30mw green laser pointer

[mister]

Hey, I recently purchased a 30mw green laser pointer. here is the link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Powerful-532nm-Green-Laser-Pointer/dp/B000P5SCM8
I havent yet received it, but am interested to know what the power of this is like, I haven't had any experience with laser pointers, and want to know if this will make you blind almost instantly, and if it has an IR filter.
Can someone please help me out with how dangerous this is?

Thanks

[Louwai]

As long as you use it correctly.
Never point it at person, animal, plane, boat etc.
Only use it as an astro pointer.
Get the correct user license for where you live.

There is no danger & you shouldn't have any problem.

If you intend to use it for anything other than astro pointing then I suggest you shouldn't own a laser pointer.:lol:

Also, a 30mw is pretty bright. If you intend on attending astro gatherings where people are imaging, I suggest you don't use it. The beam will destroy an image if passed through the image field.

[OneOfOne]

If you live in Victoria, you will need to obtain a license from the Police to be able to use it. You will find the batteries won't last very long when using the pointer, my 30mW draws around 200mA from a couple of AAA cells.

I don't know if it will blind you, but placing my hand over the pointer at night the reflected light from my palm is pretty bright! Be very careful where you point it, don't point it at anything reflective that may shine the beam back to you. Especially don't point at other people or objects containing people. Also NEVER give it to a child to "play with" the temptation to look at the beam may be too great and may cause permanent damage to their sight. Mine is mounted to the scope and is only used for alignment or some times for pointing out what we are looking at.

As mentioned previously, if you don't have an "astronomical use" for it, I can't see any other legitimate reason for anyone to own or use one, expecially of this power.

[xstream]

Hi Mister, I would be contacting Amazon to see when your money is going to be credited back to you. :D

If you read their delivery restrictions it states, "This item can only be delivered within the UK". Besides that I think you'll find Australian customs will probably confiscate it anyway, as there is a crack down on laser pointers at present.

[astroron]

This might seem a bit picky:rolleyes:, please only shine your lasers up in the sky and not in the trees, as there may be animals in the trees that depend on their night vision, such as Possums, Owls and other night creaturs, who we don't think of when we like to show how bright our lasers are:D:thumbsup:

[joe_smith]

You can thank the idiots for that I read in the paper that some shone it at a rescue helicopter and temporarily blinded the pilot. How stupid are some people.


http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22505392-5001021,00.html

[mister]

Hey, thanks for finding the time to reply!
I should have mentioned, I live in the UK and stumbled across these forums while trying to find more information on the laser.
The laser will be used for star pointing aswell as presentations in schools, I wanted to make sure the children are in no danger should the laser reflect off of a mirror, window, lightbulb etc.

As long as the laser has an IR filter everything should be fine..

Thanks!

[Kieken]

A friend of mine got a 15mw and a 80mw green laser and a set of diffraction gratings. As everybody else already said: don’t point it at airplanes, animals, people, …… as it can do serious harm.

That being said, with those diffraction gratings he’s able to project a ufo or an eye on almost anything.

[netwolf]

Make sure you have a secure place to put it away, especially if you have kids.

Regards
Fahim

[ballaratdragons]

I hope you don't mean you want to point it at things in a classroom!!! :eyepop:

The reflection of these things is amazing!

I only use a 10mw and the reflection off walls it extremely bright. It still hurts my eyes when it bounces back inside the house (accidentally did it a few times).

If you intend to use one inside a classroom, may I recommend an ordinary Red Laser Pointer which is designed for indoor use. :thumbsup:

I've never heard of an 'IR filter' in a Green laser pointer :shrug:

[mister]

Hey. I guess I will keep the green laser for star pointing and get a red laser for the presentations. I am not sure how reflective these lasers are, but it's going to be used on a projection screen, so it might not be quite so dangerous..
Thanks for the help and for taking the time to reply!

[CoombellKid]

And what a media beat up that was, there is no way that laser could
temporarily blinded the cameraman, it wasn't the pilot. It is impossible
for several reason, the distance and devergence of the beam (it was
no longer a focalised beam) and it being most likely hand held to keep
it on an eyeball several hundred meter away handheld on a moving target
impossible. Your talking mW's here.

Still it's a stupid thing to do, just causes trouble.

regards,CS

[Outbackmanyep]

I noticed Channel 9 here had a story on it last night, they showed the footage of the laser being pointed at the helicopter and then they showed someone lighting a cigarette with it, and i thought "surely thats BS"

Is it possible to light a cig with it?? I would have doubted it, i used a 5mW pointer and it hardly gives off any heat!

[CoombellKid]

Possible if it's powerful enough and you light it pretty close to the front
aperture. By pretty close I mean inches to maybe a few feet. It depends
on the laser they used and it's power. Having been a laser tech and
production manager of (at that time) one of the biggest laser display
outfits in Oz. Yes I've been burnt a few times but we're talking about laser
1W to 40W any of which will light a ciggerette. But these are getting into
water cooled gas pumped lasers needing 32/64 amp 3 phase power supply.
There is a picture I posted in last months photo comp the laser I was using
then was a 3.5W Ion (white light) gas pumped laser, as you can see it is
scanning the crowd albeit at 64000 point per second. At full power you can
light a ciggy within a few feet. But for it to burn things it needs to be
stationary and would at that distance going through all that muck in the
atmosphere impossible.

btw, you can never be temporyily blinded by a laser you either survive
it (meaning it didn't quite get you) or your blinded period once your retina
is burnt that's it.

regards,CS

[CoombellKid]

Personally I was more worried about the camera, laser light directly into
a camera can destroy the ccd chips. You can if you wanted to take out
speed camera's possibly with a 100mW, just line it up then drive through fast
enough to trigger the camera, and camera no more.... but I didn't tell you that LOL

regards,CS

[CoombellKid]

A few years ago I was doing the Royal Easter Show in the old show grounds
out at Fox Studio we were using a 20W argon laser, this at high power
(full 20W's) will put a 3rd degree burn on your hand no matter how fast
your swing your hand through the beam (within a few feet of it aperture).
Anyway's our show ran along with the Holden syncronised driving team.
Well one of the driver came up to us after the show saying the laser
had scanned across him during the show and he was freaking out thinking
he was now going to get cancer, took some time for my boss to enlighten
him. Laser are wonderful, mesmorising and mystic, people get weird and
think all sorts of un-truths about them.

Still never point them at animals, people and aircraft the later get more
hype than needs be, still it's best to err on the side of safety.

regards,CS

[cookie8]

Hi ,I own a 5mW one that I don't find it bright enough to point out constellations esp in suburban sydney. But a 30mW surely is a over-kill. Can anyone please tell me whether a 10mW is significantly brighter than a 5mW?
Thanks
Cookie8:help:

[Outbackmanyep]

If Pink Floyd ever return (fingers crossed!) i want front row seats!!! hehe
Don't they use some lasers! Awesome!
:cheers:

[CoombellKid]

Hell I'll be there with you in the front row, with beers:thumbsup: and a few smokes:whistle:

regards,CS

[CoombellKid]

These small lasers people use are diode lasers they use a crystal to power
the laser. It depends on the quality of the crystal, and I'll bet good money
if I put one on a tester that your not getting the full mW spec your being
sold. This is why you'll see some 5mW's are brighter than others if you put them side by side.

otherwise 10mW should be twice as bright as a 5mW

regards,CS

[norm]

Hi Cookie8,

I had a 5mW before it died and now have a 10mW. Although I was never able to compare them side by side, I can say that there is a noticable difference in strength. I live in suburban Ashfield, so its closer to the city than BH.
The beam appeared thicker and the dot more visible.

One thing I will add though and by putting in fresh batteries also makes a difference. I don't bother with the akaline batteries, I just used re-chargeable NiMH and don't have any issues with them.

Finally the 5mW was an el cheapo from Ebay which worked fine for a short while, but just gave me grief. I purchased the 10mW from Bintel and it works 1st time, every time.

I just have a gut feeling these things are going to be banned in the not too distant future with morons shining them at aircrafts/chopters etc.:doh:

[Ingo]

That 30mW is not actual 30mW and it is a VERY VERY dangerous laser. Those kinds do not come with an IR filter, so around 250mw of 808nm & 1064nm light (non visible) is hitting your eyeballs and you don't even know it, especially because IR reflects off of different things than visible light. I would be careful with it and possibly buy some 808nm & 1064nm glasses, or buy a leadlight from laserpointer.com which IS IR filtered (Though I would not suggest anything else from their sister sites like wickedlasers.com or techlasers as they're ridiculously cheap made and ridiculously underpowered).

My 280mW lights cigars & cigarettes.