Safe Green Laser Without Goggles

isBandGeek · Nov 4, 2008

I see loads and loads of topics on here and am quite overwhelmed. I just want to get an opinion on how powerful of a laser pointer I should buy that is safe to view - both beam and dot, without goggles (obviously not pointed directly in my eye...) Is it 5mW? 30? Or something in between? There are a lot of numbers floating around. (Note- this laser will be in the hands of a responsible, sober adult.)

Thanks for your feedback.

deam_87 · Nov 4, 2008

i have read lots of posts like this, (not to be an ass), but im sure if you looked a little harder you would have found it. practically, you should go with a 5mW it is ofcourse not as bright, but if ur not gonna buy your goggles then you better not risk any damage to your eyes by using anything more powerfull than that.

skylasers.net · Nov 4, 2008

I believe a 5mW laser is a good start. The laser beam is only slightly visible in dark conditions so you won't have any problems viewing the beam without goggles. If you point the dot at a wall close by, it would still be bright and I would NOT stare at it for prolonged periods of time.

While this is so, it's always best to have goggles when dealing with lasers of any strength just in case. While you may be sober, accidents do happen as in accidentally shining the laser into a mirror or window and having the laser indirectly reflected into your eyes. With lasers, the answer is always "better safe than sorry."

diachi · Nov 4, 2008

5mW is the recommended safe level BUT as long as you are careful 30mW should be safe, just be aware of reflective surfaces and DO NOT stare into the beam. If you are careful 30mW is ok.

-Adam

robjdixon · Nov 4, 2008

I agree with Diachi - go for a 30mW, unless you are unable to be careful for some reason

diachi · Nov 4, 2008

robjdixon said:
I agree with Diachi - go for a 30mW, unless you are unable to be careful for some reason

my two 30mW greens are plenty bright anyway, visible beam at night and in a lit room too. I have two of the Romisen 30mW greens from DX.

-Adam

deam_87 · Nov 4, 2008

Diachi said:
5mW is the recommended safe level BUT [highlight]as long as you are careful 30mW should be safe[/highlight], just be aware of reflective surfaces and DO NOT stare into the beam. If you are careful 30mW is ok.

-Adam

technically saying, if you are careful with a 500mW laser then you should be safe too! however IMO a 30mW is powerful enough for a set of goggles... what i read here was if you want to use it (a 30mW) indoors buy goggles, outdoors not necessary because there are less chances for you to catch a beam off a reflective surface, and anything you point at should be far enough away.... however, we all know that when a friend comes over and you say "look what i bought" you end up using it indoor anyways...

so for a 30mW goggles should be tha way to go, besides, once you start using these things u'll be hooked on them and when you upgrade to a higher mW u'll already have the goggles for it! ;D

billg519 · Nov 5, 2008

There can be another problem with rhe cheaper green lasers. If there is no IR filter in the laser, then you are getting 5mw of green plus the IR leakage. The IR leakage is invisible, but this is a case what you can't see can hurt you. DX, ebay, and other low price vendors may not even know if the units they sell have filters or not. There are vendors that proudly state that their lasers have no filter because the filter makes the laser less powerful. Note that the drive diode (IR, usually 808nm) is always much more powerful than the green output, so IR leakage can be significant and potentially dangerous to the eyes. Get goggles and then get a nice laser from a premium vendor. (Nova, Optotronics, fellow LPF member, etc.) A lot of the cheap greens aren't stable and mode-hop or don't hold their full power for more than a few seconds after being turned on. My DX 200 green (1 x 18650) only puts out 80 mw. I had a 50mw ebay pen that put out only 18mw. You get what you pay for.

frogger · Nov 5, 2008

I've been seeing alot of these recently, and people say that 30mw indoors for extended periods of time requires goggles.
I have a romineson 30 that i regularly use indoors, usually within 10feet-20feet. I don't experience any discomfort and/or damaged vision in any way shape or form.

I haven't gotten flashed or anything, i'm pretty careful, but i just don't see why 30mw would require goggles.

and for anybody wondering, i'm fairly sure that its actually 30mw or brighter because i had a 10mw that was known for being slightly overpowered, and this was visisbly brighter than it.

isBandGeek · Nov 6, 2008

Would a 20mW be significantly safer than 30mW? Or not much difference?

Xplorer877 · Nov 6, 2008

Go with 30mW and just be smart with it. Never point it at people, animals, or reflective surfaces. 30mW won't blind you but it probably looks brighter than the sun!

Switch · Nov 6, 2008

I really see no point in wearing goggles with a 30mW.You're not burning, and you're not seeing anything either.What's the point?In normal use conditions , it's as pointless as a laser without batteries.

5mW is safe if you catch a direct hit in the eye, meaning idiot safe.If you're not an idiot you can use a 30-50mW without goggles and actually LOOK at the dot and beam, which is what you're buying it in the first place.

Go with 30mW and just be smart with it. Never point it at people, animals, or reflective surfaces. 30mW won't blind you but it probably looks brighter than the sun!

It's definetly enough to give you instant blind spots though.You need really high power to go completely blind.

diachi · Nov 6, 2008

chIno said:
[quote author=Diachi link=1225789218/0#3 date=1225815879]5mW is the recommended safe level BUT [highlight]as long as you are careful 30mW should be safe[/highlight], just be aware of reflective surfaces and DO NOT stare into the beam. If you are careful 30mW is ok.

-Adam

technically saying, if you are careful with a 500mW laser then you should be safe too! however IMO a 30mW is powerful enough for a set of goggles... what i read here was if you want to use it (a 30mW) indoors buy goggles, outdoors not necessary because there are less chances for you to catch a beam off a reflective surface, and anything you point at should be far enough away.... however, we all know that when a friend comes over and you say "look what i bought" you end up using it indoor anyways...

so for a 30mW goggles should be tha way to go, besides, once you start using these things u'll be hooked on them and when you upgrade to a higher mW u'll already have the goggles for it! ;D[/quote]

Not really ;D 500mW will damage your eyes just from looking at the dot from closer than a few feet. 30mW is perfectly safe for looking at the dot up to about 12-24 inches. And if you do get hit with a reflection from a 30mW it's not gonna be insta-blind either.

-Adam

diachi · Nov 6, 2008

Switch said:
I really see no point in wearing goggles with a 30mW.You're not burning, and you're not seeing anything either.What's the point?In normal use conditions , it's as pointless as a laser without batteries.

5mW is safe if you catch a direct hit in the eye, meaning idiot safe.If you're not an idiot you can use a 30-50mW without goggles and actually LOOK at the dot and beam, which is what you're buying it in the first place.

Go with 30mW and just be smart with it. Never point it at people, animals, or reflective surfaces. 30mW won't blind you but it probably looks brighter than the sun!

Click to expand...

It's definetly enough to give you[highlight] instant blind spots[/highlight] though.You need really high power to go completely blind.

It will give you instant blind spots that may last for a few hours, but they will generally go away, unless it was an abnormally long exposure.

-Adam

WackBag · Nov 6, 2008

Diachi said:
[quote author=Switch link=1225789218/0#11 date=1225982433]I really see no point in wearing goggles with a 30mW.You're not burning, and you're not seeing anything either.What's the point?In normal use conditions , it's as pointless as a laser without batteries.

5mW is safe if you catch a direct hit in the eye, meaning idiot safe.If you're not an idiot you can use a 30-50mW without goggles and actually LOOK at the dot and beam, which is what you're buying it in the first place.

Go with 30mW and just be smart with it. Never point it at people, animals, or reflective surfaces. 30mW won't blind you but it probably looks brighter than the sun!

Click to expand...

It's definetly enough to give you[highlight] instant blind spots[/highlight] though.You need really high power to go completely blind.

It will give you instant blind spots that may last for a few hours, but they will generally go away, unless it was an abnormally long exposure.

-Adam
[/quote]

My parents once told me that looking at your Pecker can have the same effect ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Switch · Nov 6, 2008

It will give you instant blind spots that may last for a few hours, but they will generally go away, unless it was an abnormally long exposure.

There was a guy who purposely scanned his eye with a 30mW really fast.I can't find the website right now, but he had quite a detailed write-up on the effects and what the doctor said.They didn't go away not even in a matter of days.The doctor gave him some pills to take, and hoped he will get better in 6 months, but he would never fully recover.

My parents once told me that looking at your Pecker can have the same effect

Yea but your parents didn't have a few months/years of membership and thousands of posts on peckerforums.com now did they? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Safe Green Laser Without Goggles

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