LUCKYDUCK 5mW GREEN LASER POINTER

LuckyDuck 5mW Green Laser Pointer, retail $39.99
Manufactured by Leadlight
Last updated 09-12-11




(In reference to the cylindrical package I received from an Ebay seller at 2:20pm PDT on 10-27-05):
{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 started to open 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) laser pointer. It comes in a handsome aluminum presentation case, and includes the two AAA cells it feeds from.

I bought this for Candlepower Forums sakes - and for this website sakes as well.


SIZE



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

To use the laser pointer, 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 laser pointer back off. Yes, it really is as easy as that.

When the pointer is on, a green LED just in front of the switch glows.

The laser pointer comes with a pocket clip, already attached. You know what it's for.
If not, slip the laser pointer into a shirt or pants pocket, and slide the clip over the outside of the fabric of the pocket when the pointer is being inserted into the pocket.

The laser pointer also comes with a hinge-lidded aluminum presentation case with foam cutouts for the pointer and a set of batteries. You may store the pointer in this case if desired.



To change the batteries in your LuckyDuck green laser pointer, unscrew and remove the tailcap, throw it in the {vulgar term for feces}bowl, 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 two used AAA cells out of the barrel and into your hand, and dispose of, recycle, or recharge them as you see fit.

Insert two new AAA cells 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 149mA on the included Toshiba cells.



This is a laser pointer, 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.


Here's a photograph of the label on the outside of the laser pointer's barrel.

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 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.

This is a Leadlight 110 laser with APC (Automatic Power Control) circuitry built in, so it should maintain full output power as long as the batteries can furnish 149mA of current.

The labelling on this laser is 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 4.2mW at 532nm.



Beam photograph at ~12".
Beam is not white like this photograph makes it appear.

Beam is also a lot smaller than it appears; the
beam image bloomed significantly when photographed.

Power output measures 4.218mW using a laser power meter specifically designed for that purpose.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of this laser.


Spectrographic plot
Same as above; newer spectrometer software & settings used.


Spectrographic plot
Same as above; spectrometer's response narrowed to a range of 790nm to 820nm to show (or rather, ***NOT*** show!) NIR line from the pump diode.
USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.




Beam photograph at ~15'.
Beam is not white like this photograph makes it appear.

Beam is significantly smaller than it appears;
the beam image also bloomed when photographed.

That red star thing is from an American DJ Laser Widow, and that rectangular graphic thing near the lower-left is a marquee from a Williams 'Stargate' upright coin-op video game from the early-1980s.

I do not have an outdoor laser testing facility at my new location,
so I will not be able to provide any distance photographs.





TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased on Ebay on 10-23-05, and was received early on the afternoon of 10-27-05.


UPDATE 10-29-05:
I measured an output power of 4.29mW after the laser was in continuous operation for exactly three minutes. I used a clock with a second hand on it to measure the time.


UPDATE 09-12-1:
One of the AAA cells went to pot inside the laser, subsequently ruining it. Thus, that dreadful "Failed or was destroyed during/after testing" icon will be appended to its listings on this website, denoting the fact that the product has been destroyed and no additional comparisons or analyses can be performed on it.


UPDATE 09-12-1:
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
I was able to remove the cell, which had leaked quite badly from both its positive (+) nipple-end and its negative (-) flat-end, but the laser still does not operate -- it appears as though the negative (-) spring down in the barrel is fuxxored -- possibly beyond repair as the laser cannot be easily disassembled.


PROS:
Handsome metal housing
Clean beam with no visible speckling or other artifacts
Current usage is the lowest I've seen in a DPSS laser
Power output appears to be at least reasonably stable
Labelled correctly for power output


CONS:
Not waterproof or submersible - but most pointers or modules aren't. Will not figure into my rating.
More delicate than directly-injected diode laser modules.


    MANUFACTURER: Leadlight
    PRODUCT TYPE: Pen style laser pointer
    LAMP TYPE: DPSS diode laser/NdYVO4/KTP crystals
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Very narrow; it's a laser, remember? ;-)
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton momentary on/off on barrel
    BEZEL: Metal; has aperture (hole) for laser beam to emerge
    BATTERY: 2x AAA cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 149mA
    WATER RESISTANT: No
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: Presentation case, two Toshiba AAA cells
    WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





LuckyDuck Green Laser Pointer *






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