most powerful for ~$35?

[Livinloud]

 

[BobDiaz]

Livinloud,

Thank you, I had a really long laugh over that video. :beer:

 

[BShanahan14rulz]

+1 Burninglaserguy, for helping a noob instead of berating them for not asking a question the way you wanted to read it. luckycharms, if someone rubs you the wrong way, the proper way to handle it on the internet is to ignore them. The specifications on that laser seem fine. Main concern is that sometimes it is hit or miss with chinese suppliers. rayfoss has been a supplier for a while, and many folks get stuff from them just fine, but it is still a good idea to research any particular item that you are buying online from anywhere.

You might skim through the B/S/T section too, perhaps someone will have a 532nm green laser that fits the bill. Keep in mind, many of our higher power lasers run on fancy rechargable lithium ion cells. You may want to make sure you get something for which you have batteries.

 

[ru124t]

I never had anything good to say so I said nothing! Good video though!

 

[Lotus_Darkrose]

Wow, people were pretty harsh in this thread. I'd understand if the question was about burning things, but the guy just wants the most visible pointing device for his unfortunately low budget.

Don't worry too much about it luckycharms. Just browse around and have a good time learning new information in some past threads. Visible and good divergence are my 2 big fascinations at the moment. Eventually your budget will become a little increased and you can start looking into even cooler colors.

For your budget though, it will be 532nm for visibility.

 

[Teej]

Wow, people were pretty harsh in this thread. I'd understand if the question was about burning things, but the guy just wants the most visible pointing device for his unfortunately low budget.

Don't worry too much about it luckycharms. Just browse around and have a good time learning new information in some past threads. Visible and good divergence are my 2 big fascinations at the moment. Eventually your budget will become a little increased and you can start looking into even cooler colors.

For your budget though, it will be 532nm for visibility.

532 nm is really close in color to leaves, the things he wants to be pointing out...I was thinking a different wavelength would make sense for leaves, especially as this is for daylight use (At Night, anything would work I would think)

 

[Lotus_Darkrose]

532 nm is really close in color to leaves, the things he wants to be pointing out...I was thinking a different wavelength would make sense for leaves, especially as this is for daylight use (At Night, anything would work I would think)

Yeah, but a moderately powered 635nm will most likely be out of his budget. Can't really consider 450nm in that price range either.

If 532nm won't work, then the only option for the budget would be a 200-300mW red.

 

[Teej]

Yeah, but a moderately powered 635nm will most likely be out of his budget. Can't really consider 450nm in that price range either.

If 532nm won't work, then the only option for the budget would be a 200-300mW red.

Red would be the most likely to be visible, but, again, the budget is going to be a limiting factor.

 

[luckycharms]

@BShanahan14rulz - you're right, my bad for not keeping better control.

I had the same concern about green lasers in the forests, but then I've heard of some ecologists using green lasers and it working out ok. So, it might be alright. I imagine a 300mW red laser would be dangerous for the eyes in any case?

 

[Lotus_Darkrose]

@BShanahan14rulz - you're right, my bad for not keeping better control.

I had the same concern about green lasers in the forests, but then I've heard of some ecologists using green lasers and it working out ok. So, it might be alright. I imagine a 300mW red laser would be dangerous for the eyes in any case?

You'd be the one in control of it, just make sure it doesn't get into any eyes. Since you'd be pointing it up in the canopy, it would be best to get a pointer type with a momentary switch. That way you can keep your finger off of the button until it's pointed upwards away from people.

They can be dangerous but you obviously have some common sense, so I'm sure you'll be able to keep it safe as long as you're in control

 

[luckycharms]

@Lotus_Darkrose - I won't always be the one in control of it. We have field assistants, tree climbers, etc, and things can get hectic. I wouldn't want something that would cause real damage with a brief flash. Not sure if retina damage varies much with the wavelength, but I assume a 300mW red would be much worse than a 30mW green (?).

I do agree about the momentary switch...

 

[Lotus_Darkrose]

@Lotus_Darkrose - I won't always be the one in control of it. We have field assistants, tree climbers, etc, and things can get hectic. I wouldn't want something that would cause real damage with a brief flash. Not sure if retina damage varies much with the wavelength, but I assume a 300mW red would be much worse than a 30mW green (?).

I do agree about the momentary switch...

Ah, gotcha. In that case you will need it limited to 5mW for liability purposes.

So your options would be 635nm or 532nm it seems.

 

[ChaosLord]

Yeah, the only laser for that price that will have high visibility would have to be 532nm. I've never been to an actual jungle, but even in midday, the canopy keeps the ground pretty dark right?

If so, and considering a small red pointer was visible, a >5mW 532nm should definitely work.

 

[Lotus_Darkrose]

For green:

https://www.optotronics.com/proddetail.php?prod=Opto5

For 635nm red, this is one suggestion:

Atlasnova Red 635nm Laser Pointer AAA All Black | eBay

 

[BobDiaz]

I decided to do some tests outside with both a 5mW 532nm and a 30mW 532nm. While it is possible to see a 5mW beam in full sunlight, it does NOT stand out. The 30mW did stand out a lot more and was a lot easier to spot.

Green (532nm) makes the most sense because per mW, it's the most visible light to the human. A red (635nm) will appear as about 1/8 the brightness to the human eye.

For safety, you are the only person to use the 30mW and have a second 5mW to hand to others. On the other hand, any person you hand the 30mW to must be fully trained as to what to do and what NOT to do.

 

[kilter]

100mw 635nm laser pointer from Sky-lasers (laserbtb) but it is $52... would that work? Because that is red and the company is reliable. It would be your best choice.
LP 638nm 660nm 5-130

Make sure that it is 635 and not 660