bright shiny objects

[bridaw]

Hello all,

I bought my first green laser pointer from extremelasers.com back in April of 2002. I purchased model XPB-5C and it cost $270 delivered to my door. That thing paid for itself many times over through the years and it still works great! I don't see that model any longer but I am glad to see he is still in business and still offers tuned/tweaked pointers. I guess it is the "lasernator" these days. Since I bought that pointer I got married, I got a mortgage, and I got a 4 year old. The green pointer just doesn't get used as often as it once did but still goes with me on every desert trip.

I recently saw a bunch of junk on youtube. Wiicked laser kiddies popping balloons and burning tape and other tricks. I started googling and then found this site. I could not believe how far lasers have come since I got my extremelaser.

I. must. have. one.

I did a bunch of searches here and on google and I am pretty certain I am going with an Aries from laserglow.com. The tough part now is how much money to spend on how much laser? I realize the novalty will wear off at some point. I realize the Aries is not a pointer. It can hurt people including myself and there will be limits to how and where I can play with the thing. Heck, my 5mW green can be too bright to play with at times.

I hope someone out there can relate and help me figure out my balance point. I assume some of you may own multiple Aries or similar models and can help compare. Aries 100 is the minimum. I don't think I need to spring for the Aries 225 (or Hercules) but then.... Hmmm... I only want to do this once (first step down a long slippery slope) and don't want to regret not buying "enough" laser the first time around.

I am not sure what all the icons are in the "experimental capabilities" column on the Aries price page but the Aries175 is the first laser to have all the icons. When I buy a PC, iPod or any gadget I try to get the most bang for the buck. If you are going to make the investment to begin with then get the largest size or fastest processor or whatever. I am not sure that applies to lasers. It isn't like I can compare cost per GB like an ipod or hard drive. With each rung on the ladder a $100 more than the previous I am not sure where to stop. Does twice the output power make twice the laser? My understanding is the perceived brightness will not be double but will the burning power? If I justify my way up to the Aries 200 then I should really go for a Hercules 200 and get a LOT more laser for the same money. I need to sleep on it a few more nights.

 

[wileecoyote]

Many forum posts and web sites contain opinions on the price / performance / value equation. Nobody can tell you what is best since your budget and expectations are only relative to you. With that said, I found myself in the exact same position as you about two months ago. After hundreds of hours of research I settled on an Envee NV-100 which is 100 mW green for $300. It is nice and well worth the money but obviously not as powerful or quick to burn things as the really big units in the 200-400 mW range. Search this forum and you will find many detailed posts about it. For the money it seems to be the best value but Lucent Optics was out of stock recently.

If you do some more research and end up settling on the NV-100 then I would be willing to sell you mine for $280 including shipping via priority mail. It is not even 2 months old and I don't really want to part with it but I recently totaled my truck and need the extra cash to get a new vehicle. I also have a lot of other laser stuff and electronics gear to sell which I plan to put on ebay soon. Maybe next year when I get my tax refund I will be able to get back in the laser game. It is so awesome to see that bright green beam which lights up an entire room at night or burns through thin dark materials under the right conditions. Oh well. The laser won't get me to work and back so I am off to prepare my ads for ebay. Good luck with your search.

 

[yellow]

You know such powerful lasers (burning/cutting capable) need eye protection devices, just to be on the safe side?

The short time my cheap 5 mw E-Bay greenie worked good, the beam was very nice, absolutely positively visible around dusk time, so I am now thinking of a better quality real 5 mW from one of the respected sellers (and maybe a 30 mW, but not more)
Will absolutely be enough.

If only there were good models that incorporate our lights sub-standard features like medium quality machining, outside finish, a bit of protection from the elements, working on rechargeables, working on AAs or CR123s, ...

 

[stevetexas]

There are a lot of options. I recently purchased an Aries 225 and am very happy with it. Truthfully, it is more laser than I need, but that's part of the fun.

Lucent Optics and Optotronics are other well known sellers with high powered lasers and great reputations.

Consider what you need, what you want, and what your budget can handle. You will always have the option to sell it and upgrade later (if it is well taken care of)

 

[bridaw]

I am not looking for someone to tell me what to buy. stevetexas had the kind of post I was looking for, what rung on the ladder was enough or even a tad too much laser for his "needs". My budget could absorb the Herc 300 but it occurred to me I might get more use out of less laser.

Choosing a laser is a lot like choosing a handgun. There are so many variables and only you can figure out what is best for you. I won't be performing surgery, this is a "toy" for a responsible adult. I should have pointed out I have been lurking for some time, thanks for mentioning the need for eye protection. I am aware, that is part of the problem. Hmmmm.... how dangerous a device do I really "need" simply for playing around? Just the other night I was playing with my 5mW and took a quick stray reflection to the eye. DOH! You take a quick stray reflection to the eye with a 5mW and life is still good. I realized how disastrous that could be with more power and no eye protection.

I have always enjoyed seeing how many surface bounces I can get with my 5mW green or reflecting off my wife's wedding ring or our crystal bowls and knick-knacks. I think I had it bouncing off of 9 surfaces in our old apartment lighting up all our rooms and hallways along the way. It seems there is a limit to how bright the laser should be when creating home laser shows and other people's eyes are involved. I purchased a number of prisms, optics, and first surface mirrors. I read a number of posts and saw pictures where the beam had to be split and weakened to a point that it can be projected without being too bright. It seems 100mW is plenty of power for home laser show tinkering and more power just needs to get split off until the beam you project is weak enough for the spectators. Sound about right? I would love to have a bunch of small mirrors mounted on my walls near the ceiling. Get them aimed so the beam criss-crosses all over the room near the ceiling, up the stairs, down the hall....

By the way, a nice simple tunnel projector can be made from an Oust fan. I keep Oust fans in my humidor to circulate the air. I pulled the front shroud off of my first Oust fan so it would fit in my first coolidor. When I was going out for a herf one night I realized it might be cool to slap a mirror to the blade and see what it can do. The advantage to this slow wobbly device is being battery powered. I'll take an Oust tunnel scanner on my next desert trip or herf. It is always fun playing with the green laser pointer in smoke but the Oust fan can sit near the fire pit for an even better show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHA0x71fp_E and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqefN_iRHGI I finally got the Oust fan to hold still late in the herf by propping it up in a shoe. Version III http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbbbve-L-R0 is looking down the tunnel.

The photographs of all your beams are great. There are so many variables involved in actually seeing a beam from any laser no matter what power. Then you factor in the camera variables -unless you have the lasers you want to compare in the same photo under the same conditions, photos only help so much. I'll sleep on it a few more nights.

 

[Ashton]

As said before, it depends on what you want...

If you search, there is a thread on here somewhere that explains how mw relates to brightness and 'burning' power (I think brioghtness increases exponentially with every 50mw or soemthing, I'm not sure)

As far as justifying the purchase to yourself, it's a simple "whatever wags your tail" but justifying it to a wife/husband/mother/roomate/etc, it's very hard when they look at you and ask "so... what can do you with it except 'play'?" you find yourself really struggeling for an answer...

Also, it depends on how much you wanna risk, there are 2 sites with good deals on 200mw lasers (one red, one green, interestingly enough), however, both are non-american, and risk confiscation @ customs (and AFAIK, the only company that _garutees_ it to arive is Wicked Lasers (if it does not, they will refund your money and give you $100, or, give you $100 and ship again untill it gets through!)) I just ordered from one of these sites tonight and will let everyone know how/when/if it arrives (have no fear of the seller, just of US Customs officials!).

Personally, I looked at the 50mw, and I wanted more. I looked at the 100mw and wanted more... I _was_ going to buy the Pulsar 125 from wicked lasers, but I'm having some difficulties now (last night they reversed charges, never got my order out of "processing" status (for 5 days and counting), and have so far not replied to my email --- but email's only been out24 hours, so, maybe I'm just being hasty)

Just a few things to think about. It's a lot ot consider (also keep in mind you can rip the diode out of a DVD-RW drive and build your own 200mw laser, if you're skilled with your hands, that's only $50 plus another $20 in supplies!)

 

[Vermonter73]

The high power lasers are NOT for random light shows! A stray beam could do permanent damage to someone's vision!