Hello

[CelticLaser1]

Hi. I am from New Jersey, USA. I know I have to add it in my profile. I'm on mobile now so I can't find it here. I do bird control. The company I work for is non kill. I'm looking to invest in a build/buy a high powered green laser. I was told to stay away from the 532nm. Maybe 520nm? I know the forum is built on trust/reputation. I am trying to get my status up here so that I can eventually buy or get help building. You guys seen very knowledgeable at what you do and I am looking forward to working with you guys. A little about what I do. We have contracts with major home improvement stores, and some other major retailers in removing pest/resident birds. We have different solutions for each job. Sometimes we catch/release, sometimes we use hazers. We have been using some smaller handhelds lately to clear out big properties. The green seems to work best. I'm trying to get a higher power laser so that they will scare them from further away and hard to access areas. If you guys have any info I would really appreciate it. I've tried to buy lasers on here but because I am new I guess no one will respond. I'm not sure. I will keep checking in and posting to try and get my rep up so that maybe one day we can work something out. Thanks everyone.

 

[Gabe]

Welcome! Yeah, 520nm might be better depending on temperature changes, cause DPSS lasers like like 532nm can do funny things when temperature changes. There are plenty of reputable places to get 520nm lasers, as well as places to get parts so you can assemble your own for cheaper. If you need, just ask
Anyway, learn lots!

 

[CelticLaser1]

Thanks Gabe. Is the 520nm more visible than 532nm? Im trying to find one that has a bright wider beam. Not like your typical pen style pointer. Idk how they measure the diameter of the beam but i think you understand what I am saying. Obviously the brighter the better lol. Also are all the ads on here legit companies? i saw one on Lucklasers.com that looked awesome. Of course its the only one thats not on sale. I think it was 1000mw but from what I've been reading a lot of these lasers are not accurate numbers. Thanks for the response and trust me i have a lot to learn.

 

[Gabe]

Well, the peak sensitivity of human vision is actually 555nm from what I recall, so 532 is actually brighter per milliwat, as compared to 520nm. 520nm, or "forest green" as I've seen it called, is most often more expensive as well, but can go up to higher powers at cheaper. If I remember right, Lucklaser is actually no bueno at all, you can do some research within the forum using the white Google search bar at the bottom of the page, it works much better than the search function at the top in the task bar thingy. Places I can think of to get a good 520nm laser off the top of my head includes LaserBTB, they have a pretty good rep around here, or Jetlasers, which I hear has excellent customer service. If you want to assemble your own at probably a cheaper price (involving only basic soldering skills, only two wires), you can get the diodes here, from DTR. You'll probably want one of the bottom four green diodes at the bottom of the page. Jordan is a great guy, well respected member here at LPF as well. You can get everything else you need from Survival Laser, right here. Depending on the power, or brightness you want, you should ask about the driver you'll need later. If you choose to build, that is. BTW, Gary, the creator of Survival Laser, is also a well respected member here, and he runs a fantastic company. Always here to help!

 

[NightExplorer96]

Well, the peak sensitivity of human vision is actually 555nm from what I recall, so 532 is actually brighter per milliwat, as compared to 520nm. 520nm, or "forest green" as I've seen it called, is most often more expensive as well, but can go up to higher powers at cheaper. If I remember right, Lucklaser is actually no bueno at all, you can do some research within the forum using the white Google search bar at the bottom of the page, it works much better than the search function at the top in the task bar thingy. Places I can think of to get a good 520nm laser off the top of my head includes LaserBTB, they have a pretty good rep around here, or Jetlasers, which I hear has excellent customer service. If you want to assemble your own at probably a cheaper price (involving only basic soldering skills, only two wires), you can get the diodes here, from DTR. You'll probably want one of the bottom four green diodes at the bottom of the page. Jordan is a great guy, well respected member here at LPF as well. You can get everything else you need from Survival Laser, right here. Depending on the power, or brightness you want, you should ask about the driver you'll need later. If you choose to build, that is. BTW, Gary, the creator of Survival Laser, is also a well respected member here, and he runs a fantastic company. Always here to help!

Gabe summed it up pretty well. 555nm is the PEAK wavelength for a light adapted eye. At nighttime, this falls to 507nm so 520nm would appear "brighter" then 532

-Alex

 

[CelticLaser1]

Wow. Thanks for the input guys. Much appreciated. Now when your talking wavelengths being more visible to the "human" eye do you think that would also be the same for a birds eye? We use the lasers to scare the birds off of buildings, rooftops, fields, etc. do you think anyone has info on that? I have found that green 532nm works best. I will also be looking into different wavelengths like 520nm. Maybe it will work better. I also would like try 450nm or 462nm blues in the future of course. Much of this is work related but it's also extremely fun getting paid to use lasers

 

[Gabe]

Whoopsies, forgot that peak sensitivity for humans changes throughout the night. Ty Greenlander . And Celtic, I did a little research but couldn't come up with an answer for peak sensitivity for birds. Although it seems like everyone uses green lasers, and you say they seem to work the best, so I imagine green lasers give you the most bang for your buck. Or, bang for your milliwatt, I guess. Some birds are tetrachromatic, while humans are I presume trichromatic. That means they have four specific cones sensitive to different colours, one for red, green, blue, and ultraviolet. Not sure if this affects anything, though. And paid to play with lasers?! Sign me up!

 

[CelticLaser1]

I have not tried blues yet but red does nothing and green is effective. I havnt tried high power but blue might work and green high power I assume would be amazing. I'll have to do more research as we have only used what the company has given us which isn't so bad but I just know it can be better. And once I get into making the beam wider (forgive my ignorance) I hope to be able to make one of my own. I'll slowly get there. There's a lot of info on this sight so being here is just the first step. I will start posting pics of the tests and different lasers we use. Thanks again

 

[Gabe]

Good luck!

 

[Pi R Squared]

I have not tried blues yet but red does nothing and green is effective. I havnt tried high power but blue might work and green high power I assume would be amazing. I'll have to do more research as we have only used what the company has given us which isn't so bad but I just know it can be better. And once I get into making the beam wider (forgive my ignorance) I hope to be able to make one of my own. I'll slowly get there. There's a lot of info on this sight so being here is just the first step. I will start posting pics of the tests and different lasers we use. Thanks again

How powerful was the red you tried? Did it have a visible beam? Red may be a little less visible to birds because the visible spectrum for them drops off at about 700nm compared to 800nm for a human so I suspect a 650nm may be barely visible to them but I would think a powerful 635/638nm might work. It would be interesting to try a 405nm, barely visible to humans, but birds can see well into the UV. 445nm blue will give you the most power for the money, and are very bright. You mention a wider beam, weren't any of the lasers you tried focusable? Or were they cheap fixed focus pens? If your getting very close to these birds you can slightly unfocus the laser for a larger beam. At a long distance the beam should be wide enough. You have mentioned "air fields" at least twice now, I hope you know that you won't be using a laser outside at or within 10 miles of any airport unless you have a special variance from the FAA for that, and I know that's not going to happen at even a small municipal airport.

Alan

 

[CelticLaser1]

Hi Alan. No we do not have the contract signed for the airport yet so idk the specifics of FAA permits or anything else. We do however use them in major retail stores and home improvement. We use them to get them off the rooftops and the ceilings so that we can scare them into our mist nets so that we can catch and release them. We work in all stores across the USA. The airport has a major problem with Canadian geese which we just need to move off the runway from time to time. We do not catch the Canadian geese because they are protected species. As far as the stores go it's mostly house sparrows, starlings, pigeons, etc. we do have permits however to do this but the airport is new to us so they will be looking into everything beforehand. And I absolutely oppose anyone stupid enough to aim it at or near any planes. It's those people that ruin it for the rest of us. We are relatively new to the laser technology and using it with the birds so you would know more than me. As far as the red laser yes it's a cheaper pen style. It's also mostly night work so the beam is a little visible. The green is a lot more visible amd I believe it's 50mw. Thanks for info it's a good to know.

 

[Pi R Squared]

Ok yes you won't be using the lasers at the airport, I didn't know that Canadian geese are protected now. I am surprised to hear that, I thought there were too many of them! Just moving them off the runway isn't good enough, sooner or later they will cause a disaster. I lived in NYC for 3 years back in the mid 80's and at JFK they had people patrolling with shotguns killing birds, some time before that there was a case of a jetliner there that ingested birds causing an engine fire and everyone got out but the plane burned and was a total loss, so of course they started keeping the area clear of birds, that was long ago I don't know what they do there today.

I remember seeing this problem with birds a few years ago at Lowes/Home Depot/Costco, the newer stores near to where I live now have entrance exit areas less bird friendly. In those huge stores I think you need more powerful lasers.

Alan

 

[CelticLaser1]

Yes that's the types of stores we work in. We work after the store is closed to customers. In most of the improvement stores half of the lighting shuts of after hours so that also helps us with the laser. The beam is more visible. We can put the laser to the ledt or right of the birds and slowly move it towards them and they will head in the opposite direction. So the more visible the beam the better. I am going to try a couple different wavelengths and move up in 100 mw increments. I will post my results in the forums and maybe get some feedback. Either way it will be a great way for us to learn about the effects of the lasers on the birds.