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473nm RECHARGEABLE
BLUE LASER
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All your base are belong to us.

473nm Rechargeable Blue Laser, retail $423.00
Manufactured by (Unknown)
Last updated 01-20-10-09

(In reference to the box from C.G. that was delivered at 4:36pm PDT on 04-13-09):
{sung like the Foreigner song "Feels Like the First Time"}

This is a blue DPSS (diode pumped solid state) laser that is advertised to output 5mW of laser radiation at 473nm in the blue part of the spectrum.

It comes in a cylindrical aluminum body, and uses one 18650 rechargable lithium-ion cell for power.

SIZE

Feed the laser a freshly-charged 18650 rechargable lithium-ion cell (see below), and then you'll be ready to rock.

To use the laser, insert one of the included interlock keys into the keyway in the laser's tailcap, turn the key clockwise 90°, and then remove it. The circular region around the pushbutton on the barrel should now glow blue, as the photograph directly below indicates.

Press & release the large button on the side of the barrel to turn it on.

Press & release the button a second time to turn the laser back off.

Momentary operation is available by pressing the button more lightly (after it clicks once but before it clicks a second time) and then holding it that way for as long as you need the pretty blue dot; releasing it turns the beam back off.

To shut the laser down, insert one of the included interlock keys into the keyway in the laser's tailcap, turn the key counterclockwise 90°, and then remove it. This turns laser power completely off.

To change/charge the battery in your 473nm blue laser, 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 used cell out of the barrel and into your hand, and recharge it.

Insert a newly-charged 18650 rechargable Li:ION 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 in quiecent mode was measured at 624µA (0.624mA) on my DMM's 4mA scale.
Current usage in lasing mode was measured at 1,329mA (1,329 amps) on my DMM's 4A scale.

To charge the 18650 cell, place it in the charging cradle, orienting it so its button-end (+) positive is on the same end of the chamber in the charger that has a (+) embossed in its bottom.

Plug the charger into any standard (in the United States) two- or three-slot 110 volts to 130 volts AC 60Hz receptacle.

A red light on the charging cradle should now come on; this indicates charging is in progress. When the 18650 cell has reached full charge, the light on the charging cradle will turn from red to green.

At this point, unplug the charger, remove the charged cell from the charging cradle, and install it in the laser as directed above.

This is a laser, and not a flashlight meant to be carried around, thrashed, trashed, and abused - so I won't try to drown it in the toliet tank, bash it against a steel rod or against the concrete floor of a patio, let my mother's big dog's ghost or my sister's kitty cats spring a leak (uranate) on it, run over it with a 450lb Celebrity motorised wheelchair, stomp on it, use a medium ball peen hammer in order to bash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannoñata, drop it down the top of Mt. Erupto (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piñata" too much again

- candiosity is usually checked with a laser-type device on a platform with a large readout (located at Piñata Central {aka. "Party Central"}), with a handheld wand that Langston Lickatoad uses, or with a pack-of-cards-sized device that Fergy Fudgehog uses; the cannoñata (also located at Piñata Central) is only used to shoot piñatas to piñata parties away from picturesque Piñata Island, and Mt. Erupto is an active volcano on Piñata Island), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or perform other indecencies on it that a flashlight might have to have performed on it. So this section of the web page will be ***SIGNIFICANTLY*** more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.

However, I did perform "The Knife Test" on it; I was rather easily able to scratch through to the bare Metalmarineangemon - er - the bare Metalkyuubimon - um that's not it either...the bare Metalgallantmon...er...uh...wait a sec here...THE BARE METAL (guess I've been watching too much Digimon again!

- now I'm just making {vulgar term for feces} up!!!) where the knife blade was applied. This tells me that the finish is probably baked enamel, not anodizing of any pedigree.

Because this is a DPSS laser, dropping it even onto soft dirt or carpeting will very likely (not certainly, but *PROBABLY*) kill it.

Blue 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 473nm blue DPSS laser, there's a BIG infrared laser diode that generates laser light at 808nm, this is fired into a crystal called Nd:YVO4 (containing neodymium yttrium vanadium oxide) that lases at 946nm; this laser radiation is finally fired into a crystal called LBO (containing lanthanum boron oxide) that doubles the frequency to 473nm - the bright blue 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 (well, there's ***SUPPOSED*** to be one anyway) that removes any stray IR (infrared) radiation from the pump diode & Nd:YVO4 crystal.
You don't want that stuff in your blue beam, trust me.

This is why blue 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 of the crystals needs 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, toliets, 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, bag, or the hard-sided case it comes in) if you need to carry it in rainy or snowy weather.

The key switch (interlock) has already failed

, however I was able to easily bypass it by placing a nickel (US 5¢ coin) in the tailcap. You know, the old "penny in the fusebox" trick. But doing so means that I'll have to remove the battery when I don't plan on using the laser for more than a day or two; otherwise it will draw its quiecent current of 624µA (0.624mA) on a continuous basis. This current is low enough though that I do not have to go out of my way to hurry and remove that battery.

Additional investigation revealed that the battery barrel had become partially seperated from "the good part"; screwing it all the way down rather tightly did restore (mainly) proper operation of the interlock switch; rendering the use of the nickel no longer necessary.

Although the beam from this particular unit is rather weak, it is ***EXTREMELY WELL*** collimated!!!

Beam photograph at ~12".
Beam is not white like this photograph makes it appear.
Beam also bloomed SIGNIFICANTLY; it is not nearly this large in diameter in reality.

Power output was measured at 21.448mW on a laser power meter specifically designed for this purpose. Since the visible output appears to be approximately 0.6mW and the spectrometer detects only a weak 808nm line from the pump diode, I'm guessing that a majority of the measured output is from the 946nm laser line from the Nd:YVO4 crystal...guess I'll have to fire up the other computer so that I may perform spectroscopy with the PC2000-ISA spectrometer in it, which is sensitive to radiation to 1,000nm in the NIR.

Power output measured 950.0µW (0.950mW) with the IR filter from this blue DPSS laser over the aperture - this is the 473nm visible emission.

This is the IR filter from that other blue DPSS laser.

Spectrographic analysis of the NIR emission, using the PC2000-ISA spectrometer in the other computer which was able to register it. I had to aim this laser well off-axis to avoid overloading the spectrometer's input with the NIR laser line.
This emission was spectrographically measured at ~928.50nm.

Beam photograph of the replacement laser at ~12".
Beam is not white like this photograph makes it appear.
Beam also bloomed somewhat; it is not this large in diameter in reality.

Beam photograph on a wall at ~10'.
Again, that white color does not really exist.

Beam photograph of the replacement laser on a wall at ~10'.
Again, that white color does not really exist.

Those colored graphics toward the left are my "Viva Piñata" posters, and that clock on the right that looks like a gigantic wristwatch is my Infinity Optics Clock.

You may also be able to see one of my SpongeBob SquarePants plush (Squidward Tentacles) and a Digimon plush (Greymon). Normally, a Patrick Star plush (from SpongeBob) would be hanging next to Squidward, but he was down here at the spectrometer for a test of his own.

Beam photograph with the laser ~10', shown onto the black part of one of my "Viva Piñata" posters to try and show some of the NIR component of the beam.
The NIR is the purplish color you see.

Beam photograph with the laser ~10', shown "blasted" onto a small piece of black electrical tape to help mask the main beam. The NIR is the purplish color you see.
This helps show what I have already determined spectroscopically: that this laser lacks the IR filter designed specifically to block this otherwise invisible radiation.

Beam photograph at ~18" from the test target; collimating assembly removed to expand the beam.

Spectrographic analysis of this laser.
Note the weaker-than-expected 808nm laser line from the pump diode.

Spectrographic analysis of the replacement laser.
Note the 808nm laser line from the pump diode.

Spectrographic analysis of the replacement laser; spectrometer's response narrowed to a range of 468nm to 476nm to pinpoint wavelength.

Spectrographic analysis of the replacement laser; spectrometer's response narrowed to a range of 800nm to 840nm to show emission from the pump diode.

Spectrographic analysis of this laser; different spectrometer used to show all three laser lines simultaneously.

Spectrographic analysis of the replacement laser.
Different spectrometer used to show all three laser lines simultaneously (at the same time).

Spectrographic analysis of this laser, with spectrometer's response narrowed to a range of 463nm - 483nm.
Spectral line halfwidth appears to be ~1.6nm.

Spectrographic analysis of the blue LED under the on/off switch.
Although this is of little consequence, it *IS* a light.

Spectrographic analysis of fluorescence of the pink body of a Patrick Star plush (stuffed critter) when irradiated with this laser.

Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of a uranated* glass marble when irradiated with this laser.

*"Uranated" - infused with an oxide of uranium, *NOT* piddled on.
Commonly referred to as "Vaseline glass" because it has
a distinct pale yellow-green color when not being irradiated.

Note spelling: "urAnated", not "urEnated","urInated",
"urOnated", "urUnated", or sometimes "urYnated".

Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of a piece of green acrylic when irradiated with this laser.

Fluorescence of the outer casing of the AB Moonbeams Nightlight when irradiated with this laser.

Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of the outer casing of a Dorcy Marshalling Wand when irradiated with this laser.

Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of the handle of the screwdriver included with the Flying ''Frack'' R/C Helicopter when irradiated with this laser.

Spectrographic analysis of fluorescence of the phosphor cap of the white LED in the Arc LS Prototype when irradiated with this laser.

Spectrographic analysis of fluorescence of a "405nm Violet Laser Phosphor Target" when irradiated with this laser.
Spectrometer's response narrowed to a range of 490nm to 780nm for this analysis.

Spectrographic analysis of fluorescence of the phosphor of a Nichia NSPWR70CSS-K1 high-flux ("spider") LED when irradiated with this laser.

Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of the NIA 2009 commemorative insulator in uranated* glass when irradiated with this laser.

*"Uranated" - infused with an oxide of uranium, *NOT* gone potty on.
Commonly referred to as "Vaseline glass" because it has
a distinct pale yellow-green color when not being irradiated.

Note spelling: "urAnated", not "urEnated","urInated",
"urOnated", "urUnated", or sometimes "urYnated".

Spectrographic analysis of the fluorescence of the eyes of a Squidward Tentacles plush when irradiated with this laser.
As you can see, no fluorescence occurred.

Fluorescence of the orange mesh of a VestLED when irradiated with this laser.

Spectrographic analysis

Fluorescence of the yellowish-green fluorescent safety stripes on a VestLED when irradiated with this laser.

Spectrographic analysis

Red "charging" LED in its charging cradle.

Spectrographic analysis

Yellow-green "charge cycle complete" LED in its charging cradle.

Photograph on the test target showing *ONLY* the 808nm NIR laser radiation from the pump diode.
That purplish-white color is how my digital camera "sees" the laser's NIR radiation.

Spectrographic analysis

Showing *ONLY* the 808nm radiation from the pump diode.

USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.

ProMetric analysis

Beam cross-sectional analysis.
This is to demonstrate the mainly circular beam profile.

ProMetric analysis

Beam cross-sectional analysis of the replacement unit.
Once again, this is to demonstrate the mainly circular beam profile.

Images made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.

And just for "funzees", here's a photograph of an Exveemon plush with this laser. Exveemon is blue, and has a weapon called a "Vee Laser".
Veemon, digivolve to...EXVEEMON!!!
{shouting} VEEEEEE LASERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

The Vee Laser isn't blue, but Exveemon himself is, so I believed it appropriate for this web page.

TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased on the morning of 03-25-09, and was received at 4:36pm PDT on 04-13-09.

The battery charger is labelled to output 4.2 volts at 1A (1,000mA).

The seller of this laser is Chad G.; you may about purchasing this laser (well, not *THIS* laser, but one just like it!) if you wish.

It is not known where this product was manufactured; though I'm guessing that it was either made in China or Taiwan.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.

I can't in good "conshence" (conscience) award this laser a full five stars, but it likely won't rate super badly either. I'm not yet ready to deem this laser a "feline flagellated segment of caca maternal parent inseminator" (toliet words replaced with innocous ones - the correct acronym is PWPOSMF) but like I said, it isn't going to get the full five-star treatment either.

I've been informed by the seller that a replacement laser will be made available in the not-too-distant future; so this web page will not go "fallow" for lack of updates.

In fact, I'll wait until I receive & test the replacement before applying a rating at all; after all, it's the only right thing to do.

UPDATE 04-17-09:
Unit has been returned for repair; therefore, the dreadful "

*" icon now appears appended to its listings on this website to denote that I no longer have it available for additional testing or analyses, but that I'll get it back sometime in the not-too-distant future.

UPDATE 05-19-09:
The replacement was received yesterday at 5:32pm PDT; after being certain that the battery was fully charged, I obtained the following measurements:

34.82mW (no IR filter)
1,540µW (1.540mW) (IR filter from this blue DPSS laser over the aperture).

This is still lower than I'd like, but I think I can live with it.

UPDATE 05-21-09:
This appears to be the same physical unit that was returned for repair; the tiny knife scratch on the barrel near the tailcap placed there by me when I performed "The Knife Test" is still there.

UPDATE 10-30-09:
I have determined that this unit emits light that is polarised; determined by the admittedly crude method of discharging it at the LCD (liquid crystal display) of a clock and rotating the unit along its major axis. I observed the reflected radiation change rather drastically in intensity as this was done.

I also used the old "penny in the fusebox" trick to bypass the key interlock, and obtained a power output reading of 1,200µW (1.20mW) (again, the IR filter from this blue DPSS laser was placed over the aperture).

This is what the "business-end" of this laser looks like with the collimating assembly removed:

UPDATE 11-18-09:
The blue LED around the switch is *NOT* usable as a "reverse polarity indicator" - this LED lights even when the battery is inserted incorrectly!!!

When the battery is put in wrong, the blue LED still illuminates but the unit will not lase.

Power output measures 506.50µW with IR filter, and 25.97658mW without.

PROS:
Unique, attention-getting color that's radiant and unusual for a handheld laser
Beam is "clean", with no visible speckling or artifacts around it
Unique, attention-getting color...o wait I said that already.

CONS:
Fragile interior construction - like all DPSS lasers. Will not figure into my rating
Not water-resistant - but most other DPSS lasers aren't either. Will not figure into my rating
Much of the power output consists of NIR radiation from the MCA!

MANUFACTURER: Unknown
PRODUCT TYPE: Large handheld laser
LAMP TYPE: DPSS laser (473nm blue output)
No. OF LAMPS: 1
BEAM TYPE: Very narrow spot; it's a laser, remember?
SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off on barrel
BEZEL: Metal; has aperture (hole) for laser beam to emerge
BATTERY: 1x18650 2,400mAh 3.7v Li:ION rechargeable cell
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 624µA (quiecent), 1,329mA (lasing)
WATER RESISTANT: No
SUBMERSIBLE: For God sakes NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
ACCESSORIES: Interlock keys, 18650 cell, charger, hard-sided storage case
WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

PRODUCT RATING:

473nm Rechargeable Blue Laser *

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