TINKER brand
YELLOW-GREEN 561nm SFDDPSS LASER PEN
Tinker brand Yellow-Green 561nm SFDDPSS Laser Pen, retail $88.99
Manufactured by (unknown)
Last updated 12-29-24
This is a 561nm yellow-green SFDDPSS (self-frequency doubled diode pumped solid state) laser pen that is designed to output between 30mW and 40mW. It is made primarily from brass, covered with what I believe is a black baked enamel finish. It also has a gold-colored tailcap, bezel, and pocket clip -- these accents look very nice (classy!) on this laser pen.
I am still in awe regarding the beam color!!!
The color could be best described as a yellowish shade of chartreuse green.
The second pic above is of the ornamental* brass "badge" that was furnished with the laser.
I wanted to rotate the original pic -- a better one -- 90º clockwise, but I do not have the necessary software (I am forced to use a Linux box; I do not own or have access to a Windows box which would have made this an easy proposition.)
Feed the laser pen a pair of AAA cells or a single 10440 Li:ION cell plus a dummy AAA cell first, and then you'll be ready to rock.
To use the laser pen, just aim it at something you wish to point out, and press & hold the button on the barrel. Release the button to turn the laser pen back off.
To change the batteries in this laser, unscrew the tailcap, and set it aside.
Tip the used AAA cells out of the barrel and into your hand, and dispose of, recycle, or recharge them as you see fit. Please do not under any circumstances flush them down a toliet or throw them into a salmon-filled stream or those tree-huggers might hunt you down and then beat the living tweedle out of you. ;-)
Insert two new AAA cells (or one 10440 cell plus one dummy 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.
This is a laser pen, not a flashlight meant to be carried around, thrashed, trashed, and abused, so I won't try to drown it in the toliet tank, run over it with a 450lb Quickie Pulse 6 motorised wheelchair, stomp on it, smack it against a loo ring (toliet seat), 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 a bit more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.
From a laser engineer who emailed me about this laser, comes the following text:
Yellow-green diode lasers are a lot different than those common red lasers you see all the time.
In a 640nm red portable laser, there's a red-emitting diode and a lens to collimate (focus) the beam.
In a 561nm yellow-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 1122nm (yes, deeper in the infrared!). This 1122nm 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 561nm - the bright yellow-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 yellow-green beam, trust me. :)
This is why yellow SFDDPSS lasers are so much more expensive than red diode lasers. Lots of itty bitty parts, and they all need to be very carefully 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, loos (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 or bag) if you
need to use it in rain or snow.
There are no current usage, optical power outs put measurements or spectrographic analyses because I no longer own or have access to a DMM, LPM, or spectrometer.
I was not able to measure wavelength with a diffraction grating and a meter stick because there is insufficient space here, and an outdoor measurement is not possible because I'm in a wheelchair after falling prey to a crippling stroke on 03-21-22 and my physical ability to measure with this equipment is extremely limited at best.
Beam photograph on a door at ~24".
Beam photograph on a door at ~24" (star cap 1 used).
Beam photograph on a door at ~24" (star cap 2 used).
Beam photograph on a door at ~24" (star cap 3 used).
Beam bouncing off of a standard 2nd-surface household mirror at ~5 feet.
The laser itself is on the right, well "under" the television.
Incense was burning nearby.
Photograph of the beam itself taken with my HoverAir X1 Flying Camera.
Another photograph of the beam itself taken with my HoverAir X1 Flying Camera.
TEST NOTES
Test unit was purchased from tinkertavernco on Ebay on 07-28-23 and was received at 12:15pm PDT on 08-03-23.
This person appears to know his {vular slang term for feces; rhymes with "pit"} about lasers, so I believe you can buy with confidence.
* Ornamental because I do not see a designated use for the object.
UPDATE 11-11-23
Pricing has changed.
UPDATE 12-10-24
The laser petered out several months ago, yet when I reached out to the manufacurer just the night before last, I was very promptly replied to that a replacement laser would be shipped at once!
How's that for exemplary customer service!!!
UPDATE 12-29-24
I have decided to give this laser to my best long-distance friend Don Klipstein; he says that he *MAY* be able to repair/restore it.
PROS:
Color is extremely radiant and unusual for a portable laser
Has a hefty, "not cheap" feel
Nice beam quality -- beam is exceptionally clean with no unwanted "nasties" (artifacts) in it
Uses batteries that are common and relatively inexpen$ive
Appears significantly brighter than expected
NEUTRAL:
Not waterproof or submersible - but most pointers aren't. Will not figure into my rating
More delicate than directly-injected diode laser pointers/pointers. Again, will not figure into my rating
CONS:
PRODUCT RATING:
