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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

laser Life

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Feb 17, 2014
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Considering that lasers can be expensive, I was wondering what the acutal Life of a laser pointer is?
Also, what is the maximum distance that they can burn at? for instance a 100mw laser.

Concerning eye protection this is the advice I got from megalaseruk.com


On Thu, Jan 23, 2014 at 10:53 AM, <sales@megalaseruk.com> wrote:

Hi

we do not have a 50mm in a blue type and the 50mw will not burst a baloon you will need atleast a 200mw laser and you do not have to wear the protective glasses but they are more safe incase of direct contact into eyes.


Thanks
 
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Feb 5, 2008
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For a store-bought laser? That's literally anybody's guess.

You can only ever be sure into the lifetime of the lasers you build yourself, because you choose the diode and current to drive it at.

Most lasers from all over the web use weak and cheap components, that are overdriven by a lot so that they work like a strong laser, but for far shorter time.

I say "most" because, well, you can not ever really be sure.
 

Cel

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Jan 28, 2012
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Power, cheapness, quality... pick two.

It depends on many factors, so it you can't really know... but good lasers will last at least a few years, if they're treated nice and are built with carefully chosen components...
 
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Not sure where the thread is but I remember someone showing that they had a low powered red module plugged in and it had been running for 3 years continuously.
 
Joined
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Considering that lasers can be expensive, I was wondering what the acutal Life of a laser pointer is?
Also, what is the maximum distance that they can burn at? for instance a 100mw laser.

Concerning eye protection this is the advice I got from megalaseruk.com


On Thu, Jan 23, 2014 at 10:53 AM, <sales@megalaseruk.com> wrote:

Hi

we do not have a 50mm in a blue type and the 50mw will not burst a baloon you will need atleast a 200mw laser and you do not have to wear the protective glasses but they are more safe incase of direct contact into eyes.


Thanks

Well, i was never sure what to think of megalaseruk but I'm glad I never bought anything from them after seeing this. That advice is not only total sh!te but also quite dangerous. A 50mW laser focused will burst a dark balloon, should light a match and will smoke black plastic. You can verify that pretty easily by taking a look on YouTube. You will also need safety glasses for a 50mW laser as a hit in the eye from that won't be pleasant.

Perhaps their lasers are such under spec pieces of junk that they THINK a 50mW won't do anything...
 
Joined
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Thank you for all our replies, and I take on board what you are saying trencheel.
The laser I was considering buying was for outdoor use, astronomy, I ordered a 100mw green laser with IR, and it is purported to have 10000 hours life. probably a waste of money.
Would I need protective goggles for outdoors? I don't see folk demonstrating on youtube wear goggles.

I was just interested at what distance will a laser of this strength burn. I guess for instance it wont burn a ballon or plastic at about 30 feet.

p.s. I would never use this indoors and would remove the batteries when not in use.
However if you don't think I should have this 100mw laser from megalaseruk , then I will heed your good advice.


thanks.



Here is their link, they do say that all their lasers are IR fitted.
http://www.megalaseruk.com/laser01.htm
 
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You could buy a much better laser from laserbtb.com that will actually be on or above spec. The pl and hl hosts are more solid than ordinary pen hosts which is mostly all megalaseruk sell.

If you've already bought the laser and it works well when you get it, just keep it. I give my advice not from owning one of their lasers but on their very dubious safety advice, which to me screams "avoid".

And no, for sky pointing you don't need safety glasses, but for any sort of use in close quarters you will.
 
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Thanks, I cancelled my order from 'megalasersuk'.
The reason I ordered it from there is because it is in the UK where I live, so to avoid too much shipping cost. I was not much impressed with megalasers customer care, they seemed very slow at giving much information therefore I have no confidence in them.
I think I may consider looking at laserbtb.com
 
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The laser I was considering buying was for outdoor use, astronomy, I ordered a 100mw green laser with IR, and it is purported to have 10000 hours life. probably a waste of money.
Would I need protective goggles for outdoors? I don't see folk demonstrating on youtube wear goggles.

I was just interested at what distance will a laser of this strength burn. I guess for instance it wont burn a ballon or plastic at about 30 feet.

p.s. I would never use this indoors and would remove the batteries when not in use.
However if you don't think I should have this 100mw laser from megalaseruk , then I will heed your good advice.

For star pointing at night just get an SD-303 or similar off ebay. Searching "green sd-303" brings them right up, take your pick. No need to shell out for a Laserbtb or a Laserglow for that. You'll want a green one, 532nm. They are not IR filtered but IMHO this matters little when star pointing, because you won't be wearing any kind of safety glasses for that anyway. (If you were, you couldn't see the beam, which defeats the purpose of using a star pointer.)

The SD-303 is inexpensive. Maybe I'm lucky but I've never had one of these die on me; the only thing to go wrong is that the lenses are often soft plastic. Cleaning them usually scratches them.

I say an SD-303 (which may also be known as JD-303 or Laser 303) because the lens threads are actually the fairly standard 9x0.5mm which is used in the AixiZ module. Thus, unless the lens is glued into place (and it might well be), you can order replacement lenses without trouble, pop them in there, and be back in business. Only, order glass, not plastic.

Don't confuse the SD-303 with the Laser 301, which may be sold under any variety of names, but generally say "Laser 301" on the host. These look almost identical to the SD-303, however the lens threads are NOT the familiar AixiZ type, they are something else and it might be harder to replace those with glass. I believe the 301 uses 5mm plastic lenses; these can be bought cheaply on ebay but I personally haven't gotten around to trying those yet.

A note about the IR beam component - it doesn't matter for star pointing, as I said. It DOES matter if using the laser in a way which would require goggles. Unless the goggles are rated to handle the IR component in addition to the 532nm, the goggles will pass the IR as if the goggles were not even there. Keep that in mind and just be sensible and mindful and you won't have an issue with it.

Check the sky to make sure no airplanes are present. You must assume the pilots WILL report any laser they see, even if it's not pointed directly at them. This assumption has proven true in the past, so keep it in mind.

Nothing wrong with using the laser indoors btw, don't worry about it. I use mine indoors all the time and so far haven't managed to create any strange matter with it. I'm certainly not going to stand out in the cold just to see a green beam/dot, that would be distracting. The DPSS doesn't like the cold anyway. They will "burn" at a few centimeters distance if you use the focus adjuster to get a sharp point but IMHO it's unimpressive and not worth the bother.
 
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DrSid

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The question also is: how long is enough for you.
For example I did not run any of my lasers for more the hour. You never keep it turned on, you blast for few seconds .. and that's it. So 1 hour lifespan would be fine for me.
If you intend to use it in cutter or laser-show effect, you will need hundreds of hours.
 




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