Hello! cheap china stuff questions

[makeitnew]

Hi I just got into lasers and have done a lot of reading over the past few days. from what I gather, the cheap lasers found chinese distribution websites are rarely as strong as they say, and some can be dangerous because of extra IR.

I'm trying to find out if they are even safe to use at all. I bought 1 misslabled as a 1watt 405nm which is impossible, but described as a 200mw green for about 30 bucks. I picked that up and 2 pairs of cheap laser glasses for 405-450 and 532 green for about 8 a piece

here's the links
Laser Safety Goggles Glasses for 445nm 450nm blue laser/405nm violet purple laser and 532nm green laser with case FREE SHIPPING-in Safety Goggles from Home Improvement on Aliexpress.com

1000mw 405nm mini violet blue laser pointer/ focusable burning purple laser-in Laser Pointers from Office & School Supplies on Aliexpress.com

I also got this one it's supposed to be a 200mw violet 405.

http://www.elecday.com/powerful-blu...-200mw-adjustable-focus-301-product-1903.html

Is the extra IR going to make these to dangerous to use with the glasses i have? I know they won't be quality, but they are a start.

As soon as i'm not broke i'm going to try to get a 1w blue ray. any suggestions for the cheapest laser and appropriate glasses?

I did read the stickies and checked out several glasses. i understand the danger Fully. I actually have a phobia about getting stuff in my eye and that includes lasers. I will be carefull, but I want suggestions from people with knowledge.

I like how poeple get scolded here for answering wrong because of safety concerns. It's partly why I joined, that and I need to be more knowledgeable:thanks:


edit: I just read that when the green laser goes dim from loss of battery power it may start to blead off through the red spectrum, so i could really use some glasses suggestions. I think I won't use the green one until I have better glasses. Does that make sense or am I being paranoid?

 

[ryansoh3]

Okie, here's my shot.

I'm still not sure if the laser you got is a violet, blue, or green.

Violet and blue lasers don't emit IR, whereas a green does.
What a greenie does is it shoots out an IR beam, which is then converted to green by frequency doubling by crystals. In this process, because all the IR isn't converted, some of it leaks out. Without a separate IR filter in the laser, the invisible IR beam can be dangerous because 1. you can't see it and 2. it's not filtered out by cheap goggles.
So to sum it up, yes, the green pointer is dangerous, even with the goggles, because IR will not be filtered out.

By definition, a bluray laser has a wavelength of 405nm. The catch is that this is not blue to our eyes; it's violet. Currently, it's very hard to get a 1,000mW 405 diode.

I think what you mean is a 1W blue laser, which is actually 445nm. I would recommend lazerer.com, as they have great consumer service and their products are always on spec, unlike the crappy Chinese ones (WL included).

Or, you could go to this forum's Buy Sell Trade section and check out some great lasers built buy our own members. 445nm M140 diodes easily reach 2W, and they're usually less than $200. 1W would even be cheaper.

Nice to see a newcomer fully aware of laser safety.

Hope you have fun in this forum. Cheers!

 

[makeitnew]

I'm sure i will! thanks that what I needed to know. You would think that the violet or blue laser I ordered would be safe with the cheap glasses since the diode doesn't produce IR?

is there any way to tell if the green laser has an IR filter? can i check the diode numbers or look for a lens coloration?

edit: found a filter from china on ebay. gonna guy it It says it >2% on Ir spectrum I assume that's good enough

 

[ryansoh3]

It's hard to tell with your goggles because nobody used them.

However, yes, I think it should provide adequate protection for your violet and blue lasers. Make sure you don't see too much blue light through the goggles when you point your laser at the wall. If you do, it's not filtering out enough blue light.

There's a 98% chance that the green laser doesn't have a IR filter.
The proper way to test it is get green-blocking goggles and measure the output with a LPM. Since only green light is filtered, the power that you're getting will only be IR. I'd say more than 3-5mW IR is dangerous for the naked eye.

However, I presume you don't have a LPM, which makes it hard to determine if the green laser does have an IR filter. So no, without a LPM and green-blocking goggles, it's very hard to check if it has a IR filter.

Hope you mean <2% IR passing, not >2% haha.

Cheers!

Edit: If you don't trust your goggles, here's a cheap one in Amazon. I think they're 6-8 bucks, so you can't go wrong!

Below two links are their reviews and tests.

http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/c...test-uvex-s0360x-ultra-spec-2000-a-73484.html

http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/cheap-safety-glasses-tested-71621.html

 

[makeitnew]

i'll come back to drop you some rep for those glasses. i'm not worried about the chinese ones not working. that seller has a massively good review, but I will be getting a laser in nearly a month before the glasses, so you just saved my anticipation and my eyes. thanks

thanks for fixing my typo, yes.

 

[ryansoh3]

Thanks for the rep! Too bad the rep you gave me is neutral because you don't have any previous rep power.

Glad to hear that you're taking laser safety seriously.

Happy lazing!

 

[lasersbee]

to the Forum....
Don't forget to read the FAQs...the Stickies
and the Forum Rules..
http://laserpointerforums.com/tou.htm

If you plan on buying anything on the Forum....
PLEASE read this first...

6 Steps To Prevent You From Getting Scammed

and PLEASE don't forget to read to this....

39 Reasons NOT to Buy From Wicked Lasers

If you do get a Laser or already have one be sure
to get appropriate Laser Safety Goggles/Glasses...

Get Some Safety Goggles Now!


Enjoy your stay...


Jerry

You can contact us at any time on our Website: J.BAUER Electronics

 

[makeitnew]

fore sure wicked lasers has some issues. unfortunately they are what lead me to look at lasers. I'm glad I researched.

 

[uidyn]

Okie, here's my shot.

I'm still not sure if the laser you got is a violet, blue, or green.

Violet and blue lasers don't emit IR, whereas a green does.
What a greenie does is it shoots out an IR beam, which is then converted to green by frequency doubling by crystals. In this process, because all the IR isn't converted, some of it leaks out. Without a separate IR filter in the laser, the invisible IR beam can be dangerous because 1. you can't see it and 2. it's not filtered out by cheap goggles.
So to sum it up, yes, the green pointer is dangerous, even with the goggles, because IR will not be filtered out.

By definition, a bluray laser has a wavelength of 405nm. The catch is that this is not blue to our eyes; it's violet. Currently, it's very hard to get a 1,000mW 405 diode.

I think what you mean is a 1W blue laser, which is actually 445nm. I would recommend lazerer.com, as they have great consumer service and their products are always on spec, unlike the crappy Chinese ones (WL included).

Or, you could go to this forum's Buy Sell Trade section and check out some great lasers built buy our own members. 445nm M140 diodes easily reach 2W, and they're usually less than $200. 1W would even be cheaper.

Nice to see a newcomer fully aware of laser safety.

Hope you have fun in this forum. Cheers!

Thanks for the info

 

[makeitnew]

I just got my elecday 405nm 200mw and it does burn. I put a marker dot, back, on a match and in a about a or 2 second it lit up.

I don't have the rest of my stuff yet, but i'm finding anything over the 5 to 10 range to be a waste. Only I can have fun with it unless I have a lot of glasses, then what if somebody shows up out of the blue..... If i'm outside and I shine it in the sky, I run the risk of bothering pilots If I hit a window I could blind my neighbor.

green lasers that are affordable bleed IR and blue are very costly, but then again, you have to wear glasses and that really takes away. If there were something more I could use a laser to do that doesn't involve mass computers, programming knowledge, or danger to others....

hmmmm this is an odd hobby i'm getting into. :horse:

 

[Lethere Belight]

I like the 1W 405 for $38. And right below they have 1W green. Same price?
I'll take a dozen of each!

 

[makeitnew]

I like the 1W 405 for $38. And right below they have 1W green. Same price?
I'll take a dozen of each!

yeah I paid 25. it's probably a 100w. I saw a 1w 405 around that price (impossible to make on that budget) on aliexpress that is actually a 200mw 532 with no IR filter

I know what you're saying

 

[Lethere Belight]

yeah I paid 25. it's probably a 100w. I saw a 1w 405 around that price (impossible to make on that budget) on aliexpress that is actually a 200mw 532 with no IR filter

I know what you're saying

Actually for that price the green will not even be 200. Just the module costs twice that.
The last 250mw green I got for that price measured 50.
That was before I learned whats going on.
They won't get me again.

 

[hakzaw1]

Okay- I dont see a single member NOT being helpful--lots of good advice here and most could have been found in the stickies- the tutorials and the search feature.
some think that a few hours of reading is a lot of time spent- but I have been studying lasers for 10 years and spent DAYS (not hours) reading at Sam's and the forums- I stiil have a lot to learn-- & so do you.

any field where some get PHDs is not one where you can obtain a lot of knowledge in a few days of study.

hak

 

[makeitnew]

are you going around and commenting on my posts to make me angry? Isn't that something a troll would do? Your not even talking about the thread man? give it rest please.

 

[daawood123]

Just to add, a good way to check for IR is to get a digital camera or a webcam, point the laser into the camera (not directly, just so you can see the outer edges of it) and if you see a purplish tint on the outside edges of the laser spot, thats IR. If you dont see any purple stuff, it probably has a IR filter

EDIT: @makeitnew, I noticed in your signature, it says you have a 200w 405nm laser and also a 200w green laser. As far as I know, this is virtually impossible in a handheld, I think you mean 200mw