A few weeks ago I bought my first laser pointer. I wasn't actually searching for one, I was surfing on eBay when I came across a green laserpointer from a UK eBay shop called Island Online. I never heard of a green laser pointer before (only knew the keychain red ones), so I was intrigued by its specifications and decided to get a 10mW specimen for 11 GBP. With shipping to the Netherlands it cost me 16 GBP total, that's a little over 20 EUR. Shipment took about a week.
After I got the laser and tried it at night, I was surprised I could indeed see the beam and the spot was visible on objects quite far away. I searched the web for more info regarding laser pointers, and now I know a lot more then I did before. Thanks to wikipedia and some other sites, but mainly because of this forum. So for instance now I know the lasers you buy off eBay, the so called "eBaysers" are often of dubious quality and most importantly are likely to lack an IR filter.
Still I thought it would be nice to share my experience with this laser. I'm in the market for a premium brand one now, and I think I will take my ebayser apart to study/mess with the components as soon as I have my new one.
Specs according to the eBay advertisement
Functions: Entertainment, illumination, indicating, collimating, sky pointing and laser detection
Quick convenient push button switch
Output power: Max 10.0mw
Output Wavelength: 532 nm
Working Voltage: Max 3.0V
Working Current: 250mA
Working Temperature: +5°C to +40°C
Storage Temperature: +5°C to +50°C
Distance Range: up to 1500 m
Powered by 2 x AAA Alkaline Batteries (not included)
The batteries actually were included. Brand-X batteries which I immediately replaced with Duracell alkaline ones I had laying around.
Experience
Despite the fact this laser probably lacks an IR filter which is a safety issue, I must say it performs rather well. But I'm a newbie when it comes to lasers, so I'm not sure if I'm judging it right. The only thing that annoys me is that when the laser is cold it will switch from TEM00 to TEM01 (showing double spot) after a second. If you operate the laser for like a minute or so, release the power button and press it again, the laser will stay at TEM00 until it cools off again. The spot is very bright at TEM00 mode and the beam is visible with low ambient lighting and of course in darkness. The range is indeed more then 1km, I can see the spot on objects of which I know that they are more then 1km away. I also notice some close range scattering when I operate the laser for a while. Not sure if that's normal, it does not bother me much. Somehow I have the feeling this scattering is not something you would see on a premium laser pointer. I tried to light matches with it despite I knew the laser is not powerful enough for this, and indeed: no burning matches. :
Photos
[edit: photos added]
After I got the laser and tried it at night, I was surprised I could indeed see the beam and the spot was visible on objects quite far away. I searched the web for more info regarding laser pointers, and now I know a lot more then I did before. Thanks to wikipedia and some other sites, but mainly because of this forum. So for instance now I know the lasers you buy off eBay, the so called "eBaysers" are often of dubious quality and most importantly are likely to lack an IR filter.
Still I thought it would be nice to share my experience with this laser. I'm in the market for a premium brand one now, and I think I will take my ebayser apart to study/mess with the components as soon as I have my new one.
Specs according to the eBay advertisement
Functions: Entertainment, illumination, indicating, collimating, sky pointing and laser detection
Quick convenient push button switch
Output power: Max 10.0mw
Output Wavelength: 532 nm
Working Voltage: Max 3.0V
Working Current: 250mA
Working Temperature: +5°C to +40°C
Storage Temperature: +5°C to +50°C
Distance Range: up to 1500 m
Powered by 2 x AAA Alkaline Batteries (not included)
The batteries actually were included. Brand-X batteries which I immediately replaced with Duracell alkaline ones I had laying around.
Experience
Despite the fact this laser probably lacks an IR filter which is a safety issue, I must say it performs rather well. But I'm a newbie when it comes to lasers, so I'm not sure if I'm judging it right. The only thing that annoys me is that when the laser is cold it will switch from TEM00 to TEM01 (showing double spot) after a second. If you operate the laser for like a minute or so, release the power button and press it again, the laser will stay at TEM00 until it cools off again. The spot is very bright at TEM00 mode and the beam is visible with low ambient lighting and of course in darkness. The range is indeed more then 1km, I can see the spot on objects of which I know that they are more then 1km away. I also notice some close range scattering when I operate the laser for a while. Not sure if that's normal, it does not bother me much. Somehow I have the feeling this scattering is not something you would see on a premium laser pointer. I tried to light matches with it despite I knew the laser is not powerful enough for this, and indeed: no burning matches. :
Photos
[edit: photos added]
