I love a good smack down, let's go.
Do one thing. Find the federal law that states. A laser hobbyist cannot allow a laser beam to leave their property. If you can do that I will concede I am wrong. If you don't find a law then you must state you were the moron. Is that fair enough ?
Years ago I went through this very same thing with another fellow just like you that ran a laser show. I did combed the internet. I went to professional laser show forums like Photolexicon and some others i can't remeber and posted this question. I even emailed Greg Makov at ILDA - I think it was- guess what nobody new of a law that said you can't.
Here's part of a conversation I had a few years ago. It concerned whether or not it was illegl to shine a class 3b laser into the sky which at that time were the highest output handheld lasers available.
Here's a conversation I had with *Greg Makov [
> Dear Mr. Makov,
> I'm writing too inquire how this article you wrote applies to the
> hobbyist ? All of the articles I've read at the various government
> non-government sites appear to consider only commercial uses or
> situations. Specifically do you know of a federal law(s) that states it
> is unlawful to shine a laser >5mw into the sky ? I've searched for a
> definitive answer and posted this question and the answer I received
> was 'never heard of one'. If you know the answer or can point me in
> the right direction I'd certainly appreciate it.
>
> Sincerely.
>
> Steve
Sorry for the late reply, today is my first day back in the office in
about 1-1/2 weeks.
Concerning your question, this was a question that I posed to FAA
officials many years ago when I was involved with the G-10 committee and
helped re-write the FAA 7400.2 document. The general answer is that it
is illegal to "interfere with a flight crew" and that the local tower
could call the local police to arrest anyone who did so interfere. More
recently, there was federal legislation that made it directly a criminal
activity to "shine" a laser device at an aircraft. Note that this does
not have any power limit or irradiance value associated with it. In
other words, with this new law, it does not matter what you are
"shining" at the flight crew, it matters that you are interfering with
their normal operation.
The 5 mW limit you cite is based on the CDRH limit for manufacturers of
laser pointers. There is a lot of misinformation about this. It is
perfectly legal to sell or to buy a laser that emits more than 5
milliwatts, just don't call it a laser pointer. Moreover, how you use
it is not regulated, unless you interfere or injure someone else with
what you are doing. In other words, if you direct a laser beam into the
sky, and no one notices it, there is no problem. If the beam
illuminates a plane, you might be in for a bit of trouble.
If you need specific statutes or regulations, I recommend the CDRH
website to you:
<http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/comp/rad_consumer.html>
And the FAA Advisory Circular site:
<
http://www.faa.gov/airports_airtraff...es/advisory_ci rculars/>
This is the older version of what Garog quoted from th CDRH site
Now here's the updated version. Notice the difference.
Do you see the difference. The first paragraph means lasers designed for laser shows more or less. The second paragraph excludes laser pointers and handheld lasers from being categorized by the first paragraph. You did catch the specified term
demonstration laser product. l
Let's add some fuel to the fire. Here's an opinion site on this matter. You and most everyone will recognized the name of the author
FDA authority over laser pointers and handheld lasers -- Laser Pointer Safety
Remember to find that federal law that says an individual with their personal laser can't allow the beam off their property.
