I am in need of some assistance.

I am new here so, Hi.
I have been reading these forums for weeks upon weeks. I have also bought numerous $5 amazon lasers and well... they all broke.

I am looking at getting a more serious laser and after reading on here I seem to have found that 'lazerers' has some of the best prices. Before I talk about what i am looking for I just wanted to let you all know that I am VERY serious about eye protection. Although I never did much with lasers before I used to work as a referee at a paintball park back in my teens and I have seen what lack of the recommended eye protection can do. Yes, it IS what you are thinking and it was very disgusting. I know it is hard to compare the two as they are very different but I have already ordered a pair.

With that said I am looking at a couple of different lasers in the 50 dollar range.
532nm and 50+mW. I have seen several recommendations but i am torn.

LZSK - 532nm 100mW Focusable Green Laser Pointer
or
LZCS - 532nm 100mW Focusable Green Laser Pointer

I think a duty cycle of 45 seconds is more than enough for me.

I guess I am wondering of the two which would you guys choose. Duty cycle not being a factor.
and would you purchase the certificate?

Lastly, I see a lot of people recommend buying from someone from LPF. I looked at buy sell and trade but I didn't really find anything as i don't think I really know what I am looking for or what to expect for the amount of money I want to spend. ALL help is greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance,

Steve.

Okay. So. Both of the lasers you linked are pretty much the same. Just different hosts. So Just choose which one you like. If you are still not sure which one you like. My personal opinion. I like the LZSK the most.


There's not much you can actually do with a handheld laser. One fun thing you can do is a laser microscope. Popping balloons is really fun. Except you get tired of cleaning them up and then refilling new ones. Matches are fun too. Just don't burn down your house

BST section is hit and miss. Sometimes you find something you like sometimes you don't. Most people come here to buy the most powerful laser they can, burn with it and leave. Maybe not most but quite a few. So we usually direct them toward a builder. You can probably request a custom 100mw laser to be built. I'm not sure if it would be 50$ but you could customise what you like.

Once you get your first laser, you will get an idea what you like.

Whatever you choose. Be safe and have fun!
Jeff

jeffreythe00 said:

Once you get your first laser, you will get an idea what you like.

Click to expand...

Agreed.
I know it's not exactly helpful advice for making a choice but I think it's something you have to hold in your hand before you know what to expect.

Welcome!

jeffreythe00 said:

Okay. So. Both of the lasers you linked are pretty much the same. Just different hosts. So Just choose which one you like. If you are still not sure which one you like. My personal opinion. I like the LZSK the most.


There's not much you can actually do with a handheld laser. One fun thing you can do is a laser microscope. Popping balloons is really fun. Except you get tired of cleaning them up and then refilling new ones. Matches are fun too. Just don't burn down your house

BST section is hit and miss. Sometimes you find something you like sometimes you don't. Most people come here to buy the most powerful laser they can, burn with it and leave. Maybe not most but quite a few. So we usually direct them toward a builder. You can probably request a custom 100mw laser to be built. I'm not sure if it would be 50$ but you could customise what you like.

Once you get your first laser, you will get an idea what you like.

Whatever you choose. Be safe and have fun!
Jeff

Click to expand...

is there a specific spot for people looking for work? Haha. Do i just post on BST and wait on a reply? Also, any advice on certificates at lazerer? I guess i don't really need to know how powerful the laser is but it would be nice.

Thanks for the quick replies!

Yeah. basicly you just pm one of our MANY machinists. I could name a few off the top of my head but we have more than a few around here. Tell them what you are looking for. If you have a specific host you like or just need a heat sink you can pretty much order it to size
Just give them your measurements and your set.


You can post in the BST when you have 20 posts and it has to be approved by a moderator. You can pretty much request whatever you want as long as you have the money.

You hit the nail on the head with lazerer. Lazerer is a good company and has been known to send out over spec units and offer very good support on damaged/malfunctioning items. The power certificate isn't necessary. Its just nice to have and could help aid in the case you would want to sell it.

Once I get the post count I will try it. Raised my limit to 100. I am looking at what color laser I really want. Sort of a hard decision. I had originally thoughr I wanted green but the more I look around the more confused I get. Haha.

You might want to give DTR a pm he is a master builder and can probably make you what ever you want.

See . So should you decide to go the custom route. Flaminpyro could machine you whatever you want and dtr can build it into a working laser.

There are plenty of lasers you could get for 100$ . Just make sure you get what you want. Otherwise you'll say "Crap, for 20$ more I could have bought ______"

Try posting a WTB in yhe BST forum.
Or buy a diode and a JAD kit. almost fool proof building.

jeffreythe00 said:

See . So should you decide to go the custom route. Flaminpyro could machine you whatever you want and dtr can build it into a working laser.

There are plenty of lasers you could get for 100$ . Just make sure you get what you want. Otherwise you'll say "Crap, for 20$ more I could have bought ______"

Click to expand...

I really have no idea what to expect for the amount i am paying. All i can go by is what I can get off of websites as I will not want to have to do anything other than add batteries. It is probably going to be one of those situations where I ask for the most they can do for my money and for them to keep it clean and simple.

How many mW do you think I can do for a custom build around $100? I am debating between 532nm and 445nm. Has anyone had someone build one for them before? I am not sure the questions I should ask.

445nm is a lot cheaper than 532nm because 532nm is DPSS. With 100$ you may be able to get ~1W for the 445nm blue or ~200mW of 532nm green. You will have to sort it out with the seller.

If you want a bright beam, 532nm is a better choice but if you want to burn stuff go with the 445nm. This is because the eye is more sensitive to 532nm than 445nm (peak 555nm).

Good to see that you got eye protection but make sure it is rated at the wavelength you buy.