Good starter laser?

Hello Laser Pointer Forums!
This is my first post as I have only recently gotten into the idea of lasers. I have owned multiple cheap 1-5mW reds in the past and I have decided to upgrade to something more powerful. After doing some research, I found high power blue lasers to be of interest but I know that making a huge jump from cheap reds to 1w blues would be a bad idea. So my question is, what would be a good laser to practice with before buying a 445nm death star? Preferably, I would like to be spending under $30 for a starter. Would something like a 20mW green do? Or should I aim for a lower power 405nm violet being closer to in the spectrum to blue? Thanks in advance! :yh:

Silver

Hello SilverFire, your first post should be in the "Welcome" area. Please don't waste money on $30 Chinese made garbage. Save up at least $100 and get something of reasonable quality and remember you will also need safety glasses, a charger, and batteries.

Alan

Please don't waste money on $30 Chinese made garbage.

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I totally disagree. I think the cheaper lasers, something like a 301 or 303, is a perfect first laser, for several reasons.

First, if your interest in lasers is just a passing thing (and sometimes it is, nothing wrong with that) then you aren't out a lot of money. Much better to only spend 30 or 40 dollars before losing interest, instead of 200.

Second, if something should happen to your 301, such as dying, catching on fire, or getting lost, then again, you aren't out a lot of money. The 301 lasers get a lot of bad press for poor quality, and while some of that is deserved, not all of it is. The only 301's I've actually had die on me were 405nm (violet) lasers. In neither case were the deaths due to abuse; the diodes just crapped out. My other 301's, one of which is a 405nm and also the first >5mW laser I bought, all work just fine. The only issue they seem to have in common is that the plastic lenses aren't very durable and can be damaged by even gentle cleaning. But, you can replace them if you know what size lens to get - most take 5mm or 6mm lenses. The 303's can use the glass lenses from DTR and/or the good-quality acrylic lenses from AixiZ, and that makes replacement much easier.

Third, 301's are really fun. They are momentary on/off just like your 5mW presentation pointers, except much higher power.

Fourth, regarding the lenses, it's actually pretty simple to mod/customize the optics on 301's. You just need to remove the stock front end, and also know what threads yours has on the diode module. Most of them today have M11x0.5 threads, which is the same as the common AixiZ uses (not for the lens barrel, the other threads). You can then install an AixiZ single-element, a 3-element, or even a G-lens. If the lens cannot be adjusted to focus properly (happens with green DPSS lasers), you can just build a custom lens barrel by taking apart a 3-element, and removing all but the AR-coated meniscus lens. Building custom lens barrels is a lot of fun and teaches you a lot about adjusting the position of the lens to get just the right focus, and best of all you get to decide what is right. Plus, the modded lasers look cool, too.

In conclusion, I think the 301 makes a good introductory laser. If it really piques your interest further and makes you want to build your own, that was money well spent. If it doesn't, well, you don't lose much.

Here, check out this link. I ordered this laser from Fasttech.com a few weeks back. There was a minor shipping screw-up but USPS sorted it out and I received the laser just fine. I have no idea if it's really 200mW, but it's brighter than my Laserer LZCS 532nm, which the manufacturer measured to be 112mW of green. So it is apparently above that, which I'm happy with. Rock solid unit from what I can tell.

Avoid buying any lasers on ebay. They are only 10 bucks but with 301's I think you get what you pay for; the ebay units I bought were terrible. The one from Fasttech is pretty good, and would be good for a first laser. Go check it out. If you order one and find that you've got "the bug" then you're all set to build your own, something like a C6 for starters

Just my 0.02 of course

eta: Also, as far as I know, the 301's and the like still have reverse polarity protection, which I think is a good feature to have if one is new to owning high-power lasers. It's just one less way to accidentally break the laser, so that's good.

Ok, Yea I'm still new to this forum so I had no idea I was supposed to be posting in the "Welcome" area. Sorry bout that... And regarding how much money to spend, I have wayyy more than enough to buy a good $300 laser or better but I was just wondering if there were good lasers start with, practicing with higher power mW before deciding that I want to keep doing lasers and spend more money. And on safety goggles, I have found some reviews from LPF that say good things about eagle pair and Dragon Lasers glasses. Btw, what is a 301? And I was also wondering if there were any non-"Chinese Junk" lasers that would be good. I haven't found any laser sellers that are not from China lol.
Thanks again!

Silver

Hey Silver,

A "301" is just a type of laser which is mass produced in China(picture below)
Résultats Google Recherche d'images correspondant à http://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v1/1168413949/532nm_Adjustable_Focus_GREEN_Laser_Pointer_Pen.jpg

For a starter laser I would recommend getting a 5mW 532nm green laser from LaserGlow(which are located in Canada). This is going to be a good starter laser since it's IR filtered and is completely eye safe!
Laserglow Technologies

-Alex

I personally started off the hobby with a 532nm (green) 100mW laser. I'd done a lot of reading beforehand and knew I wanted a visible beam in a package that didn't cost the earth. A 100mW greenie fits that bill, green is very visible anyway so you don't need a lot of it for a very impressive show. I wanted something decent to start off with as there's nothing worse than buying something and ending up getting disappointed. I think if I'd have gone with a 5mW green I'd almost straight away have been looking for more.

If you can be responsible with it, there's no reason why you can't start off with a higher powered laser. I say this seeing that you've already owned lasers in the past, so a 5mW green wouldn't really be much of an upgrade. You could do exactly what I did and head over to laserbtb and get one of their 50 or 100mW greens, but do get safety glasses as well if you do that.

Ok thanks for the advice guys! I will consider the 301, laserbtb/Skylasers and laser glow products. Should I take my future forum posts to the "welcome" area? Or was that just for my first post which I already posted in the wrong place? :thinking:

SilverFire said:

Ok thanks for the advice guys! I will consider the 301, laserbtb/Skylasers and laser glow products. Should I take my future forum posts to the "welcome" area? Or was that just for my first post which I already posted in the wrong place? :thinking:

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The "Welcome" section is just to let us know you joined the forums reall(or if you return from a break honestly).

Anything else should be in their respective section. Don't worry each section has a list as to what you should put, for example one section is 445nm lasers while another is red laser etc..

-Alex

Looked around and can't find any cheaper deals on lower power greens. I would be fine spending $40 on the laserglow pointer but would I be able to upgrade to a 1w blue laser from a 5mW green? :thinking: I don't want to spend too much on multiple upgrades. And when I looked up 50-100mW greens from laserbtb, it looked like I would be spending at least $60 for a PL or HL practice tool. And I know of all the bad reviews on LP plastic lasers so I didn't include those. Regarding the laser 301s, would they be the type of laser that dies within a month or two? Thanks for all the help! :yh:

^Never owned a 301 laser but's like most eBay lasers it's a gamble. Some members have had their 301's last as little as a week, others their 301's have lasted for years!

Honestly, a 301 might not be so bad. Note these lasers are going to be MORE then what is advertised but they are another good starting laser since you are dealing with something which isn't eye safe & in turn means being more cautious!

-Alex

Yo Silverfire,
What do you mean by upgrade, safety or power? Because if you are careful, and don't point it at airplanes and people and generally use common sense and wear GOGGLES, then you can do the leap :beer:. I bought a 7$ ebay 5 mW. Right after that I built a 1W 445 nm (blue) laser. With goggles you can burn stuff, pop stuff, :eg: stuff.
When you *carefully* take off goggles, you can see the beam! Breathtaking at night. So don't worry about upgrading as long as you are careful.
There are a few great deals on DX. Search for DealExtreme 200 mW. It is supposed to be 200 but I really doubt that. STILL, it is over 50 mW, and only 30-ish bucks. :drool:
Welcome to the forum and be sure to use the search button! Don't get into hot water like me!

Thx guys. I probably won't be going for a 301 so as not to take the risk. And I'm more worried about safety when it comes to laser upgrades in power. Yea I may just go with a 5mW green laser for now and buy the 445nm 1w shortly after. And yes buying safety glasses is on my to-do list. Won't use big lasers without em. Also, been doing some research on laser laws over here and it looks like after a few fuzz balls pointed lasers at aircraft (ending up on the news), people are quick to report pointing-laser-in-sky people when they see it. So I'm planning on calling my local police station to ask them about star pointing with lasers and if it would cause a problem. (Its kinda one of the reasons I wanted a powerful laser :undecided.

It's all good, silverfire. +Rep!
P.S. If you want a cool bright laser to shine at the stars, a 100 mW greenie will do. But if you want a 1W, rest assured that it will be AWESOME. :drool:

Good news, contacted my local police station and got a reply! ��
After asking if it would cause any problems pointing lasers in the sky (without any planes nearby), here was their reply:

"There is a state code that deals with pointing a laser pointer at an aircraft. There is nothing wrong with possessing the pointer, but we would suggest that you use caution when and how you use it. Become familiar with state law. You can look up the codes online that deal with laser pointers. One such site is LaserPointerSafety.com"

I already looked up Virginia state laws on LPS.com and it said nothing bout pointing up into the sky. �� Now I'm just gong to have to deal with cops coming to my door every time one of my neighbors call 911 on me. ��
Btw, thx for the rep!

If i were you i would buy a 405 laser, u can use that and point to the sky too but since its less visible nobody but u would see it only.. i dont like using high powered lasers pointing to the sky, i dont want attention or someone calling the cops its been to many of those idiots that point at airplanes etc.

Well, mortuus, if a bright laser is visible to you, then it should be visible to others. Anyway it will be dimmer than the 445 blue mW to mW.
Hey silver, any chance of seeing some nice beamshots?