help with picking a laser

Well I have been looking around the forums for a day or so and was trying to get laser where I can see the beam in the daytime when im outside and I seen that you guys said that its really hard to do that, around 300mw I think someone said I was just wondering if that was true? and if no one has come across a laser pointer that you can clearly see the beam in the daytime please link it, otherwise I was thinking about getting a laser pointer where you can see the beam in a well lit room, like a classroom!!

im in high school and I would like to show it off of course not shining it at people's face or anything like that

I was thinking of getting something around 125 mw so


and also I was reading this thing about the guide
"For a visable beam, 5mW is enough at night, and ~35 in a lit room. 50mW has a very visable green line at night, and anything above starts to get hard to look at/down"'

what does it mean by anything above start to get to look at/down?

and the 35mw in a lit room is easily seen so my 125 should be very easy to see right?

im new to this so any help would be apprectiated

and anything else I should know about lasers before buying any??

I wouldn't recommend 125mW for anyone without goggles. By 'hard to look at/down' they mean that it hurts your eyes if you start to look at it for too long. I would recommend a nice 25mW-30mW laser for showing off. Good luck.

For this answer, I will speak of the dot and the beam of the laser. The dot is the single point made by the laser, the beam is the long line of in the air, visualised by the particles the light hits on its path.

For a clearly visible dot, 5mW green is enough. Even in daylight the dot will be visible over quite long distances.

For a clearly visible beam at night, 15mW is enough, unless the air is very clean. 50mW and up will have very visible beams, 150mW and up will almost seem like solid lines.

For a clearly visible beam in a lit room, 50mW will do it, but several 100s of mW are needed for a very visible beam, unless the air is thick with particles (fog, smoke, dust). My 300mW green labby (which is more like 410mW) has a clearly visible beam in a lit room, but it is still not as much as 50mW at night.

For a clearly visible beam outdoors on a bright day.. well.. I have never seen one.

One thing to know about lasers: they will blind you in an instant. Do not fool around with them, do not let careless people handle them. Wear goggles when using anything more powerful than 10mW in a place with risks of reflections.

Seb

looking to spend around 150-200 anyone have any suggestions?

X75 Compact Portable >75mW Laser w/carrying case - NOVA Membership - 845 LightYear Reward Points - X-Series - Novalasers Inc.


this one caught my eye

Try something from here. I highly recommend O-like.
www.0-like.com--product

ooh i like their prices way better than the other place

so i picked out 100mW Transformable focusable green laser£*>5~200mw green laser pointer£*>Laser&lighting products£*>www.0-like.com

and if I get my 100mw one then I would be able to see it cleary inside a lit room even when its daytime outside correct?

and what about dusk/dawn when the sun is going down or coming up then you think I will be able to see the laser beam outside or would I just need to wait till its dark outside

and what about burning capabilities. I figure it can burn matches and pop balloons but will it sting other people or would I have to leave it on them for a while

and if im in my house and shining it, it wont mess up any of the walls or anything and leave scorch marks on there will it? I dont think so but I dont know you guys are the experts

and do lasers eventually die after some point kind of like light bulbs?


I said and way to much

I do highly recomend you their waterproof 150mW green lasers. They are really 150mW, the beam is somehow very thin, which improves the beam brightness a lot, and hell, YOU CAN PUT IT UNDERWATER!

99$ is a VERY good price

Yours,
Albert

You probably will be able to see a 100mw green at dusk/dawn but the best way to understand what the brightness is to see it for yourself. 100mw is fine for your first green laser. You will be very impressed. I have had and been happy with a 30mw for years before I assembled my 200mw.

1) It will be visible indoors in a lit room with light outside, but "clearly visible" is a very subjective term. Basically, it won't be like a solid, bright beam of light, but everybody WILL be able to see the beam. You can show it off because many people who have not seen a high power laser do not even know that they can create visible beams, but it is not going to look like the beam of the Death Star.

2) When it is getting a bit dark or still a bit dark you will be able to see the beam outside, but in the middle of the day, even the sun shining through a layer of clouds will drown out the beam.

3) It will pop balloons very fast and if focused to a pinpoint will be able to light matches. It will sting skin after a while, but not a lot. You won't sting the skin of your friends, but not because the laser can't do it - because you will be responsible and not point at them. A laser this power can permanently ruin someone's vision in an instant, even from a weak reflection, so pointing at them to "sting" them is not only annoying but also dangerous.

4) It will not leave scorch marks everywhere. It will mostly be able to burn dark things, and mostly only close up when focused to the smallest dot on that object.

5) A laser diode is usually rated at something like 5000-10000 hours, so yes, if you use it for prolonged periods frequently (such as in a laser show), it will die before you do. With a portable laser it will most likely not unless abused, since you aren't going to leave it on for hours every day.
When you use your laser it is important to switch it off after a certain period and let it cool down. Sometimes this duty cycle is provided by the seller, but if it is not, the general rule is 60 seconds on/60 seconds off. This may vary a lot from laser to laser, but basically - switch it off if you feel the body of it getting warm, then wait until it is cool to the touch again. Failing to do so will greatly limit the 5000-10000 hour rating. Sometimes, it will make the life last about 2 minutes

Now I have given you a lot of information needed to start here.. most of this you could have read yourself on old threads, but I guess I was feeling generous.

I have a couple more things to say unrelated to your questions:
1) The beam will be much more visible when looking along the beam, instead of from the side, just like coca cola will look darker when viewed through the top of the bottle and not from the side.
The beam is brightest if you look towards the laser down the beam, but this is obviously dangerous and you should be extremely careful (for example, fasten laser very securely and then go to the end of the beam and look down it, staying at least half a yard away from it).

2) Never shine the laser at reflective things or things very close to you unless you and anyone else in the room is wearing protective goggles. Never shine the laser at living things or any type of vehicle, especially planes. Several people have gone to prison for shining at aircrafts, one guy got 2½ years in jail for shining a 3mW tiny pointer at one - you are buying a laser 30-50 times more powerful.

Seb

well said. But I still recommend him the waterproof 150mW laser for 99$ xD

where is the link to that, i could only find 1 laser pointer that is underwater and that said it was like 50mw or something couldnt find the 150 or else i would buy that, like 10 more dollars for 50 more mw.

kissaholic said:

where is the link to that, i could only find 1 laser pointer that is underwater and that said it was like 50mw or something couldnt find the 150 or else i would buy that, like 10 more dollars for 50 more mw.

Click to expand...

Hmm, I couldn't find it on their site either.

maybe he is hallucinating?

well anyways im getting the 100mw one up there. Even if I did get an underwater laser pointer I still dont think i would put it underwater, cause if I break my 1st laser pointer for doing something stupid I would hate myself

sorry. not from O-like, it's actually rafoss.com who sells it. (I was hallucinating a bit xD)

Hey, i'm about to buy a laser like that too, but i don't want to break the bank. i only have $100-$200 to spend, and i want a really powerful greenie ( 150-300mW ) Since the underwater laser can't be found..... I need a reliable site with fast shipping, and, obviously, low prices. (((((((0)-------------#
matthew