Binocular mounted laser

[EmoticonFury]

I would like to test the range of a 200mw red by mounting it on top of a pair of binoculars and then shining it at a cliff face or carefully aiming at a cloud. Is there any danger of viewing the point through a spotting scope or binoculars? What gives me cause to wonder is that my binoculars are designed for astronomy use and are 80x15 so they have objectives much larger than the eye and thus a lot more light gathering power than my eyes.

My instincts tell me that the beam should be diminished enough to be safe at ranges of more than 100 yards I just wanted to check before attempting this.

 

[lasersbee]

It all depends on the surface the laser's beam is aimed at...
obviously a Mirror is a bad thing...


Jerry

 

[kevinmassey]

if your pointing at a cliff face youll be fine. especially over 100 yards

 

[LSRFAQ]

if your pointing at a cliff face youll be fine. especially over 100 yards

Just DO NOT aim at anything retroreflective like car tail lights, head lights, light house beacons, camera lenses and survey markers..

And yes Boys and Girls, a camera lens is known as a "cats eye" retroreflector, the silicon chip, being at the focal point, reflects enough light that the incoming rays retrace their path right back out the lens. There is a patent on this for finding hidden lenses, although they add polarization to the mix.

If you do aim at any of the above, you'll rediscover a phrase in laser safety known as "Optically Aided Viewing"

Steve