The thread about "real" goggles/glasses. . .

[InfinitusEquitas]

The super cheap red ones? Yeah I never really bothered to test them. I have 2-3 pairs lying around. I guess I'll use them for a costume or something.

The Uvex Shade 5.0 do work for red, but I only tested one pair, and results that Tsteele got were not as good as what I saw, so I don't feel comfortable proposing them as a cheap goggles option for red lasers.

 

[Kaithur]

As to original question. Wouldn't having both be the most benefical to your eye protection. If you plan on having other people around; be responsible, and pony up the dough to protect their vision too. Just a thought.

 

[Bionic-Badger]

I usually have an extra pair just to get them to the "safe spot" in the room. Though usually you can get away with having them walk into the room, close their eyes until you're sure things are good, and then open their eyes.

 

[Zoidberg]

Thank god someone made this thread! I couldnt find anything like this in the safety section of the forum. I do have a few extra questions however. I wear glasses too, and while using my laser, could possibly be looking through a mid range magnification scope. With the power of these 445nm lasers now passing the 3 Watt range, and taking into consideration of wearing glasses and potentially looking through a rifle scope/telescope at the spot in which the lasers beam will be hitting, what should I be looking for to protect myself? The power of my 445nm laser will be around 2.8-3.5 Watts (similar build as the "Big Boy" which measured in at over 3 Watts. Thank you all for your time and patience with goggle questions. I feel that it is the most important thing in regards to lasers.:thanks:

 

[paulkruger]

Just a though. If anyone has a LPM to test, colored glasses are available in a wide range, sold as color therapy glasses. Understood these are NOT intended as laser safety glasses, however, that does not mean they would not work for certain lasers.

The above work for all except red which is blocked by blue lens which I ordered via Amazon.

I don't have a power meter to test so will just try a simple "heat" type test using an IR thermometer with and without the lens in the path to get an idea of the amount of attenuation.

If someone has a power meter and a range of lasers, it might me useful to get a few of these glasses and test their absorption ability and post results.

Again...these are NOT intended for this purpose however if someone desires to play with lasers and does not have a large budget for expensive multiple wavelength goggles, a collection of different color lenses that each attenuate just a narrow band is better than no protection at all.

 

[Pamelia75]

I agree with you.

 

[Teej]

I decided I would get safety glasses before getting a laser...but, the old links seem dead/not relevant anymore, and I'd REALLY like some advice or links for what's available at present.

My application will primarily involve ~ 3 watt 445 nm use in various environments. This may increase to 6 w in the future.

What the heck should I be wearing to avoid getting whacked by 3 - 6 watts of 445 nm?

Any advice for a newb?

:can:

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

These will work well without breaking the bank:

Eagle Pair® 190-540nm Slip Over Laser Safety Goggles

Or get these if you also plan in getting green lasers down the line:

Eagle Pair® 190-540nm & 800-2000nm Laser Safety Goggles

Welcome to another photon addiction :beer:

 

[Teej]

These will work well without breaking the bank:

Eagle Pair® 190-540nm Slip Over Laser Safety Goggles

Or get these if you also plan in getting green lasers down the line:

Eagle Pair® 190-540nm & 800-2000nm Laser Safety Goggles

Welcome to another photon addiction :beer:

Sweet!

Are these better or worse than these?

http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/p...d-od7-goggles-190-534nm-60-shipped-88054.html

IE: Is there a good reason to get one over the other? (I'd get goggles or glasses with shielding instead of slip-over style, as I don't otherwise wear glasses)

OD 4 sounds like less protection than OD 7, but, is it like wearing welding goggles when the density is higher?


- Thanks!

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

The ones you linked to are definitely a better option, if they are still available. They have about 35% VLT (visible light transmission) vs the eagle pair orange ones that have about 50% VLT. The NOIR ones also offer quite a bit of protection for IR, so I think the loss in visible light transmission is worth it.

In terms of protection both should be perfectly fine. OD 4 means the power of the laser is reduced by a factor of four. So 10,000mW would be reduced to 1mW. At those power levels, you'll definitely notice something is wrong quickly.

The slip over, or regular goggles/glasses is strictly personal preference on my part, I wear glasses so for me it's a factor. Only thing that's important is that preferably the goggles should cover your eye from all angles, the sides, bottom, and top.

 

[Teej]

The ones you linked to are definitely a better option, if they are still available. They have about 35% VLT (visible light transmission) vs the eagle pair orange ones that have about 50% VLT. The NOIR ones also offer quite a bit of protection for IR, so I think the loss in visible light transmission is worth it.

In terms of protection both should be perfectly fine. OD 4 means the power of the laser is reduced by a factor of four. So 10,000mW would be reduced to 1mW. At those power levels, you'll definitely notice something is wrong quickly.

The slip over, or regular goggles/glasses is strictly personal preference on my part, I wear glasses so for me it's a factor. Only thing that's important is that preferably the goggles should cover your eye from all angles, the sides, bottom, and top.

OK, so, the better the protection, the less you can SEE...ow.

So, lets say I want to shine the laser into the sky to see the beautiful beam, if I'm wearing the goggles...I can't see it, can I?

:can:

I am of course assuming that in practice, the sky would be clear of potentially reflective objects, etc....so, I should be OK looking at the beam in the sky, as long as its not pointed anywhere dangerous/reflective, etc.

If there was a plane, etc, I'd want to SEE THAT, so I didn't fire up the device in the first place.


Does that sound right?

 

[Livinloud]

If you are shining in the sky you wont be wearing glasses. Glasses are to protect your eye from laser reflections; I.e. burning, indoor use, playing with mirrors, etc....

And no the better the protectiom the less you see. What you should say or mean is; the higher the OD the better the protection. The VLT is how dark the lens are. Higher VLT means you can see more, lower VLT means darker lens. They do have high OD glasses with higher VLT ratings but they are expensive. IMO I dont like the low VLT since I want to see what I am doing when burning rather than guess and burn something I didnr mean to

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Exactly right, but you wouldn't be wearing the goggles at all to view the beam. Goggles act as the last resort safety, a good analogy I think would be seat belts. They are really only there in case everything else goes wrong.

So long as you treat lasers with respect, not quite like firearms, but close, the only time you end up really needing goggles is when you test/make lasers, lpm them, or are doing alignment. So long as the laser is secure, or held firmly there shouldn't be any risk to begin with.

With the goggles on, you will not see a beam at all, just an orange dot where the beam ends.

Also, for 445nm, the orange 50% vlt goggles will act perfectly well. I usually end up using them, vs the higher OD rated goggles.

Edit: I ordered a pair of the NOIR goggles from NKgamer too.

 

[Teej]

Exactly right, but you wouldn't be wearing the goggles at all to view the beam. Goggles act as the last resort safety, a good analogy I think would be seat belts. They are really only there in case everything else goes wrong.

So long as you treat lasers with respect, not quite like firearms, but close, the only time you end up really needing goggles is when you test/make lasers, lpm them, or are doing alignment. So long as the laser is secure, or held firmly there shouldn't be any risk to begin with.

With the goggles on, you will not see a beam at all, just an orange dot where the beam ends.

Also, for 445nm, the orange 50% vlt goggles will act perfectly well. I usually end up using them, vs the higher OD rated goggles.

Edit: I ordered a pair of the NOIR goggles from NKgamer too.

I was clear on the sky, OD meaning akin to a darker plate, etc... and so forth, albeit when reading the stickies on this stuff, I keep seeing to wear the goggles at all times, so, as a newb, I had to ASSUME a context might be present I wasn't aware of.

You are telling me the context is more along the lines logic would dictate, and that there's no hidden laser issues beyond that....which is reassuring.

I try to avoid falling into the trap of "not knowing what I don't know".

I'd rather wait until I at least have a working knowledge of this sort of niche information, than make assumptions.

I WAS blind for a while, back in the '70's, and, I DON'T want to end up back in that scenario, ever.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

The only "hidden" issue with lasers, is with reflections. A lot of surfaces around us, that are not mirrors are actually very reflective. My suggestion would be to buy a cheap red pointer (under $2-5 on fleebay) and go nuts shining it around, when it completely dark, so you can see what you're dealing with at home. Outside the biggest danger is from street signs, and windows.

 

[Teej]

The only "hidden" issue with lasers, is with reflections. A lot of surfaces around us, that are not mirrors are actually very reflective. My suggestion would be to buy a cheap red pointer (under $2-5 on fleebay) and go nuts shining it around, when it completely dark, so you can see what you're dealing with at home. Outside the biggest danger is from street signs, and windows.

I actually work with a lot of lights for work, and reflections, etc, are in issue with most of them due to the power, say with UV for example, you can't see the beams, so, you get used to predicting what might reflect and avoid it, w/o needing to actually see it reflect as proof.

I wear UV protective goggles for that reason, and makes others in the potential zone wear them too, so if I DO screw up, its less serious.

On the plus side, UV glasses don't really impede normal vision much.

I do know that compound faceted reflectors, things like a bike reflector, etc, can send beams right back-atcha even when hit off angle. The first time you see that, you remember.




I HAVE cheap pointers...so, I'm covered there. I'm upgrading to a 50 mw 532 nm as the red ones I have are invisible at long ranges outdoors in the day...and don't work for me in that environment. I actually use bright spot lights to point out broad daylight features instead of the laser pointers, as they actually work better. I fully expect the new greenie to fix that though.

The 3 watt 445 nm would be a bit dicey in that role, I'd hate to point out a feature and have it start to smoke, that could get awkward.