I need solid advice and objective recommendations

Greetings.......I'm new to the forum........I have a 5mW green laser from lasersale.com in TX and it works great........now I would like to purchase a 20mW and a 30mW or 35mW green laser. The 20mW will be a gift to a good friend and the 30 or 35mW green laser will be for me.

I have seen several compay names thrown around on forums: great red spot, DX and wicker and a few others....

Which companies actually send lasers with the stength that they advertise?.....DX has really low prices for what they advertise

Are there any significant differences between 20mW and 35mW?

At which stength does the green laser's quality become suspect for most companies?...30mW....35mW

Which companies are reliable and what am I really getting from each of these vendors or a vendor that you recommend?

I would like a lot more power than what I have with the 5mw. Currently, I'm using it to point out stars, but last weekend a friend and I went out into the woods and had the greatest time with my green laser and a small red one that I have......thanks!

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

First of all when looking for a stronger laser always check the specs for and IR filter and average output not just peak. Also it matter what you are looking for when buying a new laser if you would like to burn things or just point at the stars you need to answer that before you can really choose what type of laser you would like to buy.

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

I would go to DL ( www.dragonlasers.com) I've only heard good things from there and you will get the output power stated if it says 35mw it will be 35mw. There is a difference between the 20mw and 35mw but not huge but enough that you'd notice a difference side by side. If you're going for burning, which you didn't state weather or not you want to burn, the lowest I'd go with is a 55mw, but if you kick in a little extra cash and get the 75mw they'll be no lack of burning power. But for fun and safe messing around 35 would do great.

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

I'm not sure how to respond to your 1st point but I've read that some lasers simply have the filter removed and are not infact the strength that is advertised so I'm like the filter inside I think....isn't it unsafe to have the filter removed?

I would like to do both but primarily I want a bright laser for the sky. I want a really bright light shooting upward......some of the lasers say that they travel 10,000 feet........I'd like that!

Burning would be fun too...........maybe I'll give the laser that burns to my friend and borrow it sometimes and buy the bright sky viewing green laser for myself......

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

Take a look at Atlasnova's offerings.

I purchased two "CPF Specials" from Atlasnova, when he was running a special on his "astronomy grade" lasers around Christmastime last year. He sells these lasers year-round, but they are not listed on the wevsite, you have to call him for them. I highly recommend them, the beams on mine are very clean and resemble that from a green HeNe. They are in the power range you request. The quality is very good and the price is reasonable for what you get.

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

What is the approximate cost from Atlasnova and what were the stengths please......just a ball park for the cost? What is the distance on them? Thanks!

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

The distance can be VERY misleading - a laser is a coherent beam of light - it will travel further than your eye can see- only limited by the curvature of the earth ! Anyone who boasts a specific length of beam travel is either not educated in lasers, or is using it as a marketing ploy ! I think the www.atlasnova.com lasers that Ragnarok is referring to were around the $80.00 range. I am not sure, though - the only way to find out for sure is to email him ! Welcome to the forum, by the way - hope you have fun !!!

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

The "special" price at the time was $79 (each), and I ended up with a 34 and a 36 mW. Each came with a sticky-note attached showing the measured power - the fact that he measures each one and provides that info means a lot, to me at least. You know what you are getting up front. I later verified the power with my own meter.

The cases are machined brass, not aluminum. I've had no battery power issues or switch flicker.

I'm not sure what you mean by the "distance", but I will say that the divergence (the amount the beam spreads) is low, and for star-pointing they are awesome; at night, they'll go as far as you will be able to see them. I can even use them for pointing things out in daylight at a distance of a few hundred feet.

Take your time before you buy, check the forums, see which lasers have multiple threads talking about their problems. and which ones don't.

If someone gave me an Atlasnova laser as a gift, I would be !

Give Abeland a call and tell him what you are looking for, ask him questions, he has answers.

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

SenKat:

What places would you recommend to purchase a 30mW or 35mW? If the place is not stateside, how reliable is the delivery to me?

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

Ragnarok:

......is Atlasnova stateside?

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

here is a list of resources , websites, etc.

http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1172987253

AtlasNova is in the US. (Oregon?)

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

http://atlasnova.com/products.htm

They are located in Washington state.

The "high spec" lasers link: http://atlasnova.com/HighSpecGLD.htm

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

How stickler are atlasnova about "good reasons" for getting into the high powered site? I see that it's by invitation only and can't think of a good reason other than they are cool!! LOL I'm in the market for a 100+mw laser and I would like to compare all of the one's available.

Re: I need solid advice and objective recommendati

The "high spec" lasers are in the 20-40mW range, which was in the original poster's target zone. I don't believe he has any of much higher power than that.

Arnold is careful about who he sells lasers to, as anyone should be; he wants to see them go into the hands of those who will be responsible with them. That's why you have to call him to get the >5mW ones. He wants to talk to his buyers to see what they are really thinking, to make sure they aren't going to be idiots using them, and to help them choose the best laser for the purpose. If you have a legitimate use (and there's lots of uses), there's nothing to worry about.

I needed daytime visibility to point things out on jobsites and to shoot distances for measurement and alignment. I also occasionally go to a dark sky location, and in very clear air you need more power for the beam to show up for star pointing purposes.

Of course, playing with them in the smoggy lower elevation air here is a real bonus though. And I think Arnold knows that people WILL play with them.