Practical uses for handheld lasers - What do you use your Laser for?

[bshanahan14rulz]

They are being made in quantity and sold to one company. Since this company seems to be the only, or at least, the main buyer, Nichia let's em pick their package and price. You can rest assured, these powerful diodes were not made for us to use in pointers; they actually have a legitimate use, and you will see more and more of them (along with new colors of injection lasers, once they get that little efficiency problem worked out) in everyday devices.

[wby300]

There are many uses for handheld lasers, I am not sure how this topic got to banning them and the dangers of but he didnt mention high powered ones. The question was handheld. A cheap 2.00 pointer is fun to use with our dogs, they go crazy. I also have several on different weapons, very nice for reflexive fire in low light. Certain colors are fun to just point at different substances to see how they react, did you know pickle juice glows orange when a certain color is pointed at it? It doesnt have to be a 5w backpack laser to be fun or useful. I have a 473nm that I plan to set up with mirrors up on the ceiling in one room, it will go all the way around the top of the room to give the room a blue glow at night.

[peteschlabar]

You guys need to head over to laserpointerforums.com

[nighteyes2]

I find the only use I have for my laser is when I am doing presentations for large groups I can use it as a pointer to really drive a point home. With its pin point accuracy I can point to what I am talking about from across the room or on the large screen. That's about it for me.

[LZRMonkey]

Agree with previous suggestion as a survival beacon. If I were were to go backpacking out in the wilderness, my 200mw green would be in my kit. You get lost or injured, {stop here to say you should always alert friends/family where you are going and when expected back} it is entirely possibly a search team could look for you at night using Forward Looking IR on a helicopter. Also to spot your camp or signal fire. A higher power laser would be the very best thing for signaling an aircraft from a distance.

Much is made is about accidental eye damage from these lasers and rightly so. The military is already using rifle-mounted green lasers for this intentional purpose as seen on episode of FutureWeapons. Same idea as other non-lethal take-down measures such as shotgun bean bag rounds, rubber bullets and pepper spray. Soldier busts into a room at hits the bad guy in the eyes with a laser to temporarily blind them.....it's better than just shooting and killing people.

I have adopted this same idea in my home defense. My laser is on my nightstand beside the bed. Bad guy breaks into my house, I have this ready means to debilitate them so I can take further action to protect myself. I have a handgun too but I don't leave it just sitting out. It will take 15 seconds to access. The laser will give the time I need.

Otherwise just a fun gadget to amuse myself and wow my friends and that it does.

[Paul6ppca]

Would a laser be good for spotting bouys while boating at night? What color would be best?

[FRITZHID]

green is best, its dead smack in the middle of the human visual spectrum. and readaly available, most are cheap on FLeAbay, but aren't drop or water tolerant unless you buy the higher priced units from specialty laser pages, i.e. wickedlasers. i'd say keep a few of the cheapies on hand rather than 1 good expensive one.

[AnAppleSnail]

Would a laser be good for spotting bouys while boating at night? What color would be best?

Are the buoys reflective? I can't see putting a laser-size dot on them being easy.

[StarHalo]

Would a laser be good for spotting bouys while boating at night? What color would be best?

I'm pretty sure your fellow boaters would not appreciate being lased at eye level while you scan the surface of the water..

[peteschlabar]

green is best, its dead smack in the middle of the human visual spectrum. and readaly available, most are cheap on FLeAbay, but aren't drop or water tolerant unless you buy the higher priced units from specialty laser pages, i.e. wickedlasers. i'd say keep a few of the cheapies on hand rather than 1 good expensive one.

Do NOT buy from WickedLasers. They are made cheap, and way under spec. Head over to laser pointer forums and do some reading

Are the buoys reflective? I can't see putting a laser-size dot on them being easy.

You could get a focus-able green laser and have it a little out of focus so that the beam is spread out a little, and that would be good for buoy spotting

[smoses]

I have two low mW lasers, a red and a green, that I've only used for presentations. Never gave much thought to using it for anything else.

[gcbryan]

I use my green laser pointer as a finder for my telescope. I don't even mount it...just roughly hold it aligned with the main tube and point it at whatever I'm trying to look at.

[dougdebonet]

I use mine for astronomy with my dad, and to play with my cat.

[nobbybonez]

i use a 50mw green laser with a beam collimator as a weapon light. the laser sits above the scope and can be used to range find when focussed to a dot. when the beam is spread to approx 1.5deg, looking through the scope you see just the area lit by the laser. the effect is very night vision like, though the beam is visible, so not a covert solution. i'm now using an 200 mw 808nm IR laser with a homebrew NV rig. gives illumination to around 300 yards.

green laser is also very good for chasing chickens out of the garden....

[waxycap]

Use a green laser pointer to "point" out/locate wildlife when I go to the swamps at night.

I'm gonna have to side with subwoofer on this one.
If that beam you are using is concentrated enough to blind a human, it's more than enough to blind nocturnal animals.

I'm just saying... that if I am the person using a hunting rifle to kill an animal I'm spotting with a laser, I would prefer
to leave that animal dead as well as blinded, rather than blinded for life and still alive... due to the laser I was using so stupidly.

Not trying to get P.E.T.A. extremist on you or anything, I just think you should think of lasers and the consequences of using them.

[alpg88]

i build these 4 lanterns with lasers, green and blue, from 10mw to 30mw, so far i have not found practical use for them, but they can be fan.

[cccpull]

I'm gonna have to side with subwoofer on this one.
If that beam you are using is concentrated enough to blind a human, it's more than enough to blind nocturnal animals.

I'm just saying... that if I am the person using a hunting rifle to kill an animal I'm spotting with a laser, I would prefer
to leave that animal dead as well as blinded, rather than blinded for life and still alive... due to the laser I was using so stupidly.

Not trying to get P.E.T.A. extremist on you or anything, I just think you should think of lasers and the consequences of using them.

Okay. Let me clarify for the bleeding hearts. The alligators are spotted before being killed. Feel better?

[bshanahan14rulz]

Disclaimer: depending on where you live, that may or may not be legal.

[susanawalkly]

I am trying to buy a very powerful red laser. But i am not sure whether a 1000mW portable red laser is the most powerful one. We need this kind of portable laser in optical experiment.

[t_warne]

I also find a powerful 445 useful in aquarium care. For me it is population control of snails and spot treating black beard algae in my fresh water planted tank. It is way faster than squashing the snails by hand or treating the BBA with a syringe of Excell or H2O2. Plus, I don't have to get my hands wet or worry about overdosing my precious plants or critters with chemicals.

[Johnbeck180]

I also find a powerful 445 useful in aquarium care. For me it is population control of snails and spot treating black beard algae in my fresh water planted tank. It is way faster than squashing the snails by hand or treating the BBA with a syringe of Excell or H2O2. Plus, I don't have to get my hands wet or worry about overdosing my precious plants or critters with chemicals.

You wear safety goggles when you do that?

[bshanahan14rulz]

It should be assumed that he does, and that you should too.

[t_warne]

OEM Laser Systems IR5 with an OD 6+ for 190-480nm.

[bshanahan14rulz]

Now THOSE are laser goggles!

[Edwina]

I'm using is a laser pens.Low-power visible laser allows users to maximize the advantages of body language in the teaching, demonstration, so that teaching, lectures more lively, more perfect, completely solve the inconvenience of using the mouse in the classroom and meeting, but also helpamateur astronomers identify stars,

[jklasers]

Lasers are practically use in dentistry, laser shows, for caner treatment, for welding,for digging, as scientific uses, in military arms and weapons, for x-ray, for treating brown and red spots on skin, laser radiations uses in making powerful big weapons for air force, and may be in many more departments of our country. Laser is making the revolution in this advanced world in every field..

[jklasers]

It’s the stuff of fiction. A hand held laser weapon with the Star Trek moniker “PHaSER,” developed by the Air Force as a non-lethal weapon capable of being used on the battlefield or on the mean streets of any major city.

[blasterman]

When you walk into a free roam animal shelter with 100 bored cats, and you have a 40mw greenie in your pocket, you are 'god', trust me :-)

[peteschlabar]

When you walk into a free roam animal shelter with 100 bored cats, and you have a 40mw greenie in your pocket, you are 'god', trust me :-)

ROFL!

[Pointoflight]

Want to use one to treat toenail fungus....but don't know how powerful (mw) I should use.