Optrel Satellite Mini-Review with pics

[unixadm]

I had a few people email me and ask how I liked the Optrel Satellite. Well I just got it today and put it through it's paces and have came away very impressed. I also took some good quality pictures of the helmet since those are hard to find.

Things I like:

1. Shade Adjustment Range (5-13)
2. Clarity of auto-dark lense
3. Headgear is very adjustable
4. Exterior Controls (I actually like the fact I can adjust the shade on the fly)
5. Grinding mode is nice - a little LED flashes to let you know you're in grinding mode.
6. Build quality is very nice. The hood is nice and sturdy.

Things I don't like:

1. Weight. It's obviously got more heft than my Speedglas 9000X helmet. Time will tell how this affects my neck.

I never got flashed and you can see very nicely with this hood. I find it to be comfortable and very adjustable. Overall, I like it better than my Speedglas 9000X. The clarity of the lense seems better to me. I was worried that the smaller lense would bother me, but once I have the helmet on I cannot tell a difference. I see everything I need to with the Optrel.

Overall, I highly recommend this helmet. I know that means little, but I am pretty picky about what I buy. This helmet is impressive!

Pics: http://www.dmwtech.com/gallery2/v/welding/machines/optrel/

[lowlypawn]

Thx for the review, Mind telling how much you paid for it? Right now I’m using some Harbor Freight crap but it actually seems to work pretty good and I haven’t been flashed yet! But then again I have never used a really good helmet so I probably don’t know what I’m missing.

[unixadm]

I paid $248 shipped for the Optrel from http://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.com

It's a great helmet and is worth the money. If you do buy one, you'll understand what I'm talking about once you put a quality hood on for the first time.

[Sundown]

Nice review, I have had my Optrel (Blue of course) for a few years now and I couldn't agree more with what you said about it. :)

[South Texas]

I have used mine for about 100 hours now and couldn't be happier .

[unixadm]

I put a few hours on mine and it's excellent. I'm very pleased with this helmet. The clarity and adjustment is excellent. It's a winner in my book.

[burninbriar]

I really like mine also but to add to youre list of downsides I think you have to include the price of the cover lenses. Since I dont weld that much its not a problem but it could add up for some one useing it continuously.

[Fishy Jim]

Thanks for the review. I'm considering another auto hood because of tig being hard for me to see through a 9 shade without tons of ambient light in the shop. Then again, a 500W halogen would be cheaper to run than that hood to buy. lol We'll see how much more of this low current stuff I end up doing.

[Protraxrptr17]

That's a nice looking hat. I have been considering the same exact one. I like the one I have now OK, but it has a dark band across the middle. It annoys me to no end.

Are you a gadget junkie too? I just noticed all the toys in the background. :cool:

[unixadm]

Yeah that would annoy me too.

I dunno - I do have my share of gadgets and toys I suppose. I tried to see what I had in the pics. Work cell phone and Blackberry, my older Radio Shack Pro-95 Trunked Scanner, two Dell 2001FP monitors (Nothing like dual head Milermotorsports.com Forum browsing). I'm a computer guy so I've got to have the good stuff on my desk and inside the 'puter. The scanner is cool on occasion when I'm bored or I hear a lot of sirens. :)

I don't think anyone would regret buying this hood. I would only buy an alternate hood if the weight bothered you. Thus far it has not bothered me at all.

[Fishy Jim]

David, how have your 2001's held up for ya?

I had one of my power supplies spark like nothing else (under my desk was glowing!) and then burn itself out. I replaced both of them under my gold coverage and haven't had problems since.

[unixadm]

David, how have your 2001's held up for ya?

I had one of my power supplies spark like nothing else (under my desk was glowing!) and then burn itself out. I replaced both of them under my gold coverage and haven't had problems since.

I've had good luck with mine - though I did have a power supply emit a whining sound when the monitor would go into power save. I contacted Dell and got a replacement. Otherwise, no problems to report. I actually have three of them and they are all really nice. I don't do much computer gaming anymore so the slower response times on these monitors does not bother me. I'll keep them up and running until I can replace them with a new SED display or two. That won't be for another year or more though. :)

[imported_frank865]

I looked at the pictures, but couldn't tell. Where is the switch for the grind mode? I'm thinking about one of these for plasma cutting, grinding & welding, especially if the grind switch is easy to access.
I've got a BWE, & it's a great hood, I just wish I could have tried it before I bought it. The auto-off is a PITA & once it's turned on, it can't be turned off until it times out, that eliminates using it for the plasma. :( I love the graphics, & the weight (or more accurately, the lack thereof!) First Miller product I've not been truly happy with...It's my own fault for not doing enough research though! It is a great hat, it just dosen't suit me :o

[unixadm]

The grind mode button is located on the shade dial (the center section). When you press that it gives you a shade 5 at all times. Good for plasma cutting too.

[Fishy Jim]

I've never gamed with mine, so I don't have any issues with the 16ms refresh lapse. I honestly wonder if that isn't the persistence of vision of the human eye that causes gamers to freak out about certain monitors? That's the reason tv's and motion film don't appear strobed to us - both actually are.