Trying to fix 5mw green laser?!

[Mofosho]

Ok. So I bought this 5mW green laser off ebay 2 weeks ago and i broke it 1 day after buying it by dropping it. I decided to dissemble it. Here is what it looked like at first.
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss128/hansl1/IMG_3589.jpg
This is the exact one I bought. 5mw Green Laser Pointer Visible Beam Ship Fast From USA - eBay (item 120631587104 end time Nov-07-10 10:42:48 PST)
This laser is awesome until it broke... When i took everything apart I took out the lens, and underneath the lens was a small circular clear thing.
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss128/hansl1/IMG_3601.jpg
With the batteries and everything back in, I literally freaked out. At first, the dot was very, very dim and it was just a tiny red dot. There was no laser but when I was taking pictures to show you guys, it came out like this on the camera. I swear to God, I am telling the truth.
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss128/hansl1/IMG_3602.jpg
It looks like this without it on
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss128/hansl1/IMG_3597.jpg
I have no clue what is happening. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas to fixing it or making it into a different laser? And btw, I looked at it with my eyes so is this bad? Will it damage my eyes?
More pics.
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss128/hansl1/IMG_3603.jpg

http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss128/hansl1/IMG_3600.jpg

Sorry. I have a terrible camera and I am new to all this laser stuff. :san:

 

[Toke]

The dim red light is infrared at 808nm.
The human eye is not very sensitive to it, so even a powerful eye searing laser show as a dim red dot.
Your camera is much more sensitive to IR light, IR is actually used as discrete illumination for security cameras at night.

You have quite likely damaged your eyes by looking into the laser light. I recommend you go see an eye doctor RIGHT FUCKING NOW, as I believe there are treatments that can mitigate damage somewhat if administrated soon enough.

And throw out the pen, it is not worth repairing.

 

[Kulhu]

The dim red light is infrared at 808nm.
The human eye is not very sensitive to it, so even a powerful eye searing laser show as a dim red dot.
Your camera is much more sensitive to IR light, IR is actually used as discrete illumination for security cameras at night.

You have quite likely damaged your eyes by looking into the laser light. I recommend you go see an eye doctor RIGHT FUCKING NOW, as I believe there are treatments that can mitigate damage somewhat if administrated soon enough.

And throw out the pen, it is not worth repairing.

I second this.

 

[cistercian]

I second this.

I third it.See an ophthalmologist RIGHT NOW!
NOW!
Please.

 

[udanis]

Okay, the pen isn't worth repairing, you can get a new one for $10. If you looked into the lens on the on laser, your eye was exposed to ir light. Fortunately it wasn't a lot, if you notice any major vision problems I would advise you to goto the eye doctors.

 

[LaserFerret]

okay, im thinking people heard wrong here. if mofosho did not look directly into the IR beam then theres nothing to worry about. you can look at an IR dot as much as you want, it's pointing the beam into your eyeballs that causes problems. 5mW lasers are as cheap as $5.39 on ebay, it's not too big a deal if it breaks.

 

[udanis]

you can look at an IR dot as much as you want

That really depends on the out put of ir. If there is a lot of ir the splash back it can still be powerful enough to cause eye damage.

 

[JLSE]

your eye was exposed to ir light. / Fortunately it wasn't a lot,

Dangerous words indeed... :wtf:

Its not JUST IR light, its near infrared LASER light. Looking at it carries the same consequences as staring at a 300mW source, like into the cavity of a 650nm etc.

The fact that there is A- no IR filter, B- the crystals aren't absorbing any of it, and
C- you look right at it can spell disaster for the eye(s) exposed.

Even if it was ONLY 10 or 20mW, his eyes did not respond and dilate, nor blink.
Chances of damage increase with such factors...

 

[Mofosho]

I'm really scared right now. I told my about the posts and he said don't worry about it. I'm only 14. I don't want to get blind or anything. omg. is this that serious? i dont know what to do omgomgomgomg. its 9 pm to right now the doctors probably closed. i dont know what to do. i just took the lens out and just looked at the red dot a couple of times. i showed my brother, sister, and parents. what do i do. im seriously panicing right now. omfg. im so scared

 

[Mofosho]

PLEASE SOMEONE RESPOND. im dead serious. omg im paniking.

 

[Mofosho]

my dad just told me to say this. if it doesnt bother my eyes right now, no iritating, no nothing and seeing everything well right now, those this mean i still need to see a doctor?

 

[Toke]

Easy, you are not going blind, you are just likely to have some damage to your eyesight.
What happened is that the laser light from the pen got concentrated by the lens in your eye and hit a small point on your retina.

That means you are likely* having blind spots in your vision.
The "software" of the eye is pretty good at compensating for such spots with small movements and guesswork.

*The likelihood/severity depends on focus, actual power and how long and direct the exposure.
Pointing it right into your eye is bad, reflections from a wall is not.

The lack of symptoms is a good sign, I believe IR gives immediate damage. Blue is a bit more nasty.

 

[JLSE]

How for away was the pen from your eye when you viewed it?

The 808nm NIR from the laser diverges rapidly, the distance is very
important.

It does not exit the laser like the green beam did. It exists more in the shape
of a cone. The ammount of power that can enter your eye becomes less the
further away the pen is.

Unless you held the pen within 2-3inches, I doubt more than a few mW
entered your eye.

Regardless, the only way to know for sure, is to make an appointment and
get checked. If there is minor damage, they can detect it, where you cannot.

There have been far worse incidents reported and I would not say that this
is the case here.

So relax and dont panic. Just make the appointment and be 100% about it.


*edit

here is a link, this was with a direct hit from a collimated beam.

http://laserpointerforums.com/f53/swiss-pointer-incident-msnbc-got-wrong-55506.html

 

[Mofosho]

So nothing really severe will happen right? Please say yes. I'm getting new glasses soon so would it help see the blindspots? Also, I called the office and they recommended me 2 just sleep until tomorrow and if I notice irritating or something weird, to make an appointment. Does any1 else agree? My parents told me 2 do this too.

 

[lazeerer]

Just go to the eye doctor, the co pay for the visit is worth it. Going will only make it sure that you are OK. We are not eye doctors but know what can happen if a situation like this happens.

Only they can tell you that your ok. This is not a stomach bug that goes away on its own. If there is something wrong better to catch it now then to wait 2 weeks like that kid did and make it worse.

Just came down there is nothing you can do right now and tomorrow tell your parents that you want to go to be safe and iam sure they will take you for your own good.

Also on a side note if you did not have the basic knowledge to not look at the laser like you did i would advise you to read before even thinking about getting another laser period.

 

[nikooo777]

hey as everyone tells you a visit wouldn't be a bad idea.

months ago i got the same laser as yours and it also broke.
i pushed the button and watched right into the hole (yet i was not aware of teh danger) and saw a red light. i showed it to my lab teacher and he told me that it was some infrared light and that the diode was dead. now actually i didnt go to a doctor because of 2 things:
had no problems
didn't know

just wanted to share my opinion