10mw blue laser pointer 405nm

[antaean3000]

I brought a 10mw blue laser pointer from ebay which cost 100 including p&p

I have only ever owned one of those old 1mw red lasers.

Is a 10mw blue laser safe? what kind of things would you have to be sure of in order to been safe when using one?

It also takes aaa type batterys but they say 3.7v and it takes two. Would 2 normal aaa batterys work?

I am a bit wary of a 10mw laser. I was going to buy a 200mw red or green laser but i dont think they are very safe.

 

[Dr_Evil]

Is it a blue laser or is it a blu-ray (violet) laser? 10mW blue lasers shouldn't be that cheap unless something si wrong with it. A good quality 10mW blue laser will cost at least $500. You might be lucky if you get 1mW of blue. The rest is probably IR which is unsafe.

Ebay lasers are usually frowned upon here. The extrememly cheap pointers usually emit a bunch of IR unless they are red or BR.

Most, if not all, lasers can be safe as long as you have the proper equipment.

Two AAA batteries will not work if the batteries you have say 3.7 on them. AAA batteries are only 1.2 to 1.5 volts.

Good luck with your laser. There are some members here that can test the actual output if you are willing to send it to one of them to test it.

Edit: 405nm is violet AKA blu-ray or HD-DVD. True blue lasers are 473nm. Post the actual color that you see once you get it so we know if it is blue or violet.

 

[rog8811]

You will need to get a pair of these:-
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.974
and a charger then you will be good to go.

Regards rog8811

 

[antaean3000]

Thats what came with it. The laser did seem violet.
Also when you shine it on a wall it shoes up as blue but when you shine it further away it is violet and the beam is very big.

The listing also claimed that there was no ir or no ir filter or something like that.

All i know is if i shine it on a roof the beam is very large and dull and even though we shined it quite far away ours eyes went a bit funny.

Would viewing the laser being shone on none reflective serfaces harm your eyes?
I have had a 1mw red laser shine in my eyes before and they went funny for a few hours so thinking logicaly just viewing it wouldnt harm your eyes?.

I have had my laser a day and i dont like it. Not sure how you would dispose of a laser.

Anways im gonna make a review about it.

 

[daguin]

Thats what came with it. The laser did seem violet.
Also when you shine it on a wall it shoes up as blue but when you shine it further away it is violet and the beam is very big.

The listing also claimed that there was no ir or no ir filter or something like that.

All i know is if i shine it on a roof the beam is very large and dull and even though we shined it quite far away ours eyes went a bit funny.

Would viewing the laser being shone on none reflective serfaces harm your eyes?
I have had a 1mw red laser shine in my eyes before and they went funny for a few hours so thinking logicaly just viewing it wouldnt harm your eyes?.

I have had my laser a day and i dont like it. Not sure how you would dispose of a laser.

Anways im gonna make a review about it.

It is a blu-ray laser. It is 405nm. It is acting exactly as it should. You should NOT look at the light being reflected off shiny surfaces. You are probably hitting yourself and your friends with greater than 5mW. I have responded to you in another thread. Read all about your 405nm blu-ray laser in this forum before you make any decisions. Then if you still don't want it, you can mail it to me. I won't pay you 100 pound for it, but you won't have to worry about what to do with it any more.

Peace,
dave

 

[rog8811]

As per daquin, you have a blue ray, that is what they are like, our eyes have trouble with the 405nm wavelength....
The ones I have built have a good small dot at all usable distances, I use one of mine all the time with presentations and the different colour usually gets some comment.

I would guess that the one you have is not that well columnated. Looking at the photo's on ebay it doesn't look like messing with the focus is an option.

To fall in love with yours again you need to find some glowy things to shine it at, see daquins threads on rocks and minerals.

Regards rog8811

 

[pseudolobster]

Don't shine it directly in your eyes (obviously).. But 10mw isn't a huge deal.. Catching a reflection for half a second isn't going to blind you, though staring directly into it for a while probably will.

The concern about infrared only applies to DPSS lasers, which use an IR laser and a special crystal assembly to multiply the frequency of light, changing the color. The most common DPSS lasers are green, though practically any color is possible. The problem with IR is that you can't see it, so even if you're being blinded by it your irises won't contract and you won't know to blink.
Buying a high powered green laser off ebay could be dangerous, but red and blueray lasers just use a simple diode and emit only their specific color, no IR.

Just be careful with it, don't point it at your face, or anyone else's.. be careful with mirrors and other reflective surfaces and you should be fine.