Is the Laserlands <5mw 450nm laser pointer actually less than 5mw?

[Hexal101]

Basically what the title says, I’m talking bout the one that costs 16 dollars.

 

[Snecho]

From what I've heard, LaserLands is a pretty reputable source, and I've also heard people saying they are actually 5mW and that's a great reason to buy from them. I haven't bought one yet so I can't say for sure though. At 450nm, it's quite interesting.

 

[Giannis_TDM]

From what I've heard, LaserLands is a pretty reputable source, and I've also heard people saying they are actually 5mW and that's a great reason to buy from them. I haven't bought one yet so I can't say for sure though. At 450nm, it's quite interesting.

Yep, Most likely they are running a plt5 450B diode down to 15-20mw to have a proper beam "shape" then putting some sort of filter on top that reduces the optical output power down to less than 5mw. The reason that they don't run the diodes directly at under 5mw is that if you were to run them that low the die wouldn't be fully lasing resulting in a kind of trashy beam profile resembling more of a line than an oval.

 

[hakzaw1]

It seems that making any laser to be only 4.99mW is not so easy..
I have metered dozens of aaa pointer pens lasers w/o ONE being 5 mW.
BESIDES== IF someone wants just 5 mW so they need not worry about eye injuries-- there is NO LASER that is 100% EYE SAFE except one that no longer lases.. Injury can happen IF the beam hits our own eye's lens where it become MUCH more that 5 mW.
I won a 5mW green pointer at a Laser Safety course..(door prize @SELEM)
Every time I meter it with any good LPM it rock steady 4.99 mW
I researched it and found these are >$140.

I sure would like to know the motivation behind wanting a true 5mW.
I hope it is not wanting to be reckless w/o any chance harm. IF you find the definition of in the BIG dictionary--- 'TOY' you wont find ANY lasers... I can see why giving any low power lasers to any child is harmful-- treating ALL lasers correctly is a must.

btw--- injuries can happen and we never know-- -no or little pain.. only an eye doctor can see them with a special scope---we MUST protect the children!!

hak

 

[Giannis_TDM]

It seems that making any laser to be only 4.99mW is not so easy..
I have metered dozens of aaa pointer pens lasers w/o ONE being 5 mW.
BESIDES== IF someone wants just 5 mW so they need not worry about eye injuries-- there is NO LASER that is 100% EYE SAFE except one that no longer lases.. Injury can happen IF the beam hits our own eye's lens where it become MUCH more that 5 mW.
I won a 5mW green pointer at a Laser Safety course..(door prize @SELEM)
Every time I meter it with any good LPM it rock steady 4.99 mW
I researched it and found these are >$140.

I sure would like to know the motivation behind wanting a true 5mW.
I hope it is not wanting to be reckless w/o any chance harm. IF you find the definition of in the BIG dictionary--- 'TOY' you wont find ANY lasers... I can see why giving any low power lasers to any child is harmful-- treating ALL lasers correctly is a must.

btw--- injuries can happen and we never know-- -no or little pain.. only an eye doctor can see them with a special scope---we MUST protect the children!!

hak

Hm Hak doesn't take this wrong but have you looked at the pointers that LaserGlow offers for like 30$? all with an optical feedback driver to ensure that the output stays under 5mw. And all of the greens come with IR filters.

 

[Snecho]

I sure would like to know the motivation behind wanting a true 5mW.

Well for me, it would go way way back to what I said in my intro. Back when the only thing I knew about lasers was $1 red cat toy type pointers. Then I bought one of those AAA green laser pointers at one of those surf shops while on vacation that said 5mW. It was so bright and I thought that this must be what "real lasers" are.

So it would be fun to go back and see what 5mW really looks like.

That, and it makes it a much safer way to show off lasers and different colors to your friends and in public.

 

[hakzaw1]

My first 5 years here I only remember reading about overspec..they were desireable... One thing very different now-- more attention is made about overspec as being dangerous- I agree- and for sure a brief exposure is less harmful than one from more powerful laser..
My main issue is allowing the kiddos to 'play' with any laser including the very low power cat toy reds (which are almost never even 5 mW)--the thing is-- some many get the idea that other lasers are eye safe. --And that can have terrible outcomes if the laser is a 405nm-- even 1W does not look very bright unless it is hitting something day-glo or GITD... but put the dot on anything (even white) and it is easy to see how harmful it can be-- if black tape smokes instantly---what would the same exposure do to someones' eye. even .25 seconds could be very harmful.

A while back I shipped a JL to a great member-- we were PMing when he opened the box- he later PMed back about thanking me for the extra 'goodies' then he wrote that the batts in the blue--(Actually a 405) must be almost dead as the dot looked very weak- and said he gave it ot his kids to 'play' with--OMG...

So When you see 5mW--they are trying to avoid probs with the FDA-or eekbay or poopal which want nothing to do with overspec 5mW --- from time to time Ebay has pulled listings of portable lasers over 5mW--

Happened many times to AixiZ Laser--and some times they pulled laser listings for only parts.. like AixiZ Blank modules and even just a lens. Chuck waited a few days then relisted with no probs--Scamazon also pulled listings--wtf?

One thought was.. competitors were making complaints which they are obligated to act upon.
I have LPMed many pointers-- never saw one 405 that was 5mW.
Lowest may have been 40 mW and highest was near 100mW.

My take? Some of the blame must go to PP -ebah -Amazon and the FDA-- Very few buyers know of this- and buy what they think are eye-safe --and even give them to kids. AND when the pointers are safe- and kids get them, do NOT be surprized if the kids get the idea that all lasers are harmless.

Since thier invention man has had battery flashlights---and when the batts are getting low..we always bang the flashlight on our palms-- switch the light off and on THEN looking into the flashlight and try again.. it has become instinctive --

AND keep in mind that a 5mW laser will be much higher after our eyes own lens mulitplies that--and this is accumlative--repeat flashing even with a low power can have an effect over time. Even just 5 mW.
The sun cannot burn paper UNLESS it is magnified by a lens.
Same thing.

be safe

hak

 

[Alaskan]

I have several laser power meters, just saying, but I wouldn't believe any of them are accurate enough to really know the exact power output of any laser, I expect a few percent off one way or the other, more or less.