Could Use Some Advice!

[Havoc]

I know pretty much nothing about lasers so I could use a little guidance. All I know is that I want to get a awesome looking 50mW laser that resembles a pen (after further investigation it no longer has to look like a pen) . If anyone could tell me some good websites to look for that on it would be greatly appreciated. I do have some additionally questions though.

Are there essentially rechargeable lasers?
How much mW does it take to turn off a street light?
Lastly, are the green lasers really the best ones? Why?
After reading more about lasers I'm going to go for a 15mW laser with the 50mW. Guess I will need glasses now to. Hopefully I will find 15mW on the sites people list below.

Once again any help is appreciated and I apologize if this thread is in the wrong area, I cant post in the Buy, Sell, and Trade.

 

[Livinloud]

I suggest you read up more on lasers. Ill give you a quick tid-bit.....when referring to power of a laser its done in mW (milliwatt) not nm (nanometer). nm refers to wavelength

Also if your just interested in turning street lights off then lasers arent for you. BTW it takes more mW than the YouTube videos you've seen suggest. Finally the best laser depends on your need or use for them

Dont forget to buy or research laser safety glasses. They are needed for anything over 5mW if you want to protect your vision

 

[firelaser]

green lasers are the brightest and have the best beam for the power, there are not rechargeable lasers but you can and should get rechargeable batteries, as you will end up paying more for batteries than your actual laser if you dont as lasers use a lot if batteries

pen style lasers are usually not as good as ones with hosts, here is a cool pen style one and its 50mw Silver chrome green laser 50mW/good finish [OLSGL50] - $26.99 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

you can search the whole site for one you like tho

here is an even better site LZTN - 532nm 50mW Smallest Green Laser Pointer

again pen lasers are ok but lasers like this are generally better quality

LZSK - Stick 532nm 50mW Focusable Green Laser Pointer

look at those web sites for a general estimate on price, any cheaper and you may end up being able to get an amazing 200mw green laser for $30 but in reality it will be a underspec or weaker than advertised laser that will break in a little while

these are also advisable to get for strong lasers if you are going to burn with it

Uvex S0360X Ultra-spec 2000 Safety Eyewear, Orange Frame, SCT-Orange UV Extreme Anti-Fog Lens - Amazon.com

and for street lights it depends more on the light than the laser, some will not just turn off like in the video

 

[Livinloud]

Those glasses are in the category: better than nothing. If you want good glasses for burning and what not id get eagle pair. If you cant drop $100 for a laser and glasses then lasers are not for you. Lasers are expensive and adicting. Once uou buy one you will buy more. Tonight alone ive spent $50 on parts for lasers.......not even a full laser!!!!!

 

[firelaser]

true the eagle pair are better but i generally advise at least those as a lot of people will not spend that much on goggles on their first laser and it seems like tihs will be his first one these actually did pretty good on a test tho only issue was ir http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/c...test-uvex-s0360x-ultra-spec-2000-a-73484.html

but here is a better pair of goggles for you Amazon.com: Multi-Wavelength Laser Protection Glasses Goggle. CE certified: Home Improvement or http://oemlasersystems.com/product-catalog/laser-eye-protection
if not atleast the better than nothing ones

 

[Havoc]

No way would I spend over $100 just for the glasses but the ones on amazon seem worth the $50. Not that I would actually know lol.

I'll have you know these are limited edition Nothing Glasses given to me at birth
I was planning to try to get a 15mW, 50mW, and 100mW with the glasses for about $200. This was based on some cheap prices I saw for the 50mW so dont know how accurate that is. Figured after help finding first two could do the third myself.

Those glasses are in the category: better than nothing. If you want good glasses for burning and what not id get eagle pair. If you cant drop $100 for a laser and glasses then lasers are not for you. Lasers are expensive and adicting. Once uou buy one you will buy more. Tonight alone ive spent $50 on parts for lasers.......not even a full laser!!!!!

I'll have you know these are limited edition Nothing Glasses given to me at birth
I was planning to try to get a 15mW, 50mW, and 100mW with the glasses for about $200. This was based on some cheap prices I saw for the 50mW so dont know how accurate that is. Figured after help finding first two could do the third myself.

 

[firelaser]

it mainly all depends on how strong of a laser you get and what you use it for, if you were to get one of the ones i showed you and were to mainly use it outside to point at clouds, trees "streetlights " and whatever you probably wouldnt use the goggles because you want to see the beam and as long as you dont hit reflective surfaces such as mirrors or glass you will be ok. what Livinloud is mainly saying is that most likely if you get this laser, like it alot and eventually want to get something stronger and be willing to pay for it, it can be quite an addictive hoppy, by then you definitely want some of the good goggles, i started out with having a 5mw green laser,, now i have a 1600mw blue laser that can start a fire and pop balloons 1600mw 445nm blue laser ignites newspaper - YouTube

1600mw blue laser killing balloons - YouTube

im sure you could immagine why you wouldn't want that laser hitting you in the eye... i of corse was wearing goggles in the video

I'll have you know these are limited edition Nothing Glasses given to me at birth
I was planning to try to get a 15mW, 50mW, and 100mW with the glasses for about $200. This was based on some cheap prices I saw for the 50mW so dont know how accurate that is. Figured after help finding first two could do the third myself.

well if all those are green you probably dont need all 3 lasers, you could get the 15 mw a 100mw and a decent pair of goggles for that $200 from the websites i mentioned.

 

[Havoc]

1.6W O-O
Oh alright. Lets say I stop at 100mW would I want to get the first or second glasses you linked?
Surely 100mW can turn off a streetlight... not that it matters I just think its cool.
Also thanks for helping.

well if all those are green you probably dont need all 3 lasers, you could get the 15 mw a 100mw and a decent pair of goggles for that $200 from the websites i mentioned.

I see, my logic behind it was to have the 15mW to be like "hey check out this awsome laser" without that much a chance of injury. The 50mW to actually use for laser pointing, and the 100mW to burn things. I dont fully understand the color difference so I will go read around that part of the forums.

 

[firelaser]

this is probably the best goggles you can get and are used by a lot of people here
and obviously the most expensive

Eagle Pair® 190-540nm & 800-2000nm Laser Safety Goggles

these are also CE certified and as long as they are as advertised should work against green and ir light
Amazon.com: Multi-Wavelength Laser Protection Glasses Goggle. CE certified: Home Improvement

and lastly

Uvex S0360X Ultra-spec 2000 Safety Eyewear, Orange Frame, SCT-Orange UV Extreme Anti-Fog Lens - Amazon.com

they are the bare minium you could get but dont work on any Ir light.

so id say if you have the money get one of the first 2 they all will last unless you actually break them and will still work even if you eventually a very strong laser like the one i had in the video



EDIT LPF445 is actually a discount code for the first one

I see, my logic behind it was to have the 15mW to be like "hey check out this awsome laser" without that much a chance of injury. The 50mW to actually use for laser pointing, and the 100mW to burn things. I dont fully understand the color difference so I will go read around that part of the forums.

alright 5mw is pretty much safe unless you hold your eye open and shine it in it, 50mw+ green would be great for pointing outside and 100mw is around the minimum to start burning well. for colors 405nm violet and 445nm blue are the best burners, green is the brightest and best pointer and red is generally the cheapest burner, but read around and you well learn a lot more about that. and make sure your burner is focusable !

 

[scumbagatheist]

Call me the curmudgeon, but NO!

Using a handheld laser to vandalize, in any way, a street lamp is illegal. Depending on the jurisdiction, it could possibly be a felony.

Why the hell do you want to go around turning off street lamps in the first place?
I think it's best if you put your credit card away until you've gone through and read all the stickies related to laser safety, and on laser legislation.

It's dumb asses like the video producers that give us responsible laser users a bad name, and cause not only unwanted scrutiny upon the hobby, but even more restrictive laws.

I am really surprised your butt hasn't already been dragged across the coals already over this. One poor member practically got tarred and feathered for the very same thing.

Learn how to use lasers responsibly, then consider buying an appropriate laser.

 

[Livinloud]

Hence why I kind of backed off giving advice since I was about to rear someone a new bum.

Also CE certification doesnt mean crap, its the OD rating thay maters. You can get a CE rating for many different things and those probably have a CE rating for impact protection or something irrelevant.

I know you are trying to help firelaser but there is also a reason why we recommend eagle pair, laserglow, thor labs etc..... because they met diferent standards that actually matter for laser glasses.

If you burn stuff you need a good pair of glasses and FYI but 100mW 532nm arent good at burning anything and they wont turn off streerlights. Like i said in a previous post, whatever you saw in those youtube videos is a lie. Use logic on this one.....where would the light sensor for a street light to tell how dark its getting be?????? Hmmmmm, thats right on top of the street light facing towards the sky!

As SBA said, lasers are illegal and if you get caught doing stupid things with rhem then you get your laser taken away, fined and if your unlucky enough jail. Dont buy a laser, ill save you some time money efdort and yoir permanent record

 

[firelaser]

Call me the curmudgeon, but NO!

Using a handheld laser to vandalize, in any way, a street lamp is illegal. Depending on the jurisdiction, it could possibly be a felony.

Why the hell do you want to go around turning off street lamps in the first place?
I think it's best if you put your credit card away until you've gone through and read all the stickies related to laser safety, and on laser legislation.

It's dumb asses like the video producers that give us responsible laser users a bad name, and cause not only unwanted scrutiny upon the hobby, but even more restrictive laws.

I am really surprised your butt hasn't already been dragged across the coals already over this. One poor member practically got tarred and feathered for the very same thing.

Learn how to use lasers responsibly, then consider buying an appropriate laser.

never knew its illegal, good thing i havnt done it before lol i just know from the vids they aways say you need the right kind of sensor to do it, not that it matters now lol since its illegal,

 

[Livinloud]

you do realize that every one of your lasers are illegal as well, well except for the 5mW one if it really is only 5mW

US LAW: United States

Laser pointers are defined as Class II or Class IIIa devices, with output beam power less than 5 milliwatts (<5 mW). According to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, more powerful lasers may not be sold or promoted as laser pointers. Also, any laser with class higher than IIIa (more than 5 milliwatts) requires a key-switch interlock and other safety features.

LOCAL LAWS MAY VARY. PLEASE CHECK YOUR STATE'S LAWS.

All laser products offered in commerce in the US must be registered with the FDA, regardless of output power.



there is more to it than that but it covers it pretty well

 

[firelaser]

you do realize that every one of your lasers are illegal as well, well except for the 5mW one if it really is only 5mW

US LAW: United States

Laser pointers are defined as Class II or Class IIIa devices, with output beam power less than 5 milliwatts (<5 mW). According to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, more powerful lasers may not be sold or promoted as laser pointers. Also, any laser with class higher than IIIa (more than 5 milliwatts) requires a key-switch interlock and other safety features.

LOCAL LAWS MAY VARY. PLEASE CHECK YOUR STATE'S LAWS.

All laser products offered in commerce in the US must be registered with the FDA, regardless of output power.




there is more to it than that but it covers it pretty well

well i knew that but thats the one laser law, like im sure almost everybody here on the forum, i will never obey, i dont hit people planes cars ect so i can have my little laser over 5mw FDA,

 

[Havoc]

Call me the curmudgeon, but NO!

Using a handheld laser to vandalize, in any way, a street lamp is illegal. Depending on the jurisdiction, it could possibly be a felony.

Why the hell do you want to go around turning off street lamps in the first place?
I think it's best if you put your credit card away until you've gone through and read all the stickies related to laser safety, and on laser legislation.

It's dumb asses like the video producers that give us responsible laser users a bad name, and cause not only unwanted scrutiny upon the hobby, but even more restrictive laws.

I am really surprised your butt hasn't already been dragged across the coals already over this. One poor member practically got tarred and feathered for the very same thing.

Learn how to use lasers responsibly, then consider buying an appropriate laser.

First off, unless you can quote where I clearly stated that I want to buy lasers to turn off streetlights I need you not to assume just because I was curious. Aditionally, I never once said I saw a video to make me ask these questions. Lastly, if I want to buy a laser then obviously I will. I appreciate helpful advice and tips but it seems like you were blowing off steam. Also if someone else was "tarred and feathered" for asking questions than there is some sort of other problem.

 

[scumbagatheist]

Tell, ya what...when you don't come to a forum and ask seemingly dumb-ass noob questions, which imply an illegal use of a potentially dangerous piece of tech, then you wont get answers which potentially wont make you happy.

I'm not concerned with how you feel about my admonition. I'm concerned with people doing stupid things with lasers and making my life in this hobby more difficult.

If you find the forums strict policies regarding laser safety and legal issues not to your liking, then perhaps this forum isn't for you. If you want to cry about your treatment here, I'm sure you can find a forum to whine about that in, as well.