Brother Looking For "Laser pointer" Any Advice?

Let me know if any of you have recomendations on the type of laser pointer most appropriate. My brother is in construction and needs a 532 green for pointing out work defects etc. Obviously the power would have to be at 5mw or less since it will be used as a pointer.

He also said he needs one that is inexpensive and can handle an occasional accidental drop, let me know what you guys think I don't know what he should get as I'm into hand held class 3Bs, 4s myself.

i'd say go for a cheap 635, its the more visible red(not the red you see in common laser pointers). The 532 green lasers have a crystal set inside that turns infrared light into green light, a drop can dislodge them and thus no more laser.
Elegant 5mW 635nm Laser Pointer Pen Brighter Than 650nm | eBay

something like this

For the most part cheap 532nm pointers will be more damaged by a fall externally than internally. The crystals are usually over glued and should handle drops just fine. I have had and used a good number of cheap 532nm lasers and I have yet to one fail because of a drop that damaged the crystals/alignment. Also, 532nm is far brighter than even 635nm, or basically brighter than all common pointer wavelengths.

There is problem with the complete request though. Given that you want inexpensive that pretty much eliminates the really good well built solid lasers as those usually run for around $40+ for a reputable brand low power pointer. This means your goal should be cheap and if it breaks get another one for <$10.

I would have to recommend this little guy for it is bright, cheap, and good at pointing very long distances if need be:
Amazon.com: QQ-Tech® 5 mW 532 nm Green 2in1 Laser Pointer with Constellation Cap Mini Stage Light: Electronics

Plus you get amazon backing you so they will replace the laser if its a dud with few questions asked.

If you go for ~$10 pointers, you will very much likely end up with an overspec laser. These should be fine for pointing as long as you are careful.

If you take a look at the Deals & Discounts section there is a thread about super cheap ~$4 405nm pens that mentions a similarly priced 532nm pen.

I would say be careful regardless and assume every laser from anywhere is overspec so you will never put yourself at risk.

You could also buy this module:

Industrial D 12mm 532nm Green Laser Module Diode 5mW 10mW 3VDC Brass Body | eBay

And insert it into a host and then regulate the pot to the wished power (Just don't turn it up, only down!). In this way you end up with a safe not overspec pointer

sjesper said:

You could also buy this module:

Industrial D 12mm 532nm Green Laser Module Diode 5mW 10mW 3VDC Brass Body | eBay

And insert it into a host and then regulate the pot to the wished power (Just don't turn it up, only down!). In this way you end up with a safe not overspec pointer

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Wouldn't be a bad idea except, don't touch the pot. Leave the pot as is or the likelihood of killing it is close to guaranteed. Also, without an LPM you couldn't know the output was truly safe. So, in other words it the same thing as getting a ready made pointer.

ApexProxy said:

Wouldn't be a bad idea except, don't touch the pot. Leave the pot as is or the likelihood of killing it is close to guaranteed. Also, without an LPM you couldn't know the output was truly safe. So, in other words it the same thing as getting a ready made pointer.

Click to expand...

I can't really see how he would kill the diode by turning the current down... Am i missing something here :thinking: .

In the description the ebay seller says:

Output: 5mw-10mW (tested by laser power meter)

I don't know if he just write this to get more customers, but u could always ask him about the power and ask specifictly for a 5mW module if you're considering "building" (You only need to make it fit into a host) this laser

Even touching a pot on such a small driver has a chance of messing up and on top of that you risk turning it the wrong way. Also, figure you turn it down too much so you realize you want to go back up a little... poof. Changing the pot on small modules like that has a very high failure rate. I would not suggest touching it. Besides 10mW is so low that as long as you think about it being a laser and treat it as such you will not have problems.