Best Place to Buy ~100 mW Green Laser *Pointer* Running on AA/AAA Batteries?

[astrostu]

Hi folks, first post, discovered the forum after lots of Googling.

Background: I probably don't have to justify "why" I want this to a forum like this (and after reading some threads), but I shall -- I'm an astronomer, and my old 15 mW laser pointer from Wicked Lasers from 2006 finally died. I was going to just go to them as default to get a replacement, but these days all they have are their 5mW and then expensive and thick 100+ mW laser pointers with non-standard batteries. Thought I'd do some searching online for a new one but I'm kinda overwhelmed by all the different companies and prices. Found this forum and ...

Question: ... what's the best place (or places) online to get a green laser these days? Specifically, I want it to use AA or AAA batteries, and I would prefer that it not be 36mm thick or greater -- I'd prefer it be closer to ~15-20 mm thick, you know, like an actual pointer as opposed to something someone would be afraid of -- something I could keep in my pocket and people not wondering what I'm packing. Something I could travel with on an airplane and not get pulled over by security every time 'cause it just looks like a normal laser pointer.

As an aside, if the same site you could recommend also has nice blue or blue-violet lasers, that'd be a plus .

And I did do some searching but didn't see a question as specific as this ... if it's answered elsewhere, please just point out the thread. Thanks!

 

[Laser Smith]

Try this thread out :beer: http://laserpointerforums.com/f46/4-35-405nm-ebay-pen-super-overspect-must-see-77135.html

And Welcome!

 

[ApexProxy]

I have had a couple sets of each of these to give out to friends and family and every last one of them was massively overspec:
Amazon.com: QQ-Tech® 5 mW 532 nm Green 2in1 Laser Pointer with Constellation Cap Mini Stage Light: Electronics
Amazon.com: QQ-Tech® Green Red Blue / Violet / Purple Beam Laser Pointer Combo 3 Laser Light Pens 5mw 532nm 650nm 405nm Triple Colors Astronomy Powerful: Electronics

The first link is for the green alone with a cool star cap that can be unscrewed. I visually guess the output to vary around 60-90mW for the 6 532nm I have had.

 

[magicaldung]

I'm selling a couple here:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/fs-4x-cni-glp-532nm-50mw-measured-100-140mw-cheap-78291.html

Shameless advertising, but they sound like exactly what you need. They're very durable too, I have one of my own and it's still running at 120mW even after months and months of regular use.
Good luck

 

[astrostu]

Thanks, but I'm a bit confused now. Laserpointerer, the link is to 5mW-rated pointers for ~$5, but people are saying it's brighter? And same with your links ApexProxy - they're 5mW but you're saying they're 12-18x more powerful?

 

[ApexProxy]

Yes, they are stated as being 5mW so they can be shipped and sold to just about any country but they are almost always drastically more powerful than stated. Keep in mind you will need to use laser goggles with any laser above 5mW when pointing in a closed space or at something close to you.

 

[RA_pierce]

How much power do you want? Edit: oops, it's in the title.

If you want something powerful, the lasers magicaldung is selling are good lasers. CNI is much better quality than the cheap pointers you will find on amazon and ebay.

However, the ebay lasers are so cheap, you might as well try one out. They usually measure between 5-30mW which is a good range for nighttime pointing but they can be unstable in cold or hot weather and it is not uncommon for them to have mode-hopping issues.

Here is a retailer that sells CNI lasers:
Green Laser Pointer Viper Series :: Dragon Lasers

The CNI pens are my personal favorite. They are constructed well and they look nice, too.

Here is another USA based retailer that sells some of the same kind of pointers as the ones you find on ebay but these ones are tested and they actually go through quality control to ensure you get a good one.
Optotronics Green Pen Pointers

 

[ApexProxy]

IMO, you can do better for output per price than those:
HL 532nm 50-300

They also sell a bigger version that goes WAY up in power if your cash permits:
PL 532nm 100-700

Personally, I have the 300mW 523nm off the first link and it is incredible and I do not regret my purchase in any way. Still, I suggest a cheapo ebay pen that is very likely overspec over a tested pen for 10x+ the price or go all the way and get a full laser and not just a little pen for less money.

 

[jwwilson23]

for the violet i bought two from the listing in the thread laserpointerer linked. everyone said they are great so im excited to get them, but it said it could come as late as Dec. 4
when i bought them :'(

EDIT-checked out listing again, its done sorry and i now remember there was 3 left when i bought them so one more lucky person got the last one. i was very tempted to get the last 3 but decided 2 was enough. hope he starts another listing

:beer: Justin

 

[astrostu]

Okay, so let me see if I have this right ... these days, some shady folks will advertise "5 mW" laser pointers in order to get around some rules, but while they're labeled as such, they're the CPU-equivalent of overclocked and can be much higher power. For $5, might as well try, hence the eBay link.

Or, for something more reliable, tested, at-spec, but clearly more expensive, Dragon Lasers, Optotronics, or LaserBTB are good, reputable places?

(and for a violet or blue laser to be seen in anything but a very dark room, need something >~40 mW? <-- from reading the eBay thread)

 

[ApexProxy]

Okay, so let me see if I have this right ... these days, some shady folks will advertise "5 mW" laser pointers in order to get around some rules, but while they're labeled as such, they're the CPU-equivalent of overclocked and can be much higher power. For $5, might as well try, hence the eBay link.

Or, for something more reliable, tested, at-spec, but clearly more expensive, Dragon Lasers, Optotronics, or LaserBTB are good, reputable places?

(and for a violet or blue laser to be seen in anything but a very dark room, need something >~40 mW? <-- from reading the eBay thread)

First part, yes.

Seconds part, yes. They are WAY more expensive but in the case of the third seller(LaserBTB) they are not pen lasers but rather much higher power full size lasers for the same price or less. I have one in my avatar its the second from the right.

Third part, sort of. Violet(405nm) would need several times more power than a Blue(445nm) to be seen the same because 405nm is nearly invisible.

Basically what I'm saying is, I don't get why everyone loves pen style so much when you pay the same for a 20mW output than you would for a 300mW and the ladder is not an overdriven ebay cheapo. The only way I would buy a 20mW 532nm pen is a cheapo from ebay. The people who sell them for $75-$150 are making a killing even if they are a better grade. How many cheapos would I have to go through to justify a "reliable" one lol? My friend has a cheapo green($8) I got him six months ago and it has been so abused I refuse to let him borrow my high powered lasers but it still runs great. I estimate its output to around 50mW.

 

[RA_pierce]

Okay, so let me see if I have this right ... these days, some shady folks will advertise "5 mW" laser pointers in order to get around some rules, but while they're labeled as such, they're the CPU-equivalent of overclocked and can be much higher power. For $5, might as well try, hence the eBay link.

Or, for something more reliable, tested, at-spec, but clearly more expensive, Dragon Lasers, Optotronics, or LaserBTB are good, reputable places?

(and for a violet or blue laser to be seen in anything but a very dark room, need something >~40 mW? <-- from reading the eBay thread)

I wouldn't equate them to overclocked PCs. They are just not sorted very carefully so some will be around 5mW while others will be significantly more. In my experience they are usually between 5-30mW.

Violet lasers (405nm) are very dim because our eyes are not very sensitive to that part of the spectrum. Blue lasers are much brighter but not quite as bright (given equal power) as a green laser. This is an advantage to using a green laser when brightness is the main concern, since you can use less power and therefore pose less of a threat to your retinas.

Basically what I'm saying is, I don't get why everyone loves pen style so much when you pay the same for a 20mW output than you would for a 300mW and the ladder is not an overdriven ebay cheapo. The only way I would buy a 20mW 532nm pen is a cheapo from ebay. The people who sell them for $75-$150 are making a killing even if they are a better grade. How many cheapos would I have to go through to justify a "reliable" one lol? My friend has a cheapo green($8) I got him six months ago and it has been so abused I refuse to let him borrow my high powered lasers but it still runs great. I estimate its output to around 50mW.

I am one of those people that prefers the pen style lasers.

Have you ever seen what is inside a CNI greenie vs. a Newwish greenie from e-Bay?
I can tell you that there is a big difference. If you want to see an older project of mine, check this thread: http://laserpointerforums.com/f48/200mw-532nm-diy-modifications-upgrade-58697.html

A lot of people here put most of the value of a laser on the output power, but there are other things to consider, too.
Things like power consumption, mode stability, beam shape, power stability, beam divergence, beam alignment, and how much heat is produced vs. the power output are important things to me.
It is very common for the cheaper greenies to have issues with mode hopping or will flicker or fade as it warms up or cools down. A beam that shoots out far from where you thought you were pointing can also be annoying especially if you plan on using it to align a telescope.
The construction of the cheapie greenies is very sloppy and the crystals are poorly secured with just a few dabs of glue and are not even heatsinked at all. Besides that, the optics are not coated so some of the green light is wasted.

In my experience, about 1 out of 5 of the "5mw" greenies from DX will be good enough for me to keep. The rest become spare parts or gifts.
At $8 a piece, that's one keeper after $40. If I'm lucky, cranking up the current and a crystal adjustment will get 75mW out of it. Most will max out at 50mW before they become really unstable.
So it may be worth it to some people to spend a little extra money for something they know they can trust.

Besides all that stuff, it's nice to have a powerful laser that runs on AAA batteries and can easily fit in a pocket.

Just my $0.02.

 

[astrostu]

ApexProxy - sorry, I didn't see your thing about pen-versions 'cause you added it after your initial reply. My main use would be for astronomy -- pointing out stars and constellations in a semi-light-polluted area to a class of 50 or so requires no less than 50 mW and it needs to be steady power and reliable. I had a laser pointer (the school's) fail on me in the middle of a night lab a few years ago and we pretty much could only do half the lab as a result.

Then there's the 20% of it for fun, which would be most of what a blue or violet or blue-violet laser would be.

So, portability and ease of use and ability to transport it very easily and without security thinking I'm packing a doomsday device.

 

[ApexProxy]

A full size pointer like sold on LaserBTB isn't that big. It's roughly the same size as a flashlight and they even sell their lasers that meet FDA safety requirements. My point about the pen pointers is mainly, why would one spend more on less power especially when the lower power pen is less thermally stable and less resistant to physical damage. I just don't get expensive pen lasers XD

 

[astrostu]

Thanks. That's still on my list to look through and really evaluate, but the keys are a negative for me. Might be something I just live with, I need to decide that against what other options there are.

One our observatory had was a pain in the arse where you had to have two different keys and it was on a 3-second delay after pushing the power button which, if you didn't know about that, meant you were pushing the button, it didn't go on, you were looking down on it to see if there was some sort of cover, and then it blasts you. :gun: Looking to avoid that ...

Also forgot to mention that I use this for astrophotography. I have a very well-internally sealed camera body and if I shoot the laser through the optical viewfinder and angle it around, I can determine in two seconds the exact field of view and where I'm pointed on the sky without any guesswork. Being able to do that with the worse optics of observatory binoculars and maybe even the telescopes would be great -- my old 15 mW couldn't do it but I'm hoping a ~100 can. So again, easy portability. Small flashlight size, I may be okay with ...but nothing larger.

Oh, and there's also that thing about non-standard batteries. I ended up throwing out a free cheapo red laser pointer I got at a conference rather than try to find tiny batteries to replace the ones that died.

 

[jwwilson23]

you could "make" one buy a 100mw or 200mw one from somewhere...get a pen host or something, drop in the module....add batteries....done!!!!!!!!
in a ...... mood


EDIT-i would suggest just buying 1 or 2 cheap 5mw from ebay (overspec 99%) and i that doesnt work for your needs then u lost 5-10 dollars (but still fun to mess around with!) i know this was suggested earlier in thread probably but there is nothing to lose! (except $5) (maybe $8)
:beer: Justin

EDITEDIT(doubleedit)- i have never brought a laser on a plane so idk if you can, you cant really do damage (well maybe) but maybe someone else could help me out here.... wikepedia probably has a page about it!