Goggle recommendation

[x73rmin8r]

Hi, new here and all that. Great forum and community you all have.

I know this is a bit of a newbish question and has probably been answered to death, but I had a hard time finding exactly what I was looking for and was hoping some of you could give me some recommendations. I just bought a "200mW" green laser from lazerpoint. (Buy 200Mw 532nm Waterproof Green Laser Pointer Pen with Wrist Strap (Black) in US$ 38.99 in Low Price- Free Shipping) Seeing as I only spent $30 bucks, I'm assuming it's way underspec but hopefully at least a bit over 100mW. Also, I'm not assuming it has an IR filter. What I'd like is a pair of goggles for about $20 (don't know if this is realistic) that will protect me from ~200mW of 532 and infrared with 402 protection if possible in case I get a blu-ray burning one later.

After a bit of searching around the forum I came up with a pair of goggles at OEM that would work for me, but at $149 (waaayyyy more than my lasers) I'm not enthused. I don't want to half-ass my eye protection (especially for burning), but I don't need 50MW worth of protection.

Anyway, I'd really appreciate some suggestions or even some rightfully-snide pointers in the direction of relevant threads.

Thanks

 

[Wolfman29]

You can get a pair of Eagle Pairs from SurvivalLaser.com for about $55 there. The top-notch ones are my favorite: protection from 400nm-532nm and 780nm-1064nm. All of the colors green and shorter and all of the common IR wavelengths.

 

[x73rmin8r]

Thanks for the reply!

Those are the cheapest pair I've seen for the wavelengths I need, but still pretty expensive

The IR protection is the annoying part. Without needing it, a $10 pair would be fine. Is there a convenient way to filter IR from the laser itself?

 

[Wolfman29]

There are no known and tested "$10 pairs" of goggles that can be assured to work.

 

[x73rmin8r]

I thought (http://www.amazon.com/Uvex-S1933X-Eyewear-SCT-Orange-Anti-Fog/dp/B000USRG90/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1329360884&sr=1-2-catcorr) were shown to do a good enough job in (http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/cheap-safety-glasses-tested-71621.html)?

If they can completely stop a 650mW beam, I would think they'd work well enough against reflections from burning. Assuming I'm only getting <200mW at best, and if IR were taken out of the picture, wouldn't these do me pretty good for occasional burning? Am I not looking at this the right way?

 

[Wolfman29]

Well, true, those have been tested, but you'll have to test them yourself (most likely) when you get them because they aren't certified.

 

[x73rmin8r]

Yeah, I've heard good things about those glasses, but they won't protect me from any IR that might leak through. Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to pony up for some proper goggles.

 

[Eudaimonium]

You don't really need a protection against Infrared light when you're using some cheap laser that's probably not even going to hit 100mW. Even if it were, IR content in there would be like, 20mW, and at that power, it's harmless unless you have the laser directly pointed in your eyes, at which point you've got other problems.

Just get protection against green, and most importantly, use COMMON SENSE along with your laser. Goggles can only protect you so much when you're doing stupid shit with your lasers. Be responsible, and think about those around you too, not just for your own eyes.

 

[x73rmin8r]

Huh, I was under the impression that IR was more of a big deal than that. Is 20mW not all that dangerous if it's not focused into a beam? Worst case, if it is actually close to 200mW, would IR be something to watch out for? Is there a convenient way to filter out the IR after market?

And I'm definitely on the same page as far as the "not be an idiot" things goes. Or at least I want to be. I figure the glasses will help me get all my newbie mistakes sorted out without a guaranteed fried eyeball. I bought it before I read a whole lot on here and was all gung-ho about "holy hell! a Phaser that you can see the beam that can cut things!", but I've seen enough horror stories to be more afraid of it than I wanted to be. To be honest I'd almost rather have cancelled it and just stuck to low power stuff, but it was too late. So now I might as well use it, I just want to do it right.

I'm only going to use it either outside at night to point at the sky to see the beam (not at airplanes... the penalties for that are wicked harsh not to mention it's insanely dickish and legitimately dangerous to mess with pilots like that) or at really far away things out where I'm sure I won't blast someone with it.

Inside, I'll only use it with glasses on to burn stuff, and not with anyone around that doesn't have glasses.

 

[Eudaimonium]

The residual infrared emissions, leftovers from DPSS process, are not not focused into narrow beam. If you were to isolate only the IR beam (without the green one), you'd see that it's very wide at the aperture of the laser and diverges insanely rapidly.

So no, it's not really that much of a concern. Your main concern is the green beam, here.

 

[x73rmin8r]

Ok, thanks for the info. So just to clarify, if I'm using proper green filtering glasses, IR reflections from burning or even IR from accidental reflections aren't going to be anything to worry about?

 

[Just4FunReally]

Ok, thanks for the info. So just to clarify, if I'm using proper green filtering glasses, IR reflections from burning or even IR from accidental reflections aren't going to be anything to worry about?

Correct. Nothing to worry about unless you are pointing it into your eye at very close range. But has previously stated, if that's an issue, you may have more pressing problems than IR light. Just exercise basic caution, keep away from reflective surfaces and you shouldn't have any problems. :beer:

 

[Eudaimonium]

Exactly as Just4Fun said - excercising common sense, and being smart with your laser is the most important safety tip I can give you. Glasses only protect you - how many people do you share your residence with? Do you plan on taking the laser with you to friend's places?

Don't shine into corridors, hallways, closed doors, windows - anywhere where a human face might appear without giving you time to react safely. Mirrors and other reflective surfaces, that goes without saying - AVOID.

I'm pretty sure you are perfectly capable of understanding the possible consequences if accident happens on account of something stupid - so, don't let it happen.