True DX30 and DIY Red - How dangerous?

[kake]

Im waiting for a DX30, and i will also make myself a red laser (from a 16x sony diode )
But HOW dangerous is this? I know i should never point it at someone, and if i get it in my eyes etc they WILL do damage - but can i point the True DX30 at my not-glossy (what is the word for that again?) wall, and look directly at the dot on the wall, without risking something? And what about the DIY-red?
And what will happen if the True DX30 strafed someone's eye? I mean, like just sweeped over fast? Will that do any (permanent) damage?

 

[Chris.]

If you search around I did some maths on another post.
A DX 30 in the eye @ 5mm^2 dot size is the same as standing 10m from a 240,000W bulb.. (If the bulb were a perfect point source)

Realistically you should be ok aslong as it's not a 'direct hit'.
The DVD LD laser however will deffinitley cause permanent eye-damage.

 

[wooooooolazer]

It will be fine to look at the dot on a wall, it might be uncomfortable its just like looking at a lightbulb and it might leave a spot in your vision just like looking at a light bulb but it will go away and be fine. The diy red wont hurt to look at on a wall, its just a bright red but not uncomfortable. Even a fast sweep across the eye with a dx30 and it will blind you, it will do serious damadge before your blink reflex clicks in. So no matter how fast you will almost ceartin still recieve eye damadge, hopefully only temporarly but unfortuanatly it will most likely be permanant.

(kinda offtopic but) Does anyone know if a true dx5 would cause damadge since it usualy puts out about 10mw and somone was able to pop a baloon by using a lens with it?


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

 

[MarioMaster]

i have an on-spec 35mw executive and while the dot can be very bright, looking at it on walls and non specular surfaces is fine, it's only when doing burning or on shiny surfaces that reflections can become dangerous, but the DIY reds go into much higher powers so if you don't already have goggles i'd recommend getting some

 

[Chris.]

Probably, at close-range anyway.
I think 5mW is the threshold for medically safe exposure for a spilt second..

 

[kake]

I probably will try burning things with the DX30 and a magnifying glass - So i should use a camera or glasses? And i should also get glasses for DIY red, for using when lightning matches and burning things? How much will those glasses cost? Can i buy one kind of glasses, and use this on both lasers? How dangerous can it be to light matches, pop balloons and melt plastic with the red, without glasses? And how dangerous can trying to burn things with DX30 green with magnifying glass without glasses be?

 

[wooooooolazer]

you can use a camera or glasses, cameras are hard tho becuase you have to use one hand to hold in front of your face. I would recomend you get glasses for diy red but you dont need them when lighting matches but popping ballons can be dangerous, baloons tend to have a shiney surface. Glasses are usualy about $40 each. They do have ones you could use for both lasers but they would be really expensive and likely custom made. Again its not dangerous to light matches melt plastic unless it reflects in your eye like the melted plastic can tend to become shiny same as baloon. The dx30 would be about the same as the diy cept it would be harder to look at because ist brighter.

I answered them all in the order you asked ;D

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

 

[MarioMaster]

I probably will try burning things with the DX30 and a magnifying glass - So i should use a camera or glasses? And i should also get glasses for DIY red, for using when lightning matches and burning things? How much will those glasses cost? Can i buy one kind of glasses, and use this on both lasers? How dangerous can it be to light matches, pop balloons and melt plastic with the red, without glasses? And how dangerous can trying to burn things with DX30 green with magnifying glass without glasses be?

yes, yes, $40 each + shipping from WL, no, and the 30mw isn't very dangerous but the red can be very harmful even with a stray reflection.

http://www.wickedlasers.com/Goggles-16-1.html

 

[wooooooolazer]

..Yes the 30mw is very dangerous.. your blink reflexs wont work fast enuf to block the light, you will suffer permanant damadge before you can even blink your eye. It is still dangerous..

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

 

[kake]

wooooooolazer: *Giving cake* So im not going to get any glasses (expensive, yes i KNOW 40$ is cheap for saving your eyes, but i am gonna turn my head around/use cellphone camera when melting plastic/popping balloons)

MarioMaster: I heard WL is bad. Or is that just their lasers?

Anyway, what effect would the DX30 have if the reflection from
a) A shiny guitar
b) A normal glass
c) A window
d) A normal white glossy bowl
quickly stroke my eye?

 

[Chris.]

wooooooolazer: *Giving cake* So im not going to get any glasses (expensive, yes i KNOW 40$ is cheap for saving your eyes, but i am gonna turn my head around/use cellphone camera when melting plastic/popping balloons)

MarioMaster: I heard WL is bad. Or is that just their lasers?

Anyway, what effect would the DX30 have if the reflection from
a) A shiny guitar
b) A normal glass
c) A window
d) A normal white glossy bowl
quickly stroke my eye?

Spectral reflections are far less dangerous than a direct hit, don't worry too much.
I'd give the shiny guitar a miss though.
Glass will be fine, mostly transmitted.
A window = glass?
Glossy bowl would also reflect most of it, hence dangerous.

 

[wooooooolazer]

wooooooolazer: *Giving cake* So im not going to get any glasses (expensive, yes i KNOW 40$ is cheap for saving your eyes, but i am gonna turn my head around/use cellphone camera when melting plastic/popping balloons)

MarioMaster: I heard WL is bad. Or is that just their lasers?

Anyway, what effect would the DX30 have if the reflection from
a) A shiny guitar
b) A normal glass
c) A window
d) A normal white glossy bowl
quickly stroke my eye?

Do not get anything from wickedlasers but their goggles, their lasers are very bad, but there goggles are good goggles and there about the only place to get goggles for reds.
a) probably okay because the reflection would not be perfect it would be spread out.
b) glass is a better reflecter but it looses about 3/4 of its power from it going thru so the reflection would be about 7mw and you might be okay (might) if it sweeped past very quickly.
c) a window would be the same as above
d) Might be okay depends on how shiny it is, it shouldnt be a very good mirror so it shouldnt reflect a dot and just a blob so the power would be dispered and you should be okay.
e) Yes you will be blined from that almost no doubt be extremely careful to keep the apertuare away from eye at all time, always treat the laser like it is on so even if your not pressing the swithc make sure it is not pointing at your eye because all it takes is something to hit the button.


[tt]...lazer... ;D ;D ;D[/tt]

 

[MarioMaster]

MarioMaster: I heard WL is bad. Or is that just their lasers?

WL is one of the few sources of good quality laser goggles around, but you are correct about their lasers.

..Yes the 30mw is very dangerous.. your blink reflexs wont work fast enuf to block the light, you will suffer permanant damadge before you can even blink your eye. It is still dangerous..

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

that's from a direct hit though. i've gotten some bad reflections in my eyes a few times from my 35mw and the worst caused only a temporary afterimage - similar to looking at a lightbulb or camera flash

 

[kake]

I saw a post about using 3d glasses for protection - is that something i should do, just in addition to the other things? I mean, if i get a bad reflection at me in a accident - will it help using the 3d glasses at all? If it works a little at all, i know i should never use this as a replacement of real goggles - but it cant be bad adding it, right?

 

[kake]

Got my laser today (ordered it 6. desember), and it is soo cool! It popped a marked balloon easy.

 

[a_pyro_is]

I saw a post about using 3d glasses for protection - is that something i should do, just in addition to the other things? I mean, if i get a bad reflection at me in a accident - will it help using the 3d glasses at all? If it works a little at all, i know i should never use this as a replacement of real goggles - but it cant be bad adding it, right?

It can be bad! VERY BAD! Just because a little less light seemed to make it through the thin film of plastic doesn't mean that it would protect your eyes. You also have to be aware of the VLT, if too little light gets past, your pupils dilate letting even more of the light in. And what's that burning smell? oh, don't worry about that, it's just my retina.

Don't read any other threads until you've finished these:
http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1184904347
http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1196383728
http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1186280644

If you have any questions about this, ask them before touching your lasers again.
I'm sorry if I seem to be coming down on you really hard, but I cannot stress enough the importance of proper eyewear.
That said, they are your eyes to do with as you please. Just remember, if you can't see, you can't post.