After 9 years of lurking...

[Rigo13]

Hello everyone, Rigo13 here, currently based in Oxford, United Kingdom.

I got my first pen-style green laser pointer when I was 13 (probably 50-80mw) and immediately became fascinated with lasers and how they work. I started watching YouTube videos of what I considered crazy powerful (200-300mw) green lasers and pestered my parents to buy me one for Christmas. Of course nobody back then really knew about laser safety since you could buy the pen style ones for $5 in any fishing shop, and the 303 style pointers for around $40. When I got my ~200mw green I started burning everything around the house, etching plastics and experimenting with distance focusing. Back then, I stumbled upon styropyro's videos who always emphasised safety and started realising how lucky I was to still have my eyeballs intact. I got a bit frightened and started reading all the scary posts about laser accidents on this forum and learned a bunch about laser safety. Since you couldn't really find good safety glasses in my country, and good IR-filtered lasers were crazy expensive at that point, I decided to put my hobby to 'sleep', which is arguable a pretty mature decision for a 14yo. I also went and saw an eye doctor who confirmed that there were no signs of damage and resorted to admiring lasers on YouTube and on this forum.

Fast forward now, I'm 22 and just graduated from University, moving away from Oxford to London to complete a 1 year MSc course. Since this is the first summer I'll be completely free and with cash to spare, I decided to restart my beloved hobby. I'm both terrified and amazed at how laser tech evolved and how affordable some lasers have become. I've spent the past few months reading a bunch of stuff about safety and lasers in general, both on this forum and externally. I ordered a few pairs of safety glasses from SL as well as a 1.4W semi-build. I plan on using the next 5 months to learn as much as possible about lasers and hopefully make some exciting builds of my own.

I hope to be able to share with you how my hobby progresses and I hope to learn as much as possible from all of you!

P.S I'd appreciate if any of you know where to buy this style of laser (green ~200mw), for old times' sake .

 

[hakzaw1]

welcome student...
may I offer some help?
proper eye protection has been around since lasers were invented--but you made a good choice with SL.
I always thought that mw meant microwatt and mW was milliwatt-- so 1500 mW is also 1.5 W etc...I could be wrong.
ALSO-- I doubt your first pointers were that powerful--a laser meter is the best way to know- the sellers often lie.

Glad you are now here.. got Qs? the answers are here someplace.


hak (Houston)

 

[hakzaw1]

That exact style may no longer be around.
also IF you want to have a 'green' that matches your 200mW 'red' you only need about -- 30 to 50 mW is about the same 'brightness' as 200mW red-- the 635-638nm reds are much brighter than the same mW of 650=660nm.
If you want quality and a for-real warranty check out JL.
They offer several versions of green diode and DPSS 532nms
I really like my mini PL-E--- the Pro PL-E is huge.

PL-E mini 520nm Green Laser

PL-E mini 520nm Green Laser

www.jetlasers.org

You may do better seeking a used laser here at LPF.
MYB get free eye protection too== When you can--make a WTB (want to buy) thread and see who is selling what-- IF you can try to buy local- customs and regulations can be an issue ESPECIALLY if the laser is shipped with batts ( a very bad idea) JLs start at $170 and the highest powers (green)about $300 until not long ago we had no green diodes- the 532 has no green diode- it is a IR diode that is 'pumped' to make it green- NOW we have cheaper diode greens --1000mW 520 nm for less $$ than 300 mW 532.

buy from member near you --if you can..
Lots of members selling their collections but they often keep their JLs & LPMs and sell last.. easy to sell later.
I think about LPMs like this-I 'rented' it--sold later and not for much less than I paid. I will be offering some Hyperions soon. Feel free to PM me with any Qs you have--by no means do I know everything====BUT I DO know people who DO. --our 'search' is your best friend.

hak

 

[Rigo13]

Hi Hakzaw1, appreciate your comprehensive replies and help.

To be clear, I never had an LPM to check the actual power of the lasers, I assumed the pen-style was 50mW due to it being able to pop balloons and cut thin plastics with ease. Similarly, I assumed the bigger one would be 200mW as it could light matches instantly and cut through plenty of materials. I always ignored the <1000000mW claims.

proper eye protection has been around since lasers were invented--but you made a good choice with SL.

To be fair at that time these numbers (mW) meant nothing to me - everyone in my school had these retina burners and nobody was aware of the dangers. When the whole laser pointer craze came from China to my little eastern European country, you could buy these anywhere. Unfortunately, warnings and safety gear didn't follow as nobody seemed to know/care about the dangers.

also IF you want to have a 'green' that matches your 200mW 'red' you only need about -- 30 to 50 mW is about the same 'brightness' as 200mW red-- the 635-638nm reds are much brighter than the same mW of 650=660nm.

Never had a red pointer, and probably won't for a while since I did not yet order appropriate safety glasses for that wavelength.

I really like my mini PL-E--- the Pro PL-E is huge.

Had a look at these recently and they really do have that nostalgia factor to them (for me at least). Might pick one up soon.

Lots of members selling their collections but they often keep their JLs & LPMs and sell last.. easy to sell later.

To be fair that's the next thing I'd like to buy so if you're selling any DM me I might be interested. I was looking to get an inexpensive one from LaserBee, but they were adding over 100$ for shipping to the UK.

Feel free to PM me with any Qs you have-

Thanks for that, much appreciated!