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Miksumike

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2018
Messages
6
Points
1
So I've wanted Laser pointer for a looong time. Friend brought one to school and I fell in love with them once again.
I was wondering where should I order one for "toy" purposes. I know it's not a toy but mess about at dark, see how far it goes, all that stuff.
I was too impatient and ordered one form LaserpointerPro.com That laser felt more like very bright flash light, least it had that flash light effect when pointer to a wall far away (Became less accurate and bigger)

Andaa yea. Just looking for some help from "veterans" :)
 





Joined
Sep 4, 2018
Messages
562
Points
63
Hi - I'm not a "veteran" but can try to help anyway. It would be helpful if you let us know your rough location as laws on buying/building/using lasers differ from place to place.

LaserPointerPro is a pretty unscrupulous website who have a reputation round here for taking cheaply mass-produced lasers and marking them up a lot in price - so it's quite likely you were ripped off. Sorry that you found out after - but I'd really say don't order from them in the future.

Onto your laser itself - You're right it's not a toy - If the laser you bought is any more powerful than 1mw (which it will be - LPP don't sell much at low powers) you will want to get yourself a pair of appropriate goggles and be very aware of safety. Reading the sticky threads on Laser Safety will be your best starting point with this.

Safety aside, if you're looking for a cheap laser that'll be visible for a long distance etc - you are best served by inexpensive lasers from Ebay, Banggood etc. Specifically look for 532nm Green lasers as this is the most visible colour per mW of power. i.e. a 50mW green laser will appear much brighter than a 50mW blue. LaserPointerPro generally underdelivers on power - i.e. totally ignore the number they strap onto their listings.

Could you tell us what you actually purchased? From what you've described it sounds like the beam is focused to a point - this is useful for burning objects nearby as the energy is concentrated - but this will not throw a beam very far as it rapidly spreads out afterwards.
 

Miksumike

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2018
Messages
6
Points
1

Miksumike

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2018
Messages
6
Points
1
Hi - I'm not a "veteran" but can try to help anyway. It would be helpful if you let us know your rough location as laws on buying/building/using lasers differ from place to place.

LaserPointerPro is a pretty unscrupulous website who have a reputation round here for taking cheaply mass-produced lasers and marking them up a lot in price - so it's quite likely you were ripped off. Sorry that you found out after - but I'd really say don't order from them in the future.

Onto your laser itself - You're right it's not a toy - If the laser you bought is any more powerful than 1mw (which it will be - LPP don't sell much at low powers) you will want to get yourself a pair of appropriate goggles and be very aware of safety. Reading the sticky threads on Laser Safety will be your best starting point with this.

Safety aside, if you're looking for a cheap laser that'll be visible for a long distance etc - you are best served by inexpensive lasers from Ebay, Banggood etc. Specifically look for 532nm Green lasers as this is the most visible colour per mW of power. i.e. a 50mW green laser will appear much brighter than a 50mW blue. LaserPointerPro generally underdelivers on power - i.e. totally ignore the number they strap onto their listings.

Could you tell us what you actually purchased? From what you've described it sounds like the beam is focused to a point - this is useful for burning objects nearby as the energy is concentrated - but this will not throw a beam very far as it rapidly spreads out afterwards.
"5 in 1 100mW 532nm Green Laser Pointer Pen Black" That's what the product was called that I ordered. Got cheap feeling not so bright Laser that doesn't go far aaand not gonna order from there
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2018
Messages
562
Points
63
Could have been ripped off worse I suppose but it's still not great. Have you got the right cap on? that one has different end-caps that will give a different effect (they're basically fancy diffraction gratings). Try each of the caps that's in the package to see if that makes the beam a single spot instead of multiple...

Edit: Alex is right - take the cap off and it should be a traditional spot :)
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jun 6, 2014
Messages
435
Points
43
If it has a cap on it take it off then it will be a traditional laser with a focused down spot.
 
Joined
Sep 20, 2013
Messages
17,252
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These are likely the #303 lasers that can be had on eBay for $5.00 or less. They tend to run anywhere from 50 mW to 90 mW, but most of mine, in the 532nm wavelength are ~80 mW. If you are interested in a green laser, you can buy several of these and will end up with some in the higher power range.
 

Miksumike

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2018
Messages
6
Points
1
Could have been ripped off worse I suppose but it's still not great. Have you got the right cap on? that one has different end-caps that will give a different effect (they're basically fancy diffraction gratings). Try each of the caps that's in the package to see if that makes the beam a single spot instead of multiple...

Edit: Alex is right - take the cap off and it should be a traditional spot :)
I personally didn't see difference between cap and no cap. Also. Caps i got were like different shapes but no sharpening one
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2018
Messages
562
Points
63
Caps i got were like different shapes but no sharpening one
So there's probably something up with the collimating lens, sounds like the focal length is off.

Firstly, can you take some photos of the end of it? The laser you bought is a DPSS type laser - so an infra-red laser diode pumps a pair of crystals that change the light into the green wavelength you're seeing. Unfortunately as DPSS lasers are more complicated in architecture - if something is wrong with the crystals or their alignment, it is much harder to sort out than a direct-diode laser. I'm hoping that it's simply a badly focused front lens which needs adjusting. Failing that, you can try to get a refund from LPP but it's unlikely as they're shit-peddlers in my opinion...
 

Miksumike

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2018
Messages
6
Points
1
So there's probably something up with the collimating lens, sounds like the focal length is off.

Firstly, can you take some photos of the end of it? The laser you bought is a DPSS type laser - so an infra-red laser diode pumps a pair of crystals that change the light into the green wavelength you're seeing. Unfortunately as DPSS lasers are more complicated in architecture - if something is wrong with the crystals or their alignment, it is much harder to sort out than a direct-diode laser. I'm hoping that it's simply a badly focused front lens which needs adjusting. Failing that, you can try to get a refund from LPP but it's unlikely as they're shit-peddlers in my opinion...
Files seem to be too big
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2018
Messages
562
Points
63
Files seem to be too big
Then make them smaller? Literally any image editing software ever, scale them down to 1/10th the size and upload them. Not hard...

Sorry i'm not more patient but I'm honestly not going to spend more time helping you if you give up that easily...
 




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