Hmm! What would be the best choice?

Hi there .

I thinking about buying a 5mw laser on DealExtreme. I saw I can get a 30mw laser for around 10$ more.

I'm not going to use it for anything else than things like pointing at stars, :-/ or generally for the bragging...


But is the extra 25mw worth the 10 bucks? I don't really want it to be strong enough to damage my eye if I somehow accidentally got a reflection from a mirror (this has happened for me with a red laser). However, I wouldn't be 'shooting' the laser indoors anyway as I've got the impression that green lasers are very powerful...

Will looking at the beam(in mid air) OR at the dot (on a surface) be harmful to my eyes? And what is a IR filter, and is it necessary for a 5mw?

So which would be the best 'for fun' laser? Oh, and would a 5mw be visible in the air? That's really what makes it funny - that you can see it in mid air...


Thanks a lot ;-),


z92

The 5mw would be visible in the air at night. The 30mw will be a bit more visible. As long as you don;t shoot either of them into your eye or someone else's, both should be safe for pointing and view diffuse reflections ( against a wall ) as long as you are not too close. Catching a specular reflection from a mirror however could be dangeous especially if either the 5 or the 30 are over spec. a 30mw briefly flashed over your eye on a accident, not magnified by any optics shouldn't cause permanent long term damage. it may cause significant flash blindness and latent images for a while though. That's not set in stone and if magnified or viewed though some optics like binoculars can cause much more serious damage.

I have glasses (sometimes I wear contact lenses)... Would a 5mw be safe? And it doesent have a IR filter (still dont know what that is... but it sounds important)  


I really dont want my eyes to be ruined because of a little laser fun! :-* So I want to stay safe. Wont point at other peoples faces, no! I wont even let friends try it as they are simply too retarded to understand the power of laser pointers... They've flashed me with a red one before.

5mW is safe, if you get hit by a reflection you won't get damage. 30mW isn't as safe as 5mW but it isn't super dangerous like higher powers. In fact most of DX's lasers do have IR filters, they just say they dont so nobody gets mad.

But a 5mw beam WOULD be visible in the dark? I think ill go with one of these if thats right, cause I really dont want to criple myself with a 30mw lightsaber!  

a 5mw's beam can barely be seen
itll be very faint

lol get the true 30mw its far from a light saber but but perfect for spoting out starts

and from what i,ve heard about dx saying there no ir filter it is complete bs there actualy is one so your safe but not to say go shine the thing in urs eyes anyway

EDIT: dont think i should be joking about that

skipstar_ash said:

lol get the true 30mw its far from a light saber but but perfect for spoting out starts

and from what i,ve heard about dx saying there no ir filter it is complete bs there actualy is one so your safe but not to say go shine the thing in urs eyes anyway

P.S watch those planes flying past i am actualy able to see the beam reflect off them with myn

Click to expand...

You shine your laser off of planes ? :-?

i think u can get booted off these forums for promoting plane shooting

skipstar_ash said:

lol get the true 30mw its far from a light saber but but perfect for spoting out starts

and from what i,ve heard about dx saying there no ir filter it is complete bs there actualy is one so your safe but not to say go shine the thing in urs eyes anyway

P.S watch those planes flying past i am actualy able to see the beam reflect off them with my true 30mW

Click to expand...

Skipstar - that is a felony, my friend ! WOW...I am going to let you have it with both barrels now - that is the STUPIDEST thing I have ever read on this forum ! You do NOT shine your laser at any living being, at any mobile object, or in ANY fashion where it may accidently reflect on the beforementioned things ! Doing so is a HUGE risk to others - what happened it a pilot actually saw you shining your laser at the plane ? well, you would get your 15 minutes of fame, that is for certain - AND go to jail for a looooong time. At least I HOPE that is what would happen. Not only have I not known anyone that has done that, but I strongly discourage you from EVER doing it again, and also refrain from discussing it on this forum - if you ignore my strong caution, you will not be welcomed here, and you will be able to join the ranks of the banned people from here, and go to LC, or another forum. CPF would ban you instantaneously for even mentioning that, much less with the amount of disdain you show for doing it.

I hope you, and others on the forum can understand 100% what mine, and LPF's stance is on felony actions with laser pointers - DO NOT DO THAT CRAP !

G !

:-/ didnt expect this

only reason i said it as a joke was because i thought he mentioned somthing about spoting out stars in other words flashing that thing around in the sky

i wasnt telling him to go do it i was actualy saying the opposite

and i personly havnt done it though it came to mind since alot of people have been doin it here in australia. its been quiet a big thing on the news recently

anyway srry to have caused such a mess here i removed what i said

Skipstar - thanks for clarifying that ! Yeah, spotting planes is not a good thing to joke about unfortunately

I have been explaining to a friend of mind how I am making my own lasers and what not. He doesn't live close so I talk to him on the phone. I was talking to him last night about lasers and he seriously suggested aiming it at aircraft...including helicopters! I not only let him have it with both barrels, I also let him have it with a big foot right up his rear end. I let him know it was a felony to lase aircraft, and he wanted to know how people are getting caught. Unbelievable!

The thing that really angered me is I had explained to him many times before the dangers of lasers so I was kind of shocked by what I was hearing, plus he is in his late 20's so he should know better. I had offered to make a laser for him but I am definitely having second thoughts about it. He really is a decent person, but he sure has his head stuck where the sun doesn't shine when it comes to laser safety.