Hello from the San Fernando Valley

[davis818]

Hello fellow laser pointer fans. My name is Davis im from southern california, San Fernando Valley to be exact. I am 31 years old and i just recently got into enjoying (high powered) lasers, i have a 1 watt 450nm laser pointer from china i bought on ebay for about 40$ and ive been addicted to playing with it (safely of course using my safety goggles) and showing it off to my friends and family by pointing it into the night sky and showing them how far it can go.
Now im trying to learn as much as i can about how these laser pointers are made and im doing as much research as i can because in the future i would like to buy a 5 watt blue laser with the same 450nm, i would like to increase the power but i dont have enough money for that yet but ide like to educate myself on the best route to go when i can afford it. But as for now i am really enjoying my laser for the price it says <2000mw but im pretty sure my laser is about 1 watt and its plenty of power for having fun and i enjoy it very much.
Anyways i just wanted to say Hi to everyone and see if there are any other laser fans in the southern california area. If anyone had any advice for me that would be cool too because im totally new to all of this and maybe i could build a laser pointer with the right parts or somehow upgrade my laser pointer? Not sure but thats why i joined this forum to learn and see what others do.

 

[BowtieGuy]

Welcome to LPF, Davis!

Have fun, stay safe, and enjoy your stay.

It looks like you're already aware of the need for protective eyewear for your laser, just be sure your safety glasses/goggles are high quality and up to the task of protecting your eyes.
A good source of quality, reasonably priced safety glasses is Survival Lasers, the owner is also a member here.

 

[davis818]

Thank you Bowtieguy!

i was wondering about that i ordered these glasses on ebay and i was going for protection against 450nm like my laser and the glasses say 200nm-2000nm protection but i have no idea if they are legit or not for all i know i could have been ripped off but they seem to work, i cant see the beam when i use the laser i can only see the dot.

 

[BowtieGuy]

I would have to say that those glasses are probably not any good, especially for higher power lasers like you are looking to purchase. I've never seen one pair of laser safety glasses that covered the whole visible spectrum like those claim to do; I would invest in better glasses for sure!

 

[CurtisOliver]

Without a OD graph, I wouldn't be certain that those are doing the job 100%. I would vouch for Survival Lasers too, and you can also get a discount with them using the code LPF445.
Anyway, welcome to the forum Davis.
Enjoy your stay!

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi,
Welcome to LPF enjoy and be safe.

Rich

 

[paul1598419]

Welcome to the LPF, Davis. The goggles for 445nm are normally red in color, so these I have no idea about. You can pick up a pair of Eagle OD5 or better for $45.00. They will be good for powers much higher than 1 watt. Enjoy your stay here and remain safe.

 

[Encap]

Davis--those glasses are for use during IPL aesthetic/beauty treatments to protect from overall background/area radiation-- they are cosmetology medical practice machine protective glasses.
They are not for or meant to be high powered laser eye protection.
Intense pulsed light (IPL) is a technology used by cosmetic and medical practitioners to perform various skin treatments for aesthetic and therapeutic purposes see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intense_pulsed_light

Get yourself a good pair of laser goggles/glasses --- for low cost good quality see: https://www.survivallaserusa.com/Safety_Goggles/cat1667093_1527285.aspx

 

[davis818]

oh wow so i got some glasses for going to the spa and getting a fake tan? great. glad i know i will be returning these to ebay asap and getting some real protective glasses thank you for your advice guys.

 

[hakzaw1]

OP
'oh wow so i got some glasses for going to the spa and getting a fake tan? great. glad i know i will be returning these to ebay asap and getting some real protective glasses thank you for your advice guys. '

not exactly-- they are made to protect the operators of laser devices--''cosmetology medical practice machine protective glasses." (TY Encap)
":"

Eye protection for tanning is not any OD,, they are opaque--no light gets thru at all....zero.

so an employee at a tanning salon may be wearing what you have.

 

[Pelagius]

Welcome!
Paul just said what I was going to say. The glasses should be red. Also there are many cheapie reds on Ebay-don't buy them! You want something that is measured to absorb 450 nm light. The unit used is OD or Optical Density. The Eagle Pair mentioned by others in this thread will work well to block the 450 nm light-and probably up to 540 nm Green. A cheapie red pair from Ebay will likely not block enough to save your eyes from 1Watt.
You will need a different pair for red lasers.