A Guide To Buying Your First Green Laser

Thanks.BTW do I need laser goggles for a 50mW one?I mean for looking on the dot,is it too bright?
I don't mean pointing the laser in my eye,that's crazy!

alennn said:

Thanks.BTW do I need laser goggles for a 50mW one?I mean for looking on the dot,is it too bright?
I don't mean pointing the laser in my eye,that's crazy!

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Never a laser is safe, but 50mW, isn't very bright. Is not as annoying as one of 100mw. But it isn't advisable to look intently or a long time the dot, and less to close. Is much better to buy a pair of googles, for if you ever want to do such experiments, for example. And so, if in the future you buy a new lasers, already will have a googles. I think that safety is more important than the laser.

But, As I say, 50mw isn't very bright, and using it responsably, probably you don't need a googles.

Regards!

IMO you should get goggles anyway. Goggles suitable for a 50mW laser shouldn't be too expensive, and they're necessary if you want to burn anything. But assuming you're going to do what 50mW greens do best (shooting a big bright beam into the sky and hitting clouds after ensuring there are no aeroplanes about) you'll be alright not wearing them.

I think your best option is getting a 5mW for pointing, and use the powerful laser for stargazing. This way you won't even need goggles. As JaiNobeZ said, goggles are necessary for burning, but you're not going to be burning anything with 50mW.

@randomlugia: That's not going to stop him from trying. I tried with my first green, ~50mW. I now realise it wasn't the best of ideas.

@alennn: Don't waste your time trying to burn, it won't work. Which laser are you getting?

JaiNobeZ said:

@randomlugia: That's not going to stop him from trying. I tried with my first green, ~50mW. I now realise it wasn't the best of ideas.

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Then what makes you think he's not going to try with his goggles off?

randomlugia said:

Then what makes you think he's not going to try with his goggles off?

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That's what we're here for. To discourage it.

I just got my 50mW laser today.I can't post pics today,because I need to get good shots.And I'm not buying safety glasses and I need just to be careful.I remember those cheap red keychain lasers.I mean they hurt your eye,but then what do 50mW laser does to the eye?:thinking:

How about "cooks it"?

total noob question. I'm yet another one of those annoying uneducated people that wants to get a green laser pen pointer (in the U.S.). So it looks like legally, I'm getting a 5mW pointer from one of the mentioned legitimate sites. But here's where my lack of laser knowledge comes in. Can a 5mW green laser be used continuously on for an extended period of time? Like lets say... a couple hours? Will a pen like this even last that long continuously? Or is this feat even possible, or will it start to overheat/get dangerous/something scientific I dont understand... And if I were to obtain a stronger pointer, in say the 20-50mW range, does the answer to my question change, as far as uninterrupted continuous use for an extended period of time being possible?

I'll level with you guys... I'm going camping, like WAY out there in the wilderness, and want to wander and explore at night... I had a random idea to rig up a green pointer aimed straight up at the sky, so all I'd have to do is walk back towards the beam until I got to the campsite. Is this possible? Or is there something major about lasers that I don't understand? Would 5mW be strong enough to see at night from a distance, if pointed straight up?

Thanks in advance for the non-condescending answers, be nice

totesdownforlasers said:

Can a 5mW green laser be used continuously on for an extended period of time? Like lets say... a couple hours? Will a pen like this even last that long continuously? Or is this feat even possible, or will it start to overheat/get dangerous/something scientific

Would 5mW be strong enough to see at night from a distance, if pointed straight up?

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LaserGlow has Galileo which has 100% cycle-duty (always on OK).

I'd rather use compass/stars or get some "skills" to find back (direction and location awareness).
I don't have those kind of problems cause we do have a lot woods here

Ummm... not reccomended. Simply because of planes passing by, there's a risk you'll hit one. Best not to leave an unmanned beam pointing into the sky.

It won't be unmanned, there will be other people at the campsite. And again I could be totally wrong, but I thought it became illegal when you were maliciously and obviously pointing them at planes/cars to distract them. This sucker would be non-moving straight up, so if planes could even see it, they would certainly see it coming and only have contact for a fraction of a second if they happened to pass perfectly directly overhead. Which is unlikely since I'm in the middle of nowhere.

Is any "100% cycle-duty" ok? Is this the term I should be googling when shopping? And again, is 5mW going to be bright enough for me to see at a distance from that angle? (perpendicular to the beam)

alennn said:

Thanks.BTW do I need laser goggles for a 50mW one?I mean for looking on the dot,is it too bright?
I don't mean pointing the laser in my eye,that's crazy!

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Goggles are never so you can point it in your face. No one wearing goggles should try that Ever. You ware them because a reflection can shot it into your eyes. 50mW can damage your eyes faster than you can blink, and on reflections it does the same damage. So yes if you are using the laser indoors at close range you should ware goggles. 1 reflection is all it takes and you could have the eye damage the rest of your life possibly.

If it is a cheap 5mW one, I wouldn't care about duty cycle. I would check how warm it was every few minutes and turn it off it got too warm. If it overheats, who cares? They're like $5.

The pilot of the plane might not see the beam, and get hit. As long as there is someone constantly watching the sky, it won't be a problem. Just remember that you can get in serious trouble if it hits a plane and it's your fault.

100% duty cycle means you can keep it on as long as you like, with no cool down needed. I doubt you'll find a battery that lasts hours, though. If you want that kind of runtime, you need a laser running off of AC power.

No, you won't be able to see a 5mW beam from the side well at all. Of course, it all depends on surrounding conditions like ambient light and fog, but I can barely see my 125mW beam pointing up from 30 feet away. A much better idea would be to get a bright lantern and leave it at the campsite, and set to a blinking mode if needed.