Dangers of DX "5 mW" Green Laser "Class IIIb"

legojohn said:

It's not really that easy to make sure no one is around,

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Do you have a backyard? If you do just go there in the evening & make sure noone else is back there. If you don't have one find a secluded area and check the surroundings to check if anyone else is around. Simple

-Alex

As the beam diverges with distance the danger is reduced, just make sure no-one is within visual range, or point it towards the sky. Assuming you aren't close to an airport.

I didn't immediately assume anything anywhere and didn't say you actually were a troll. As anyone can read for themselves I've been trying to help you with a question that has been asked a 1000 times before. We have asked you simple questions. The first 3 posts after your initial one said:

-"you have not provided enough information to even take a stab at a guess"
-"Need lots of description such as how bright does the beam seem in different lighting conditions?"
-"Is the beam visible in the dark? Can you focus it on something black and plastic?"

Down in post #12 you say:

"Sorry, what kind of visiblity description could I give you? To me it's a bright green dot, dunno how else to describe it."


This in general is a laser forum for enthusiasts who actually like them and we don't see them as damn, bad and trashy things. Doesn't appear to be the hobby for you and that's absolutely fine.
We take safety serious here and applaud you for your concern. Unfortunately bad things can and do happen even when your trying to be very careful but that's with anything in life. It's a risk assessment that you have to answer for yourself. If you aren't comfortable handling lasers then don't mess with them. No one should fault you for that as long as you don't try and force the rest of us to comply.

I like lasers too, but my eyesight I like even more.

Generally with a laser of that caliber if you're considerate about who is operating the laser, and how or where it's being operated ~ you should be safe. Especially with the level of concern you seem to have about potential dangers.

However, the laser you possess has a moderate output between 50-100mw. This means it's a Class 3B laser that should be handled with proper precaution. A direct contact to your eye from the beam poses an indefinite eye hazard.

Considering you seem particularly worried about the potential hazards, I recommend obtaining a pair of protective glasses or goggles that comply with the specs of your unit before operating it. Otherwise you certainly aren't obligated to use it. I'd recommend removing the battery and storing it away if it continues to tickle your conscience. Try to consider your purchases more in the future to prevent anymore questionable encounters.

Stay safe!

Its good you have concerns about safety but I agree with others that you may be taking things too far. Its not that hard to confirm you have a safe clear line of sight to use a laser outdoors. Its not like the laser you have will blind someone a mile away or far enough that you cant see them. At the power level you have, you can shine it at dark target and safely look at it from a reasonable distance. Trees make good targets for lasers. I live within 10 miles of an airport so keep my beam near the horizon around tree top height. I think you are getting yourself overly worked up about the dangers. Your comment about safety glasses still wouldnt make you feel better shows that maybe this isnt the right hobby for you and thats okay. If you are this nervous then i agree maybe you shouildnt be using a laser. Cautioun is good, scared and not trusting saftey equiptment is not good. Yes these devices can blind a person but its not like we are all running around with lasers putting people in dire risks of blindness? Use common sense, get some safety glasses and laser responsibly.

Eye hazard depends on all kinds of things
like divergence, wavelength, and power.
Here is my NOHD calculator if you want to
get an idea.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s9N4lCFtKRoGu-Uykc5NiwKWerbMUXG0AKsrOd8bpQc

So you see why we cannot just give you
definite numerical figures. The simple
answer is don't ever aim ANY laser at
someones's face or at eye level.

The nominal ocular hazard distance calculator doesn't include wavelength, what should be assumed?

Not sure if this is of any help to you, but here is a page from "LaserPointerSafety.com".

Love that web site, full of great info and this chart is wonderful:

That's interesting and very good to know Alaskan. Can anyone answer why 1W blue goes straight from Injury to Glare hazard without a range for flash blindness?
Its the only color that does this.

nwfreefly, take a look at the site, (right under the graph that Alaskan shows), it answers your question, it even mentions the members here at LPF!

BowtieGuy said:

nwfreefly, take a look at the site, (right under the graph that Alaskan shows), it answers your question, it even mentions the members here at LPF!

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Thanks BtG, I love this website and have spent hours on it before but havent in a while so i am glad it got brought back up. I'm going to put the link in my sig.
Its funny I always feel pretty depressed after reading the amount of laser incidents pilots report and knowing that they are now at an all time high. It doesn't look good for us responsible hobbyist does it? In a way I must admit although I get a lot of enjoyment out of these devices and use them responsibly, if pilots are being blinded an avg of 10 times a day then the right thing to do will sadly be banning them. I think this is why people like Hak are so on top of warning new people. Were lucky to have people like him it may be the only hope. I wish everyone would follow his lead on this

Thanks I found the answer to my question and also more good things to know. I never knew for example;
Principle #6: The effect of the laser’s power on hazard distances is not linear. As laser power increases, the hazard increases more slowly.

Really shows how dangerous even a 5mW 532 is.

nwfreefly said:

That's interesting and very good to know Alaskan. Can anyone answer why 1W blue goes straight from Injury to Glare hazard without a range for flash blindness?
Its the only color that does this.

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Don't know, just found the site today myself after BowtieGuy posted it, I wonder if that was an error or? My best guess is due to blue only being 5% as bright to the human eye compared to 532nm green, it might have less effect for flashblinding. I wish they had a graph for 405nm blue-violet, I'm becoming interested in that wavelength for UFO hunting, that or IR due to the reduced possibility of flash blinding someone, in the case of IR, none, but you could burn someone if close enough.

nwfreefly said:

That's interesting and very good to know Alaskan. Can anyone answer why 1W blue goes straight from Injury to Glare hazard without a range for flash blindness?
Its the only color that does this.

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Well, the page that image is on isn't
linked to from the nav bar, so it was a bit
hard to find, but basically by the time it
is close enough for flash blindness, it is
already an eye hazard. The flash blindness
distance is actually less than the hazard
distance because 445nm is so much less
visible.

That makes sense, 405nm even more so I imagine.