TOTAL noob to green lasers

[lasernub]

Hi there ,

My girlfriend bought me a <5mW Green laser pointer , now the model number is BTG-6PK (Basically it's just a BTG-6 , the PK is there because it was a gift pack , so it came with a charger, but the ACTUAL model of the laser is BTG-6)

Now this was bought from z-bolt(dot)com which i hear is not the best, but My girlfriend doesn't know any better.

So what I want to know is , these <5mW lasers are obvisouly not 5mW because of the < plus ive been readin up on it and it says their most likely in the vicinity of around 2 - 4 mW .

Is there a way of making this particular laser "perform" any better ? I want to be able to see the beam clearly , not burn things etc etc . All i want is to see the beam clearly.

Will that be possible with this laser ?

thanks in advance

 

[styropyro]

If it is an older laser you might be able to "pot mod" the laser for higher output for 10-20mW of power. It can be kinda risky, but most people do it with out any problems. There's a tutorial on how to pot mod a laser on this forum, I can't remember where though. If you just want to buy a cheap bright laser, you can get a 30mW green laser off of Dealextreme.com for $25, and yes, it is IR filtered!

 

[philguy]

Should you ever stumble across that "instructables" video telling you to "heat a component with a soldering iron", don't do it.

And yes, the 26$ 30mW DX greenie here is fully worth its price and totally recommendable, especially with free shipping.

 

[wooooooolazer]

And if you wanted to you could burn stuff with it, it will pop a baloon unaided and light a match with a lense, if you get a really good one you might be able to light it without a lens.



....lazer..... ;D ;D ;D