LASER STAR (KALEIDOSCOPIC
GREEN LASER PEN)
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Laser Star (Kaleidoscopic Green Laser Pen), retail $26.48 (www.dealextreme.com...)
Manufactured by (Unknown)
Last updated 03-17-10




(In reference to the padded envelope I received from DealExtreme at ~1:55pm PDT on 09-13-08):
{sung like the Foreigner song "Feels Like the First Time"}


This is a green DPSS (diode pumped solid state) laser module.

But what sets this laser module apart from most others you can get isn't that fiberboard storage case, and it isn't the included AAA cells it feeds from. It's that moveable holographic diffraction grating optic on the unit's "business end" that allows it to project "stars" when the button is pressed, rather than just a single dot like most other laser modules. This grating can be rotated to project any of quite literally HUNDREDS of different patterns.

It comes in what I believe is a brass body.


SIZE



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

To use the laser module to point something out, unscrew & remove the diffraction grating tip, 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 module back off. Yes, it really is as easy as that.

To use the laser module as a "star" projector, do exactly as above except do not remove the tip. Rotate (turn) the tip clockwise (as though tightening it) to change the pattern of the projected "stars".

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

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



To change the batteries in your green laser module, unscrew and remove the laser's tailcap, throw it in the toilet bowl, yank that silvery-colored (they're often chromium-plated) handle on the front of 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 348mA on my DMM's 4A scale.



This is a laser module, not a flashlight. So I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, try to drown it in the toylet bowl or the cistern, run over it, swing it against the concrete floor of a patio, use a small sledgehammer in order to bash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannoņata, drop it down the top of Mt. Erupto (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piņata" too much again - candiosity is usually checked with a laser-type device on a platform with a large readout (located at Piņata Central), with a handheld wand that Langston Lickatoad uses, or with a pack-of-cards-sized device that Fergy Fudgehog uses; the cannoņata (also located at Piņata Central) is only used to shoot piņatas to piņata parties away from picturesque Piņata Island, and Mt. Erupto is an active volcano on Piņata Island {In the episode "Les Saves the Day...Again", Paulie Preztail says "Hey, ever wonder why this park's called 'Mount Erupto' anyway?", then Franklin Fizzlybear says "I think its an old native term. Means 'very safe.'"}), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, 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 NIR (near-infrared) radiation 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 (though the price differential is decreasing!). 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- or pee-resistant, so please be extra careful when using it around sinks, tubs, "terlets", 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.

Although the barrel is smooth, it does *NOT* feel at all slippery; the exterior finish feels almost a bit "rubbery" even though that's not what it is. I'm not exactly certain what the exterior finish is, but it has a somewhat "grippy" feel to it.

The diffraction grating can be easily rotated by hand, but it has a stiff enough "action" to it that it won't just spin by itself or through casual handling.

Although this particular laser is marked as being "under 30mW" in the included instructional materials, actual power output was measured at 48.645mW. It is well filtered for the ~808nm (810.10nm in this case) laser line from the pump diode, so the vast majority of this power is indeed the 532nm green laser line.

The laser warning label on the product itself also indicates "<30mW"; so it too is incorrect. It is well within the realm of possibility that I may have accidentally received one of the "<50mW" units instead of a "<30mW" unit (according to the furnished instructional materials, they're available from <1mW to <200mW); the product was incorrectly labelled at the factory, so that this is very likely the factory's fault, not DX's fault -- even though this "mistake" was in my favour.



Beam photograph on the test target at 12"; diffraction grating removed.

Beam is not white like this photograph makes it appear.
Beam is also somewhat smaller than it appears;
the beam image also bloomed ***SIGNIFICANTLY*** when photographed.

Power measures 48.645mW (w/diffraction grating removed) on a laser power meter designed for that purpose.



Beam photograph on the test target at 12", diffraction grating in place.



Beam photograph on the test target at 12", diffraction grating in place, and rotated a bit.



Beam photograph at ~10'; diffraction grating removed.

Beam is not white like this photograph makes it appear.
Beam is also somewhat smaller than it appears;
the beam image also bloomed rather substantially when photographed.

Those rectangular graphic things in the upper right quadrant of this photograph are marquees from:

Sega ''Star Trek''
Atari ''Tempest''
Venture Line ''Looping''
Jaleco ''Exerion''

upright coin-op arcade video games from the 1980s.

And those colored graphics toward the left are my "Viva Piņata" posters.



Beam photograph on a ceiling at ~7', diffraction grating in place, and rotated while the photograph was being taken.



Beam photograph on a ceiling at ~7', diffraction grating in place, and rotated while the photograph was being taken.



Beam photograph on a ceiling at ~7', diffraction grating in place, and rotated while the photograph was being taken.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of this laser.
Note that there is no laser line at 808nm from the pump diode at normal irradiance;
this tells me that NIR filtering is very good.
As you can see below, it's *NOT* perfect, but it is indeed very good.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of this laser; instrument "overloaded" to show the weak NIR line from the pump diode.
Spectrometer's response narrowed to a range of 780nm to 830nm.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of this laser.
Same as above; spectrometer's range widened to show that the instrument was indeed "overloaded".
Spectrometer's response was narrowed to a range of 500nm to 830nm.
USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.


WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the product in action.
This clip is approximately 2.88 megabytes (2,932,100 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than eleven minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

That sound you might here is an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants playing on the boob tube.
This product is not sound-sensitive; the sound may be ignored or muted if desired.




This is a video on YouTube showing the Laser Star in action.

This clip is approximately 8.59892346799 megabytes (8,743,474 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than forty two minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.

I cannot provide any of these videos in other formats, so please do not ask.



Beam photograph of my TLBV2.1 on a wall at ~7", diffraction grating from this laser used.



Beam photograph of my 200mW Red Laser Module on a wall at ~7", diffraction grating from this laser used.



Beam photograph of my Rigel Yellow DPSS Laser Pointer on a wall at ~7", diffraction grating from this laser used.





TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased on the DealExtreme website on 08-16-08, and was received on the afternoon of 09-13-08.

It is not known where the product was made; however it was probably made in Hong Kong.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: Unknown
    PRODUCT TYPE: Handheld laser w/diffractive tip
    LAMP TYPE: DPSS laser diode
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Very narrow spot
    SWITCH TYPE: Momentary pushbutton on/off on barrel
    CASE MATERIAL: Metal; probably brass
    BEZEL: Metal; laser aperture recessed in a cell for it
    BATTERY: 2xAAA cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 348mA
    WATER RESISTANT: Splatter-resistant at maximum
    SUBMERSIBLE: NO WAY HOZAY!!!
    ACCESSORIES: Batteries, fiberboard storage case
    WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Laser Star (Kaleidoscopic Green Laser Pen) * www.dealextreme.com...






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