Starman
0
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2010
- Messages
- 7
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Hey I'm new on the forum and to lasers and I need some help. I've been spending some time reading as many posts as I thought might help me learn about lasers including the very helpful guide to buying a first GL. I'm trying to make a decent decision to buy my first and maybe my only green laser.
Like so many other newbie's who are fascinated with laser light, I'm trying to figure out what's the most bang for the buck. I have a set limit of funds to spend of about $200.00 +/-. If it were really critical I would consider more, but at this point it seems it would be over kill for me.
Primarily I'm interested in as bright and as strong of a beam for star gazing as I can get. I want to have fun and impress both myself and my friends. I'll also use this during daylight in the construction business as a pointer on buildings. At this point I don't think I'm too concerned with burning, however once I get one I may discover a new interest.
To achieve this goal, a couple of things that seem most important other than build quality are battery power and divergence. After reading a number of your posts, this could almost be an easy decision with the numerous high recommendations given about Rayfoss and O-like as it sounds like it's hard to go wrong with either one. But then I read on to where Dragonlasers are better as well as Optotronics. Of course the prices are lower with Foss & O-like but maybe there's something I wouldn't be getting that would be worth paying for with DL & Optotronics products. I'm value oriented so I'd like to understand the difference and if it would be worth it to someone like myself. One of those elements could be divergence as many of Foss's are <1.5 or even <1.7. I understand where it's better to be closer to 1.0 and the DL & Optotronics seem to offer this standard being <1.2. I wonder just how much of a difference there is in comparison. From what I've read, all of these suppliers are pretty much over-spec and guarantee it one way or the other, so that shouldn't be an issue. Also, the duty cycle thing to follow isn't a biggie, but would certainly be better to not worry about. Seems like wanting that feature would negate the budget.
So if you can help out with some more info. & recommendations, I would appreciate it much. :thanks:
Like so many other newbie's who are fascinated with laser light, I'm trying to figure out what's the most bang for the buck. I have a set limit of funds to spend of about $200.00 +/-. If it were really critical I would consider more, but at this point it seems it would be over kill for me.
Primarily I'm interested in as bright and as strong of a beam for star gazing as I can get. I want to have fun and impress both myself and my friends. I'll also use this during daylight in the construction business as a pointer on buildings. At this point I don't think I'm too concerned with burning, however once I get one I may discover a new interest.
To achieve this goal, a couple of things that seem most important other than build quality are battery power and divergence. After reading a number of your posts, this could almost be an easy decision with the numerous high recommendations given about Rayfoss and O-like as it sounds like it's hard to go wrong with either one. But then I read on to where Dragonlasers are better as well as Optotronics. Of course the prices are lower with Foss & O-like but maybe there's something I wouldn't be getting that would be worth paying for with DL & Optotronics products. I'm value oriented so I'd like to understand the difference and if it would be worth it to someone like myself. One of those elements could be divergence as many of Foss's are <1.5 or even <1.7. I understand where it's better to be closer to 1.0 and the DL & Optotronics seem to offer this standard being <1.2. I wonder just how much of a difference there is in comparison. From what I've read, all of these suppliers are pretty much over-spec and guarantee it one way or the other, so that shouldn't be an issue. Also, the duty cycle thing to follow isn't a biggie, but would certainly be better to not worry about. Seems like wanting that feature would negate the budget.
So if you can help out with some more info. & recommendations, I would appreciate it much. :thanks: