Newbie advice

Hi guys,

I'm pretty new to lasers. I'm interested in purchasing a 'safe' laser just to have a bit of fun. Not looking for a burning laser. Just something that will make a visible dot at a couple hundred meters maybe. The thing is, while looking for such a laser, I noticed many that are labeled 5mw or 1mw which can't possibly be that. Could you guys recommend a reputable vendor that lists accurate power ratings so I don't end up with a laser that requires eye protection? Also I'd like to know whether the 'safe' power level can come in colors other than red. I understand green to be brightest. Does this mean that a 5mw green is more dangerous than a 5mw red?

Welcome crackula :beer:

Optotronics and CNI resellers like dragonlasers and Laserglow have true power ratings. Try one of their green pointers, they will be under 5mW and safe. If you need more visiblility, you can go up in power, but you have to be more careful of reflections then.

Only 5mW and below lasers are considered “eye safe” because your blink reflex is fast enough to prevent damage. You still must be careful, as resisting your blink urge can lead to permanent eye damage.

Red and green lasers shouldn’t be too different in danger, except when there is no ir filter on a 532(green) which can lead to more power than expected. Other than that, the only difference is that they are absorbed different amounts by different colored materials, like your eye for instance, and green is scattered more by the atmosphere because of its shorter wavelength.

Make sure you read up on laser safety information and regulations, if you post your location it will help us offer you better advice.


Stay safe


Edit: Please make a welcome post in the welcome section with a little bit about yourself.

Thank you Gazen. Your reply was extremely helpful. As far as safety goes, I've been handling all sorts of firearms for over 30 years without incident. Lasers scare me more than loaded guns. You can safely bet I'll observe safety protocols

Welcome Crackula
Reading some "sticky" threads regarding safety and laser powers will help a ton.
Ebay has MANY cheap green lasers that are advertised as 5mw but in reality are anywhere between 25mw - 100mw. They are not that dangerous in the hands of an educated user as long as you follow the rules of laser safety and not give them to anyone. I would tell you to start with a cheap ebay laser route, because spending a lot of money on a first laser might be a bad start if you won't be interested in lasers for a long time. That's why try some cheap ones first to see if you like it or not.

If you are going to get into lasers make sure to get a good pair of laser safety goggles, cheap ones on ebay are a good start for low power lasers, if you are planning to get more powerful lasers make sure you get quality goggles as well.
You don't have to use them for star gazing or long range pointing, but looking at the bright dot at close range with naked eyes is a bad idea. If you want a quality laser pointer you can try Sanwu or Jet lasers, they are top notch.

It has been said that bullets don't bounce off mirrors. That is a truth about lasers in general. Until you get into the far IR, glass is reflective and windows can bounce enough collimated power back to your eyes to damage your retinas. Now, CO2 lasers will cut glass being in the far IR and ordinary table salt can be used to reflect these IR beams.

Well guys after considerable reading, videos, and web surfing I ended up going with 2 cheap lasers from eBay. The reputable sellers charge more than I want to pay for a sub 5mw laser. I bought the 2 for 1/3 the price and spent the difference on eagle pair glasses instead. The eBay seller assures me the lasers are 1 Megawatt so if I blow up your car a few states over I want to apologise in advance. Thanks for your help guys.

:crackup:
I’ll keep an eye on my car.


Just be aware that those eBay lasers will have ir which your glasses might not shield you from.

Good luck, stay safe


Edit: Yes, the eagle pair goggles are reliable. Here’s a reassuring thread on them.
https://laserpointerforums.com/f52/survival-laser-eagle-pair-goggles-video-review-102449.html

Thanks Gazen. I bought glasses that cover the 405 and 532 as well as ir. From what I understand eagle pair is reliable.

Crackula said:

Well guys after considerable reading, videos, and web surfing I ended up going with 2 cheap lasers from eBay. The reputable sellers charge more than I want to pay for a sub 5mw laser. I bought the 2 for 1/3 the price and spent the difference on eagle pair glasses instead. The eBay seller assures me the lasers are 1 Megawatt so if I blow up your car a few states over I want to apologise in advance. Thanks for your help guys.

Click to expand...

Be sure to tell us how the lasers perform, I'll go move my car inside the garage.

If you are really worried about Laser Power
claims I would get a Laser Power Meter to
be sure or have someone with an LPM check
the Laser's power for you.

Jerry

Hi I'm back. I received my ebay lasers (which the seller assured me were 1 Megawatt) in the mail. Unfortunately the flux capacitor in one of the lasers shorted and sent me back to 1955. Luckily the 1.21 Giga (pronounced jiga btw) amp hour Spitfire batteries that came with the lasers had enough juice to get me back.

Seriously though, both lasers work fine. I have my eagle pair glasses and 3500 mah protected Panasonic batteries in them. I know most of you will call them junk but for my 1st lasers I'm very happy with them. I tried burning a piece of tree bark with them and they both burned it. The blue/violet on burns a little better but the green one is really bright. I think I'll try building one of the cheaper kits from LPF next. Can't wait to try these at night.

Crackula said:

Hi I'm back. I received my ebay lasers (which the seller assured me were 1 Megawatt) in the mail. Unfortunately the flux capacitor in one of the lasers shorted and sent me back to 1955. Luckily the 1.21 Giga (pronounced jiga btw) amp hour Spitfire batteries that came with the lasers had enough juice to get me back.

Seriously though, both lasers work fine. I have my eagle pair glasses and 3500 mah protected Panasonic batteries in them. I know most of you will call them junk but for my 1st lasers I'm very happy with them. I tried burning a piece of tree bark with them and they both burned it. The blue/violet on burns a little better but the green one is really bright. I think I'll try building one of the cheaper kits from LPF next. Can't wait to try these at night.

Click to expand...

I’m glad that everything’s working well, make sure you use those glasses.

As you can see from your Giga amp hour batteries and MW laser, don’t count on Chinese ratings, they’re often bogus. It’s good that you got glasses from a reputable US seller.

Enjoy your new toys :beer:

You are not the only person who knows how to pronounce the prefix giga. I was called out in my Fortran IV class in electrical engineering school back in the early 1970s for mispronouncing that word. I have never mispronounced it since.

JUMPING GIGAWATTS......Is that guy's name really CRACKULA ??? ..... :crackup:

RedCowboy said:

JUMPING GIGAWATTS......Is that guy's name really CRACKULA ??? ..... :crackup:

Click to expand...

It's says plugin not supported for the pic, but indeed it is. Crackula at your service :vampire:

Edit- What?! No vampire face?!

Well, I debated going down this road....but I shall ask.

If Dracula sucks blood......then what does Crackula feast upon ??

Don't say lasers or photons. Because something was in your thoughts when you chose that name, care to share ??

I suspect wise cracks.