How to check if my green laser has a IR filter?

[v47r]

As some of you may know, i bought a supposedly 200 mW laser from here: TechMart Green 200mW Pen Style Laser Pointer. Black Rubber Finish High Power Astronomy and Military Grade Green Laser Pointer.: Amazon.ca: Electronics

Well i received it today and it's amazing! I could see the green spot during the day (but not the beam) give or take 100 feet. Now at night i can definitely see the beam.

Anyways, i didn't buy it from a trusted company... and it is a laser pen. Is there anyway i can tell if it has a IR filter? I read that you can use a camera and look back at the recording to see any IR light.. could someone explain this process to me or link me to a good tutorial.

Also, one more question, will IR light hurt your eyes if you just look at the laser beam line, like if you were just looking at the sky with a laser pointer without a IR filter (because the IR light would be shining AWAY from you.. or does this not matter)? I probably had a good 10 minute light show... lol.

Thanks for any help and i know i'm a newb and i know i should have bought it from a reputable source... i should have looked more up on them before my first purchase. I can easily return it but if it has an IR filter i think i have got my money worth.

 

[lajoswinkler]

There's no way that laser is 200 mW. Such pen lasers are a classic bait for the inexperienced. I've got scammed in the same manner once.
I've got a 50 mW pen laser and I can see the beam during the daylight, indoors, if I point it away from my line of sight towards something dark. It's probably <30 mW and the beam is there.
True 200 mW should be extremely visible and it would also require a proper host with a better heatsink.

It probably doesn't have an IR filter. I've never seen any such designs using filters.
You could see the IR using pretty much any cheap camera (cell phone, webcam) if you remove the green wavelengths. Try covering the aperture using lots of layers of dark, exposed 35mm photo negative. They let some IR through. Then turn on the laser and point the beam close to the camera aperture. If you see a weird white-purple glow, brighter than the visible light coming through the negative, it's IR. Remote control LEDs are IR, so try to look at them using your camera, to see how it should look.

IR diverges more than visible light. The angle of divergence is much larger and it resembles a very focused flashlight beam (if you could see IR), unlike the green beam which is a thin line with very low divergence.
So it's easier to stare in the IR "cone" by accident. Of course, it's harmless if you point it away towards the sky.

A hundred dollars. It's a LOT of money you've spent on a cheap laser. I'd return it as soon as possible and buy a proper thing. Here's a real 200 mW beast for the same amount of money.
LZCS - Classic 532nm 200mW Focusable Green Laser Pointer