Hi from Toronto, where can I find cheap high powered lasers locally?

Preferably locally, if not then online would do.

I already have a (5nm?)Green laser pointer which I think is bright enough, but my red one is pretty weak, same with my violet/blue one. I basically want to have a bunch of portable laser pointers where the beam is as visible as my green one.

Also where can I find eyewear for it?

LaserGlow is located in Toronto, Canada but won't sell any lasers over Class IIIa+ to consumers in Canada without it knowing what it's purpose will be, along needing to complete paperwork proving what it will be used in.

Before buying such a laser please get safety goggles, link:
Safety

-Alex

Tha Greenlander said:

LaserGlow is located in Toronto, Canada but won't sell any lasers over Class IIIa+ to consumers in Canada without it knowing what it's purpose will be, along needing to complete paperwork proving what it will be used in.

Before buying such a laser please get safety goggles, link:
Safety

-Alex

Click to expand...

Whoa, those are too expensive. I spent $20 all in all for my green, blue/violet, red one.

I was hoping to spend like less than 10-20, preferably under 10.

Thanks for the help

arreat said:

Whoa, those are too expensive. I spent $20 all in all for my green, blue/violet, red one.

I was hoping to spend like less than 10-20, preferably under 10.

Thanks for the help

Click to expand...

Less then $10 for a high powered laser?

-Alex

Tha Greenlander said:

Less then $10 for a high powered laser?

-Alex

Click to expand...

OK, true. Is it easy to make? Is the blu ray laser strong enough to see the beam?

I was thinking of getting someone's old ps3 and attempting to make one.

Tha Greenlander said:

LaserGlow is located in Toronto, Canada but won't sell any lasers over Class IIIa+ to consumers in Canada without it knowing what it's purpose will be, along needing to complete paperwork proving what it will be used in.

Before buying such a laser please get safety goggles, link:
Safety

-Alex

Click to expand...

Not eactly--Laserglow will not sell lasers over 5mw to consumers in Canada, period.

"Quick summary: As of June 2011, it is illegal to sell or provide high-powered portable lasers (Class 3B and Class 4) to consumers in Canada. That means you."
" Before the inevitable discussion starts: It doesn't matter what you intend to use them for, or that you already have one, or whether you think that you're not a "consumer" because you think you're a "laser expert", hobbyist, inventor, or whatever. If you are not a scientist working in a laser lab at a University, or a CLSO, or an OEM which is integrating these lasers into other devices for commercial purposes, then you are a consumer. If your organization's primary activity does not involve high-powered lasers, then you are a consumer. If you do not have a clearly-defined commercial or academic requirement for a high-powered portable device, which cannot be fulfilled with a lower-powered or non-portable device, then you are a consumer. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that, as far as Health Canada is concerned, every person on this forum is probably a consumer." ~ Justin Hosaki, Vice President of Sales and Operations, Laserglow Technologies

see: http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/canadian-restrictions-portable-lasers-official-info-release-laserglow-73129.html

Encap said:

Not eactly--Laserglow will not sell lasers over 5mw to consumers in Canada, period.

"Quick summary: As of June 2011, it is illegal to sell or provide high-powered portable lasers (Class 3B and Class 4) to consumers in Canada. That means you."
" Before the inevitable discussion starts: It doesn't matter what you intend to use them for, or that you already have one, or whether you think that you're not a "consumer" because you think you're a "laser expert", hobbyist, inventor, or whatever. If you are not a scientist working in a laser lab at a University, or a CLSO, or an OEM which is integrating these lasers into other devices for commercial purposes, then you are a consumer. If your organization's primary activity does not involve high-powered lasers, then you are a consumer. If you do not have a clearly-defined commercial or academic requirement for a high-powered portable device, which cannot be fulfilled with a lower-powered or non-portable device, then you are a consumer. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that, as far as Health Canada is concerned, every person on this forum is probably a consumer." ~ Justin Hosaki, Vice President of Sales and Operations, Laserglow Technologies

see: http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/canadian-restrictions-portable-lasers-official-info-release-laserglow-73129.html

Click to expand...

That's what I meant, if you have all the paperwork & a legitimate use for a high-powered laser then you aren't a consumer

Edit: If you buy from LaserGlow & set the shipping country as Canada it will let you purchase 5mW+ handhelds(which is strange).

-Alex

Tha Greenlander said:

That's what I meant, if you have all the paperwork & a legitimate use for a high-powered laser then you aren't a consumer

Edit: If you buy from LaserGlow & set the shipping country as Canada it will let you purchase 5mW+ handhelds(which is strange).

-Alex

Click to expand...

It is not about paperwork or legitimate use---it is about who and what you are in the real world---either you are a consumer or your are not a consumer under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act. As the VP of Laserglow said: "If you are not a scientist working in a laser lab at a University, or a CLSO, or an OEM which is integrating these lasers into other devices for commercial purposes, then you are a consumer. If your organization's primary activity does not involve high-powered lasers, then you are a consumer. If you do not have a clearly-defined commercial or academic requirement for a high-powered portable device, which cannot be fulfilled with a lower-powered or non-portable device, then you are a consumer."
See: Canada Consumer Product Safety Act

I don't see how much clearer the VP of Laserglow can be. He says:
" It doesn't matter what you intend to use them for, or that you already have one, or whether you think that you're not a "consumer" because you think you're a "laser expert", hobbyist, inventor, or whatever."

The Laserglow VP adds:
"What does this mean for the Canadian laser industry and Canadian laser purchasers?:
-If you attempt to import a portable laser which is Class 3B or higher you can expect to have it seized, as we have seen already.

-If you attempt to sell or make available a portable laser which is Class 3B or higher, Health Canada has an incredible array of powers to utilize against you, including product seizure, mandatory recall, huge fines, etc. Note, it doesn't need to be a sale. Giving one of these to your brother for free would be considered a violation.

-Sales to other countries are unaffected. Laserglow can continue to sell these lasers to anybody located outside of Canada. Health Canada are only concerned where the product is to be delivered inside of Canada.

-If you are legitimately a non-consumer (academic or commercial researcher, engineer, etc.) you will be asked to prove this before Laserglow can sell a high-powered portable laser to you. You will need to provide proof that you have an LSO (Laser Safety Officer), your LSO's qualifications, and a description of your intended application. We require this information in order to protect ourselves in case Health Canada ever audits our sales records, which they might."

Guess this means I have to make my own?

arreat said:

Guess this means I have to make my own?

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laserbtb has some cheap high-powered lasers at good prices, but those are still above the $10-$20 you are trying to spend. Try saving a little more money, around $80-$100. Still, even making your own will cost above $20!

-Alex

A cheap host will cost you about 20$ and a 1.5-1.8W 445nm module with driver is about 80$ from DTR's shop.

Shipping included you're probably not going to get yourself a high powered laser for under 100$.

Agree with the above, and above all a good set of laser saftey glasses (which you should buy before purchasing/building a high powered laser) will run you at least $20. That $20 can be replaced. You only get one set of eyeballs

Hello arreat, welcome to LPF, please edit your profile and add your location so it shows under your name, no one will remember you're from Toronto and if you ask where to buy something in another thread and people don't even know what country you're in, they will give you the wrong link or often not bother to answer.

The link above for safety glasses is wrong, that site is for U.S. Customers, they have an international site here:
Survival Laser International Home
Safety glasses are here:
Safety
Here are some better safety glasses:
Laser Safety Glasses, AixiZ
If you must buy cheap safety glasses you can find them on Amazon.

Anything other than green has to be very powerful and therefore dangerous to have a visible beam. I have built 5 lasers, number 6 coming soon, and the cheapest one was $140 USD just for the parts, not counting batteries, charger, and safety glasses. So save your money, lasers aren't cheap.

Alan

If you want a more visible beam, for the power, 532 or 520nm green lasers produce the brightest beams due to the sensitivity of our eyes to that color being greater. For example, if you place a red, green and blue lasers side by side which are producing the same amount of power output, the green is several times brighter. 100 milliwatts of green is just about as bright as 1000 mw (1 watt) of either red or blue. Forget about violet from a blu-ray burner, even if close to a watt they produce fairly dim beams.