GREENBEAM 100 LASER MODULE

GreenBeam 100 Laser Module, retail $ (www.beamshot.com...)
Manufactured by Beamshot (www.beamshot.com)
Last updated 10-12-09




(In reference to the small package I received from a CPF member around 2:43pm PDT on 07-07-07):
{sung like the Foreigner song "Feels Like the First Time"}


This is a DPSS green laser module, advertised to output 10mW (measured at almost 15mW) of laser radiation at a wavelength of 532nm. It comes in a hard anodized body, is rated waterproof and even submersible to 40 meters, and feeds from a single CR123A camera cell. It has a beam attenuation shutter & emission indicator, so it is at least partially compliant with regulations in the US for a CDRH Class IIIb laser product (a turn-on delay, an interlock dongle, and an interlock key would make it *FULLY* compliant).

Spectroscopy revealed no NIR radiation at 808nm from the pump diode.
So it is extremely well filtered for NIR radiation at worst; completely filtered at best.


SIZE



To use your GreenBeam 100, feed it the included battery first (see below), and then you can go target whatever it is you wanted to target.

Firmly press the rubberised button on the tailcap until it clicks and then release it to turn the laser on. Point out what you need to point out; this laser is powerful enough that the spot can be seen in direct sunlight, so weather or day/night status should not be a deterrent here.
Do the same thing again to turn it off.

There is a beam emission indicator that lets you know that the laser is activated whether the beam attenuation shutter is open or closed. This indicator is from the laser beam itself; as I can easily detect "laser speckle" when viewing the indicator light.

There is a beam attenuation shutter on the front of this laser; slide it toward the center to allow the laser beam to come out, and slide it to the side to cover the aperture and block the laser beam from exiting.


(Left or top): Beam shutter closed.
(Right or bottom): Beam shutter open.
Note in the second photograph that the hole is in the center of the laser's front end.

The GreenBeam 100 comes in a hard-sided case with foam cutouts in it for the laser, a CR123A cell, and the lanyard. You may store the laser in this case if desired.


To change the battery in your green laser module, 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 CR123A cell out of the barrel and into your hand, and dispose of, recycle, or recharge it (only if it is a rechargeable cell!!!) as you see fit.

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 278mA 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, bash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannoņata (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piņata" too much again - candiosity is usually checked with a scanner-type device on a platform or a handheld wand), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or inflict upon it punishments that flashlights may have inflicted upon them. Therefore, 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. This is also a loaner, so I would not abuse this product even if it were a product which did not lase.

From the person who loaned me this laser, comes this:

"Also, this laser is advertised as waterproof to 40 meters... and I have already gotten it wet... AND... I have looked for some type of seam.... The only place I have found a seam is at the tail cap... the rest of it seems to be completely sealed. It is the most robust laser I have seen, it even feels more solid than my SureFire lights."
{Capitalisation corrected; otherwise this snippet is unmodified}

There are two O-rings on the tailcap that engage with the barrel when the tailcap is tightened. The unit also passed "The Suction Test" both on the barrel and on the tailcap, so water-resistance will *NOT* be an issue here.


Here is a closeup of the tailcap, showing the two O-rings.
Photograph courtesy of this laser's owner, and was used with permission.

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

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

In a 532nm green laser (module 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) 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. 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.

The unit has a black Type III hard-anodized finish, so it should stay looking newer longer even if you abuse your lights & lasers.

***EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!***
This laser is a CDRH Class IIIb instrument because of its high output power; so you definitely do not want to shine it into your eyes, other people's eyes, pets' eyes, for that matter, the eyes of any person or animal you encounter. Eye damage can occur faster than the blink reflex can protect them, regardless of what species' eyes you irradiate with this laser. So just don't do it.
And fer chrissakes (and for heaven sakes and for Pete sakes and your sakes too) do not shine this laser at any vehicle, whether ground-based like a motorcycle, car, or truck, or air-based like a helicopter, airplane, or jet. And if you shoot it at a person in the dark and he turns out to be a police officer, he may think he's being targeted, unholster (pull out) his gun, and hose you down with it.




Beam photograph at ~12".
Photoflash was used to help minimise blooming.
Beam image still bloomed; there is also no white in it.
Power output measures 14.565mW on a laser power meter specifically designed for this purpose.



Beam photograph on a wall at ~10 feet.
Beam image bloomed ***SIGNIFICANTLY***; there is also no white in it.

Those rectangular graphic things near the center of these photographs are marquees from:
Nintendo ''R-Type''
Super Tiger...er...uh...Konami ''Super Cobra''
Midway ''Omega Race''
Sega ''Star Trek''
Williams ''Joust''
Venture Line ''Looping''
Universal ''Mr. Do!'s Castle''
Jaleco ''Exerion''
Gremlin/Sega ''Astro Blaster''
Atari ''Tempest''
Gottlieb ''Q*bert''


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

And that graphic toward the right is:
A "BIG SCARY LASER" poster sent by www.megagreen.co.uk



Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of this laser.
This spectrographic analysis shows that there is no NIR (808nm) laser line from the pump diode.


Spectrographic plot
Same as above...{alarm sounds} {female computer voice} INPUT OVERLOAD!!!*
Let's try this again...same as above, but deliberately overloaded to check for the pump diode's 808nm laser line.
Note that there is none.
USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.






TEST NOTES:
Test unit was loaned to me by a Candlepower Forums on 07-05-07, and was received on the afternoon of 07-07-07.

* From the Star Trek TNG episode "Home Soil".

Product was made in Taiwan.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE 07-09-07:
I have sent this laser back to the person who was gracious enough to loan it to me.
Therefore, that dreadful "" icon will appear next to its listing on this website, indicating that I no longer have it available for comparisons or additional analyses.


UPDATE 10-12-09:
I received the following email late yesterday afternoon (his name & email address have been omitted to help protect his privacy):
    Just wanted to let you know I bought two for friends for diving and both Beamshot models leaked and died in less than 20 meters of water - as opposed to being waterproof to 40 meters. This has now happened with two units.

    I have contacted Beamshot and for two weeks no resolution.
I don't have sufficient reason (e.g., firsthand experience) in this matter to change the rating, however if I hear of this occurring again with a different person, that'll do the trick.





PROS:
Bright green beam
Measured power output was as much or higher than advertised
Durable & shock-resistant
Waterproof and even submersible too


CONS:
None that I was able to detect while I had it


    MANUFACTURER: Beamshot
    PRODUCT TYPE: Portable green-emitting laser module
    LAMP TYPE: DPSS green laser assembly
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Very narrow spot; it's a laser, remember?
    SWITCH TYPE:
    CASE MATERIAL:
    BEZEL: Metal; has aperture (hole) for laser beam to emerge
    BATTERY: 1xCR123A cell
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 278mA
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: (Advertised) yes, to 40 meters
    ACCESSORIES: 1xCR123A cell, neck lanyard, hard-sided storage case
    SIZE: 5.63" L x 1.0" D
    WEIGHT: 5.75oz with battery
    WARRANTY: 1 year

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





GreenBeam 100 Laser Module * www.beamshot.com...






Do you manufacture or sell an LED flashlight, task light, utility light, or module of some kind? Want to see it tested by a real person, under real working conditions? Do you then want to see how your light did? If you have a sample available for this type of real-world, real-time testing, please contact me at ledmuseum@gmail.com.

Please visit this web page for contact information.

Unsolicited flashlights, LEDs, and other products appearing in the mail are welcome, and it will automatically be assumed that you sent it in order to have it tested and evaluated for this site.
Be sure to include contact info or your company website's URL so visitors here will know where to purchase your product.


WHITE 5500-6500K InGaN+phosphor 
ULTRAVIOLET 370-390nm GaN 
BLUE 430nm GaN+SiC
BLUE 450 and 473nm InGaN
BLUE Silicon Carbide
TURQUOISE 495-505nm InGaN
GREEN 525nm InGaN 
YELLOW-GREEN 555-575mn GaAsP & related
YELLOW 585-595nm
AMBER 595-605nm
ORANGE 605-620nm
ORANGISH-RED 620-635nm
RED 640-700nm
INFRARED 700-1300nm
True RGB Full Color LED
Spider (Pirrahna) LEDs
SMD LEDs
True violet (400-418nm) LEDs
Agilent Barracuda & Prometheus LEDs
Oddball & Miscellaneous LEDs
Programmable RGB LED modules / fixtures
Where to buy these LEDs 
Links to other LED-related websites
The World's First Virtual LED Museum
Legal horse puckey, etc.
RETURN TO OPENING/MAIN PAGE
LEDSaurus (on-site LED Mini Mart)



This page is a frame from a website.
If you arrived on this page through an outside link,you can get the "full meal deal" by clicking here.