CNI Lasers: 400mW pointer for $185!

Does anyone have first-hand knowledge of the quality of CNI Lasers from China, especially their "GLP" laser pointers in 532, 808, and 980 nm wavelength?

Their prices seem to be pretty good:

- 80mW GLP-532 green laser pointer: $140 USD

- 400mW GLP-808 infrared laser pointer: $190.00 USD

- 400mW GLP-980 infrared laser pointer: $185.00 USD

I'm assuming that 400mW IR laser pointers would pop balloons, burn black electrical tape, etc, the same way that equal power green lasers would? (However, I wonder if the wider beam of the IR laser [3mm wide versus 1.5mm for the green laser] would diminish it's effectiveness).

A couple more questions:


Is 808 or 980 nm even slightly visible to the human eye? (It seems that on their website, the 808 nm wavelength laser appears as a faint red dot). Also, does anyone know if 980 nm light is visible through night vision goggles? (I know that 808nm is)

Would anyone be interested in buying any of these laser pointers if I can get them into USA? (the infrared laser pointers cannot be legally imported into USA, but I may hand carry them in airline luggage).


Thanks for your answers....

Variant said:

Is 808 or 980 nm even slightly visible to the human eye? (It seems that on their website, the 808 nm wavelength laser appears as a faint red dot). Also, does anyone know if 980 nm light is visible through night vision goggles? (I know that 808nm is)

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I can answer one of your questions with certainty: 808nm radiation from one of these lasers should be visible to the unaided eye as a very dim, dull, deep cherry red spot on a white wall or other non-specular, light-colored surface (typing paper, envelopes, business cards, etc.) in low to medium ambient lighting conditions. I've seen such a laser pointer in the past (several months ago), so I know this with absolute, positive, 100% certainty.

Variant said:

Would anyone be interested in buying any of these laser pointers if I can get them into USA? (the infrared laser pointers cannot be legally imported into USA, but I may hand carry them in airline luggage).


Thanks for your answers....

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I'd be extremely careful trying this...in fact...don't. It isn't worth the fines you'd likely incur. You probably wouldn't even get past the metal detectors.

I would be interested in owning one.

I am not interested in IR lasers at all. The light is not only invisible and danger, but also hard to colimate. So i suspect that 400mW IR pointer will burn things better that 100mW green.
In general the IR is non-flashoholic thing

Hi Pixel,
I would be very careful about getting one of the 400mW IR lasers. A forum member whi use to be very active here (shiftlock), who had/has a great collection of lasers posted here about his experience (do a search and read), they are VERY dangerous....much more so than a visable laser. You probably won't be able to see the beam, but some people can. Since you can't see the beam, you don't know for sure if it's on until it burns something, and what it bruns might not be exactly what you thought you were pointing at...since you can't see the beam.

I would be even more careful about trying to smuggle one into the US in your carry on luggage.

Jack

I would hope you would do the ethical thing, and resist the urge to buy and play with these things. After all, in this case the restrictions on importation of these things are reasonable...it's not because the government just wants to mess with you. These things are potentially dangerous. Even if you know what you're doing with one they can cause eye damage. Does everyone you know understand this? Do your friends? Your family? Because any one of them could pick it up and misuse it accidentally...with permanent consequences.

You only have two eyes.

Period.

No overs.

And I believe, without demeaning those who cannot see, I can safely say that blindness sucks. And that's what toys like these can cause.

If you have a legitimate use for a such a laser, they can be purchased legally. And if you don't have a legitimate use for it, then you shouldn't buy it.


Just my two cents....:shrug:

Variant, I would be very interested in that 80mw GLP-532 for $140 if you can actually get it for that cheap. Let me know.

I would also be interested if the actual output is as stated.

80mW GLP-532 green laser pointer: $140 USD




Benny

I have both 100mW-532nm and 400mW-940nm from CNI. I don't recommend their 400mW IRs because the heating effect is not as good as 100mW green.

I also have 3W 808nm LD and Yes it's visible.

940nm is totally invisible.

i could be interested in any that you can get!

Does it not heat as well because the beam is wider, thus not as focused? I'd assume that a 4x power output would allow it to burn things faster.

FNinjaP90 said:

Does it not heat as well because the beam is wider, thus not as focused? I'd assume that a 4x power output would allow it to burn things faster.

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Yes, main because it cannot focus well. This is due to the large equivalent emitting area(1um x 50um)

If anybody is interested in these lasers, I am organizing a group buy in this thread: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1373950

I didn't bother reading the entire thread, but did anyone mention that a specular reflection from 400 mW of IR will cause permanent eye damage? Not to mention that direct exposure to the beam will cause an audible pop in your (or someone else's) eyeball followed by an eternity of blackness.

Seriously, this much IR is NOT fun anymore. No human hand is steady enough to risk turning it on. You WILL ruin people's lives, and no amount of apology will ever change that. SERIOUSLY, you WILL {censored} up.