How dangerous is a 200 mW red pointer?

[MajorLazor]

I currently have a 301 clone in green from Amazon, that is labeled as 5 mW, although I'm sure it's more powerful. I've been doing a lot of reading lately about laser safety and all that, and while it would be fun to try a higher-powered laser, I am a bit nervous now. The class 4 lasers that are over 0.5W sound scary, TBH. I read the thread where a guy's laser rolled off the table and the beam briefly hit his eye, and now his vision is hosed. I think he was using a 1W blue.

I like the look of the laser beam in air, and like to briefly glance at the dot, so wearing safety glasses cancels out that effect. In that case, is it best to just stick with the very low power lasers? Wondering if the red color is a less dangerous than green at the same mW?

 

[steve001]

I currently have a 301 clone in green from Amazon, that is labeled as 5 mW, although I'm sure it's more powerful. I've been doing a lot of reading lately about laser safety and all that, and while it would be fun to try a higher-powered laser, I am a bit nervous now. The class 4 lasers that are over 0.5W sound scary, TBH. I read the thread where a guy's laser rolled off the table and the beam briefly hit his eye, and now his vision is hosed. I think he was using a 1W blue.

I like the look of the laser beam in air, and like to briefly glance at the dot, so wearing safety glasses cancels out that effect. In that case, is it best to just stick with the very low power lasers? Wondering if the red color is a less dangerous than green at the same mW?

Buy one. Continue reading and you'll know how to be careful. Red presents as much potential hazard as any other visible wavelength

 

[paul1598419]

If you are not in control of your firing lasers at all times it is an accident waiting to happen. If I am running a pointer not in my hand it is in a clamp holder which holds it firmly in place. If you like the sight of a laser's beam in the air, you will want some class IV lasers as they are far more visible than the lower power ones. But, there should be safety concerns on your mind whenever you use a laser of any power.

 

[MajorLazor]

Thanks, guys. I think I'm going to get one of those 200 mW Sanwu pocket lasers in violet. My safety glasses cover that part of the spectrum already. If I went with red, I'd have to get another set of glasses. I'm mostly interested in trying some burning, so figure this might be a good starter laser; still strong, but not crazy powerful, either.

I need to find a good mount or tripod holder so it'll be stable on my table.

 

[Sunny17]

Violet at 200mW is quite dim to my knowledge and it also doesn’t burn super well due to the relatively low power. It’ll pop balloons and light matches when focused but it doesn’t really have any paper burning capabilities (from what I’ve read here)

 

[MajorLazor]

Violet at 200mW is quite dim to my knowledge and it also doesn’t burn super well due to the relatively low power. It’ll pop balloons and light matches when focused but it doesn’t really have any paper burning capabilities (from what I’ve read here)

Really? I read that 405nm is the best for burning. Then again, I've also read that other wavelengths are good, too. It's hard to know since there's a lot of conflicting info out there. Anyway, we'll see. Being relatively new to all this, I didn't want to start off with a monster laser. This LaserPointerStore had the Sanwus for about half the price as direct from them, so figured it was worth a try. I didn't see them listed in the "where to buy" guide on here, so hopefully they are an OK dealer.

 

[Fundles]

I just got that 405nm laser from sanwu. Unfortunately it's defective and super dim. I sent an email with pictures to them and they're sending me another one! So yeah it's more expensive but they back up their product. The 301-304 lasers are sometimes complete junk, so buy a few so you'll get 1 that works properly.

 

[Sunny17]

Have you ordered already? I’d recommend ordering directly from Sanwu to ensure don’t get a knockoff product. Pretty much all reviews of them, and my personal experience, have been terrific. I’m not sure about the LaserPointerStore
Here’s a coupon code from Sanwu: LPFOFF10

 

[MajorLazor]

Have you ordered already? I’d recommend ordering directly from Sanwu to ensure don’t get a knockoff product. Pretty much all reviews of them, and my personal experience, have been terrific. I’m not sure about the LaserPointerStore
Here’s a coupon code from Sanwu: LPFOFF10

Yeah, I did order already unfortunately. Hopefully, it works out OK. Thanks for the coupon code. If I get any more, I will definitely use it.

 

[paul1598419]

The only reason 405nm lasers are claimed to be good burning lasers is because most are built from blueray diodes, which are single mode and give a tight power dense beam. It has nothing to do with the wavelength. A watt is a watt at any wavelength.

I have several laser pointer mounts. My best are a "small rig" clamp paired with an "ultra pod" tripod. They aren't cheap, but they aren't terribly expensive either. They stand about 10 inches tall. The clamp opens to about 2.75 inches.

 

[MajorLazor]

Appreciate the info. I actually have a small, tabletop tripod, but can you recommend where to get a "laser holder" that attached to it via the standard 1/4" screw?

 

[paul1598419]

Yes, Look up Small Rig. They make the clamps that work so well. There are also some Chinese knock offs that can be found on eBay that aren't too bad either.

 

[green lasers rock]

As long as you understand that the beam will not be visible it's a good choice. It will probably be dimmer than a 5mw green laser. This makes the laser more dangerous in practice because it looks much weaker than it is. Be careful and enjoy the hobby.