laser pointer mw on sticker

I acquired two cheap green laser pointers with AAA batteries. They are generic no name brand. One sticker says <100mw the other says <240mw. Sounds good, lets test a little. I am an absolute newb so I don't have a LPM. I do have balloons and matches.

First I tried both pointers on a red balloon, neither popped it from even directly on it. Next I made a black dot on the balloon and the 100mw pointer pooped it right away from 1 meter away. The 240mw pointer did not pop it at 1 meter.

I thought maybe the 240mw pointer had weaker batteries so I swapped the AAA's from in each pointer. The 100mw pointer still popped the red balloon with a black dot at 1 meter. The 240mw pointer still did not pop the balloon.

Neither pointer will light a wooden match at all. I waited 30 seconds before giving up. My question? Do the warning stickers mean anything or are they just for show? If you cannot trust them who can you trust?

well ebay lasers aren't the best the the label is fake.

How do you know when the label is for real and accurate?

well if its 240mw in a pen its fake and 100mw in a pen it will be at least $200.Don't buy ebay lasers.go to the faq

sportcoupe said:

How do you know when the label is for real and accurate?

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When you measure the laser and place it on the laser yourself. Otherwise, you can only hope to go with the reputation of the seller. Go with Optotronics, Laserglow Novalasers, Pseudonomen, etc. and you can feel pretty secure you will either get what you paid for or they will make it right

Peace,
dave

I have read the FAQ, it doesn't address false claims on laser labels. I have always assumed a label to be correct normally.

My neighbor has a 5 mw ebay laser and mine are much, much more intense. I know this isn't a measurement but it is certainly obvious mine has slightly more power. Any idea what they cauld be putting out? What's the minimum required to pop a balloon with a black magic marker dot?

I will look into the other suggestions on vendors, thanks a bunch.

well if it pops a bollon then approx. 40mw probably 50mw.

sportcoupe said:

How do you know when the label is for real and accurate?

Click to expand...

the sticker is real if you get it from a tested company, whereas it is fake if you get it from ebay or another unknown company

daguin said:

[quote author=sportcoupe link=1219277234/0#2 date=1219282321]How do you know when the label is for real and accurate?

Click to expand...

When you measure the laser and place it on the laser yourself.  Otherwise, you can only hope to go with the reputation of the seller.  Go with Optotronics, Laserglow Novalasers, Pseudonomen, etc. and you can feel pretty secure you will either get what you paid for or they will make it right

Peace,
dave[/quote]

sir, you left out one very reputable seller, Daguin!

sportcoupe said:

I have read the FAQ, it doesn't address false claims on laser labels. I have always assumed a label to be correct normally.

My neighbor has a 5 mw ebay laser and mine are much, much more intense. I know this isn't a measurement but it is certainly obvious mine has slightly more power. Any idea what they cauld be putting out? What's the minimum required to pop a balloon with a black magic marker dot?

I will look into the other suggestions on vendors, thanks a bunch.

Click to expand...

Probably 25-30mW will pop a balloon .