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Testing Laser Safety Glasses

Mathewe

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Prior to joining this forum, I purchased a pair of safety glasses that claim to have an OD of 6+ and are also 'supposedly' good at a wave length of 405nm (the same wave length of the two lasers that I also purchased on ebay, at the same time). After later doing a bit of reading, and watching some videos on YouTube, I'm now wondering if the glasses that I purchased are truly safe. How can I test them? Would it be safe to look at the 'side' of a laser beam, with the glasses, and if I cannot see the beam, call the glasses safe? FWIW... the glasses trademark is "FREEMASCOT". As for the ebay lasers, I was being a bonehead when I purchased them. I watched a video from Styropro (I think that's his youtube name), where he was testing illegal Chinese lasers from ebay. I was actually hoping that the lasers that I purchased 'were' illegal and way more powerful than the advertised 5mw. I now know the 'err' in my ways for supporting such bad behavior, should my lasers indeed prove to be class IV, but it's too late now. The deal is done. I'll never do such a thing again!!!
Anyway, back to the glasses. FREEMASCOT. The price is similar to Eagle Pair, but what about the quality? The specs are as follows; Would you consider them good, or should I go for an 'Eagle Pair'?
  • Wavelength: 190nm-490nm
  • Optical density: OD 6+
  • Visible light transmittance: 55%
  • EN207: 1998 + A1EN207: 1998 + A1: 2002 approved (European laser eyewear standards for laser safety eyewear).
 





Unown (WILD)

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Forget everything you see styropyro do. Unless you're ok with a message that says "Do as I say not as I do" then you're good to go...
 

julianthedragon

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"Illegal lasers" are really just illegal to sell, not purchase or own. But if you find yourself with a bunch of mislabeled "5mw" lasers that are really high powered you should probably invest in some sort of LPM (laser power meter) so you know exactly what you're dealing with. There's a big difference between 50mw, 500mw, and 5000mw.

The safety of the glasses is something you need professional equipment and background knowledge to test, and the consensus on the forum seems to be that laserglow's safety goggles are the safest bet. But tbh if you wear the goggles and the brightness of your laser is diminished to a dim white dot, then you're probably good. Don't use the beam though, most laser beams are actually quite dim anyway unless you're in the pitch dark or lots of moisture/fog in the air. Plus beam visibility is even lower in violet lasers like you mentioned (and red)
 

Mathewe

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Oct 3, 2021
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I just tried something with my glasses. I have a clock, in the bedroom, that projects the time onto my ceiling. It's currently focused to clearly project the time at 10' feet away from the clock, via a bright blue light. When I accidentally get that light in my eyes, while getting into bed, it is very intense and triggers a blink reflex. Quite irritating and it really ticks me off when I accidentally do that. I put my glasses on and stared into that light. It wasn't very bright, nor was it even blue. It was a 'green' color that I saw. Not very bright, nor offensive at all. Does this say anything about my glasses... or does it just mean that I'm a dolt for staring into a bright light, in a dark room, while wearing my sunglasses at night? LOL
 

Mathewe

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Watching TV, using the glasses. Blues turn green, and green becomes even 'greener' with these glasses...
 

Unown (WILD)

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I just tried something with my glasses. I have a clock, in the bedroom, that projects the time onto my ceiling. It's currently focused to clearly project the time at 10' feet away from the clock, via a bright blue light. When I accidentally get that light in my eyes, while getting into bed, it is very intense and triggers a blink reflex. Quite irritating and it really ticks me off when I accidentally do that. I put my glasses on and stared into that light. It wasn't very bright, nor was it even blue. It was a 'green' color that I saw. Not very bright, nor offensive at all. Does this say anything about my glasses... or does it just mean that I'm a dolt for staring into a bright light, in a dark room, while wearing my sunglasses at night? LOL
I wouldn't be so cruel to call you a dolt but sunglasses block light yet they aren't suited to block laser light so that test isn't going to tell you anything
 

Mathewe

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I wouldn't be so cruel to call you a dolt but sunglasses block light yet they aren't suited to block laser light so that test isn't going to tell you anything
The 'glasses' were laser glasses, NOT sunglasses!
 

Mathewe

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Messages
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"Illegal lasers" are really just illegal to sell, not purchase or own. But if you find yourself with a bunch of mislabeled "5mw" lasers that are really high powered you should probably invest in some sort of LPM (laser power meter) so you know exactly what you're dealing with. There's a big difference between 50mw, 500mw, and 5000mw.

The safety of the glasses is something you need professional equipment and background knowledge to test, and the consensus on the forum seems to be that laserglow's safety goggles are the safest bet. But tbh if you wear the goggles and the brightness of your laser is diminished to a dim white dot, then you're probably good. Don't use the beam though, most laser beams are actually quite dim anyway unless you're in the pitch dark or lots of moisture/fog in the air. Plus beam visibility is even lower in violet lasers like you mentioned (and red)
I thought that the forum consensus was 'Eagle Pair'...???
 

Mathewe

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It was/still is partially, but recently I've heard those glasses weren't as reliable as they're supposed to be. But I still use them personally
Thank you Julian... you just made my point in my reason for asking how someone can personally test their laser glasses/goggles to insure that they are truly up to par. As new as I am to this laser thing, I'm not so new to false and misleading product advertisements. There 'must' be a simple, low tech procedure for testing the true worth of the material(s) used in our laser safety glasses, other than simply trusting what the manufacturers 'claim' to be reality... along with a specified price point to shoot for. That's what I'm after... "a method of testing" other than simple trust, and 'BLINDLY' using my precious eyes as the Guinee pigs in order to find out if those glasses are truly safe, or not...
 

Mathewe

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Oct 3, 2021
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Do you folks test your new laser glasses... ???
'How' do you folks test your new laser glasses... ???
How do you know that those new glasses are truly safe... ???

Being new to this hobby, I find this one aspect of safety to be extremely important. I'll not move forward until I know how to make sure that the ol' eyeballs are being properly protected. I'm already a bit 'long in the tooth', my eyes are going south, and... I obviously don't want to instantly send the rest of my already lacking vision down the toilet, via a laser, because I didn't know whether or not my safety glasses were truly safe...
 
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julianthedragon

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There 'must' be a simple, low tech procedure for testing the true worth of the material(s) used in our laser safety glasses, other than simply trusting what the manufacturers 'claim' to be reality... along with a specified price point to shoot for. That's what I'm after... "a method of testing" other than simple trust, and 'BLINDLY' using my precious eyes as the Guinee pigs in order to find out if those glasses are truly safe, or not...
Welp there are ways of testing them and people have, that's how they found out they weren't up to par. As for a simple, low tech method I'm not sure

If you read through this thread for a while you'll find deeper discussion about the Eagle Pair goggles and some people sharing relevant data and tests, and it'll give you more of a feel for the various feelings towards them on the forum
 

Unown (WILD)

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The 'glasses' were laser glasses, NOT sunglasses!
You didn't get what I was saying... You used scattered light of multiple wavelengths than coherent light to test laser goggles.
 

Mathewe

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You didn't get what I was saying... You used scattered light of multiple wavelengths than coherent light to test laser goggles.
Okay, I think that I understand what you meant, now. Yes, there was a lot of different colors/wavelengths involved when I looked at the TV. None of that light was collimated, however. What about that super bright blue light coming out of my clock, in a dark bedroom? The lens that the light comes out of is less than .5" in diameter. It's extremely blinding at 4' away and casts a very crisp/clear image, of the time, on my ceiling, only about 8" across, at a distance of ten feet away. That has to be a laser diode producing collimated light. Of what power, who knows? All I know is that it is very irritating and blinding when I accidentally get an eyeball full of it while crawling into bed. With the laser goggles, it is not offensive at all. It is not even blue. It appears to be a soft subtle green color.
Please understand. I'm not trying to be controversial. I'm simply trying to figure out how I can be sure that my laser glasses are truly safe. Being a complete neophyte... I'm concerned about safety.
 




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