Green Laser Pointers...Power limit???

[DJVege]

Hi guys,

After seeing Phil's laser pointer in action (5mW) I decided to jump on ebay and snag one. I saw a 240mW one, and got it for about $90 including shipping.

My question is: Is there a power limit to lasers enforced by law? I read some articles online that said Oz DOES have a limit of 1mW, but it was an old article, I think. 5mW seemed quite powerful, so I have no idea what 240mW would do to my eyes! I'm hoping it's a dud and not really 240mW now...

This is the item I bought last night.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....2858&rd=1&rd=1

Any thoughts???


...DJVege...

[ving (David)]

it'll probably ruin your night vision

let us know how it goes
er... dont point it at anyone.

[ving (David)]

a 95mw laser and 2 bored people!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bImwKgDbSRk

[ving (David)]

thats not an astronomy tool, its a weapon!!!!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ryITrWjY4OQ

[OneOfOne (Trevor)]

I have a 5 which is quite sufficient for my use. If the ambient light is pretty high the beam can be difficult to see some times, but generally it is a great tool.

Be careful not to do anything stupid with it, I would hate to have them banned and make them even more restricted than they are at the moment (I have my 5mW registered with the Victoria Police). The legal limit is still 1mW, above that it is restricted.

[ving (David)]

anyone point me to the law for NSW, too lazy to look it up...

[DJVege]

Hmm...I thought it was 1mW. I think I'll just keep this 240mW in a safe place (with no batteries) and pick up a 5 or 10mW one.

By the way, who do I ask regarding registering a laser pointer?


...DJVege...

[snowyskiesau]

There doesn't seem to be consistent legislation regarding laser pointers.
There is a standard, AS2011 that covers the classification of lasers and is available for purchase from Standards Australia.

[Ric]

I want one that can blow my neighbours light bulbs on their
verandah.
They seem to be permanently on all night now.

Cheers

[erick (Eric)]

Search for "Prohibited Weapons" on the Vic Govt website

[DJVege]

For everyone:

http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/wps/wc...ibited+Weapons

From the link:

"Strong laser pointer - any hand-held laser pointer that can emit a laser beam with an accessible emission limit of greater than 1mW "


...DJVege...

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Be careful pointing it up as well. Pilots don't like being zapped with them.

[pvelez (Pete)]

Looks like pointers aren't prohibited in NSW.

It seems someone recently asked the Police Minister the same question in Parliament.

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/pro...9!OpenDocument

It is illegal however to sell them if they aren't appropriately tested. I hope our friendly scope retailers have looked into this!

Pete

[Shawn]

Going on that Ebayers reputation, you might get it this year,,,,24 negs in one month,,,,

[Ingo]

If you buy any lasers on ebay, they're probably by crappy companies.

I WARN YOU NOW:

Any lasers you buy on ebay for less than $100 that are up in the 100's and 200mW's DO NOT HAVE INFRARED FILTERS!

DO NOT BUY THEM! THEY WILL RUIN YOUR VISION! INFRARED IS INVISIBLE AND AT 240mW FOCUSED, LESS THAN A SECOND IN YOUR EYE WILL BURN OUT YOUR RETINA!

These lasers start out at 808nm invisible, or near invisible light, they are sent through a Nd:YVO4 crystal which then brings the light to 1064nm (INVISIBLE) and then it's sent through a KTP crystal which doubles the 1064nm to 532nm visible green light.

I'm guessing with that 240mW you bought for $99, it's outputting less than 10mW of 532nm collimated green light.

I've been around lasers a lot, I know a lot about them and I own ones that give out true 380mW 532nm light. I also have a few more green lasers less than that power (130mW and 95mW). I am also a photographer for http://www.lucentoptics.com that supplies high powered green lasers.

I also know that in United States, lasers above 4.99mW are illegal to be used outside of your own property, and cannot be pointed in any airspace.

If you have any questions about lasers, please feel free to contact me or ask any questions in this thread.

Here's some pictures of my lasers that were taken by me:
http://img95.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sk3sl4.jpg
http://img160.imageshack.us/my.php?image=match3ey0.jpg
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/3425/152pu7.jpg

Also, don't buy from Wickedlasers. They're overpriced and the chanches you'll recieve a broken one is probably 1.5 in 2.

[DJVege]

Hmm....where are you at Ingo? It would be good to get the laser looked at by someone in the know once it arrives.


...DJVege...

[Ingo]

I'm in United States. Upstate New York to be exact. You can sometimes see the IR filter. If it's there. You can look down the barrel aperture (TAKE THE BATTERIES OUT FIRST TO MAKE SURE OF SAFTEY) and see if you see that color. If not, I'd send it back and get your money back and buy something from like lucentoptics.com.

The IR filter looks like this:
http://www.jr-worldwi.de/photo/image...ible_small.jpg

If you contact the company it's made by, they will tell you a lie.

[DJVege]

Ok, so I look down the barrel...what colour am I looking for? Green?

Thanks for your advice on this.


...DJVege...

[Ingo]

Originally Posted by DJVege

Ok, so I look down the barrel...what colour am I looking for? Green?

Thanks for your advice on this.


...DJVege...

This color if you can see it.

http://www.jr-worldwi.de/photo/image...ible_small.jpg

It's a blueish green. Though you may not be able to see it..I can't see mine, but I've taken it apart and it's there.

[DJVege]

Ah ok. Sorry. Shouldn't have read your initial post so fast.

Great. Thanks for the info. I'll let you know my findings once the laser arrives.


...DJVege...