FDA wants to restrict green & blue laser pointers as "defective"

[RedCowboy]

Hell there was a law already on the books with the FAA about exempting hobby aircraft from any future regulation, yet now you cant fly your quad FPV, it has to be line of sight, and a bunch of other BS.

It's getting to where the rules don't count for the rule makers, the alphabet agencies make up regulations that carry the weight of law without our vote.
Where's our recourse, it's under the peoples authority that our government operates, but it is becoming a behemoth that regulates us against our will.

I fear a restart is not that far away, if we get Clinton and our Bill of Rights gets attacked as fast and hard as I expect we may well see mass civil unrest, I hope we don't, but I also understand when the people are ready then it's time, and I stand with the people, this is our country and it's our government, they are way the hell out of line and have been for some time, eventually a restart will come and they know it, that's why they want us dependent for our medical, our supplemental, as helpless as possible, our everyday lives controlled.

But I digress.

Punish the jerks who point at aircraft, not everyone, but they say they can't catch many of the offenders, it's not an easy answer for this, but we should be free even if there is not a specific amendment for each and every thing, we should punish the offenders, not everyone.

It's the old everyone has to stay after school because someone stole an eraser, but we don't even know who is doing the crime.

 

[Sta]

This is an outrage of the highest order.
I feel that the FDA is reeling in the entire ocean to catch a couple of sharks.

I recommend that we all mention the same topics when we make our complaints to the FDA. It will make the opposition seem larger.

Suggestions?

 

[CynicalBrad]

" Proposed ban on "defective" lasers.

I among many other rational hobbyist and enthusiasts of laser devices
disagree with how this proposed ban is being done.
Green and blue lasers are not defective, simply designed to emit another
wavelength of coherent light. Another point that gets missed is that for
equivalent power level, red lasers are more visible than the blue lasers
that would be covered by this ban.

Aircraft lasing incidents have not gone up due to these devices existing,
they have gone up because of how easy it is for ignorant residents to get a
hold of them through various e-commerce sites with nothing more than a
credit card with a few dollars in the account.

I am not against something being done about this very serious problem,
rather I am completely for it.
This is just the wrong approach.
Why not hand the regulation of lasers over to the BATFE and have them treat
lasing aircraft intentionally as an act of terrorism just as shooting at
one would be treated.
Make extreme examples of those caught doing so and it will discourage most
so long as it is made widely known how they were punished for the act that
threatens lives.

An idea I came across that was proposed was to have to undergo a laser
safety knowledge test to be able to own or operate higher powered lasers
just as we currently are required to possess a license to operate a motor
vehicle with fitting punishments for misusing them, It should be the same
for lasers.
If a readily accessible database existed of licensed individuals along with
severe enough fines for sellers not confirming that the person they are
selling to is in fact licensed, this would help prevent the majority of the
people causing this issue from coming into possession of the devices they
are misusing. "


What I sent them.

 

[94Z28]

Don't know about you guys but that last part about a database is something I'm not cool with.. I'm very "security conscious" and no I don't have anything to hide from the government but I'd prefer not to be watched.

Some may feel it's alright but if there is a database then anytime something major were to happen it could be you at the guillotine because your description matches the one someone gave.

Nonetheless I realize I haven't added any useful ideas either so once I give it a thougut I'll update.

Certainly agree on the act of treating an individual who points a laser at a plane as a terrorist because it's truly what they're doing. It should be known you won't get a slap on a hand for pointing a so called "weapon" at a plane. And we all know lasers CAN be weapons.

Treat it like a firearm.. use it on your own time in a controlled environment. Don't use it in public, near planes, against law enforcement, civilians and only in extreme dire situations for self defense when no other options arise.

 

[Razako]

405nm lasers are hardly visible at all in any lighting conditions, and I can't recall a single incident where an aircraft was targeted by a yellow laser. If their ban covered lasers in the 445-532 range it would at least make some form of logical sense in what it was trying to accomplish. Probably 99% of laser strikes against aircraft involve a laser in that range. It seems like the people who came up with this proposed law don't even know the facts (Like always).

The really funny thing is how this probably won't accomplish much even if they pass it. You'll just have the Chinese companies start mislabeling the color of their lasers, or not put on warning stickers at all. They already lie all the time about the output, so it's not much of a stretch to lie about the color. If that fails, they'll just ship unlabeled lasers which are declared as flashlights or lighting modules. This law might just make things more dangerous. I really only see it stopping all the US based ebay sellers of cheap blue/green pointers.

 

[CynicalBrad]

Don't know about you guys but that last part about a database is something I'm not cool with.. I'm very "security conscious" and no I don't have anything to hide from the government but I'd prefer not to be watched.

Some may feel it's alright but if there is a database then anytime something major were to happen it could be you at the guillotine because your description matches the one someone gave.

Nonetheless I realize I haven't added any useful ideas either so once I give it a thougut I'll update.

Certainly agree on the act of treating an individual who points a laser at a plane as a terrorist because it's truly what they're doing. It should be known you won't get a slap on a hand for pointing a so called "weapon" at a plane. And we all know lasers CAN be weapons.

Treat it like a firearm.. use it on your own time in a controlled environment. Don't use it in public, near planes, against law enforcement, civilians and only in extreme dire situations for self defense when no other options arise.

I'm very security conscious too but I would much prefer something such as that vs simply banning them outright.
Personally I would prefer idiots not be allowed to reproduce but then how would the governing bodies exist?

 

[RedCowboy]

BATFE, database, licensing and training. Uh NO. Hell No.

That still wont stop idiots, but it will screw us, it takes 2 years to get a laser show opperators permit last time I checked, I wanted to do DJ lighting and wedding up lighting, but NOPE.

Also I don't think that's the answer, I rather they just ban the flebay sells of green and blue pointers.

Seriously, anyone not willing to buy a module and fit it into a battery tube doesn't need it and doesn't appreciate it, the knuckle draggers who can't fit a module are likely the ones pointing at aircraft, 7 dollar 50mw greens in the hands or morons who can't attach one to battery, there's your problem.

Buy a module and fit it into a nice housing or a FL housing, let the 7 dollar fleaybay crap go if that's what it takes, BATFE and licensing is running backwards.

 

[Razako]

BATFE, database, licensing and training. Uh NO. Hell No.

That still wont stop idiots, but it will screw us, it takes 2 years to get a laser show opperators permit last time I checked, I wanted to do DJ lighting and wedding up lighting, but NOPE.

Also I don't think that's the answer, I rather they just ban the flebay sells of green and blue pointers.

Seriously, anyone not willing to buy a module and fit it into a battery tube doesn't need it and doesn't appreciate it, the knuckle draggers who can't fit a module are likely the ones pointing at aircraft, 7 dollar 50mw greens in the hands or morons who can't attach one to battery, there's your problem.

Buy a module and fit it into a nice housing or a FL housing, let the 7 dollar fleaybay crap go if that's what it takes, BATFE and licensing is running backwards.

I would pretty much agree with you on this. Just banning all ebay sales of laser pointers regardless of power would probably reduce aircraft incidents by a good amount. The people taking the time and money to buy from private builders, sanwu, jetlasers, etc probably aren't the idiots pointing at planes.

Problem now is how many cheap green lasers are already out there. Cheap green pointers in this country probably number in the tens of millions. The cat is out of the box so to speak. Everybody who wants them already has them for the most part.

 

[steve001]

Hell there was a law already on the books with the FAA about exempting hobby aircraft from any future regulation, yet now you cant fly your quad FPV, it has to be line of sight, and a bunch of other BS.

It's getting to where the rules don't count for the rule makers, the alphabet agencies make up regulations that carry the weight of law without our vote.
Where's our recourse, it's under the peoples authority that our government operates, but it is becoming a behemoth that regulates us against our will.

I fear a restart is not that far away, if we get Clinton and our Bill of Rights gets attacked as fast and hard as I expect we may well see mass civil unrest, I hope we don't, but I also understand when the people are ready then it's time, and I stand with the people, this is our country and it's our government, they are way the hell out of line and have been for some time, eventually a restart will come and they know it, that's why they want us dependent for our medical, our supplemental, as helpless as possible, our everyday lives controlled.

But I digress.

Punish the jerks who point at aircraft, not everyone, but they say they can't catch many of the offenders, it's not an easy answer for this, but we should be free even if there is not a specific amendment for each and every thing, we should punish the offenders, not everyone.

Think of it this way by analogy. When you are a hammer everything looks like a nail. When you are a regulatory body every problem is solved by making a law. That's how they see it. And laws that ban are all or nothing. Well, speak up and write a letter explaining your concerns and offering solutions.

 

[CynicalBrad]

I think if enough people saying "that is a bad idea" would expend the effort, we might actually be able to come up with a half decent solution.
eBay already bans sale of >5mW lasers. Look how that works out.
As for those that don't want to be in a database, you already are. If you have gone to school, gotten a drivers license, bought ANYTHING with a card/electronic payment, held a job, or gone online to name a few, you are already in a database. It sucks, but it is true.

As for the idea that idiots can't be bother to expend the time/money to go somewhere to have a custom build done, where does this idea come from?

Now if just some more people could throw out some genuine ideas that haven't already been tried and proven to fail.
My vote is firmly set on treating lasing aircraft etc as an act of terrorism.

 

[Alaskan]

I guess they would consider white made from RGB to be a color too

OK folks, lets all move to 690nm, hell, IR!

 

[Razako]

I guess they would consider white made from RGB to be a color too

OK folks, lets all move to 690nm, hell, IR!

How about south of 405nm. UV lasers for the win:san:

 

[NightExplorer96]

I already have my 594nm unit & just got my 532nm Anser today, so the FDA can go suck it!

-Alex

 

[RedCowboy]

UV would be awesome, but IR is more prevalent.

What kind of divergence would I get from a fiber with a 0.15 numeric aperture?
It's a 105um fiber. I know I need a lens and an expander, just curious how it would compare to the raw output of a 7875 or a 44 diode.
Also I wonder is the fiber would give a round/single mode type output, I assume the MM pump would have a FAC lens already.

975nm 8W Fiber Coupled Laser/Semiconductor Fiber Coupled laser/8000mW IR Laser | eBay

 

[RB astro]

FDA wants to restrict green & blue laser pointers as "defective"

I suppose some of those cheap eBay units are.... :crackup::gun:

 

[RedCowboy]

Could it be because they are all over spec ?
Listed as 5mw but none are.