Bought a 1mW laser off of ebay- worried about power.

I bought a violet laser off of ebay, and I'm worried the power is higher than that. It's the first thing I've had to do with lasers, and I don't feel safe with, nor want, anything more then a 1mW laser, for me and my family's safety. I was just wondering what I could do, short of an expensive LPM. I'm quite worried about it. You only get one set of eyes after all!
Thankyou in advance.

You might want to search the forum before asking.

http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/so-1mw-405nm-overpowered-lets-find-out-73692.html

Pretty much guaranteed to not be 1 mW,
most of the cheap 405 pens I've gotten
(advertised as being anywhere from 5-20 mW)
have all metered between 50-80 mW. I'd be
happy to LPM it for you as long as you
pay the shipping both ways (~$10 total)

Dr laser, I just had a look at that thread you mentioned, and it looks identical to my one. That's no good...
Seems that most people think it's over 1mW, maybe I'll find a way to get rid of it.

I just brought a 1mW 405nm purple lazer for $9.99 AU. It comes in 2 days, I hope it's good.

If you're worried about a 1mw laser you are WAY too concerned. If you really believe anything over 1mw is dangerous you probably shouldn't even bother with lasers, try collecting baseball cards.

Then again, those cards can have sharp edges and might give someone a nasty paper cut if thrown. Maybe it would be safer to collect cotton balls.

MojoLA said:

If you're worried about a 1mw laser you are WAY too concerned. If you really believe anything over 1mw is dangerous you probably shouldn't even bother with lasers, try collecting baseball cards.

Then again, those cards can have sharp edges and might give someone a nasty paper cut if thrown. Maybe it would be safer to collect cotton balls.

Click to expand...

Anything over 1mw can be dangerous. 405 is deceptively dim and I would hate to point a "1mw" true 50mw 405 in someones eye.

No one should ever discourage safety

Do not get me wrong because I think there is nothing wrong with safety but I have to sort of agree with Mojo. If you do not feel safe with anything over 1mW you may want to forgo lasers entirely. I am not even totally sure ANY laser rated at that output would ever be actually that output unless you actually had one altered specifically for you. You could always buy a laser and ask someone with lots of experience with drivers who could turn it down and test it out. Your costs would likely go up drastically to do that though.

Out of curiosity, what is the intended use of the laser you are looking for?

EDIT: Looks like the thread died but, you may want to send a PM to Lazeerer and see if he is up to the challenge of limiting your laser out to the output you desire.

Why dd you buy the laser in the first place? The laser isn't going to hurt anybody if proper precautions are taken.

if your laser is 5mw or less its harmless... this is because at those outputs your eye can react to the light and blink anything above 5mw could be potientially dangerous but thats what laser glasses/goggles are made for. and if you are that paranoid why did you buy it...maybe you'd be better off getting a laser w/ star caps or not one at all. people here love high powered lasers!! and everything is safe w/ goggles and proper use!
I hope you get over your fear and have some fun!!! :beer:

EDIT:looks like ringoboy ressurected this thread!! well maybe you will read this and its not too old