830nm 350mW IR laser with factory test sheet, i can see red?

[Blaster]

Hi not long ago i got a laboratory type plug in the wall IR laser 830nm that comes with the company that manufactured it spec sheet.all very official with specific details on everything. The issue is everything I've ever read says i shouldn't be able to see a thing but i do see a tiny faint but quite obvious red variable dot as its focusable.Its a good burner to be honest and the little red i can see is really handy so i know its on and can focus it. But isn't 830nm way out of what i should be able to see ?

 

[Fiddy]

830nm isnt entirely invisible, its on the border line of light we can see, it differs from person to person, some people can see it some cant.

 

[Blaster]

Well that's good to know ,my frequency range of light at least is still good. I assumed the laser was a higher frequency but the specification sheet was very detailed with actual test results at the factory hand written in to a fairly detailed report hence the question most websites say above 710nm it gets really hard to see any light and above 800nm virtually zero chance

 

[Fiddy]

fair enough, everyone is different, i can only see my 1.7W 808nm very dimly.

 

[Blaster]

Thanks for the information, still nice to know, before i bought it i thought how the hell do i focus when i cant see the beam, but now obviously its not as issue as its about as bright as a dim key chain laser with low batteries but still enough to focus and more important know its on .it LPMs at 365 mW ( 350 mW from website) so i would bake my eye quite nicely without even seing it under normal circumstances

 

[hakzaw1]

hmm..

Seeing IR varies between people and the wavelength.
In the rarest case there are just a few that have reported being able to see 1080-
Since their invention people have done two things when a flashlight is dim or not working. They either bang it a few times on the palm of their hand or look directly into the front of the flashlight or both. Therefore IR AND 405nm lasers also, should never be handled by anyone who is not familiar with lasers and their many wavelengths. Doing that could be a HUGE mistake. As DPSS 532nm greens all have a IR pump inside they too can be bad for the eyes as it is possible for the IR to be present with no or very little green- Green pointer pens almost never have an IR filter with the exception of the higher end ones.

IIRC some use a camera to see and focus the spot.

 

[Blaster]

Yes the I R component. Is a bother i have a 120mW green well it was that its one of the few duds I've ever had it worked well at first but suddenly went very dim and has stayed the same. But the battery life still goes down while I'm trying to get the green back and the laser head area gets warm so i believe the IR side is workmg but the green isn't, I'm in process to confirm that I R is getting out as something is making the laser warm and draining the battery, certainly not by the amount of green getting out which looks like.1/4 of a mW just a tiny spot less than a red key chain laser by a fair bit

 

[hakzaw1]

Since you have a LB try this. put green blocking goggles between the laser and your LPM- what reading you get will be mostly from the IR pump. IIRC

 

[Atomicrox]

I don't think I've ever met anyone that couldn't see 808nm (I tested a handful of people) and have also read quite a few claims of people seeing up to 1000nm (don't have anything above 808nm to test here).

 

[hwang21]

I also can see a red dot from my IR laser. It's definitely noticeable... perhaps you have a short or bad connection or something?

 

[Blaster]

Not sure what happened it was working well and then just died down to virtually no green and still is the same ....

 

[Things]

The module can still get hot, even if the diode is not emitting any light, it's commonly called "LED'ing" the diode on these forums (because they basically become an inefficient LED), where the reflective coatings on the cavity burn off so it can no longer lase, but technically it's still drawing the same amount of power.

 

[Blaster]

Well i tested it and it appears using green googles as a filter it is putting out 41 mW of I R but about 1mw green only