Question about power

[jidery]

Hey guys, I have done a LOT of reading on here because I want to move up from my collection of 5mw lasers. I want to up the power and get some visible beams for better star pointing.

I am currently looking at buying a Green Lazerer pointer. but I can't decide on what power level I would like. I am split between 50mw and 100mw. I want a visible beam, one that I can show off to my friends. I do a lot of camping so it will primarily be used to point at the sky, but pointing to far off objects will be done too.

So my questions are,

-how required are laser shades at 50mw vs 100mw.
-can either power range safely be used indoors with out shades
-Is the beam on the 100mw much better than 50mw? (I want to WOW my friends).


Thanks guys!

 

[Laser Smith]

To your first question, COMPLETELY. If you love lasers over 5mw, and love your eyeballs, goggles should be your first purchase. https://sites.google.com/site/dtrlpf/home/laser-safety

To your 2nd, not a good idea. The only time you're really ok to use a laser over 5mw without shades is when you're outside pointing it into the sky (just watch out for planes and such).

And the 3rd, both have pretty visible beams, of course the 100mw will be more visible but you probably wouldn't notice the difference unless you had them side by side.

Where are my manners..
Welcome to the forum! Check this out, it'll probably help you make friends here http://laserpointerforums.com/f37/lpf-search-introduction-tips-75992.html

 

[Atomicrox]

Honestly? unless you spend 200 usd on goggles that protect both from green and IR (808nm and 1064nm) I don't think you'll be safer by using goggles at all. They'll block the visible light and you'll get a false impression of safety while the invisible high-power IR is sill hitting your eyes, and that'll make you more likely to do something stupid such as pointing at a mirror or looking at the dot from a very close distance.

It's like having sunshades that don't block UV.

I don't have goggles for my greenies at all but I don't use them for burning and avoid looking at the dot from close distances (50cm should be fine on matte surfaces) and shining them on anything that could reflect specularly. 50-100mW is way too little to cause damage by diffuse reflection but beware of the IR - if buying from Lazerer be sure to get the power certificate so you know exactly how much IR is leaking.

 

[jaredman384]

I bought a Lazerer 50mw this month and i have 1mw,but i have seen up to 30mw on a 100mw laser.

 

[Quetzal]

Jared, I suspect you are referring to how many mW are green light and how many are IR. However, a little more clarity would be greatly appreciated.