Got green laser as gift--have some questions.

[yawnny]

My son just gave me an early stocking stuffer, a green laser pointer.

I am an old coot, with a pretty good science background (software eng.), but never really thought much about lasers, other than the occasional thought of, "that's kind of cool".

Anyway, now that I have it, it really is kind of cool, but I have some questions. It apparently came from Ebay. The case seems to be typical of the 301, and 303 style pointers, and says "YL-Laser 303". I get that many different manufacturers can use the same case, and stuff whatever led's, mirrors, lenses etc into them. The weird thing (to me) about this pointer is that the label is green, and the oval that usually contains "WARNING" instead contains the word "PEN" I get the connection but, this seems odd.

Further the label says "Max Output Power < 1 mW Wavelength 532 nm +/- 10 Class III Laser Product ... complies with 21 CFR"

As I mentioned, I don't really know much about lasers, and this site, and GOOGLE have me a bit worried that with the nebulous labeling, something may be really out of spec, and laser radiation, and IR may be bouncing off of lord knows what, affecting the vision of those nearby.

In a moderately lit room, a very thin green beam can be seen, outside in the dark the beam is quite pronounced, and suitable for pointing out constellations. Can less than 1 mW be observed like this?

I am not going to be pointing this at anyone, and am likely worrying about nothing, but thought I would check with some folks with some hands on experience with this stuff. Thanks for any input.

 

[Gabe]

I couldn't tell you exactly what power it's at, but without a shadow of a doubt it's more than 1mW, so watch out. Can cause eye damage if someone gets glanced with a reflection, so avoid shining it at glass sculptures, disco balls, the sort.

 

[Pi R Squared]

In a moderately lit room, a very thin green beam can be seen, outside in the dark the beam is quite pronounced, and suitable for pointing out constellations. Can less than 1 mW be observed like this?

I am not going to be pointing this at anyone, and am likely worrying about nothing,

NO 1mW most certainly can not! Those cheap chinese made 301/303 are mass produced cheaply with no quality control, the label is always unreliable. It sounds like it could well be in the 50mW range. Yes you are almost worrying about nothing. That laser is not eye safe if you take a direct hit, it can do permanent damage before you blink your eye, but other than that it's safe. If you point it around inside just be careful of mirrors or glass etc. other than that nothing to worry about, keep it away from young children and be careful if you have animals.

Alan

 

[yawnny]

Thanks to all for the info so far.

Am I correctly understanding some of the laser stuff that I've read that the diffusing lens (is that the term?) that makes the patterns, reduces the effective power of the multiple beams, possibly making the less than 1 mW claim true, as long as the pattern lens is in place?

I sort of understand how the unwanted IR gets there, but am not sure if this IR is "lazed" or generic, free form IR (excuse my technical terms ). In other words, is the IR following the same path as the visible green light, or could it's beam be expanding, the same as visible light from a flashlight?

Reading over the forum, it seems that the consensus is that adding an IR filter to these cheap pointers is not worth the effort, correct?

 

[Gabe]

I mean, it's only not worth the effort if you're gonna buy another one later, or have the option of choosing between a cheap one with a filter and a more expensive one without. The IR leakage is laser light just like the green that comes out with it, but sometimes it may be at a completely different angle/path as the green light coming out. Yes, spreading out the beam with a diffuser cap is effectively turning it into many, less than or so,entires greater than 1mW beams.

 

[hakzaw1]

its unlikely that it has an IR filter to stop leakage--
it will last much longer if ypou run no more than 1 min then a rest of the same time-longer when its freezing is OK

shorter (safer) if you are in the hot desert-
my 1st one cost 40$ I killed it the first night by taping down the button and ignoreing proper Duty/Rest cycles-

it is just as illegal to shine at aircraft or vehicle as a 1W-

wild guess--yours is 35mW
not a toy
no kids alowed to touch
can cause severe damage of retina-
1mW becomes 1W when your eye's lens is hit center

any member owning a LPM will meter for free and can tell you if there is an IR leak.

BTW some dogs ignore -some like to chase a little BUT SOME become neurotic/obbsessed and its not a pretty sight-hard to fix-just dont do that please!!


just ONE of the 12 reasons you need to add ypur locaTION INTO YOUR PROFILE please

HOPE also that you made a 'INTRO MYSELF' thread in the welcome section--

 

[trussmonkey25]

Did it come with goggles? If you have them, Try lighting a match. You will need to focus the beam to a point. This will give you a rough idea of the power and danger of the laser and what it could do inside your eye

 

[yawnny]

Did it come with goggles? If you have them, Try lighting a match. You will need to focus the beam to a point. This will give you a rough idea of the power and danger of the laser and what it could do inside your eye

No, it did not come with glasses. I am semi interested in trying to light a match, but I am more worried about reflecting laser, or IR light into my eyes. I even avoid light colored walls.

Even after reading a bit on this site, and some on Google, I'm still not sure of what goggles/glasses would be most effective at a reasonable price. Yeah, "what are your eyes worth?" That's the main reason why I haven't done anything more exiting than observing the beam while avoiding the spot reflection, and pointing at a random star (yes, taking care to avoid airplanes and such ) So, unless I can find a truly effective set of goggles for not a bunch of money, i doubt that I will be trying to focus the beam for any creative endeavors..

 

[GSS]

No, it did not come with glasses. I am semi interested in trying to light a match, but I am more worried about reflecting laser, or IR light into my eyes. I even avoid light colored walls.

Even after reading a bit on this site, and some on Google, I'm still not sure of what goggles/glasses would be most effective at a reasonable price. Yeah, "what are your eyes worth?" That's the main reason why I haven't done anything more exiting than observing the beam while avoiding the spot reflection, and pointing at a random star (yes, taking care to avoid airplanes and such ) So, unless I can find a truly effective set of goggles for not a bunch of money, i doubt that I will be trying to focus the beam for any creative endeavors..

yawnny if this will truly be your one and only laser for a while, then look into a pair of red HDE glasses on Amazon for under $10 dollars. These do fall into the better than nothing catagory and should even be better than the generic copy that comes into some laser kits. Members have tested these and were quite surprised by their performance. At what your laser is putting out that all have guessed around 50mw they should be fine.

 

[paul1598419]

My experience with these Diode Pumped Solid State lasers, and if I understand your concern, is that the IR radiation is not coming out at large angles such that you can't know where the IR is going. It maybe a bit less converged than the green 532nm light, but it is not traveling a path that is not parallel to the visible light.

 

[yawnny]

yawnny if this will truly be your one and only laser for a while, then look into a pair of red HDE glasses on Amazon for under $10 dollars. These do fall into the better than nothing catagory and should even be better than the generic copy that comes into some laser kits. Members have tested these and were quite surprised by their performance. At what your laser is putting out that all have guessed around 50mw they should be fine.

Thanks for the heads up. That is certainly within my my price range, and they seem to have a favorable reputation. Definitely on my post Christmas shopping list.

Since there seems a chance some lasers will be more tightly regulated in the future, what would be a good choice for someone possibly in the market for something that might be legislated off the market?

 

[yawnny]

My experience with these Diode Pumped Solid State lasers, and if I understand your concern, is that the IR radiation is not coming out at large angles such that you can't know where the IR is going. It maybe a bit less converged than the green 532nm light, but it is not traveling a path that is not parallel to the visible light.

Exactly. That is a big part of my concern, not knowing if the IR tightly followed the pattern of the visible light or spread out similar to a flashlight. Thank you for the input.

Given that, if someone wanted to insert a IR Filter, is it as simple as unscrewing the pointer, and dropping the filter over the lens?

 

[Encap]

Exactly. That is a big part of my concern, not knowing if the IR tightly followed the pattern of the visible light or spread out similar to a flashlight. Thank you for the input.

Given that, if someone wanted to insert a IR Filter, is it as simple as unscrewing the pointer, and dropping the filter over the lens?

Yes, you can buy an IR Filter for a few dollars and just drop or glue it in place.

See Lazard hazard chart here: http://www.lasersafetyfacts.com/resources/Laser-hazard-distance-chart.pdf