NSW Govt has banned laser pointers TODAY.

[§AB]

Originally Posted by Ian Robinson

Not funny .... 50mW into the eyes for even an instant if close enough would probably blind him permanently ....

1. I'm aware of that
2. it is funny coz he's already blind. Not to mention an idiot with no vision for the state. Gotta love that do-nothing attitude. It's always easier to ban and to take away things from the good people. Hence frying his eyes could only improve his "vision"

[Terry B]

Originally Posted by monoxide

i don't think theres any real need for them as pointers anyway. plus unless you were planning on doing something silly with them or walking around with one in your pocket i don't think you have anything to worry about.
.

I don't use my (5mw) laser at home but do use it at our Astro society meeting to point things out to people before I show them through the scope. It is great as a teaching tool. The 5mw seems to be bright enough for this.

[EzyStyles (Eric)]

hmm thats really bad news.. they certainly are getting tough on little things.

[robgreaves]

*sigh* - I moved from the UK to get away from namby-pamby'ism and two bit knee jerk politics, and it's sad to say this country seems to be going the same way.

It'll really bog you down when the state tries to control you and going about your business, trust me

Besides, the way the stories on the news etc. are coming across mention nothing of permits, just the fact that if you're found with a laser, you need to justify its use.

I'll have no problems at all taking my laser collimator out with me observing if I need to align my optics... if I end up in court justifying myself, I'd relish it

Regards,
Rob

[OneOfOne (Trevor)]

I've had my laser licensed for a couple of years now, I should check when it runs out. I disagree that they need to have a license, but I do agree that there should be some sort of regulation. If you want/need to use one, and you follow the law and use it correctly, you should be totally imune to the ramblings of government puppets and the stupidity of morons who use them dangerously. I don't have a problem with them throwing some of these idiots into jail, or give them some of their own medicine (revenge really is sweet).

Only if they find aircraft being purposely targetted by people who are legally entitled to have one, should they begin to consider a "total" ban. As far as I know none of the people caught have had them "legally". I think if anyone on IIS were to be caught flashing aircraft or people, they should be removed from the forum, have their counterweights smashed, eyepieces covered in grease, piers permanently rotated to point north, the cross hairs on their collimation tools bent, mirrors scratched and GoTos changed to only work during daylight hours! And then we will think of something to upset them

I rarely use my laser mounted on the scope, the TelRad is much easier for alignment, but I use my handheld pointer often during public viewings (last year I did maybe 10?, almost that many so far this year)...and there is not a single tool in the known universe that does this job better! If you don't show the skies to others, you may not need one and may not think that any of us need them, but if you have an interest in sharing the heavens with others, a pointer is almost as essential as a scope, the gasps of amazement they invoke when they can see where the scope is pointed always makes me

So if you do have a pointer, you owe it to ALL of us to use it responsibly and carefully. So be careful out there...for all of us.

[rmcpb (Rob)]

Heard our fearless leader on 702 yesterday and it looks like the laws are going to be more like the wonderful knife laws. If you have a valid reason to be carrying it then its OK so we should be in the clear. The really grey area was the "powerful" ones that are weapons, he never defined them but not surprising as he can hardly tie his shoe laces let alone actually understand his ban!!

[Glenhuon (Bill)]

I've been following the various threads about laser pointers, and having given it some thought I can't think of any reason I need one.
I have 2 lasers here (red), one is my colimation tool and the other on a spirit level. Apart from the pretty green line extending into the heavens , can't see any advantage over a good finderscope or red dot type.

Bill

[asterisk (Geoff)]

Anyone who carries a high-powered laser faces 14 years in jail. (smh 22/4/08)

What is the government's definition of a high-powered laser? Anything over 1mW?

[JohnH]

I am organnising a star party for my daughter's school next month, I have always found a laser pointer a great way to indicate the points of interest on previous occasions, naturally I would like to be able to use it again. Any advice? All I can think to do is ask my local police station for permission?

[robgreaves]

Originally Posted by JohnH

I am organnising a star party for my daughter's school next month, I have always found a laser pointer a great way to indicate the points of interest on previous occasions, naturally I would like to be able to use it again. Any advice? All I can think to do is ask my local police station for permission?

Wouldn't bother - you might be stirring a hornets nest. Just use it, and of course don't point it near aircraft - which I'm sure as a responsible astronomer you wouldn't.

My interpretation is they're not actually banned; just if you get patted down and the cops find one on your person and you have no good reason for it, you end up in the slammer for 2 years along with the rapists, kiddy fiddlers and murderers*

Using it at a star party to point out objects sounds like a perfectly valid use to me, based on the guidance issued so far.

Regards,
Rob

*and in the UK, they'd be out on good behaivour terms before the laser user was!

[Ian Robinson]

Originally Posted by rmcpb

Heard our fearless leader on 702 yesterday and it looks like the laws are going to be more like the wonderful knife laws. If you have a valid reason to be carrying it then its OK so we should be in the clear. The really grey area was the "powerful" ones that are weapons, he never defined them but not surprising as he can hardly tie his shoe laces let alone actually understand his ban!!

I frequently carry a big fishing knife openly hanging in a scabard off my belt which has a "dicky protector on it" (if you fish for big fish you will know what that is) and have never been challenged by the cops when they've seen me with it (when I've been walking down the street when I'm going or have been fishing).

I'll wait and see what the requirements are to "legally" own my laser collimator before I do anything I think.

[robgreaves]

Originally Posted by asterisk

What is the government's definition of a high-powered laser? Anything over 1mW?

I played with a 14 Watt CO2 laser at university...!

Regards,
Rob

[Ian Robinson]

Originally Posted by JohnH

I am organnising a star party for my daughter's school next month, I have always found a laser pointer a great way to indicate the points of interest on previous occasions, naturally I would like to be able to use it again. Any advice? All I can think to do is ask my local police station for permission?

You could call them (anominously) and ask them where you stand if you use it ?

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

Originally Posted by monoxide

i don't think theres any real need for them as pointers anyway. plus unless you were planning on doing something silly with them or walking around with one in your pocket i don't think you have anything to worry about.

im not sure what the great attraction of laser pointers is anyway, with the wealth of other finders out there that keep you and your equipment a bit more discreet than a green beam pointing to the sky from your back yard.

Obviously you don't do any public astronomy education or outreach. In which case you don't have any need for one.

I use mine all the time when doing outreach with kids, community groups, or with visiting overseas astronomers, from the northern hemisphere who are unfamiliar with our skies and constellation boundaries.

Depsite the fact that I DESPISE Morris Iemma and the dipshyts that voted the labor government back in after they successfully screwed everything in NSW in the past decade +, including, the health system, the public transport system, the education system, the police system, the water resources infrasctructure and everything else they have had a play with, I can only blame the fools who improperly use these devices for this legislation.

With the amount of laser pointer misuse in recent years that I have seen, this legislation was inevitable, irrespective of who was in Government.

I will apply for the permit when the forms are available and I think getting a permit for the laser pointer will be a formality, if you can show "just cause".

Cheers,
John B

[§AB]

^^ I agree with you. I hate the labor government aswell. HATE THEM LIKE HELL! Same story in Victoria, they screwed everything right up. Oh and then there's the do-nothing sitting on hands syndrome to boot. Onya "Buttby"!

Now with have "KRUDD" to content with. Scary thought having him run the country, isn't it? Wait a minute, he doesn't even know how to!

[OneOfOne (Trevor)]

Originally Posted by robgreaves

I played with a 14 Watt CO2 laser at university...!

Regards,
Rob

I had a 1.2kW peak CO2 at Telstra We even used it for "official" work sometimes...don't know how that happened though!

[OneOfOne (Trevor)]

Originally Posted by ausastronomer

Obviously you don't do any public astronomy education or outreach. In which case you don't have any need for one.

Cheers,
John B

I agree, as I said earlier, if you don't do any public astronomy...I really don't see much of a need to have one. Once I got the TelRad I only use the alignment laser if the star is close to the zenith...I don't have a flip top head! And my back ain't what it used to be.

[iceman (Mike)]

I've added a story to the front page of IceInSpace discussing the issue and to highlight it to a broader audience.

[leon]

Dont worry guys we wont be having the Laser Police bashing down our doors to do a full search, it's mostly media hype like always, and then it dies.

leon

[g__day (Matthew)]

So if an idiot running around near a star party flashes a police copter, and the boys in blue arrive to your gig in the field - what do you see happening - licences or not?