Amazon 50mw laser? Anyone know IR output?

[bp_968]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Y3N41U/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Supposedly it has a good "japanese" lens, but I picked it up before thinking to check this site and now I worry it dumps alot of IR radiation. Any way to easily find out? any precations I should take with it in the meantime? Right now I don't look at the dot unless its shown on something nonreflective at a distance of at least 50+ yards. I'm to paranoid to wave it around in the house. :tinfoil:

 

[Magic Matt]

83% off ... that rings alarm bells, especially when it's not being sold by Amazon but by a company called "HottestDealsEver!" - the chances are they're just the standard ones off eBay with a small markup.

Most cheap 50mW lasers we tested for an article in the local astronomy group's magazine showed they were giving off about 40mW of IR light and only 10mW of actual green light.

The IR Problem is two-fold...
Focus for visible light is different to IR light, so whilst the green light is focussed, the IR wont be as focussed. This means the area being hit by IR will be lager than the green dot; how much larger and at what intensity depends on distance the target is from the emitter.

As for "Astronomy and Military Grade" ... that has to be marketing crap. The operating button alone on that wouldn't pass military spec. and most astronomy lasers are <5mw because you want to preserve night vision. The ones over 5mW for astronomy tend to have a wider beam, because it's about visibility to a group of people, not about the intensity of the beam.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there's every chance that laser is not what it claims to be.

At that sort of power, you shouldn't really be using the laser indoors without protective eyewear anyway. A true 50mW laser would blind you if it accidentally shone into your eyes before your blink reflex could react, plus because there are no nerve endings in the eye to feel pain, you wont know if you're damaging your eyes through light intensity.

 

[bp_968]

don't be sorry. Its just a funny little "toy" (not so much really, but you get the idea). I'm vastly more concerned about protecting my vision then being able to play with an iffy laser inside the house.

How safe is it to use outside pointed at trees a hundred+ yards away with everyone viewing behind the emitter? If its unsafe even in that situation then I'll get ahold of amazon and get a refund. I'll probably do that anyway.

Any suggestions on a nice, safe, 5mw greenie to play around with (and even then, the 5mw greenies are more dangerous then the reds).

83% off ... that rings alarm bells, especially when it's not being sold by Amazon but by a company called "HottestDealsEver!" - the chances are they're just the standard ones off eBay with a small markup.

Most cheap 50mW lasers we tested for an article in the local astronomy group's magazine showed they were giving off about 40mW of IR light and only 10mW of actual green light.

The IR Problem is two-fold...
Focus for visible light is different to IR light, so whilst the green light is focussed, the IR wont be as focussed. This means the area being hit by IR will be lager than the green dot; how much larger and at what intensity depends on distance the target is from the emitter.

As for "Astronomy and Military Grade" ... that has to be marketing crap. The operating button alone on that wouldn't pass military spec. and most astronomy lasers are <5mw because you want to preserve night vision. The ones over 5mW for astronomy tend to have a wider beam, because it's about visibility to a group of people, not about the intensity of the beam.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there's every chance that laser is not what it claims to be.

At that sort of power, you shouldn't really be using the laser indoors without protective eyewear anyway. A true 50mW laser would blind you if it accidentally shone into your eyes before your blink reflex could react, plus because there are no nerve endings in the eye to feel pain, you wont know if you're damaging your eyes through light intensity.

 

[bp_968]

I requested a refund.

Do you guys have any advice on where to pick up a *safe* green laser that doesn't dump IR and will show a pretty green beam in the dark (it doesn't need to be a light saber in the daytime, I just want the awesome green beam at night).

Thanks for all the help guys!

Ben

 

[randomlugia]

I wouldn't give back the 50mW, it's still plenty safe outside. "Astronomy" lasers are no different from the rest. A bright thin beam will be much more visible than a dimmer wide beam. If you want a good 5mW, get a Lyra from LaserGlow.com, or a Wickedlasers Core from Ebay.

 

[bshanahan14rulz]

I say keep it. Just be wary of what it's outputting. Think of the IR as a flashlight beam instead of a dot and don't shine the "flashlight beam" on anything you don't want to shine a laser at.

Be extra careful inside, there are many reflective surfaces that you wouldn't normally think about (box tops, books, pictures, calendars, etc.).

 

[bp_968]

Any suggestions on making or locating a cap for it? I keep the batteries out because the button is super easy to bump and without a lockout it makes it a bit of a hazard.

Thanks for the suggestions. I love this thing, I just don't want to fry myself blind, I got enough medical problems without going blind

I'd love to pickup a burning laser but only with full on eye pro and with a quality laser.

 

[SmurfTacular]

It does not have an IR filter. I can tell you that. Also, IR isn't dangerous as long as you are responsible, and you have responsible friends.

You can tell it has excess IR if you shine it into a camera (depending on the type of camera). There should be trace amounts of red, that is the IR.

IR is invisible to human eyes. But the light is still there, your eyes don't diolate or adjust to the amount of light that's entering into your eyes. So IR is bad for your eyes....

Only high end laser pointers come quieted with IR filters, such as wicked lasers, witch I believe they ALL have IR filters to meet FDA standards.