Hey! Newbie from Australia!

[JSimo]

Hi everyone!

I've been reading these forums for a few weeks before making my account
Now before LasersBee (yes, I have stalked... ) gives me the old... Read 'this and read 'that', I'd just like to say this is an awesome forum! (and I'll read the scamming thing again ). Reddit doesn't have a super laser forum like this!
I used to have a 10mW 532nm cheapie laser a long time ago before they were banned here in AUS but it broke . Now I have discovered this wonderful world.

I see the light! :wave:

It's more coherent and monochromatic than I thought
I just started studying compsci and engineering at uni and this feels like a nice hobby to accompany it.
I've ordered a few modules from here and there and plan on making some drivers from scratch (or near thereof) soon It's too bad our laws prohibit outright purchasing of lasers over 1mW, but I guess this encourages creativity and grows my new hobby. Perhaps I'll post some reviews when I get my packages. Because of these laws, could anyone suggest good places to buy module/driver/diode? American eBay looks pretty decent so far. According to reviews from this site, DX look a bit sketchy (I'm currently waiting on some things).

Oh, while I'm here... in year 12, my physics teacher was very strict about the use of his HeNe laser, which output 1mW. Now, I'm entitled to ask such a question because it's my first post and i'm a newb, but he claimed that the mW was not the dangerous aspect of the laser. The 'intensity' was the thing that burned your eye out. Was he full of it?

Also, what do guys this of this?
Sony 405nm 120mw Laser Diode Dot Module/Foucsable Blue Violet Laser 1 pcs | eBay

Thanks everyone!

 

[Things]

Oh, while I'm here... in year 12, my physics teacher was very strict about the use of his HeNe laser, which output 1mW. Now, I'm entitled to ask such a question because it's my first post and i'm a newb, but he claimed that the mW was not the dangerous aspect of the laser. The 'intensity' was the thing that burned your eye out. Was he full of it?

mW stands for MilliWatts, aka the power output of the laser. Some wavelengths have special properties that may indeed make them more harmful for the same power (For example 405nm and UV exposure), however in terms of eye damage, it's all pretty much equivalent. 1mW is eye safe, and not really a hazard at all unless you stare into it for hours on end for a few months.

To the human eye, to get double the brightness, you need around 4x the power. What makes lasers different from other light sources is purely because they are focused, thus it is a lot easier to accidentally get high power densities on a small spot on your eye. This is why you can look at a regular 60W light bulb and not be blinded. If you focused that 60W light bulb down into a beam, it'd blind you and boil your eye in a split second.

Welcome to the forums

 

[billg519]

Welcome to the forum! You'll find plenty of info here to help you with the building of drivers for your lasers. As far as suppliers, I've used DX a lot over the years. I always get my order from them, but it can take loads of time for the free shipping. O-like is another potentially useful seller. Kaidomain is similar to DX. Many items are of course available through the forum Buy / Sell / Trade or Laser Pro Shop sections. I've purchased many laser items from ebay, only dud was an HeNe power supply that didn't work, but the case it was in was worth more than I paid, so I kept it. Your 405nm module seems OK but you can do better on price and power here at the forum.

 

[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...


Enjoy your stay...


Jerry

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

 

[vk2fro]

Welcome to the forums fellow aussie!

The first laser you should start with is an argon. Produces tonnes of noise, waste heat, plenty of HV to zap you and a moderatly powerful beam to blow you eyes out with. (especially multiline ones). Of course I am just joking!

if your looking for a visible laser beam, a 405 is not it. That laser will have a barely visible beam, but it can be fun to make stuff flouresce with it. 405's are verging on ultraviolet.

Green is the brightest per milliwatt you can get as your eyes have a peak sensitivity at around 555nm, and the green dpss laser outputs 532nm, which is pretty close. A 120 mW green module will completly obliterate the 120mw 405 module.

It all depends on what you want to do with the laser - do you want to burn stuff (405's make great burners), or do you want to point at stuff, or are you going to make a laser show with it.

Ultimatly, if you're going to be working up close with the laser (burning and stuff), at that power level (120mw) it would be advisable to get some laser goggles for the wavelength you buy. 120mw of green on a wall 9 feet away is uncomfortable to look at without them, and 120mw of 405 is just a disaster waiting to happen, as it doesnt look bright, so you get a false sense of security.

Hope you enjoy your stay here. Most of us are friendly

 

[JSimo]

Hey! Thanks for the reply vk2fro!

Yeah I've ordered a pair of goggles! Everything is in transit at the moment... man I suck at having patience for cool things.
I'm not really into burning, I just appreciate the beam that is made from lasers. Maybe I'll progressively keep buying more powerful ones. I'm not too enthusiastic about extremely high power lasers at the moment but we'll see how I like the taste of the weaker ones.

Just curious, how do personally you go about getting/building lasers? (Given we can't buy ready-to-use units) Do you buy modules? separate parts? I've looked at tutes all over LPF and some are pretty good. Right now, I've bought some modules myself and some flashlights as hosts... we'll see how that goes

 

[vk2fro]

For pointers I buy parts. If I want a high powered green I'd see clif @ Cajun lasers. He seperates the laser into bits and ships them a week apart so they get through. "Flashlight switch, battery" and "Flashlight parts" was the last one I ordered from a member (which was true - I already had the diode, just needed the torch itself and the driver).

I am mainly into projectors now, but still want a higher powered green. In a few weeks I'll be buying several watts of modules (which are legal to get through customs) including a 1.2 watt green, and a 1.5 watt blue. To complete my projector I will have a member make my red module. Hes very talented and could do a much better job than myself mounting multiple optics (a wave plate, pbs cube, tiny lenses and not so tiny lenses). That should net me a nice bright 638nm red with a small spot to fit on the small mirrors.

For 445 blues I buy the parts off members here (DTR is good for diodes, so is Daguin), and for hosts, jayrob is one, and there are many others. Just look in laser pro shop.

You cant get busted for importing a laser diode. Likewise a gutted torch. Its only when a fully operational laser comes into the country, it may get nabbed. And thats only if its a pointer. Several Aussies here have multiple watt green lasers and multiwatt projectors and they all get through fine.

obviously you are fully aware of the fact that you CAN get busted for carrying a laser, or using one outdoors in a stupid manner. Treat it like a firearm. Give the police no reason to search you, and you will be fine. Keep your lases locked away when not in use just to prevent visitors picking up that 1 W 445 on the table and blowing their eyes out

The sad thing is, with the blanket ban, even weak lasers are illegal. Its the stupid minority that have spoiled it for more sensible people like you and I.

 

[JSimo]

Perfect response!

It is a shame that complete units are illegal. However, It baffles me as modules aren't. I'd assume it is not very difficult to chuck one of these into a host and voila! Super illegal laser. This even makes a grey area for disassembling and shipping, as it would be in parts too right? Like you have all the parts for a pointer in one package and they're not connected and hence not seized? I think I might go and see Clif a little later on. What have you managed to get through? I guess I'll discuss this with him in more detail.

Thanks for all the advice. I kind of have a gut feeling that modules could be banned in the future which would make everything significantly harder. I want to 'stock up'

Those projector lasers sound a little intimidating...

 

[vk2fro]

Basically if customs happen to see what looks like a laser pointer going through, and they are suspect, if they open it up, slap in the battery, screw on the tailcap and it emits laser light at the push of a button (regardless of if it burns a hole in the parcel next to them), it gets confiscated, and you get a nasty letter.

The laser companies tend to unscrew the back part of the laser, and send that with the key (if needed), interlock (if needed) and the tailcap seperatly, sending the front part of the laser as a seperate package.

The laser arrives in bits a week apart, and the new owner just screws the parts back together, inserts a charged battery, and they have a laser.

The larger modules are harder to fit into a host because many are TEC cooled, have odd shapes internally, or are simply way to big to get into a host (unless its something like a D size maglite). As an example, the 1.2watt I intend to order is over 15cm long, 75mm wide, and 60mm high.

Having all the bits in one package (un assembled, soldering required) should get through provided the customs declaration doesn't say "6Kw laser pointer pen bits"

 

[JSimo]

haha appreciated!

I'll get it stamped as "just a flashlight. Nothing to see here."
I have one of those long D Maglite torches... muhaha 1.2W here we come :eg:

Thanks for all your help!

 

[vk2fro]

hehe nah forget the 1.2 watt greenie - stuff a 40watt co2 tube in there - it might fit

 

[Lazy Laser]

Welcome to the forum!

It's good to see more and more Aussies getting into the hobby, I can assure you you'll enjoy your stay.

Good luck with all your future builds too, Also lets just say you won't be the only one pointing beams into the sky in Canberra...

 

[JSimo]

Hehehe lazy laser, any specific place you get your parts from?

These are my cold, capital skies