2,000mm lasers on eBay???

Proper safety glasses are key prior to powering this laser up. I know it has been mentioned before, but I figured I would put that out there again. Also, I recommend Eagle Pair safety glasses, which can be had for under $45.

WOW!

Awesome replies! And with that, I'd just like to say THANK YOU to all who have participated so far in this discussion.

It's kind of funny. I've actually bought about 10-15 different lasers over the past year or so, but I can't seem to keep them around for any longer than a couple of days at the most. Every time I get one someone I know thinks it's cool and talks me out of it one way or another. I'm going to laugh my butt of one day when I go to one of our local football games and the whole place lights up with laser light when our team scores a touchdown!

I wasn't really looking to buy one of these lasers today, it was just that the ad caught my eye. I was really surprised to see one listed as being so powerful yet at such a low price. That said, I can definitely believe that cheap price is equal to cheap quality.

If I'm not mistaken, isn't it true that cheap lasers can also be a dangerous choice because of unadvertised IR exposure? I've heard that many of the cheap green ones can have some problems with IR radiation. I'm not sure if it's true or not though.

I am a bit hesitant to experiment with anything stronger than the low wattage lasers I have had so far because I suffer from a somewhat rare side effect that lasers can cause in some people. Extreme nausea simply from exposure to the light. I've looked into the causes of this problem, (including posting the question here) but haven't found any real concrete explanation as to what is happening. I'm a bit gun-shy going with a more powerful laser simply for this reason alone.

I would however really like to some day get over this so I could experiment with designing a good high quality high power cutting laser in the blue spectrum.

I'll try some of the suggestions given on different sites to check out regarding these higher power lasers, including those given relating to "power meters."

Anyway, like I said. I just ran across that ad earlier and wanted to know if anyone here had heard of those lasers before.

Again, I'd like to thank everyone who replied to this post. I've gotten a lot of really good information today.

QUESTION: Who here holds the record for the most times their laser has been reflected???
Also, how's this for a light saber? If you had a telescoping rod that had a parabolic reflector attached to it, along with a parabolic mirror at the base, allow for a laser to be bounced back and forth between the two mirrors thus creating a light saber???


Just a thought.

I have no clue about the lightsaber, but I'm curious to hear the response to that question. The green cheapy ebay lasers often emit IR due to the lack of filters, however IR filters are fairly cheap and readily available. If you indeed want a 445nm laser, they can be built from high quality, readily available parts for under $90. I'm also interested to see what is said about your current condition.

Thanks for the reply.

Yea, I tried on that last post to include a quick hand drawn picture of it, but for some reason the link never made it in. Here it is though. lol Lightsaber | The Singularity Effect

Me too. (No Mirror/corner to infinity! I'm betting it's actually pretty high though!

Yea, I thought so on the cheap green ones and the IR. This I think is something that should be mentioned more often because of the number of people out there playing with hem without a clue as to the added danger and safety measures that should be taken.

You are the second one in this thread to suggest "building" one of those blue ones myself. I think I may actually give this one a shot. I think it'll make a good next project. Wanna hear something funny? I noticed on eBay today that eBay has a whole series of white pages on lasers. Believe it or not, everything from how to mod them, to DIY build plans for a cutter. I was kind of shocked! Especially with the one on how to mod one of them! lmao.

About my condition...? The nausea? Now this one is enough for a thread of it's own. The reason I say this is because its actually kind of rare, but does happen to others. Thing is, these sites, as well as even a few medical sites I've posted it don't actually know anything about it or what might cause it. Many think at first it's something like an epileptic attack, but it doesn't actually fit those symptoms. My solution is to use the laser only very briefly. Get done with the experiment as quickly as I can by setting up everything cold, then exposing for only as long as it takes to observe or photograph.

Anyway, gotta go. Again, thanks for the reply.

Sorry to hear that. I couldn't imagine how I would feel if I were to be in your shoes.

Blind leading the soon-to-be-blinded...

"Blind leading the soon-to-be-blinded..."

Why do you say that?

I think it's probably been said on here before many of times. Unless you have proper lab testing equipment, and test said laser, it's never safe to assume these standards and ratings on Chinese lasers are anywhere near accurate.

I (sometimes nowadays) work in a laser testing/engineering/research lab and I do have access to all this equipment. I have tested several lasers from eBay and Amazon and it's scary what's out there that can be placed in the hands of an inexperienced operator, no matter the age.

And lastly, let me say this, just because you own 1 laser or 500 lasers does not make you any more knowledgeable about the subject matter. I personally own one 5mw Walmart "check out lane" laser that puts out a whopping .7mw @628nm. But, I also have access to lasers that no one else here will likely ever touch or see unless you work for certain corporations on certain projects for the military.

Sorry for the rant, I'm just seeing some subjects raising concern. I'm personally glad to see so much interest in the world of lasers though. Just get educated on the subject matter before messing with life changing devices such as lasers.

policetac said:

WOW!

I'm going to laugh my butt of one day when I go to one of our local football games and the whole place lights up with laser light when our team scores a touchdown!

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Really? You've got to be sh*ting me. Do you know what something like that does to this hobby, and peoples opinions of lasers in general?

This reminds me of an incident that happened just a couple of weeks ago. http:// http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/10/buffalo-bills-lasers-detroit-lions-kyle-orton-dan-carpenter

Solid State said:

I think it's probably been said on here before many of times. Unless you have proper lab testing equipment, and test said laser, it's never safe to assume these standards and ratings on Chinese lasers are anywhere near accurate.

I (sometimes nowadays) work in a laser testing/engineering/research lab and I do have access to all this equipment. I have tested several lasers from eBay and Amazon and it's scary what's out there that can be placed in the hands of an inexperienced operator, no matter the age.

And lastly, let me say this, just because you own 1 laser or 500 lasers does not make you any more knowledgeable about the subject matter. I personally own one 5mw Walmart "check out lane" laser that puts out a whopping .7mw @628nm. But, I also have access to lasers that no one else here will likely ever touch or see unless you work for certain corporations on certain projects for the military.

Sorry for the rant, I'm just seeing some subjects raising concern. I'm personally glad to see so much interest in the world of lasers though. Just get educated on the subject matter before messing with life changing devices such as lasers.

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No need to aruge, but what I meant to say was that the more lasers you have means you have PROBABLY been in the hobby longer which means you PROBABLY know a little bit about laser. You understand?

USAbro said:

No need to aruge, but what I meant to say was that the more lasers you have means you have PROBABLY been in the hobby longer which means you PROBABLY know a little bit about laser. You understand?

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What I understand is you're making a statement that presents an assumption to the idea of someone knowing more about the properties of lasers due to the fact amount of lasers they own. Assumptions aren't usually good, and that's definitely not a good one to make.

To be clear that's not an argument. No need to become defensive. I don't mean to veer off the original subject matter either, but safety always comes first no matter what, and some things are being said in this thread that concern me.

Solid State said:

What I understand is you're making a statement that presents an assumption to the idea of someone knowing more about the properties of lasers due to the fact amount of lasers they own. Assumptions aren't usually good, and that's definitely not a good one to make.

To be clear that's not an argument. No need to become defensive. I don't mean to veer off the original subject matter either, but safety always comes first no matter what, and some things are being said in this thread that concern me.

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Thanks for our safety being your interest!

no sarcasm intended

USAbro said:

I know enough to help him with what he asked. I have 4 lasers and and getting a 5th.

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USAbro said:

No need to aruge, but what I meant to say was that the more lasers you have means you have PROBABLY been in the hobby longer which means you PROBABLY know a little bit about laser. You understand?

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You spread inaccurate information while trying to help, "For example, it burns wood; probably over 500mw". A 50mw laser can burn wood if focused.

The second quote was as funny as it was frightening. If you think just owning lasers makes you a guru, well bud it doesn't. If someone owns 5 lasers then how do you know they didn't buy them all in a month? You can't just guess and assume it's right. You understand?

VisibleGreen said:

You spread inaccurate information while trying to help, "For example, it burns wood; probably over 500mw". A 50mw laser can burn wood if focused.

The second quote was as funny as it was frightening. If you think just owning lasers makes you a guru, well bud it doesn't. If someone owns 5 lasers then how do you know they didn't buy them all in a month? You can't just guess and assume it's right. You understand?

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I think I did spread misinformation. I apologize for anyone who went by that. My examples were kinda bad so people could easily misunderstand me. Sorry. I meant to say that if you have a lot of lasers like some people on the forum, you most likely have been in the hobby awhile.

USAbro said:

I think I did spread misinformation. I apologize for anyone who went by that. My examples were kinda bad so people could easily misunderstand me. Sorry. I meant to say that if you have a lot of lasers like some people on the forum, you most likely have been in the hobby awhile.

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I can see what you mean. I think I jumped the gun with the neg rep. I'll balance that out in the future.

Actually Amazons new policy is to not sell lasers over 5mw.