Where to buy a quality Green Laser Pointer?

[johngwheeler]

I'm trying to get hold of a quality GLP for astronomical use, but am having problems finding a reliable source for these.

I am aware of the legislation and the exemptions that apply for astronomical societies (my club in on the NSW police exemption list).

My initial research suggests that 5-20mW would be adequate - with the higher power being preferable for urban use.

It seems that none of the regular astronomical suppliers now sell these - probably just too much hassle with the legislation - so I'm left looking on the web for suitable vendors. There are obviously a lot of cowboys with cheap far-eastern imports, so it's hard to tell what I'm buying. I'm not going to even attempt to buy from overseas, as this is likely to be seized at customs.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

John

[Tinderboxsky]

Telescopes and Astronomy in Adelaide stock a wide range. I have a 5mw Aussie made one from there; it is well made and performs extremely well. I get many exclamations at Star parties as to how bright it is. Cannot comment on whether it is sufficient in heavy light pollution.
Cheers,
Steve

[RB]

John, for astro work a 20mW green 532nm is more than enough even for urban use.
The obvious dangers are aeroplanes in the area at night (always be aware of aircraft) and also some of the cheaper 532nm green lasers don't have IR filters on them so they're dangerous because IR is invisible to the eye and they will be emitting more than the stated 20mW of visible light.

RB

[AstralTraveller]

John,

The power you need depends on the usage. Are you using it to point a scope or for sky tours? Under semi-rural skies I've found a 5mW is plenty for pointing a scope. Public outreach in light-polluted areas needs more power. I've got a 30mW I've used at public outreach nights standing under building external lights and next to a major road and it cut through all that easily. In fact, if you try to use that one under dark skies you find that half of the stars 'disappear' every time the laser is used.