UK laser laws?

Diachi said:

[quote author=JapanMan2 link=1227824518/0#13 date=1228614634]"The seized pointers are illegal in the UK as their power rating of 5 milliWatt (mW) is more than the 1mW allowed. "

^ quote from the page, therefore anything over 1mW is illegal, technically...

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the only law I have seen stating that is to do with sales of laser pointers over 1mW.

-Adam[/quote]

What law is that? I haven't seen anything along those lines. Can you give me a reference? (Act/regulation/URL?) I think we UK hobbyists need to get to the bottom of this 1 mw business.

Laws really should be easier to find :-?

I think that in a retail shop like wollworths or a hardwere store, you can not sell a laser over 1mW. Whether or not they could sell a 1mW laser to like a 10-year-old or something, is up to the shop-keeper.

That is the genrel law I think. Oh yea, and loads of people mange to get 5mW> lasers without saftey features into the US. And the US customs are ALOT strickter than the UK customs. So you shouldnt have any trouble importing them.

I think you can get into trouble for using them outside in public. So be carful.

I hope there arnt any laws because me and my friend are making a type of weapon but we will not use it on animals or humans and we will be using it on my friends allotment anyway where building phaser rifles ill send some designs if you guys want them [no circuitry or blueprints] where using 2W [2000mw] lasers maybe 5W depending on how much money we make also we was thinking about selling them or the blueprints to make them so i hope there's no law in selling these if so someone let me know :thanks: contact me if you want the designs or want to buy when we made one [if were allowed to sell them] Mrshaunh77@gmail.com

Well, thanks davidgdg and diachi - you're the best informed on this page.

davidgdg has pretty well summed it up. My understanding on the matter before reading this was there are no specific laws on it.

This doesn't mean you can point it in people's eyes without negative consequence. Likewise, there are no specific laws about the use of... let's see... pinecones, but you'll still be in trouble if you stick it in someone's eye.

There are health and safety rules against the sale of lasers with a power of more than 1mW. Rules, but not laws. CyberDog (a rave toy shop in Camden Town) sell 50mW green pens. It's not easy to buy and they're not left on the shelf for everyone to dick around with. They're kept in a cabinet, locked away. If you ask the guys they'll take them out of the cabinet and show you.

Here's another interesting fact. Occasionally you'll find a green laser on-sale which has a power of 1mW - Maplin (electronics store) is a good source. These have a system in place where there's a beamsplitter reflecting a small amount of the laser power back into a sensor. When the laser's power exceeds a certain value it'll be detected by the sensor which will feed back to the driver. The driver will reduce the power going to the diode. Here's where it gets interesting - if you clip the leads to the sensor the laser is able to emit a lot more power. I've never done it myself, so i can't guarantee a success rate, but it's worth trying. On the other hand, it's a little expensive and you can get a cheaper one online, but it's good for people who are neurotic about ordering products via the internet.

So, now that we've got that out of the way, I might as well jack the thread. Any Brits feel like meeting up?

JapanMan2 said:

no it's not legal, however that doesn't stop some of us


if you manage to get your hands on them, but use them responsibly then you wont get into trouble or anything.

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JapanMan2 said:

if it get's confiscated, yes they will send you another, but you will get a mean warning from H&M Customs

then it's upto you if you want to risk getting caught again.



i got a mean letter from customs when i bought a shuriken, just after they banned them. (i didn't know they got banned)

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Mind giving us your source? I'm pretty sure you're guessing.

maxkillz said:

it not legal but you can still get them in, customs doesn't check every single package you know but if you get caught your screwed

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UK, not US.

milantheone said:

hello i come from slovakia but i am living in UK now..... i own few laser's... i churchased them before i happend illegal do do so... . so now what i have to do??? i have to put them to the bin??? is it now illegal to own these lasers or only purchased them???
i cant now play with them outside????

and one more question, can i order any laser above 5mw from dealextreme or not???
can i use somehow argument that i am an Slovak origin..???? :-?

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Yes, feel free to order from DX. No, don't throw them in the bin. Keep them. Use them outdoors (safely) and there'll be no trouble.

Mrshaunh77 said:

I hope there arnt any laws because me and my friend are making a type of weapon but we will not use it on animals or humans and we will be using it on my friends allotment anyway where building phaser rifles ill send some designs if you guys want them [no circuitry or blueprints] where using 2W [2000mw] lasers maybe 5W depending on how much money we make also we was thinking about selling them or the blueprints to make them so i hope there's no law in selling these if so someone let me know :thanks: contact me if you want the designs or want to buy when we made one [if were allowed to sell them] (Email Deleted)

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Hey, welcome to the forum. That project seems like it'll be a lot more difficult than it sounds. Also, by all means build it, but DO NOT USE IT AS A WEAPON UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. What's more, 2 Watts is a potentially deadly amount of power. You need to be VERY careful and get OD3+ goggles. Feel free to PM me on here if you'd like more information.