Creality Falcon 2 Pro
I was recently provided a very cool laser to review from the innovators at Creality. They are the Makers of excellent 3D printers and also desktop laser engravers. I just got my hands on the Creality Falcon 2 Pro, 22 Watt Desktop Laser Engraver($1099).
I have to say this laser engraver has some very cool features not found in other desktop diode laser machines. The list is quite substantial.
Buckle up for a cool laser ride.
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Makeblock mBot 10-in-1Robot Kit
A little over a month ago, the company Makeblock provided me their Makeblock mBot Ultimate 2.0, 10-in-1 robotics kit ($366.99) to review. Originally, I was a bit trepidatious since the kit is designed to teach coding to teenagers or young adults. While I am a techie, I am not a coder.
But I do love a challenge. I have finally begun making some great progress with this kit.
Before I dig in to this review I need to state something. When I was about the age relevant to the kit recommendations I was exposed to electronics kits such as depicted below.
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Astron SS-25M Power Supply
I’m an Amateur Radio operator and have all manner of short wave radios. Most of these radios require an external power supply to function. Generally, the voltage requirement is around 13.8 volts DC. Additionally, some of these power supplies can be pretty pricey. This quick entry will be about a score I made recently on Facebook Marketplace. I picked up an Astron SS-25M Power Supply for almost nothing.
Did I get a deal, or did I get taken to the cleaners? Let’s find out.
When I saw the ad I didn’t hesitate. I knew even if it were not functional that I could fix it. So I took a chance. When I received it, I quickly powered it up and noticed the output power was rock solid at 13.8 volts. Sweet.
The On/Off Switch LED was flickering and that could be anything from the lamp in the switch itself to a current problem. But the output power was solid so I figured it was the lamp.
Then I tried to install it and that’s why I realized I was able to score it for so cheap.
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Algolaser Alpha MK2
Around July of 2023 a new startup laser company, Algolaser provided me their first offering. The machine was the Algolaser Alpha which I subsequently reviewed here. Algolaser, while technically a new brand, was founded by the originator of Ortur Laser. Ortur was pretty much the first commercial seller of desktop diode laser engravers starting sales around 2019. Graciously, they have just provided me one of their pre-release machines, the Algolaser Alpha MK2 ($749) to shake down. Buyers can use the discount code MAX100 for an additional $100 off making the price $649.
Currently, my readers are also provided a mid year sale coupon code for the month of June for an additional $20 off. The code is YTB$20 and it can be applied during check out.
While the machines look very similar, the Alpha MK2 is slightly longer and contains a very nice touch screen on the front console.
MK2 Touch Screen
And without getting too much into the weeds yet let’s just say that the Alpha MK2 is a much smarter machine with a lot more features. The MK2 runs on embedded software that they refer to as Algo Operating System (AOG). Power remains the same across both models at 22 watts. That being said, the laser modules differ somewhat between the Alpha and the Alpha MK2.
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ACMER P2 33 Watt Laser Engraver
I recently reviewed the ACMER P1 S Pro and the ACMER P1 and now have been provided the ACMER P2 33 watt Laser Engraver ($799) to review. At no time has ACMER attempted to influence the content of my reviews. What you will read is exactly what I think.
I’d be remiss in not mentioning that ACMER is releasing their P3 IR and Diode Dual Laser soon!
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I’ve spent a lot more time on Laser Engraver forums lately and picked a few flowers out of those fields. I’ll do my best to keep this brief and fun.
Go to any laser forum and there is always one mama bear who will gasp with disbelief when some people post photos of the items they laser. She (it is usually a she) will then post something like this:
“OMG, don’t you know that item releases Hydrochloric gas which will kill you and corrode your machine?”
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LaserPecker 4
I recently got my hands on a LaserPecker 4 (LP4) and am giving it the old one, two. Conversely, I already own an xTool F1 and thought it would be fun to do a head to head shootout with them.
Both have similar specifications. And both contain a 2 watt 1064 nm IR laser, and a 450 nm blue diode 10 watt laser. The working area is roughly similar on both lasers. Additionally, both have an extension conveyor and both can be used with a rotary device.
So you’d think that it would difficult to declare one to be better than other? Trust me. It wasn’t difficult to determine which one was better.
But we’ll get to that.
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Digital Mobile Radio, aka DMR Radios are expensive. If you are a Ham radio operator you can get a hand held radio that is decent for less than $50. Not so much in the world of digital hand held radios. The radio that seems to be ordained for the top slot costs around $329. John’s Tech Blog has ordained that the best DMR radio for 2024 is the Retevis RT3S which costs about $86 for a non-GPS version, and about $90 for the GPS version.
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John’s Tech Blog will be down on May 4th sometime after 7 PM EST. The downtime may be as long as 2 hours during a 10 hour window.
This is my web host performing maintenance on their servers and outside of my control.
ACMER provided me their M2 Rotary Roller ($89) to review. I am no stranger to laser rotary devices and own at least 7 at the moment.
Many of these rotary devices are similar, however, there are elements that make some better than others.
The first thing I want to say about the ACMER M2 Rotary Roller is that it COMES ASSEMBLED.
There is nothing quite as enjoyable as taking parts, belts, motors and gears out of a box that contains no instructions and trying to put it together. That simply isn’t the case here.
And it will engrave items from 4mm to 138mm in diameter. Within that range are 4 width adjustments of 20/40/60/80 mm.
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