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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Help deciding: 445nm or 462nm for first burner

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Dec 19, 2014
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Hello all.
This is Philip (I'm new here).
I'm 32, I live in Alaska, I'm currently at work in Prudhoe Bay. The internet (here at work) is lousy (to say the least).
I have been having a difficult time trying to find the right thread to ask this in, so I just made this one instead.
I've spent the last few days (attempting) to research blue lasers and trying to decide which one to buy. I am currently stuck between JetLasers PL-E pro 1.7W 462nm or their 2W 445nm.

Here are their respective links:
PL-E pro 1w 2w blue laser 462nm, buy 462nm 2w blue laser pointer, portable 445nm 462nm laser, jetlasers pl-e pro 462nm

500mW PL-E Pro 445nm blue Laser

Anyways, my question that I've been trying to get actual knowledgeable opinions on (because I, obviously, do not know what I'm talking about! lol) is this: Do you guys know if there would be a noticeable difference between these two lasers burning ability if I were to say, pop balloons with them from across the room? This will be my first >5mW laser and I do not want to regret the purchase.
I will say, the 462nm seems to look remarkably cooler than the 445nm. If both lasers I'm inquiring about were the same wattage, it'd be a no brainer for me to choose the 462nm. However, the 445nm having .3 more watts is making me second guess which one would be a better burner.
Please feel free to have a laugh at my expense with regards to my ignorance, just so long as you help me make up my mind! lol
(Both lasers seem to be identical except for the nm and w.)
 
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Joined
Mar 11, 2013
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

1. there's not much burning difference between 2W and 1.7W

2. do you have safety glasses, and have you made yourself sufficiently knowledgable about class IV lasers to own one? they are dangerous.

3. I think you goofed the thread title. did you mean 445nm vs 462nm? (and bear story)

4. I think these were the links you wanted:

PL-E pro 1w 2w blue laser 462nm, buy 462nm 2w blue laser pointer, portable 445nm 462nm laser, jetlasers pl-e pro 462nm

500mW PL-E Pro 445nm blue Laser

5. 462 is brighter per mW than 445.

6. Jetlasers does have a 2W version of both. actually it's not clear, is it? the description reads 1.4-1.7W, but when you go to select an option, it lets you pick between 1.5 and 2W. you might want to email Grey and ask about the discrepancy

7. I recommend getting a diode and driver from DTR and having a custom host made within the U.S.A. this will eliminate the risk of customs siezure, and the cost will be comparable, assuming you dont go really extravagent on the host.

8. that said, if you are willing to risk it, they are nice and have many features very uncommon in custom hosts, such as:

AC input option
easy Beam expander add on
both momentary and constant on buttons

It's all up to you, now tell us the bear story
 
Last edited:
Joined
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

The beam specs can make a difference but it depends on what diode is used. I have a M140 build that is 1.5W and a PLTB450B that is 1913mW and there is a noticeable difference in burning ability because the PLTB450B also makes a smaller dot giving it a higher power density, however with the two you are choosing from I doubt there would be a noticeable difference.

#2 as stated above is very important. If you have only owned a <5mW laser then all the photos, videos, and everything you read still hasn't prepared you for a class 4 laser, there is definitely a learning curve there. When I first built my 1.5W laser I almost accidentally blinded myself, almost started a fire, and burned myself. Now with experience I will never make those stupid mistakes again, but they can happen to people who have never seen a class 4 laser.

Now yes BEAR story please. Down south here in Washington we only have black bears, way up north there you have real bears.

Alan
 
Joined
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

I'd go with the 462nm. Nicer color and very likely brighter at those power levels. Doubt there will be any difference in burning power.

Also grab some good goggles, those lasers are dangerous.
 
Joined
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

Thank you both for your input. I am sold on the 463nm now. Also, I did goof on the title. I meant 445nm and not 456nm. Anyways, I appriciate the comments. I understand the high powered lasers are dangerous. As to weather or not I've been properly "schooled", I don't think so. As with the other commenter, I'm sure I'm going to have a steep learning curve (I do have glasses btw). As to weather to buy/build, I would like to eventually build my own lasers, but I don't want to dedicate that kind of time/paitence/learning before I have experienced the lasers themselves. So, I would like to buy a nice one first then decide if i want to pursue the hobby. I haven't yet heard of any JetLaser horror stories with U.S. Customs. So far, people seem to have been getting them no problem. (Please, correct me if I'm wrong.)

Ok, the bear story:
This was about five or six years ago. I was working on North Star island here on the slope durring the Christmas holiday (basically this time). Up here it gets really friggin' cold and windy, exceptionally so on North Star. Polar bears occasionally wander over to the island in the winter and every once in a blue moon have to be shot by "bear guards" with 12 guages.
So, one evening (pitch black sky, snow everywhere) I was just outside the chow hall on the landing having an after dinner smoke (I have quit smoking since then-if that matters...). The chow hall and the balcony/landing thing are on the second floor (which, in North Slope terms means the third floor as all most of the structures are on stilts to keep them off of the ground).
There were a couple of other people out there with me.
Leaning over the railing, I was looking out over the grounds and noticed a polar bear just kind of wandering around down there. I pointed it out to the other people out there with me. (The bear was about thirty feet out from the landing.)
One of ther persons went back inside and got one of the "bear guards". The guy came out with his shotgun, all tickled to "get to shoot a bear"! He was verbally cheering himself on as he was looking over the landing at the polar bear.
Well, something about this bear guard's twisted pleasure at "getting to shoot" a bear that isn't doing anything wrong (other than just wandering around) kinda' pissed me off.
If I were of the criminal persuasion, I would have grabbed him by the knees and tipped him over the railing!
Anyways, the guy started pulling shells out of his pocked and loading his shotgun.
I knew this was wrong, but wasn't in a position to stop the bastard.
I usually have a little laser pointer in one of my pen pockets for pointing out pieces of equipment that would normally be out of reach (height, distance, etc.).
I pulled out my little red laser pointer and thought of my cats and dogs. With the bear guard still loading his shotgun, I put the dot on the ground right in front of the polar bear.
Let me tell you, even a <5mw red laser dot will shine brilliantlly on wind pollished bellow zero snow!
That polar bear's attention was immediately focused on the red dot in front of it's face. It stopped sniffing the ground and zeroed in on it. The bear took a step and smacked it with it's paw. (This was going to be just like playing with my cat!)
I couldn't believe it! I was hopeful it would work, but was still shocked it did!
I moved the red dot away from the bear a few feet and the bear followed it! Well, I knew I had something here, so I used that little red laser to lead that polar bear so far away from the camp (and out over the frozen ocean) that you couldn't even make it out anymore.
That bear guard just kind of stood there in shock as I did this.
He cussed a bit under his breath as he walked away, as his chance to "shoot a bear" had been stolen from him!:gun::cryyy::D:na:
 
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

Philip that's a really great bear story. More than 30 years ago I knew a guy from Anchorage that had worked in some remote area, if I remember right they were doing work on the pipeline. He told me there were several guys in a trailer and one of them stepped outside to take a wiz and they heard him scream and looked outside only to see him dragged away by a polar bear. I imagine after several incidents like that is when they started having the bear guards.

Alan
 
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

Yeah, to a brown bear, people are better left alone.
To a black bear, people are just as easy to mess with as other animals.
To a polar bear, if it moves, it's food!
 
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

43 years ago when I was 9 years old, there were 6 of us camping at a campground in Alberta that was about a 20 minute drive from lake Louise, I forget now if we were in Jasper or in Banff national park but me and a friend of ours who I think was in his mid 20s at the time were the first ones up in the morning and built a campfire and were just sitting by the fire when a huge Grizzly bear walked by, I can still see it to this day, I didn't know bears could be so big, I turned and looked at it as it looked at us and we made eye contact from only about 15 feet. We both jumped up and ran as fast as we could, I didn't know at the time that you shouldn't do that. We are so lucky that none of us became breakfast for that bear and I am fortunate to be alive. At that time I would have just been an appetizer for that monster.

Alan
 
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

43 years ago when I was 9 years old, there were 6 of us camping at a campground in Alberta that was about a 20 minute drive from lake Louise, I forget now if we were in Jasper or in Banff national park but me and a friend of ours who I think was in his mid 20s at the time were the first ones up in the morning and built a campfire and were just sitting by the fire when a huge Grizzly bear walked by, I can still see it to this day, I didn't know bears could be so big, I turned and looked at it as it looked at us and we made eye contact from only about 15 feet. We both jumped up and ran as fast as we could, I didn't know at the time that you shouldn't do that. We are so lucky that none of us became breakfast for that bear and I am fortunate to be alive. At that time I would have just been an appetizer for that monster.

Alan

Deffinitely.
That's a great story too.
When you look uppon something that massive, that also eats meat, your weak little mortality lets itself be known. It is deffinitely a humbling experience being that close to something that could take two steps and then end you... :can:
 
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Messages
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

1. there's not much burning difference between 2W and 1.7W

2. do you have safety glasses, and have you made yourself sufficiently knowledgable about class IV lasers to own one? they are dangerous.

3. I think you goofed the thread title. did you mean 445nm vs 462nm? (and bear story)

4. I think these were the links you wanted:

PL-E pro 1w 2w blue laser 462nm, buy 462nm 2w blue laser pointer, portable 445nm 462nm laser, jetlasers pl-e pro 462nm

500mW PL-E Pro 445nm blue Laser

5. 462 is brighter per mW than 445.

6. Jetlasers does have a 2W version of both. actually it's not clear, is it? the description reads 1.4-1.7W, but when you go to select an option, it lets you pick between 1.5 and 2W. you might want to email Grey and ask about the discrepancy

7. I recommend getting a diode and driver from DTR and having a custom host made within the U.S.A. this will eliminate the risk of customs siezure, and the cost will be comparable, assuming you dont go really extravagent on the host.

8. that said, if you are willing to risk it, they are nice and have many features very uncommon in custom hosts, such as:

AC input option
easy Beam expander add on
both momentary and constant on buttons

It's all up to you, now tell us the bear story

Thank you for your comment, I have considered it carefully.
With regards to your #2
I have found this: Safety of Class 4 visible-beam lasers and have read it thoroughly, along with this: Laser Pointer Safety - Sentences for laser offenses
I understand that reading some safety suggestions (and consequences for breaking them) is no substitute for respecting what your tools and equipment are capable of. However, I would probably not have looked for safety suggestions to begin with, if you hadn't mentioned it in your post.
I was not aware of how powerful the "dot" is even being reflected off of the wall (as in looking at the dot while it's shining on something).
So, to summarize, thank you for challenging me to move safety up a few rungs on my priority ladder.
 
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

Yes something not mentioned here often enough is that the dot of a class 4 laser can be brighter than the sun depending on circumstances. Feel free to view the beam without glasses but be careful, I suggest you also get a tripod for it. Don't hold it in one hand and take a photo with the other and don't just sit it on a table and turn it on where it might roll off and fall. There have been accidents happen to people here that way.

Alan
 
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

I would like to go on record and say:
If I spend $300+ on a laser, there is absolutely NO WAY IN HELL I'm going to set it on a table where it could just "roll off"! :cryyy:

I would feel very sorry for the poor bastard who let such an expensive insterment just fall to the ground. lol

I get what you're saying, though. Always have complete control of the beam.

I have an honest question, though: Would it be bad to pop balloons from across the room with one of the lasers I mentioned above (without glasses)? Also, I'm not talking about popping balloons all day or anything, just for maybe a minute or two and at ten or so feet. (I'm not looking for a Dr.'s quotable answer or anything, just how maybe you'd feel about doing that.)
 
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

Well it did happen and the guy was wearing glasses so he only got a burn on his face, I think it was a 3W+ laser! sorry I don't remember who or what thread, it was long ago, but accidents only happen when you don't expect them.

As for the balloons yes I would do that, there may be some disagreement if that is safe at 10 feet but in my opinion yes it is, anyway you can usually tell if your looking at something too bright unless it's at or near or beyond the limit of the visible spectrum.

Alan
 
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

Pi R Squared: I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you like to know how big around everything is...? :p
Thanks for the story. I didn't mean to talk trash on a nasty accident a guy had. I was just picturing myself doing something careless with some really expensive thing I just bought, if you know what I mean. I got a laugh out of that because I am very anal-retentive about my electronical gadgets and I would never set an expensive, fragile, rounded object on an elevated surface and immediately walk away from it, expecting it to remain stationary. I think that's why I got a kick out of the story and decided to dismiss it with sarcasm. Sorry if I was offensive, it's just my cynical sense of humor.

On a more positive note, I've decided on the 1.7W 463nm laser. I'm going to sleep on it first, though, just to make sure I'm sure... lol

Also, I've been playing around on this site some more and am beginning to get the hang of it.
 
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

Pi R Squared: I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you like to know how big around everything is...? :p

Yes and how big an area it is.

Thanks for the story. I didn't mean to talk trash on a nasty accident a guy had. I was just picturing myself doing something careless with some really expensive thing I just bought, if you know what I mean. I got a laugh out of that because I am very anal-retentive about my electronical gadgets and I would never set an expensive, fragile, rounded object on an elevated surface and immediately walk away from it, expecting it to remain stationary. I think that's why I got a kick out of the story and decided to dismiss it with sarcasm. Sorry if I was offensive, it's just my cynical sense of humor.

Don't be too anal-retentive with hand held lasers or similar sized electronical gadgets, it sounds dangerous and uncomfortable. :crackup:

On a more positive note, I've decided on the 1.7W 463nm laser. I'm going to sleep on it first, though, just to make sure I'm sure... lol

Also, I've been playing around on this site some more and am beginning to get the hang of it.

Yes they are new and not many people have them yet, I have two 445nm and a 450nm, now I am thinking a 462nm may be my next build.

Alan
 
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Re: Portable Lasers: 456nm vs. 463nm

Phillip, I'm in Alaska too, by the way, I was working on North Star Island on the first exploratory well drilled there, also Duck Island and few others near it. I'm going to be back up in Prudhoe Bay in about two weeks for a month myself.
 




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