Questions about eye safety

[Capitol]

I have a 200mw 532 laser and have a few questions about eye safety.

1. Do I need safety glasses if Im using the laser outside during the day? Say if Im pointing out birds in the distance?

2. Is it ok to look at the beam, but not the dot indoors with out SG's?

3. Can I video the laser indoors and watch it on a tv without the SG's?

4. How about when I point the laser across the street and look at the dot on the side of the house??

5. On a hay ride at night shining the dot 15 yards away and having people follow it, so I can point out what I'm talking about. Are SG's needed?

I guess I'm looking for examples when I or others around me don't have to wear the SG's when I'm using a 200mw 532 laser.

Thanks everyone...

 

[NightExplorer96]

1) No you won't need SG's if you are using the laser to point at something in the distance. Be sure before hand that no living organism/vehicle can accidentally cross the lasers path though and the laser isn't able to reflect off of anything.

2) Yes, looking at the beam will be fine.

3) Technically yes, but I advise buying SG since a laser can easily reflect off anything shiny inside your house.

4) Don't point a laser at anyone's house. Not only is this a matter of respect but this can easily get you into some serious trouble (i.e neighbors thinking a gun is aimed at them).

Not sure about number 5 so I will let someone more "experienced" answer that one

-Alex

 

[NightExplorer96]

Only when pointing up in the night sky. Any other times and you are putting yourself and other people at risk. Also you must be mindful that depending where you live you could be fined up to $11,000 if you hit an aircraft or lase the flight path of a plane.

Pointing a high powered laser at anything can be dangerous and illegal. If you must use it to point things out make sure what you're pointing cannot reflect back at you or other people. With other people involved you shouldn't be using anything over 30mWs of green. Green lasers are very bright and the dot can be seen easily in day and night conditions. You dont need high powers to point stuff out.

I have to agree with Bubonic here. If you just need a laser to be able to point things out to others 50mW will do just fine, 200mW is simply over-kill and extremely dangerous.

Be aware, even 50mW may not seem like much, it can still easily cause damage to you/others. Be very cautious!

-Alex

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

#5 is okay as long as it doesn't hit anything reflective, which would include license plates, driveway
markers, road signs, and some types of house numbers. Anything like that I would give a good 100 yards.
I hit a driveway marker the other day at about 10yds with [REDACTED]mW in broad daylight and it left a
spot in my vision, so be careful. Keep an eye out for planes and anywhere people are likely to show up.

 

[hakzaw1]

;b Some things to keep in mind--

at night you cannot see for sure that there are no law enforcement around that can see the beam or spot- as 'technically' lasing in a 'public place' is not entirely legit
- and you would NEVER want to lase the home of others- or traffic signals- or vehicles of any kind- and it is true that now intentionally lasing aircraft is a Federal Offence- no longer 'just' a felony..

Get a 3$ green pointer for bird pointing or for star pointing too.
It will likely be closer to 70 mW than 5mW but less than your 200mW-
IF someone calls 911 on you, the police are kinda obligated to investigate-
& there are many who will assume the laser is attached to a weapon- so keep that all in mind--

btw using a laser for bird watching/pointing is a new one on me..hak

 

[Capitol]

Well, ok you got me. I was asking about eye safety and so I'm busted :wave:

I'm not using my laser to spot birds, but I'm using it to spot critters on the ground.

The truth, you can't handle the truth!

I just needed a laser to point out squirrels. It allows the camera man and shooter to communicate well.

Here is my laser doing exactly what I wanted/needed it to do.



And this is the laser in action. You wont see the laser. It's only used as a pointer. This video is graphic and may offend some people. If you dont want to watch squirrels fly (and I mean fly) then I recommend you not watch this.

 

[Pi R Squared]

Wow! You are quite the marksman. When the zombie apocalypse comes or the aliens invade I hope I have a few neighbors like you.

Alan