see fit. Do not under any circumstances flush it down a toilet or throw it into a trout-filled stream.

Insert a new CR123A cell into the barrel, flat-end (-) negative first. This is the opposite of how batteries are installed in most flashlights, so please pay attention to polarity here.

Screw the tailcap back on, and be done with it.
Aren't you glad you didn't flush away that tailcap now?

Current usage measures 248mA on my DMM's 4A scale.

This is a portable laser, not a flashlight. So I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, try to drown it in the toilet bowl, run over it, swing it against the corner of a concrete stair, or inflict upon it punishments that flashlights may have inflicted upon them. So this section of the laser's web page will seem a bit more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.

Green diode lasers are a lot different than those common red lasers you see all the time.

In a 640nm red laser pointer, there's a red-emitting diode and a lens to collimate (focus) the beam.

In a 532nm green laser (pointer or larger size), there's a BIG infrared laser diode that generates laser light at 808nm, this is fired into a crystal containing the rare-earth element "neodymium". This crystal takes the 808nm infrared light and lases at 1064nm (yes, deeper in the infrared!). This 1064nm laser light comes out of the NdYV04 (neodymium yttrium vanadium oxide) crystal and is then shot into a second crystal (containing potassium, titanium, & phosphorus, usually called KTP) that doubles the frequency to 532nm - the bright green color you see. This light is then collimated (focused) by a lens and emerges out the laser's "business end". Just before the lens, there's a filter that removes any stray IR (infrared) rays from the pump diode and the neodymium crystal. You don't want that stuff in your green beam, trust me. :-)

This is why green diode lasers are so much more expensive than red ones. Lots of itty bitty parts, and they all need to be aligned by hand. If the polarisation is "off", one or both crystals need to be turned. With red diode lasers, you just slap in the diode and slap a lens in front of it.

This laser is lightly splatter-resistant, but it is not water-resistant, so please be extra careful when using it around sinks, tubs, toilets, fishtanks, pet water bowls, or other places where water or water-like liquids might be found. And you'll probably want to cover it up or otherwise get rid of it (such as by putting it in a pocket or bag) if you need to carry it in rainy or snowy weather.

The labelling on this laser is *NOT* accurate: it states that it is a Class IIIA instrument, outputting less than 5mW of laser radiation at a wavelength of 532nm, and it actually measures 6.195mW at 532nm.

At times, this laser starts out at a higher power, and then quickly sags over the next second or two to the ~3.9mW value you see on this web page. And sometimes the power level does not sag as much.

Power output analysis

Power output measures 11mW on a LaserBee 2.5W USB Laser Power Meter w/Thermopile.

Beam photograph on the test target at 12".
Beam image bloomed *SUBSTANTIALLY*; beam is also not white.
Power measures 6.195mW on a laser power meter designed for that purpose.

Laser power oputput analysis

Maximum power mode measures 49mW on a LaserBee 2.5W USB Laser Power Meter w/Thermopile.

Beam photograph at ~15'.
Beam is not white like this photograph makes it appear.
Beam is also somewhat smaller than it appears;
the beam image also bloomed when photographed.

Those rectangular graphic things near the center are marquees from:
Cinematronics ''Star Castle''
Midway ''Omega Race''
Williams ''Robotron: 2084''
Gremlin/Sega ''Astro Blaster''
Atari ''Tempest''
Williams ''Stargate''
Williams ''Joust''
Venture Line ''Looping''
Sega ''Star Trek''
Midway ''Gorf''
upright coin-op arcade video games from the early-1980s.

That red thing is from an American DJ Laser Widow.

Laser spectrographic plot

Spectrographic analysis of the laser.

Laser spectrographic plot

Same as above, but spectrometer's response narrowed to a range of 800nm to 820nm to check for the 808nm NIR laser pump line. As you can see, this laser is extremely well-filtered to block this.

Spectrographic analysis of this laser; newest (03-25-12) spectrometer software settings used.

Spectrographic analysis of this laser; spectrometer's response narrowed to a range between 528nm to 536nm to pinpoint wavelength, which is 533.004nm.

USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.

Beam cross-sectional analysis with beam widened.

TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased on Ebay on 02-05-06, and was received on the late-morning of 02-14-06.

UPDATE: 02-17-06
Unit measures 4.95mW at turn-on; this value sags and then increases to 6.195mW over the next 30 seconds or so.

Because this is a CDRH Class IIIb device, I should call it a "portable laser" and not a "pointer".

UPDATE: 03-05-06
This laser does not function with reverse polarity (the battery installed backward), but it is not damaged either. The small lip encircling the bottom (-) negative terminal of CR123A cells helps save your toilet muscle here. So if your Novophone laser fails to produce a beam after changing the battery, please check to be certain you did not install it incorrectly.

PROS:
Shorter than most other green laser pointers or modules
Longer than normal battery life for a DPSS green laser product
Comes with a lanyard you can loop around your wrist
Feels good in the hand; is also rather hefty.
No beam artifacts - none that I've been able to detect anyway.

NEUTRAL:
Not waterproof or submersible - but most pointers/modules aren't. Will not figure into my rating.
More delicate than directly-injected diode laser modules/pointers, but most DPSS lasers are. Will not figure into my rating.

CONS:
Unit's output measures as CDRH Class IIIb (>5mW), not CDRH Class IIIa (<5mW) it is labelled for. Not for astronomical use without variances from the proper authorities (the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in this case).
Shouldn't use it in public without a variance.

Unknown

Handheld laser

DPSS laser diode

Very narrow spot

Momentary pushbutton on/off on barrel

Possibly a brass/aluminum alloy

Metal; LED aperture recessed into a hosel for it

1xCR123A cell

248mA

Splatter-resistant at maximum

NO WAY HOZAY!!!

Wrist lanyard, battery, storage pouch

95mm L x 19mm Dia.

117.60g (4.150 oz.) incl. battery

Taiwan

Unknown/not stated

Novophone Green Portable Laser *

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