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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Yo

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Apr 20, 2015
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Hi LPF, i know ive made a couple posts here without introducing myself, but here i go.

My experience with lasers is relatively minimal. My first laser/s were always the $1 ones you get from flea markets and everything. Always great fun for a week or so until they break.

when i was about 8, and my brother 11, my dad gave us this glass tube gas laser, which we all believed was helium and something. It produced a very pink red. We were always afraid to look at the tube itself while it was running for fear of either eye damage or other sorts of radiation. Dont know if this is a legitimate fear or not.

Just judging from the dot brightness, id say it was between 5-15mw.

when i was 12 my brother and i bought green pointers on ebay for 10 bucks a pop, i actually still have the module from mine, but i think i blew it up from shorting it or something. Rated 5mw. I got mine to sting me ONCE through using a 35mm camera lens, so i think it was 300% overspec or something? It had a pretty bright beam in the dark.

My brothers worked for a while, then he dropped it and it stopped working so much, it only put out a red light, which we both looked at trying to determine what it was. stupid stupid stupid. Up until about 2 months ago i had no idea how the 532s worked. Dont worry, as far as we know, no damage was done. His was very underspec.

Then to top it off, just this past april, i purchased a ""cheap"" chinese laser. Great. Even though ive read you cant judge a laser based on what it does, from what ive seen others do, both focused and unfocused, id say its around 50mw. (supposed to be 200)

I recently purchased a laserbtb hl 532, 300mw.


As far as my background goes, if youre even still reading, i was raised around machinery and computers. Both my brother and dad are extremely good with electronics, and both write software. Although im going to be taking a couple programming courses soon, electronics are still a little beyond me. Like yeah, i know what components do and whatnot but eh.

I also have a fairly good understanding of how software works.

Im more of a computer person. You got a problem with yours, i can help. anything can be wrong with it and i can probably fix it.

Im also in to n64 games, specifically banjo-kazooie, and i test and assist with an editor for the game. I think the funnest part of the whole thing was working with the owner of the project to reverse engineer the animation files for the game.

If youre still reading, good for you.

Im a "if it breaks, dont buy another one, fix it" and a "work with what you have" person.

I have a very logical and engineering geared brain, though i dont always make the best decisions.

I really enjoy CAD, and am a certified solidworks professional. Im also in to nuclear engineering, so if you have questions about radiation, the effects of it, what it can be used for, etc, or anything regarding weaponry or power plants, im right here.

Oh yeah, and just a little bonus if youve made it this far, about two years ago, my uncle was contacted to make a system that used some 40W laser, not sure what type it was, sorry. It was infrared and the output was through a piece of fiber. Its purpose was dental work. My uncle designed a variable power controller and the cooling system for it.

The one time i saw it run, it cut the fingers clean off of a welding glove that was waved in front of it. It was the craziest thing ive ever seen. It was just that intense.

That is all.

You guys seem like really nice and knowledgeable people so im glad to be here.
 





gozert

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Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Messages
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Thanks for introducing yourself. Definitely one of the better intro's that I've seen so far. Those 5mW rated pointers tend to be way overspec, some have even had them output nearly 50mW. They do usually leak a ton of IR though, so even though it may seem less bright than an IR filtered 50mW, it still does the same damage.

I'm really into computers too, I usually get asked by family members and friends to fix their PC's for them. Recently I got a nice new graphics card for my own PC. A GTX Titan X. You probably which one that is.

The laserBTB 532nm you got is a good choice. You should however buy a pair of safety goggles for them if you haven't done so yet. I, and many others on LPF recommend these: Eagle Pair® 190-540nm Standard Laser Safety Goggles (regular model)
And if you're wearing glasses, you should probably get these: Eagle Pair® 190-540nm Slip Over Laser Safety Goggles (slip over model)

Oh and btw, the "If youre still reading, good for you." part was pretty funny :crackup:
 
Joined
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Messages
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Thanks for the warm welcomes!

Thanks for introducing yourself. Definitely one of the better intro's that I've seen so far. Those 5mW rated pointers tend to be way overspec, some have even had them output nearly 50mW. They do usually leak a ton of IR though, so even though it may seem less bright than an IR filtered 50mW, it still does the same damage.

I'm really into computers too, I usually get asked by family members and friends to fix their PC's for them. Recently I got a nice new graphics card for my own PC. A GTX Titan X. You probably which one that is.

The laserBTB 532nm you got is a good choice. You should however buy a pair of safety goggles for them if you haven't done so yet. I, and many others on LPF recommend these: Eagle Pair® 190-540nm Standard Laser Safety Goggles (regular model)
And if you're wearing glasses, you should probably get these: Eagle Pair® 190-540nm Slip Over Laser Safety Goggles (slip over model)

Oh and btw, the "If youre still reading, good for you." part was pretty funny :crackup:


Yes, i do. I have a 7970ghz edition and a 280x in crossfire :p

As far as goggles, i dont have a pair YET.

AFAIK, the green laser i have now is not harmful to your eyes if youre just looking at the dot >15 feet away, but you never know until its too late.

At the moment, ive been using a pair of homemade anaglyph glasses glasses, red/blue (not cyan). The plastic i used transmits probably around 30% red and maybe 50% blue. So far they have been perfect for using with the laser as the blue side is light enough to see smoke, but the red side can really show you how fine the point on the laser is.

I know you only get one set of eyes, but are those glasses really worth 41 dollars for a pair of glasses thats RIGHT on the edge of 532nm?

Can you recommend a pair that blocks 532 AND 1064 or IR in general? In case youre wondering, i didnt chose to have an IR filter installed.

I figured for handheld and burning use, the IR wont be an issue, and when its going to be something that i look at, i think i have some IR filters laying around from some engineering projects i could just stick in front of it.
 
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gozert

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Thanks for the warm welcomes!




Yes, i do. I have a 7970ghz edition and a 280x in crossfire :p

As far as goggles, i dont have a pair YET.

AFAIK, the green laser i have now is not harmful to your eyes if youre just looking at the dot >15 feet away, but you never know until its too late.

At the moment, ive been using a pair of homemade anaglyph glasses glasses, red/blue (not cyan). The plastic i used transmits probably around 30% red and maybe 50% blue. So far they have been perfect for using with the laser as the blue side is light enough to see smoke, but the red side can really show you how fine the point on the laser is.

I know you only get one set of eyes, but are those glasses really worth 41 dollars for a pair of glasses thats RIGHT on the edge of 532nm?

Can you recommend a pair that blocks 532 AND 1064 or IR in general? In case youre wondering, i didnt chose to have an IR filter installed.

I figured for handheld and burning use, the IR wont be an issue, and when its going to be something that i look at, i think i have some IR filters laying around from some engineering projects i could just stick in front of it.

It's not too smart to not have an IR filter installed on your laser. I get your decision though. You probably thought, the less IR it blocks, the better it burns. That's true. You're going to have to buy an expensive pair of goggles though. Eagle Pair® 190-540nm & 800-1700nm OD5 Laser Safety Goggles
These goggles block 532nm and IR at the same time. I really suggest you get a pair of good safety glasses. Even though you could maybe make a pair of glasses that block 50% of the beam, you're still going to get 50% get right through. And especially at 300mW that's very dangerous.

I must admit that I do not always use my safety glasses, but that's mainly when I'm outside. 532nm lasers that output more than 150-200mW are painfully bright to look at, and forget ever burning something with a 300mW laser without glasses. There's just no way to look at the bright dot.

Really, take this advice and invest in one pair of high quality safety goggles. You will regret it if something ever happens to your vision. I once thought that it wasn't necessary too, but I decided to get two pairs anyways. It was worth every penny.

Also, take a good look at this thread. It'll make you think twice before skipping a pair of goggles: Link
 
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Joined
Apr 20, 2015
Messages
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It's not too smart to not have an IR filter installed on your laser. I get your decision though. You probably thought, the less IR it blocks, the better it burns. That's true. You're going to have to buy an expensive pair of goggles though. Eagle Pair® 190-540nm & 800-1700nm OD5 Laser Safety Goggles
These goggles block 532nm and IR at the same time. I really suggest you get a pair of good safety glasses. Even though you could maybe make a pair of glasses that block 50% of the beam, you're still going to get 50% get right through. And especially at 300mW that's very dangerous.

I must admit that I do not always use my safety glasses, but that's mainly when I'm outside. 532nm lasers that output more than 150-200mW are painfully bright to look at, and forget ever burning something with a 300mW laser without glasses. There's just no way to look at the bright dot.

Really, take this advice and invest in one pair of high quality safety goggles. You will regret it if something ever happens to your vision. I once thought that it wasn't necessary too, but I decided to get two pairs anyways. It was worth every penny.

Also, take a good look at this thread. It'll make you think twice before skipping a pair of goggles: Link

I saw that thread yesterday, scary stuff.

After my order clears laserbtb I'll order these.

Thanks!

Also like I said, I DO have a few filters I can use when needed, I just wanted the extra couple MW :p

I understand the risks associated with it, and by any chance do you know what percent of the 300mw one would be ir?
 

Gabe

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Jan 10, 2015
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Fantastic intro, welcome. I believe LaserBTB has all of their green lasers up to the claimed spec, and any IR is not accounted for. So either way with or without he IR filter you'll still get 300mW of green, but as for the extra IR the best I can give you is an (educated?) guess of something in the ballpark of about 30-50mW, but I could be totally wrong. I'm saving for that same laser too, I hope you the best of luck with it. Anyway, learn lots and I hope to see you around the forums!
 
Joined
Apr 20, 2015
Messages
92
Points
0
It's not too smart to not have an IR filter installed on your laser. I get your decision though. You probably thought, the less IR it blocks, the better it burns. That's true. You're going to have to buy an expensive pair of goggles though. Eagle Pair® 190-540nm & 800-1700nm OD5 Laser Safety Goggles
These goggles block 532nm and IR at the same time. I really suggest you get a pair of good safety glasses. Even though you could maybe make a pair of glasses that block 50% of the beam, you're still going to get 50% get right through. And especially at 300mW that's very dangerous.

I must admit that I do not always use my safety glasses, but that's mainly when I'm outside. 532nm lasers that output more than 150-200mW are painfully bright to look at, and forget ever burning something with a 300mW laser without glasses. There's just no way to look at the bright dot.

Really, take this advice and invest in one pair of high quality safety goggles. You will regret it if something ever happens to your vision. I once thought that it wasn't necessary too, but I decided to get two pairs anyways. It was worth every penny.

Also, take a good look at this thread. It'll make you think twice before skipping a pair of goggles: Link

Ordered today. Figured better safe than sorry and i would like to have them BEFORE i get the laser so i dont do something stupid, thanks.

Fantastic intro, welcome. I believe LaserBTB has all of their green lasers up to the claimed spec, and any IR is not accounted for. So either way with or without he IR filter you'll still get 300mW of green, but as for the extra IR the best I can give you is an (educated?) guess of something in the ballpark of about 30-50mW, but I could be totally wrong. I'm saving for that same laser too, I hope you the best of luck with it. Anyway, learn lots and I hope to see you around the forums!


Thats a lot of IR.

Thanks, ill let you know how it works out!
 

gozert

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Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Messages
1,076
Points
63
Jesus, why on earth would you need that much power? Are you a professional animator or something? :crackup:

I'm allergic to the slightest amounts of lag :D

I wanted to go for SLI 980's, but after having getting 4 different cards with each having coil whine I decided to just go for a Titan.

It's probably a bit overkill, but I want to play my games at max settings without every dropping below 60fps.
 




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