1st Intro Thread

[Mithrandir]

Greetings to everyone.

Interested in looking at pocket sized green laser. Had two from years ago. One purchased at Radio Shark ~$40 USD and another purchased while traveling in China ~$8 USD.

Both were similar in quality. The Chinese one had better beam (RS had stray dot from main beam). Single focused beam that was great at night. Had issue with batteries getting stuck in tube. Now it will not work. (no power. Cannot remove old batteries )

Main interest would be to get one to use for astronomy and some general pointing around.
Looking for more information on lasers and looking for quality laser at a fair (reasonable) price.

Interested in anything from 5mW to 30mW and green in color.
532nm (dpss laser) seems to be more economical than 520nm, 515nm or 510nm. (diode lasers)

Glad to have found this site.

 

[Unown (WILD)]

You should be good with 5-30mw. As long as you don't aim it at or near people. I would just google and shop around. Read the reviews and such. I rarely ever buy lasers. Actually I never buy them so I can't recommend anything.

 

[Mithrandir]

You should be good with 5-30mw. As long as you don't aim it at or near people. I would just google and shop around. Read the reviews and such. I rarely ever buy lasers. Actually I never buy them so I can't recommend anything.

Thank you. Good advice. Will search and read reviews on Green Lasers that meet my needs.

 

[Sowee7]

Thank you. Good advice. Will search and read reviews on Green Lasers that meet my needs.

Laserglow sells good 5mw 532nm DPSS laser pointers and 20mw 532nm DPSS handhelds

 

[Mattronium]

If you are working in lower temperatures of need a stable power level, then I would stick with direct diode, or maybe high end 532nm. At least for the cheap, common 532nm dpss laser modules have their power output dependent on temperature, so if the temperate is low, the power will drop a lot, or if it is on for longer durations it can get hotter and also change the power.

 

[Mithrandir]

If you are working in lower temperatures of need a stable power level, then I would stick with direct diode, or maybe high end 532nm. At least for the cheap, common 532nm dpss laser modules have their power output dependent on temperature, so if the temperate is low, the power will drop a lot, or if it is on for longer durations it can get hotter and also change the power.

I would expect the laser to be used mainly in temperatures 10°C (50°F) or warmer.

 

[RedCowboy]

Beware that most of the inexpensive 532nm pointers advertised/labeled as 5mw that you see on ebay and many other laser pointer sites online are actually 40-80mw output or other than specified.

Always lase safely and don't trust the 5mw rating of cheap pointers.

As Sowee7 said LaserGlow is reputable.