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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Do you need to wear eye protection at all times

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I am thinking of buying a laser pointer. i am thinking of getting the "GX" 500mW - 750mW Green Laser System. "GX" 500mW - 750mW Green Laser System - BigLasers.com. I am interested in using it with mirrors. I have been watching youtube videos of people doing this. I have noticed that none of the people are wearing eye protection. do you need to wear eye protection at all times when the laser is on? Are these lasers safe to touch ?
 





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Oh yes when playing with mirrors high powered lasers you need goggles if you care about your eyes, u dont want that kind of power in your eyes trust me.
 
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If you focus 100mW onto skin it hurts pretty much instantly, so imagine 5x that focused on your retina. One flash and it's over - not worth the risk.
 
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I am thinking of buying a laser pointer. i am thinking of getting the "GX" 500mW - 750mW Green Laser System. "GX" 500mW - 750mW Green Laser System - BigLasers.com. I am interested in using it with mirrors. I have been watching youtube videos of people doing this. I have noticed that none of the people are wearing eye protection. do you need to wear eye protection at all times when the laser is on? Are these lasers safe to touch ?

Don't experiment with mirrors or anything else without the glasses on, but you can view the beam without glasses but the dot will be too bright to look at unless far away, never look at the dot up close or when burning anything without wearing the glasses. Keep in mind if viewing with glasses you can't see the beam but if viewing without glasses extreme caution is required, a direct hit to an eye will permanently blind you, the key word here is permanently.

By safe to touch I assume you mean the beam itself. If so the answer is no. With any class 4 laser avoid any direct contact with the beam.

Also in case you didn't know, that company ships the lasers from Hong Kong and they don't have a good reputation here. Not sure what country your in, you haven't properly filed out your profile yet.

Alan
 
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ah i missed the price, very unlike that laser is true 500mW output for less then 400$ thats just not possible its over 300mW i bet but far under 500 for sure, u should buy from maybe jetlasers they cost alot but are worth it.
 

kilter

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Biglasers is a scam website. Their lasers are shit and way underspec, and overcharge. Please buy from laserbtb, or scifi-lasers. Laserglow also works. They have tested output and good lasers.
Their pics are stolen from Wicked Lasers (also shit) and dragonlasers (gone downhiill a bit)
 
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Safety glasses are mandatory when working with any sort of external optics, especially mirrors. It is extremely easy – much more so than might be apparent – to hit your eye with a reflection or other stray beam component when adjusting this stuff while the laser is on. You pretty much have to adjust it with the laser on or else how will you know if it's all lined up properly?

Don't rely on "being careful", it will most likely not work. Accidents and other unexpected things happen. It's one of those games where the best way to win is to not play. Put on some safety glasses if you're going to be doing anything with external optics.
 
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When working with 5mW or less, safety glasses are not required because the blink reflex of your eyes is fast enough to protect your eyes. Above 5mW safety glasses are a critical requirement, unless you like the idea of something going wrong and ending up blinded.
 
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So lets say I put a mirror in each corner of my family room then turned the laser on so the beam bounced off the mirrors like you might see in a high tech security system. this would be safe to view with out glasses as long as I don't look directly at the dot ?
 
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You're flirting with disaster Jim. Technically yes you could look at the beam without causing permanent damage but four mirrors in a room creates ALOT of chances for reflection (BAD).
 
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My 190w laser stays locked up in my gunsafe for a reason. Playing around with an old set of transition lense eye glasses. It is scary to see a pair of glasses that take a minute in the sun to change instantly.
 
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note that bouncing a laser beam off of a regular mirror changes the beams properties, often increasing divergence. first surface mirrors are needed for the effect you have in mind. beams are always safe to view, its while setting up such display that you'd most be at risk. so for example, glasses would be a must during setup, but once you are sure all components are secure and know where the beam/dot is and terminates, then you could take them off to view just the beams
 
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The answer for me is "it depends." There was a thread about this topic in the polls forum last summer. I think my reply there sums up my feelings in this thread too.

From the other thread:

Glad this got bumped since I missed it before.

Like most people here for me it depends on the laser(s), their power, location, and what I'm doing.

Examples when I would wear glasses:


- Burning anything.

- When photographing, or working close to the beam like in most of the photos in this thread I posted you can bet your ass I was wearing them because there was a fairly good chance I could inadvertently put my face in the beam. (Fairly sure I did at least once too)

-Working around reflective objects.


When I wouldn't:

- Just about any laser under 50mw without reflective surfaces around.

- When I have my argons setup for their maintenance since you'd have to be a moron or try really hard to get hit in the eye even when they're at full power.

- When I have my HeNe lasers setup. With one exception they all are under 4mW so again you'd have to try really hard to get eye damage. Even with my 1145P which is rated at 20+ mW you'd still have to try hard or again be a complete moron.

- When photographing higher power lasers that are SECURED in place and from an off axis position from the beams at a safe distance where accidental exposure isn't going to happen. An example of this would be my Lasers in the Night thread. I did wear them when I was shooting down the beam of the argon but otherwise I didn't.



It may be a bit hypocritical to say goggles are a must and should be worn at all times then not do it myself but I still think for all new owners of high powered lasers this is a must until they know what they're doing. Once you know proper laser safety and how to properly setup and use your lasers there are many times where you can enjoy using your lasers without them. Until then it's better to be safe than sorry. Let xoul's experience be a warning and lesson to all of us, 'noobs' and 'vets' alike of what can happen when things go wrong and what can happen in literally less than a blink of the eye.


For reference the thread in the polls forum is here: http://laserpointerforums.com/f58/anonymous-poll-do-you-wear-safety-glasses-inside-89730.html

and the thread documenting xoul's eye damage is here: http://laserpointerforums.com/f53/hit-eye-1000mw-445nm-blue-laser-69469.html

There are other threads in the Safety forum documenting what happens when you get hit in the eye with high powered lasers.
 
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:eek:

I would also stress the necessity of glasses indoors. Depending on the strength I might play with them for a bit but not for very long at all and not with anything that even gets close to a "bright" dot. That is vague and unspecific but basically no more than common pens for a short duration, used in a safe places I know well (with a low power laser).

I would also say to be very careful with greenie's indoors and with mirrors because of the invisible IR that fans out much wider than the beam. Pointing into a mirror is dangerous already as the beam bounces at angle but it is REALLY surprising how unpredictable it can be moving it around. Any smooth object can reflect (maybe back into the mirror and into your eye). The IR is literally all over the place because it continues to fan out (not a parallel beam of light) bouncing in all sorts of directions on a mirror it is traveling more to the mirror and back and is quite wide by the time it gets back to your location.

Just say'n. :horse:
 
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Yes glasses safety first. As for Chinese lasers they are cheap you get what you pay for. Keep the money here in the states not some foreign country . Read read read build you own or buy off of a reputable LPF member..
 




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