True Green Laser Pen 5mW, worried user.

Yesterday i got my 5mw laser from dealextreme wich i bought because they claimed at their website that it was safe to use. But after reading some of the reviews i am now very worried about the risks i might have exposed myself to. Some users have posted that it was really 30mw.

I have used it inside, and while i have not shined in my eyes, i have used it on white walls and a white metal owen. This because i didn't know that it could be owerpowered.

So a few questions:

- How do i know if my eyes are damaged?
- If it really was 30mw, could the reflections from the white surfaces have damaged my eyes?

Thanks for answers. I find myself very pissed off at dealextreme for having put me and others to risk.

your eyes arent damaged. a brief reflection is not enough to cause damage

Relief to hear, but if they were, would i see it? Everything looks normal now i think, but... yeah.

If you did any significant damage you would know. You could either damage nerves which would cause you pain, or a blindspot, or even reduce your overall vision.

i use a 30mw and look at the beam on white walls, metal reflections without goggles
my vision is still good
also, it is known that you need goggles past 30mW

Thanks for the replys guys, made me less worried.

My dream is to be a pilot in my country, and for that my eyesight has to be 20/20. Not gonna use
the laser anymore, batterys taken out etc The laser was fun to use but im not gonna risk my future
and eyes for something that only is fun.

martin54321 said:

Thanks for the replys guys, made me less worried.

My dream is to be a pilot in my country, and for that my eyesight has to be 20/20. Not gonna use
the laser anymore, batterys taken out etc The laser was fun to use but im not gonna risk my future
and eyes for something that only is fun.

Click to expand...

It's really not a HUGE risk at that power. All my lasers are 100-300mW and I use them daily without goggles and my vision is still as strong as ever. It just takes good safety practice and common sense.

To be fair to Deal-extreme, they have warnings on their website about their higher-powered pointers lacking infra-red filters.

At that sort of power, even assuming another 20mw of infra red, unless the beam went directly in your eye at close range, you have nothing to worry about.

You're fine. If you didn't shine it directly in your eyes it won't hurt you even if it is slightly overpowered. If you want a TRUE 5mw to play with then buy one from laserglow or get a WL core.

Or, if you're too worried about it, you could send it out to somebody like daguin or jayrob for testing. Daguin is probably the most respected member on this forum, and jayrob has been the most helpful to me personally. He tested both of my lasers for no cost; I only had to pay for shipping both ways.

-Mark

You can get a 30mW LPM on Ebay for about 20$ (hooks up to a DMM). Just to be safe, don't point it at your eye (don't know why you would want to...). 5mW is safe to shine in your eye quickly, but anything more powerful will cause damage. You should be safe viewing the dot.

martin54321 said:

My dream is to be a pilot in my country, and for that my eyesight has to be 20/20.

Click to expand...

what country? in america your vision only has to be correctable to 20/20.

You're not going to get much IR from a 5mW pointer.  However, for > 5mW pointers and such, I'd be wary of it on specular surfaces.  The thing is though, without goggles, it'll be the green light that fries your eyes.

The real danger of the IR, and cheap pointers do emit a bit despite being called "filtered," is that when you are using goggles that filter the green, you may not be filtering the IR as well.  So if you compound that with the fact that your pupils will dilate more because the goggles darken the visible light, your eyes might be extra exposed to IR light that doesn't even register as "bright."

Some of the members of this forum here will say that the IR emitted from these lasers is uncollimated (unfocused), and is therefore safe because of low concentrations.  While this is true for some of the IR, there is still a great deal of well-focused IR that exits these green lasers and follows the beam path at a much shallower angle of divergence.  This means that there can still be a danger due to this IR.

In general, it is best to wear goggles when using lasers that are not FDA-approved Class IIIa or lower-powered laser devices.  I do admit I will shine my laser on a flat wall from time to time without goggles on, but for any longer use or in an uncontrolled environment, you don't want to have an accident happen.  It only has to happen once, and the more powerful the lasers, the lower the chances that you'll be able to recover.  

Lasers are not toys, and don't think that because someone else chooses to not play it safe, it's okay for you not to.

Oh and don't be pissed at DX for selling you what you willingly bought and did not research beforehand. I certainly wouldn't want DX trying to "protect" me from myself like a nanny because some people can't be assed to be self-responsible.