Overwhelming "5mW" Green Laser Pointer

[Alphonsus Dokuro]

Hi guys, Ive recently bought a $10 green laser pointer from a shop, and it was stated that it is <5mW. However, its beam can be seen clearly at night and faint ones can be seen even during daytime. I haven't tried popping balloons yet, but I have a strong feeling that this laser is far stronger than 5mW, probably 35mW instead.

Any advise? Cuz now I do not have any eye protection and I'm not sure whether it is dangerous to continue using this beast. More info about this laser pointer can be found on my YouTube channel.

Note: No mods were made to this laser.

 

[Fiddy]

get glasses and/or get it LPM'd if in doubt. ive had a laser marked as 0.95mW have a power output of ~70mW.

 

[Speedy78]

Typical cheap 532s are much more than the 5mW they advertise. They are usually not IR filtered either. My recomendation would be to stop using it indoors. You are still fine if you want to point out stars or something like that. Jyst dont be that guy and shine it at any aircraft/vehicles/people.

Edit: Depending on where you are located you may have someone close to you willing to test your laser.

 

[Trevor]

It's pretty tough to build a 532nm DPSS laser that outputs 5mW or less.

It's easy to to just shoot a ridiculous amount of IR through Nd:YVO4 and a doubler and get green, but it takes a lot more finesse to fine tune a 532nm system that will lase at really low power.

If you got it for $10 and it's green, chances are it's well over 5mW.

TL;DR: Goggles would be good.

Trevor