Just a thank you and my introduction.

Hey guys and gals,
This forum is a cache of information so I wanted to say thank you all! I've been reading the stickies each night and am so glad that i have. There are loads of facts and topics I wouldn't have even thought of to ask or research.

A little about me and lasers. I am a full time tattooist of 20 years and love anything that glows since I was a child. I am 42 years old now and live in Portland Oregon of the united States. 3 of my friends own Wicked Lasers. They have a 1w blue and the 300mW green and I play with theirs as often as I see them. I purchased my own cheap 5mw green a few weeks ago and now I've opened the flood gates to laser hobbying! To think I thought the 300mW green Wicked Laser was the "most powerful handheld laser" out there.

I am the type of person that enjoys the process of new interests so instead of just ordering from ebay I have spent a week or so learning about hand held lasers. I'm quite glad I did because I was close to ordering from a pretty crappy company until I read reviews on the LPF. I have since made a much better choice and have ordered the 300mw 320nm green laser from Sci-fi. thejoker301 has been incredibly helpful answering all my questions and I like the idea of supporting bushiness's from the LPF community.

I do want to admit that my friends and I haven't been using safety glass's when we laser. I think this is more from ignorance than rebellion as I didn't quite grasp how serious and easily permanent injury to the eyes can and does happen. I am going to really enforce the importance of using safe practices.

Do you feel its a bad idea to show the lasers to groups of people outdoors? We don't have enough glass's for crowds so have been very careful to keep the beam in the air away from anyone's face or eyes.
Great to be here, thanks again.
Cheers
Jeff

Hey Jeff, welcome to LPF! :beer:
I see you've already been reading the stickies and are aware of some of the safety issues; that's a good start. Be sure to purchase safety goggles that cover the wavelength of your new laser.
Glad to see that your 1st laser purchase is from a member here; I've heard nothing but good things about Sci-Fi lasers.
You probably should fill in your location in your profile, it will help with any questions you may have; who knows, you may have a member living next door!

Have fun, be safe, and enjoy your stay here at LPF!


Jeff

Welcome to the forums!

-Alex

Welcome, good to see that you have been reading the stickies.

Good choice on getting the 300mw 520nm green laser from Thejoker301. (I think you mistyped 520nm as 320nm).
That way you can get a unique wavelength without it being ridiculously powerful. (Not to say that 300mw is safe)

Mattronium

Welcome to the forums!
And there is nothing wrong with showing people your laser (long as you don't point it at planes/houses/people etc.)
If you are careful and only pointing into the sky, no one will need glasses of any sort.
But some may call the cops as they may see no reason for pointing an extremely powerful laser into the sky and will think you are trying to point at aircraft or have bad intensions. They may even exaggerate and tell the cops that you are pointing at people and causing harm.
And some police men may confiscate the laser and take it from you not knowing the exact laws on lasers. (it has happened to people's lasers before)
These are some possibilities when you have a lot of people seeing what you are doing.

But in most places, there are no laws against the use of any power laser as long as you use it correctly.

I use my laser in my backyard (surrounded by trees) most of the time so if anyone sees the blue beam in they sky, they won't know exactly where it is coming from.

Mattronium said:

Good choice on getting the 300mw 520nm green laser from Thejoker301. (I think you mistyped 520nm as 320nm).
That way you can get a unique wavelength without it being ridiculously powerful.

Mattronium

Click to expand...

Thanks for the welcome everyone.
So to expound on your quoted reply, in what way is the 520nm less powerful and safer than the 532? Is one brighter than the other?
Will my new 300mw 520 greenie be less bright than say a 100mw 532?

SilverFire said:

Welcome to the forums!
And there is nothing wrong with showing people your laser (long as you don't point it at planes/houses/people etc.)
If you are careful and only pointing into the sky, no one will need glasses of any sort.

But in most places, there are no laws against the use of any power laser as long as you use it correctly.

Click to expand...

We use our lasers on a big private property up state. Pretty sleep county so the neighbors have no clue where its coming from but thanks for the tip.
My friends and I attend music festivals and enjoy showing people there the lasers in the sky. There is lots of lasers on the stages of the big music events so our hand held have never been anything but enjoyed and appreciated so far.

I hope to buy a 1w green for next summers events. Hopefully also have a blue and maybe red laser as well. Sci-fi has a 2-2.4w blue for a great price. Thats next on my laser list.

Welcome bud! I try to read the stickies as well. I cannot wait to buy from Sci-Fi Lasers.

nwfreefly said:

Thanks for the welcome everyone.
So to expound on your quoted reply, in what way is the 520nm less powerful and safer than the 532? Is one brighter than the other?
Will my new 300mw 520 greenie be less bright than say a 100mw 532

Click to expand...

I would explain in full but have a quick google search on how a "DPSS 532nm" laser works,
Basically they start with a 808nm Infrared(mostly invisible) diode and it hits crystal sets that change wavelength to 1064nm then doubles the frequency (halfs wavelength) back to 532nm there is heaps of power loss too, although you see green light some Infrared light can come out too which can do harm to your eyes, the better 532nm lasers have Infrared filters which stop that, 520nm are Direct Diode so the diode itself puts out "around" 520nm at its peak and has nothing to do with Infrared!

If a 520 and 532 were of the same power output side by side, I think you would have trouble trying to say which is brighter, although the 532 should be a slight touch brighter to the eye