So i'm interested in getting a 5-10mw laser in both the 589nm (yellow/amber) and 437nm (light blue) varieties.
They would both be used to run my little lumia wheel show at home, which I am currently running with ~7mw green. Since the yellow and blue lasers have a similar brightness to the green, I'm sure they would behave similarly with the same mw range.
Since I need the laser to have a 100% duty cycle, that points to getting a lab laser - but at the same time, that seems way overkill if I'm looking for less than 10mw (the green I have is a labbie, but in green it's cheap).
So I could get 5mw pens in those colors (and cross my fingers they are a bit overspec) and "tape down" the on switch, but then pens aren't supposed to be run at 100% duty cycle and I don't want to fry a couple of expensive pens!
I'm also on the fence as it's nice to be able to plug in the labbie and not worry about always changing batteries... but again, lab lasers in these colors will be expensive... and big. Dealing with the circuit board is a pain and there is no easy way to "aim" that big hunk of metal - the pen can be placed inside a cheap, adjustable holder or tripod.
As you can see, there are pros and cons to both with and I see no clear answer. Any suggestions?
They would both be used to run my little lumia wheel show at home, which I am currently running with ~7mw green. Since the yellow and blue lasers have a similar brightness to the green, I'm sure they would behave similarly with the same mw range.
Since I need the laser to have a 100% duty cycle, that points to getting a lab laser - but at the same time, that seems way overkill if I'm looking for less than 10mw (the green I have is a labbie, but in green it's cheap).
So I could get 5mw pens in those colors (and cross my fingers they are a bit overspec) and "tape down" the on switch, but then pens aren't supposed to be run at 100% duty cycle and I don't want to fry a couple of expensive pens!
I'm also on the fence as it's nice to be able to plug in the labbie and not worry about always changing batteries... but again, lab lasers in these colors will be expensive... and big. Dealing with the circuit board is a pain and there is no easy way to "aim" that big hunk of metal - the pen can be placed inside a cheap, adjustable holder or tripod.
As you can see, there are pros and cons to both with and I see no clear answer. Any suggestions?