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FrozenGate by Avery

Can you point me to a laser

C

Captain Sid

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Aug 13, 2019
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I figure I would come and ask the experts since my knowledge of lasers is pretty nil. I'm a tour boat captain and the laser I'm currently using to point out trees and wildlife, (never pointing at wildlife directly), is one of those green lasers you buy off Ebay for ten bucks. They work fairly well, but I really need something with a brighter dot at around 150 foot or so. If I have a budget of 50 bucks, what would you recommend I buy and from where. Is this even possible at a 50 buck budget? Thanks in advance for any help!
 





You'll want to stick with green but remember the more visible it has to be the more powerful it has to be too. $50 won't get you much. Can you show me what laser you have?
 
Captain Sid said:
I figure I would come and ask the experts since my knowledge of lasers is pretty nil. I'm a tour boat captain and the laser I'm currently using to point out trees and wildlife, (never pointing at wildlife directly), is one of those green lasers you buy off Ebay for ten bucks. They work fairly well, but I really need something with a brighter dot at around 150 foot or so. If I have a budget of 50 bucks, what would you recommend I buy and from where. Is this even possible at a 50 buck budget? Thanks in advance for any help!
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Up your buget a lot for a green that might work. In this case a blue laser might be a better choice because the contrast of color to the predominant greenery.

Btw, if you live in the states you know we live in a sue happy society so that inadvertently that beam hits someone in the eye you'd could be in a heap of you know what.
 
Unfortunately, there are few options in your price range. You may find a blue 445nm 1+ watt laser, but in broad daylight it will still not be as visible as you would like. It is what it is.
 
You will "want" a 1w green laser. They are the only lasers I've found to be truly bright even in broad daylight. That being said, I would discourage you from using a laser for this application at all. A 1w green would still be very hazardous within 100 feet or so and all it would take is one mistake up close to blind an animal. I would be even more worried about an accident on the boat. Perhaps the laser is dropped, accidentally turned on, or some kid gets ahold of it. Personally, I would just say it's not worth the trouble. If you ever run tours at dusk, you might consider a <50 mw green laser, perhaps from optotronics (532) or Sanwu's pocket series (520).
 
Update:

I was just outside in direct sunlight with a 100mw 520 and it’s just barely usable. If the areas your pointing to are slightly shaded and have green foliage, this may be enough. These lower power green lasers can pack a little more punch because the source is single mode (stays tighter) and therefore the beam is more concentrated at the final target.
 
Captain Sid said:
How many mW is the laser I have in the picture?
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Check out trinh hong phuoc’s post above. I would go a little lower and say it’s between 30 and 50mw. Those cheap lasers also tend to leak Invisible IR laser light which can make the laser a little more powerful (and dangerous) when measured on an power meter.
 
All DPSS lasers leak IR unless they have an IR filter in them. Since the IR takes the same path as the visible light, it is no more dangerous than a filtered one unless you happen to have a powerful one and are hit in the eye with the beam and are wearing goggles that don't block IR. Typically the IR component is far less powerful that the visible component.
 
Looking at a green 75mW from Optotronics. I think this will be bright enough without being to risky.....Or something like this....click
thoughts?
 
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paul1598419 said:
All DPSS lasers leak IR unless they have an IR filter in them. Since the IR takes the same path as the visible light, it is no more dangerous than a filtered one unless you happen to have a powerful one and are hit in the eye with the beam and are wearing goggles that don't block IR. Typically the IR component is far less powerful that the visible component.
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Maybe my last post was a little misleading. I meant that a given cheap green laser emitting 50mw of 532nm light with no IR filter can be more dangerous (and will register over 50mw on an LPM) when compared to a filtered unit from a company like Optotronics. These unfiltered lasers can be deceptively powerful and can thus be more dangerous. I just recently put a cheap 50mw 532nm pen on an LPM and found that over 20mw of that output was IR. That laser is no more dangerous than a 70mw green laser but it is more dangerous than a 50mw filtered green laser despite both units appearing to have the same brightness. It seems like some of the cheaper handhelds often have really poor crystal alignment and thus consistently output significant amounts of IR.

Looking at a green 75mW from Optotronics. I think this will be bright enough without being to risky.....Or something like this....click
thoughts?
Click to expand...

Just so it's clear, a 75mw laser has the potential to cause irreversible eye damage instantly if hit in the eye from up close. That being said, if you can guarantee that the areas you'll be pointing are devoid of people I suppose it might be ok. Whether the use of a laser is safe or not depends on a lot of factors and I would need to know much more about the situation than I do before I could make that judgment. I'd have to apologize if my stance on laser safety seems extreme. I guess that's what happens when you run laser shows where the safety of the audience is in your hands and there are strict regulations governing exposure. I have a hard time recommending someone use a laser in a way that I would be uncomfortable with. If you do decide to get this laser, I would take steps to make sure other tour guides (or customers) who don't know the risks can't use it. Also, make sure to always check for people in the areas you intend to point the laser and avoid aiming the laser at shiny surfaces that may reflect the beam.

Hope this helps,

-Connor
 
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