Need help with new laser

[bud]

Ok Hello eveyone. Hopefully I have this in the correct forum. I have been tempted on several occasions to buy a powerful laser for viewing, burning etc. but never did. So now for the slightly crazy part. I have one but don't know exactly what it is.

My brother was on a trip in China and went to some market on the advice of some colleauges and buys me a laser as a gift. So he brings it back to me and cannot tell me much anything about it. He said there they showed it to him and used it to burn white paper but he said it was very bright and he did not look at it. Smart, I'm thinking. So its in a box but who knows if it was switched or if it was the same unit etc. The box has specs on the back for 445nm and outputs of 1000, 10000, 12000, 16000 or 20000mw. None checked. All he could do was say I think they said it was that one and pointed to the 1000mw (doesnt' speak Chinese.) OK so maybe straight forward. But on the unit the sticker says 405mn +/-10 and <5W. So the laser does not apear to be what was on the box. The sticker was straight before I took off that end of the housing.

So it does fire up but I am afraid to do much with it as I assume this is a potentially dangerous instrument. So far with it unfocused from about 20 feet in daylight it makes a large purple violet 3 to 4 foot circle on grass. In the dark roughly focused, the beam is easily visible into the distance as a bright violet beam.

I do not have googles for it yet so have not tried burning anything yet. So I am looking for advice as to what it is. I figure 405nm based on the sticker and color of the beam. For the power I don't have a meter to test it. Based on the visibility I believe the 1 watt power but don't really know. I know this is limited information but first I would like to get some goggles. My vision is definitely important to me so I want to get something safe if possible. I suppose something to cover blue/violet, but don't know about the density. I have seen some covering 405 to 532 and IR as well. Seems like a good bet in case I ever get a green. Should I be looking for OD5? I could use a meter and measure the output current of the cells but I don't know the efficiency of the device. Also that would require shining it somewhere inside, but no goggles and don't know what it might burn.

Any thoughts or advise? Sorry for such a long (first) post.

Thanks in advance.

 

[NightExplorer96]

Use the search function, tons of threads on this before. Also, you can never determine power by a beam/dot.

-Alex

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

My first point of advice is not to use
those star caps. If it is that powerful,
there is a chance it could melt one and
make a mess of the optics inside. Some of
us can do power and wavelength testing.

http://laserpointerforums.com/f70/map-members-access-laser-power-meters-92373.html

For safety glasses, we usually recommend
these.

Eagle Pair® 190-540nm Slip Over Laser Safety Goggles
Eagle Pair® 190-540nm Standard Laser Safety Goggles

These also block IR, but at the cost of some
visibility. They are mostly for blue and green
DPSS lasers if you want to get into that.

Eagle Pair® 190-540nm & 800-1700nm OD5 Laser Safety Goggles
Eagle Pair® 190-540nm & 800-2000nm Laser Safety Goggles

 

[bud]

Thanks very much for the responses. I have read through threads on this forum and found them very helpful. I do not expect to determine the power from the beam but was trying to use thresholds for generalization of output power. IE beam easily visible in dark. I was more impressed with the large unfocused spot visible in daylight. I understand probably means nothing.

About the star caps I forgot to mention I put one on at first not knowing what I was doing and it projected tons of spots on the lawn for a few seconds. I won't fool with them anymore.

I checked out the link with the maps of users. Very generous and helpful, but I am in the New Orleans area and did not see any here.

I have looked at those goggles from survival from another thread and am definitely considering those. I know it may be hard to answer but generally how hard is it to see through them? My first instinct is to get the pair with OD5

Eagle Pair® 190-540nm & 800-1700nm OD5 Laser Safety Goggles

I figure I can always get a lower density pair later? Or is that overkill?

 

[Alaskan]

I would feel completely comfortable with OD5 myself, but as an added caution, even with the goggles on be careful not to get a direct hit or reflection into them. I realize this is a no brainer and from your posts, I doubt you would do that, worth a mention for others who are interested in the same thing though. Yes, the standard answer here for newbies with questions is to search the forum and I think I miff some of the more senior members off when I defend new comers for asking questions. When new, you don't even know the right questions to ask, much of the time.

 

[bud]

Thanks for the advice and putting with with a new comer. I ordered the OD5 goggles from survival

Eagle Pair® 190-540nm & 800-1700nm OD5 Laser Safety Goggles

and will test more when I get them.

I will still avoid direct beam and direct reflection even with the goggles. Hopefully I should feel more comfortable with beam spot and diffuse reflection with the googles. Is there any guage for how shiny something needs to be to worry about specular reflections with the goggles on?

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

Anything with a smooth surface like glass or
plastic, no matter what color it is.