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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

New Zealand tightest Laser regulations in the world

Joined
Jul 15, 2008
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171
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yea i thought i was so cool on LPF because i lived in a country with no laser laws, felt like i was better than everyone in some way because of that, but since yesterday im in a country thats going downhill very fast with regards to lasers and now i know how everyone feels in the other countrys with strict laws.....:cryyy:

My next one will be from Jet Lasers, a 2W one, unless they have one more powerful. They are
of very good quality, a nice very heavy host, and have the ablity to run. off an AC power supply, so without battery and order the AC power supply, will look like it runs of the AC mains, and seems a laser running on AC power is still allowed, so guess you can get around it this way. But will wait to the commotion has died away.
 
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Joined
Nov 2, 2012
Messages
626
Points
43
Cant agree-
making a false claim or accusation would NOT only get you NO reward it is , in itself a crime.

A conviction would be highly unlikely and i imagine only reported lasings by the pilots would need to be done to get a conviction-- no conviction- no reward- like it or not its far better than doing nothing..
The lasing must be intentional if i read the law correctly--

Hunters routinely report poachers ..
its not all that different IMHO.

just 'wishing' they would stop poaching is NOT going to make them stop.

hak

Prove that the report was made maliciously though. Not so easy.

In any case the report will be investigated, which could lead to unnecessary hassle and harassment of an innocent person. I'm completely against that.

The constant lying on the part of the government and the utter contempt they have for the people just adds to the problem, "ZOMGZ BLINDING LAZERZ" is what people think when they see those videos, when the reality is that all the pilot sees is a distant beam and maybe a millisecond-duration flash if that beam passes across his eyes. It is virtually impossible to hold a laser on target on an aircraft unless you mount it on something like a camcorder tripod. Either that or the host is massive and you're bracing it on your shoulder or something, and at that point it's not just some idiot playing with a laser, it becomes a bona fide attack, with clear intent. Most of the so-called "attacks" fall squarely into the "idiots playing around" category; slap them with a $500 fine and leave it at that.

Most of the time the pilot isn't even flying the plane, he's just watching the instruments and making sure the flight management computer (autopilot) doesn't screw up. Even complicated go-around maneuvers can be programmed into the FMC and it will fly the whole thing on auto.

Make no mistake, lasing any sort of vehicle is stupid and wrong, but so are the blatant lies. Call me a conspiracy theorist but to me it's just one more aspect of the transition to dictatorship and the militarist/police state. It bothers me.

Actually, I think lasing cars is FAR worse than lasing planes, because cars are under direct human control, and the driver can react reflexively and crash into something, hurting themselves and quite possibly someone else. That is a much bigger problem, imho... but how often do you hear about cars getting lased? Not that often. Formulate an explanation as to why that is, especially considering that cars are orders of magnitude more common than aircraft. No, really, think on that for a minute.

Lasing light aircraft (no autopilot in most cases) is also worse than lasing a jetliner, but lasing a car is still worse. Yet it's always airliners, airliners, airliners. Because airline pilots are SPOILED ROTTEN BRATS who complain about ANYTHING no matter how minor; normal people just chalk up bad behavior to people being stupid, then they go on with their lives.

Lastly, airline pilots are trained to do EVERYTHING, from landing in crap weather and cross-winds to executing engine-out landings. If they can be trained to handle those things, they can SURELY be trained to ignore idiots with lasers. Think about it - they're flying big shiny flashy things, and everyone knows that nothing attracts idiots like big shiny flying flashy things. EXPECT IT and learn to deal, imho; it's the same concept behind why I ignore police cars and tailgaters when they get right behind me... my job is to DRIVE THE CAR and do it safely, no matter what, so that is what I do. If an imbecile like myself can learn that on my own, then airline pilots have no excuses.
 
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Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
10,662
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113
I kinda think unless there has been a report from a pilot any 'snitching' especially unfounded would be ignored & never investigated as there was no pilot report and thus the incident really did not happen or the pilot did not see the laser- no prosecutor wants to try an un-winnable case- and there can ONLY be a conviction if it was beyond all reasonable doubt-so-- no pilot report--- its the word of both sides= and a no win case.

From the LSO class we heard that pilots not longer have the option to NOT report seeing a laser--

Hard to say anyone is against intentional lasing aircraft if they are not in favor of some kind of fine and/or jail time.-- & how they get caught is secondary.

about lasing cars-trucks etc- I agree 100% -

hak
 
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Joined
Nov 2, 2012
Messages
626
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43
I would only support a jail sentence if the laser actually caused an accident/injury, or presented a significant risk (as contrasted with a remote risk), of the same. Otherwise, a 500 dollar fine would be more than enough. I don't know about you, but the thought of losing 500 bucks for doing something is enough to convince me that maybe I shouldn't do that. Maybe other people aren't so smart.

Throwing a person in the slammer for 5 years and generally ruining their life just for pointing a laser at plane is completely overboard; IMHO it's a violation of the 8th amendment because the punishment doesn't fit the reality of the crime.

Most (the vast majority) of these "laser attacks" fall into the category of presenting remote or minimal risk to the aircraft. The pilot sees a little beam of light and maybe a flash or two. Big frickin' deal. It would be totally different if they actually sustained an injury or crashed the plane, but how many planes have crashed due to the thousands of laser pointings? Right, none at all. Not a single one.

And if actual eye injuries were commonplace, there'd be a lot more hub-bub about that too. There isn't. It leads me to believe that those, too, are lies told to deceive the ignorant public. If somebody did injure a pilot (or passenger) by pointing a high-power laser at the plane, then yes, jail sentence, absolutely. But if not, then I can't justify that; a fine would be appropriate and I'd set the amount somewhere between 250 and 1000 dollars.

Keep in mind that if they "only get fined" they still have the conviction on their record and it likely would cause them trouble when job hunting, or if trying to obtain certain licenses and whatnot, especially if those require a background investigation.

Regarding pilots and reporting, if I were a private pilot and got lased I absolutely would NOT report the incident, regardless of the law, unless I sustained an injury, felt that it presented a clear danger to the safe operation of the plane. I'm not going to ruin a person's life simply for being an idiot; if they hurt me or come close to it then it's a different ballgame at that point. Airline pilots are bound by company policy of course, and that's fine, I get that. But I think their inherent tendency to complain about every little thing contributes greatly to the present and ongoing tightening of laser restrictions. In view of the reality of a "laser attack" I believe that most of it was unnecessary, and that the penalties and restrictions are far too harsh.

Again, my uncle was an airline pilot for United, flying either the 757 or 767 or maybe both. I forget if one has to be type-rated for each plane, or if they can fly either, under a general type rating for large twin-engine jets. Either way, he flew trans-continental a lot. He readily admits that pilots in general are snotty and tend to be complainers, and given his decades of experience I tend to believe him. He is also an ex-military pilot btw, flew the Huey helicopter in Vietnam, so there is that too.

I don't know what else to say about it so I'll drop the subject now; I respect your right to have and express your own opinion on the matter but we will simply have to disagree on some of the particulars. I think we DO agree that pointing a laser at non-consenting people, especially those in control of vehicles or machinery, is stupid and wrong. That is good enough for me. :beer:

eta: I consider myself a libertarian I guess; if people are to be punished then they should be punished according to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. They should not be punished on the basis of sensationalism, distortions, or bald-faced lies.
 
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Fiddy

0
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
2,726
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As an owner of Some high Powered lasers, New Zealand is on the growing list to regulate lasers, and now restricts the use to only 1 mw, which is far worse then anyone. Australia has tough laws, but you can get up to 5 mw, but in NZ it is ridiculous at 1 mw, cannot even use a laser at this power as a telescope laser finder.

Nope australia is 1mW
 
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kaunak

0
Joined
Mar 29, 2008
Messages
212
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18
Such laws are ridiculous and absolutely uncalled for. There is no reason why jail should even be an option for someone shining a laser pointer at an aircraft, unless it actually did cause a problem or harm the pilot. I'm not aware of any cases where either of those actually occurred. Of course a fine is reasonable, maybe somewhere around $250-500 at most. This just goes back to the general public and governments being stupid and ignorant about lasers(among other things) and allowing unreasonable laws and too much government control.

I remember laughing about this when I saw it. It's from the Egyptian protests last year and it shows the public shining lasers at the friendly military helicopters as they passed overhead.


s_y30_RTX117D7.jpg
 
Joined
May 25, 2013
Messages
534
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28
Yup theyre Pretty shocking them pictures ae, i had to copy and paste them all when i seen the page! has to be the worst I have seen yet,
This was my favourite one
s_e26_83488484.jpg
Almost looks like theres nothing in the sky just a chuck of light
 
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
464
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28
OK. I keep reading posts from the misinformed here and last night I wanted to settle it once and for all. Living in a rural area made this experiment a bit easier and safer than if yo live in a built up area. I took my 200mW 532nm for a little drive away from my buddies house, about 3 or 4km away. We kept in contact by mobile phone and when he was ready and safe I shone the 200mW of green back towards his house and asked what he saw. He said that on the wall of his house there was a green blob about 8 foot across and that when he took a sideways glance towards my position it was
VERY BRIGHT AND UNDOUBTABLY IT WOULD MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO SEE IF YOU WERE A PILOT.
Now in saying that it was difficult to hold a C6 pointer still enough from that distance on he side of a house without it drifting away, a mobile aircraft of some kind would be harder but there IS SIGNIFICANT RISK so those that say there isn't are fooling themselves. You have a greater chance of hitting a plane or helicopter with a laser than you would with a firearm of some sort and I guarantee if you get caught shooting at a plane whether you hit it or not you will be going to jail. Remember it is about the risk you pose, to late to lock someone up after the crash!
 
Joined
Nov 2, 2012
Messages
626
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43
I feel like you're addressing my posts specifically so here are some things to consider:

1) You're using 200mW and I presume a tight beam focus. Most of the 15-dollar ebay pens are under 100mW (and a fair amount under 50mW) and their focus is usually not the best.

2) You are intentionally holding the laser firmly on target, putting extra effort into doing so. Whereas, most of the idiots wave the thing around rather than maintaining a deliberate target lock.

3) Aircraft have instruments. Being instrument rated involves a test where the pilot flies 'blind' to the outside world, using only instruments. All airline flights are IFR flights so the pilot can land without looking out out the windscreen if need be. Pilot training can go a long way towards mitigating the problem, just as it does when landing in zero-visibility conditions (e.g. crappy weather).

4) Nobody said the laser wouldn't be highly visible, of course it would be. However it remains the case that the government's "evidence" in the form of this or that video is distorted, exaggerated, and/or fabricated, and that the videos in question were shot in simulators and not in flight or even aboard real aircraft.

5) I've said more than once that it's wrong to point a laser at non-consenting persons, and that violators should receive some sort of sanction for that. I simply would prefer that the sanctions, and the degree thereof, are based on true and actual evidence, rather than lies, distortions, sensationalism, and/or propaganda.

6) Not one single plane has ever crashed or had an accident due to a "laser attack". Not a single one. The magnitude of the problem is being distorted and such distortion is wrong in itself, regardless of the situation or reason.

That's all I'm saying. Don't point lasers at aircraft. Have a good day.
 
Joined
May 25, 2013
Messages
534
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28
when they do those "reinactments" or fake videos we have to remember that a camera wil take in the light alot better than our eyes percieve sometime , so showing the world a video of the "nasty green lasers" as they put them would make everyone think there a bit brighter than if they saw them in person, and even worse when we go to the blueys n reds, theyr less visable to our eyes but theyre very bright on alot of cameras,(depending on settings etc), but in saying this its still very bright when pointing at any being with eyes! and it should not be done for any reason
 

Rabbit

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Joined
Jul 6, 2014
Messages
2
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Hi, I just joined this forum. I am in New Zealand and am thinking about getting a 2 to 3 watt RGB laser for programming graphics and beam effects - most likely using Pangolin. I am confused by the New Zealand regulations about importing over 1 mW. Is this only for laser pointers? Does that include more powerful class 3 or 4 lasers that are for entertainment purposes, clearly plugged in to the mains power and not going to be pointed at the sky?
 
Joined
May 25, 2013
Messages
534
Points
28
Hi, I just joined this forum. I am in New Zealand and am thinking about getting a 2 to 3 watt RGB laser for programming graphics and beam effects - most likely using Pangolin. I am confused by the New Zealand regulations about importing over 1 mW. Is this only for laser pointers? Does that include more powerful class 3 or 4 lasers that are for entertainment purposes, clearly plugged in to the mains power and not going to be pointed at the sky?
Welcome Rabbit! dont forget to post in the welcome area and introduce yourself also, so in short the NZ regulations are just focussed on handhelds over 1mW heres a link High-power laser pointers | Ministry of Health NZ
gun mounted lasers, RGB projectors and many other lasers are still allowed to be imported, sold or aquired without any trouble, have a good read on the page i linked just to get a good solid understanding

May i Ask where abouts in NZ you are from?
 

Rabbit

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Joined
Jul 6, 2014
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Thanks RYDorDIE278,

I thought it just meant pointers. But I got worried as it seemed to be about lasers being pointed at eyeballs, particularly pilots and drivers - but I thought it might be one of those regulations where every laser gets caught up in it. I was wondering what are the laws and safety regulations for operating an RGB Laser Projector in New Zealand. If they are concerned about the pilots are they concerned about RGB Laser projectors pointing at crowds? crowd scanning?

I am such a noob when it comes to forums. I am in Nelson.
 
Joined
May 7, 2014
Messages
21
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NZ sucks for many laws. It surprises me that they are actually ranked pretty high in terms of economic freedom when the rights of people are so limited.:wtf:
 




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