What laser should i get?

Ive recently started looking into lasers, and i just cant decide which to get. Im a noob with lasers, and have never owned anything more than a 5mw laser. There seems to be so many different option and they all seem so cool. I think i want something that has enough power to burn, but i would also like the beam to at least be visible in low light. My budget it around 60$. What kind of laser should a noob like me get? Red? Green? How much power? etc. And also where should i get it from? Do i need protective eye wear or anything else/advice? I really would like to order one soon!

Thanks,

Nick

yes you need protective eye wear, 1 set of eyes.
as far as lasers for beam brightness you will want green.
But for burning you will want blue or 445nm due to their high power vs cost.
Now for your first laser and for under 60$ your looking at around a 100mw green
even if you diy thats proly the max you can get out of green.
the blue or 445nm the laser itself costs 35-45$ the glass lens is like 10$ the housing unit is 2.50$ the lm317 driver cost about 2.50$ to make
so your looking at 50-65$ in material.
Now for a first time laser some people will say the new blues are to much power and should learn on the small stuff.
But with money being tight and with some brains you can for the most part skip it.
I built a 445nm laser for under 65$ and its great. i built it in about 2 hours runs on 9volts. (that was the extra 5$)
ill show you a pic everything to build it can be found at your local radio shack.



this is without my glass lens so its got some major splash due to burning threw the lens.
this is only being driven at 500ma of power i had it at around 1.3w with another lens for all of about 3 second and it was nice but for a handheld i saw no need to have that much power.

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Im sure you will enjoy your stay and please read the rules here - http://laserpointerforums.com/f36/

Theres endless "FREE" knowledge here, learn as much as you can!

There are several sites you can look at for your budget.

Now as for the beam..... you would want green. 100mw of green is visible in low lit rooms! I would also suggest atleast 100mw of green for decent burning. Focus knobs are great as you can burn much better. I would also STRONGLY suggest googles as you are completely new to lasers.

Depending on which wavelength of light you choose you have to pick glasses accordingly. Remember you only have one set of eyes and once there gone....there gone!

100mw of green is your best bet for beam/burning at slightly more money than red or purple. I would "NOT" suggest 445nm to a beginner as it is one of the ore dangerous wavelengths and glasses "ARE" required. I would "STRONGLY" suggest buying a pair if you got 445nm (blue).

Now purple is your best bet for burning as 100mw of it is much better than 100mw of green or red. it is not very visible (can be seen at night) but has tremendous burning power. (even burns white paper!)

Red is the cheapest out of them all as you can get 200Mw of it for nearly 50$. It is not very visible either but can be seen at night too.

Here are some links now!

Green lasers! 532nm
www.rayfoss.com
http://rayfoss.com/productn.asp?ArticleID=32
50mW transformable green laser/adjustable/burning [OLV50] - $41.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
New cute pocket Green laser 50mW /adjustable [OLCGL50] - $34.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products

Red lasers! 660nm
www.rayfoss.com
New Style red laser 200mW /adjustable [OLNRL200] - $44.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
New Style waterproof red laser 200mW /adjustable [OLNWRL200] - $53.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
Old style red laser 200mW/adjustable [OLRLA200] - $43.00 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products

Purple lasers! 405nm
www.rayfoss.com

Safety! (remember to chose the appropriate glasses for your laser!)
Laser Safety :: Dragon Lasers (remember to chose the appropriate glasses for your laser!

(i dont suggest going here but just for reference they sell glasses) Wicked Lasers OEM Goggles

Glenn sells glasses too but i would only recommend buying them if you have no other way of getting glasses. In no way do i suggest these as a substitute for real glasses. "real" certified glasses are still suggested as you only have one set of eyes.

you can pm glenn here - http://laserpointerforums.com/members/scopeguy20/

If you have "any" other questions just pm me. I can try my best to help.

Enjoy your stay!
Jeff

Dang thank you guys! Ill defiantly make sure to get protective eyewear now! This has helped so much. I'm really liking the 405nm from rayfoss the most. Does the 405nm/80mw really have more burning power than a 660nm/200mw? Could you rank the burning power/beam visibility between a 405nm/80mw, 532nm/100mw, and 660nm/200mw? Which lasers dot can be seen from furthest away?

the green will be the brightest with the most visible beam then followed by the red and last the blu ray or 405.
In burning power the 200mw will burn the most then the 405 and last green.
and remember just because the 445nm laser can be driven over 1w does not mean you have to. drive it around 250mw then as you get more comfortable turn up the power
i am making another box laser with a set of dip switches just for that.
1/8 power then 1/4 ,1/2, and then full. this way you can use it to burn and then with the flick of a switch set it to be used as a much less dangerous pointer.
i cant believe people drive 445nms at 1w as pointers thats just to much power for me.

Alright thanks! i would like to learn to make one later, but first i just want to start off with it already built for me. A 445nm will be my next laser. Building one yourself seems like a lot of fun though. I think i'm going to get a red 200mw. I like the fact that it would burn the greatest, yet still have an okay beam. Do you happen to know how far a red 200mw would be visible?

Red is "very" visible with some fog. But under normal conditions its not too visible. Just barely
At night you can see it and sometimes in low light places during the day. Most of your questions have been answered before so in the future use the search button.

Thanks,
Jeff

Okay cool, i didn't even know you could do that. Is there anyway i could make a 200mw red laser more powerful? It seems to me that i can just buy a higher voltage battery.

NOOOOOO
the laser has its limits.
Depending on the optic there are high efficiency optics that will improve power a bit but nothing Huge.
honestly if you want a beam go green.
Or go super blue only cheap options atm.
Other than that you are limited.
Also in my honest opinion a red laser is very boring even if it is high powered.
Everyone has had a red laser but not alot of people have had green blu ray or blue.
So i would say get something new, but its up to you.

Hmm this really is a hard decision for me. Would a 100mw green laser really have enough burning power to have fun with?

Seriously, look at building your own. You will still need the safety glasses which will take up probably half of your budget but for the rest you can likely put together a reasonable power red, (200mW+), whilst saving up for shop bought greenie for the visible beams.

You will need parts, of course, and a little skill and research but have a look at this thread that aims to explain what you'll need and why - http://laserpointerforums.com/f51/i-want-build-laser-thread-52972.html

The rest is all up to you but it's fun getting there! PM me if you don't understand anything, this is a new guide so I'd like to know how you find it.

All the best and....

WELCOME TO LPF!!! :wave:

M

Search button!

mrbubl3s said:

Search button!

Click to expand...

^It is extremely unusual for me to neg rep someone, yet you have received this honour and then tried to tell someone else to use the search button?!!! Incredible! Take some of your own medicine!

If I was allowed to, I'd neg rep you again!

Go away mrbubl3s...

M

I didn't mean it that way, I mean't it in a... Well, look at my avatar, and imagine her saying it.

So i changed my mind, i want to go with a green laser now.
Which should i get from these options:
40$ 50mw waterproof www.rayfoss.com
45$ 50mw waterproof http://rayfoss.com/productn.asp?ArticleID=10
^whats the difference besides the color of housing? ^
55$ 100mw pen style www.rayfoss.com
31$ 50mw $21.66 New Keychain Green Beam Laser Pointer Pen Flashlight 30mW/50mW/100mW - BudgetGadgets.com
35$ 50mw New cute pocket Green laser 50mW /adjustable [OLCGL50] - $34.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
41$ 50mw 50mW transformable green laser/adjustable/burning [OLV50] - $41.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
I would like to pick the one with the greatest quality for my buy, and which on the most reliable website. I don't want to buy a 31$ because i think im saving money when its not as good as the others. Yet i don't want to buy the more expensive ones and it be just as good as the 31$ one. Which should i buy? and do you have to do something called a cleaning cycle(i think thats what its called?) on the pen style ones?

Make a pros and cons list of everything you can think of, then see which outweighs the cons the most. BTW, I would stay away from CR123s and stuff, maybe thats just me, but where I live they run about $5 a pop.