There seems to be a load of these, more coming up all the time. I just received my two copies and they were brand new in the bag, calibrated in 2007. Compared to what they cost new, this is a very good deal. Each detector comes with its individual certificate with the calibration data printed out. The upside is that these detectors are, unlike most silicon detectors, still accurate at 405nm, and the downside is that they work only up to 200mW.

So now what to do with those? In case if you own an "old" Newport 835 power meter (which appear from time to time on ebay too, at approx $40-200 per piece), here is an answer.

The 835 needs to store the calibration data in an internal Eprom; I heard that Newport does not anymore want to reprogram them. However I figured out how to reprogram the Eprom with any data, including those of the detectors in question; see http://pagesperso-orange.fr/redlum.x...ewport835.html

So I offer to send you a reprogrammed Eprom against a moderate fee, with the data of "your" detector. All what you'd need to do is to scan in the cal sheets (at 600dpi) and send these files to me; and once you receive the Eprom, you need to open your 835 and exchange it against the one inside, which is an easy 5min operation.

And there you go.. since the accuracy is almost entirely determined by the detector, it does not matter if you use an "old" 835 power meter or a brand new model, and you'll get in this way a professionel power meter with close-to-new calibration.

Note I do this as a service exclusively for hobbyists and not for profit.