Green Lazer Pointer
- Thread starter cybersoga
- Start date
Help Support Candle Power Flashlight Forum
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
I have a couple of them.
The one I bought new turned out to be far, far brighter than advertised due to an apparent accidental critical alignment occurring between the vanadate and Nd:YVO4 blocks with respect to one another.
But it did *start* at 4.68 milliwatts, which is just above average for any laser pointer with a Class IIIA (5mW max)label.
And it was brighter than hell back then.
I really was surprised and quite happy when I first opened the box, and yes it did kick the pants off all those common red laser pointers out there. It's fun being the only person in town with one.
Cost me $240 from a guy named Trash.
(Burning Man thing... he likes that nickname but his real name is Christian Anderson)
His green laser website is http://www.cheaperlaser.com/
He treated me right and sent my laser quickly, and I have no reason to believe he is at all dishonest.
They come in two flavors: continuous wave or pulsed, as you see in this picture.
Get the CW version if you can.
If you get fog in your area, take it outside and have a light show.
The one I bought new turned out to be far, far brighter than advertised due to an apparent accidental critical alignment occurring between the vanadate and Nd:YVO4 blocks with respect to one another.
But it did *start* at 4.68 milliwatts, which is just above average for any laser pointer with a Class IIIA (5mW max)label.
And it was brighter than hell back then.
I really was surprised and quite happy when I first opened the box, and yes it did kick the pants off all those common red laser pointers out there. It's fun being the only person in town with one.
Cost me $240 from a guy named Trash.
(Burning Man thing... he likes that nickname but his real name is Christian Anderson)
His green laser website is http://www.cheaperlaser.com/
He treated me right and sent my laser quickly, and I have no reason to believe he is at all dishonest.
They come in two flavors: continuous wave or pulsed, as you see in this picture.
Get the CW version if you can.
If you get fog in your area, take it outside and have a light show.
Harrkev
Enlightened
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Stingmon:
If you get fog in your area, take it outside and have a light show.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I am surprised that the police did not show up. Or do they already know you as the "light" guy???
If you get fog in your area, take it outside and have a light show.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I am surprised that the police did not show up. Or do they already know you as the "light" guy???
sunspot
Flashlight Enthusiast
Must not click on link, Must put credit card away, Must hit back button, Must take cold shower.
Graham
Flashlight Enthusiast
I just got one of these, from 'Laserguy'. I guess I have no self control when it comes to this kind of stuff.
But man, it is amazing. Really bright, blows my poor old red laser pointer completely away. Just tried it outside, and the weather is cold enough that you can really see the beam clearly. Very cool.
Graham
But man, it is amazing. Really bright, blows my poor old red laser pointer completely away. Just tried it outside, and the weather is cold enough that you can really see the beam clearly. Very cool.
Graham
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
does it really shine over 9000 feet???
in a light fog, would you get a 2 mile (nearly) and a long 'light sabre' ?
(edit) OK after I posted this I saw Stingmon's picture in the fog!!! You're way ahead of me Craig! are you shining the laser from the same point you are taking the picture? is that a cloud it's hitting?
?
in a light fog, would you get a 2 mile (nearly) and a long 'light sabre' ?
(edit) OK after I posted this I saw Stingmon's picture in the fog!!! You're way ahead of me Craig! are you shining the laser from the same point you are taking the picture? is that a cloud it's hitting?
?
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ted the Led:
does it really shine over 9000 feet???
in a light fog, would you get a 2 mile (nearly) and a long 'light sabre' ?
(edit) OK after I posted this I saw Stingmon's picture in the fog!!! You're way ahead of me Craig! are you shining the laser from the same point you are taking the picture? is that a cloud it's hitting?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
You'll get a longer range in LIGHT fog or haZe; and even longer in a relatively clear atmosphere.
When I took thatpicture, the fog was moderately heavy with visibility at about 0.5 mile. And that's about as far as the laser beam went before being absorbed along with all other light sources. That's why it appears to terminate abruptly.
The camera and laser were within a few inches of one another.
By the time you get a mile or so out, you'd probably need binoculars to see the spot on your target. If the laser were mounted or simply firmly held down on a fixed surface and then shined at a white or light colored target a couple of miles away, somebody close to the target should see a shimmering, basketball-sized green circle on it.
This of course assumes it's quite dark and that there are no streetlights anywhere nearby.
And... if somebody 20-50 miles away were looking directly towards you ("down the barrel" as it were), they should see a bright, scintillating green point that should appear considerably brighter than any other single light source in your city. As an example, one night I was shooting mine from downtown Seattle to some islands on the Olympic Penninsula around 20 miles away, and I started to notice a white light blinking on the island - somebody was "answering back", probably with a handheld halogen spotlight. Since there were no other lights where I was shooting, it was quite easy to see.
When I stopped the laser, the blinking light stopped. And when I turned it back on, their light also started blinking again. After several cycles of this, it became clear that my green laser *had* to be the brightest light on the already bright Seattle skyline, and was probably the brightest by an order of magnitude.
So yes, these things can literally "reach out and touch someone".
does it really shine over 9000 feet???
in a light fog, would you get a 2 mile (nearly) and a long 'light sabre' ?
(edit) OK after I posted this I saw Stingmon's picture in the fog!!! You're way ahead of me Craig! are you shining the laser from the same point you are taking the picture? is that a cloud it's hitting?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
You'll get a longer range in LIGHT fog or haZe; and even longer in a relatively clear atmosphere.
When I took thatpicture, the fog was moderately heavy with visibility at about 0.5 mile. And that's about as far as the laser beam went before being absorbed along with all other light sources. That's why it appears to terminate abruptly.
The camera and laser were within a few inches of one another.
By the time you get a mile or so out, you'd probably need binoculars to see the spot on your target. If the laser were mounted or simply firmly held down on a fixed surface and then shined at a white or light colored target a couple of miles away, somebody close to the target should see a shimmering, basketball-sized green circle on it.
This of course assumes it's quite dark and that there are no streetlights anywhere nearby.
And... if somebody 20-50 miles away were looking directly towards you ("down the barrel" as it were), they should see a bright, scintillating green point that should appear considerably brighter than any other single light source in your city. As an example, one night I was shooting mine from downtown Seattle to some islands on the Olympic Penninsula around 20 miles away, and I started to notice a white light blinking on the island - somebody was "answering back", probably with a handheld halogen spotlight. Since there were no other lights where I was shooting, it was quite easy to see.
When I stopped the laser, the blinking light stopped. And when I turned it back on, their light also started blinking again. After several cycles of this, it became clear that my green laser *had* to be the brightest light on the already bright Seattle skyline, and was probably the brightest by an order of magnitude.
So yes, these things can literally "reach out and touch someone".
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Stingmon:
And... if somebody 20-50 miles away were looking directly towards you ("down the barrel" as it were), they should see a bright, scintillating green point that should appear considerably brighter than any other single light source in your city. As an example, one night I was shooting mine from downtown Seattle to some islands on the Olympic Penninsula around 20 miles away, and I started to notice a white light blinking on the island - somebody was "answering back", probably with a handheld halogen spotlight. Since there were no other lights where I was shooting, it was quite easy to see.
When I stopped the laser, the blinking light stopped. And when I turned it back on, their light also started blinking again. After several cycles of this, it became clear that my green laser *had* to be the brightest light on the already bright Seattle skyline, and was probably the brightest by an order of magnitude.
So yes, these things can literally "reach out and touch someone".<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Stingmon, thta's a thrilling description of the green laser's qualities, esp. the basketball sized circle of light you'd see two mile away -- I have got to try that sometime!
-- yes, I did that 'far away blinking' once using a 1.5 million cp LSI spotlight with someone on Anacapa Island, off the coast here in the Pacific, maybe 20 - 30(?) miles away!
..obviously I need this green laser to communicate more extensively with my neighbors!..
And... if somebody 20-50 miles away were looking directly towards you ("down the barrel" as it were), they should see a bright, scintillating green point that should appear considerably brighter than any other single light source in your city. As an example, one night I was shooting mine from downtown Seattle to some islands on the Olympic Penninsula around 20 miles away, and I started to notice a white light blinking on the island - somebody was "answering back", probably with a handheld halogen spotlight. Since there were no other lights where I was shooting, it was quite easy to see.
When I stopped the laser, the blinking light stopped. And when I turned it back on, their light also started blinking again. After several cycles of this, it became clear that my green laser *had* to be the brightest light on the already bright Seattle skyline, and was probably the brightest by an order of magnitude.
So yes, these things can literally "reach out and touch someone".<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Stingmon, thta's a thrilling description of the green laser's qualities, esp. the basketball sized circle of light you'd see two mile away -- I have got to try that sometime!
..obviously I need this green laser to communicate more extensively with my neighbors!..
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
Is it good quality and worth the dough?
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ted the Led:
Stingmon, thta's a thrilling description of the green laser's qualities, esp. the basketball sized circle of light you'd see two mile away -- I have got to try that sometime!D<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I think I left out a word.
It should have said "basketball backboard" and not "basketball".
Basketball sized beam - probably more like 1/2 mile out (with an above average unit) without any help.
If you collimated the beam with external optics like 10x50 binoculars or a larger telescope, you might get a basketball sized or even smaller spot at 2 miles out.
Stingmon, thta's a thrilling description of the green laser's qualities, esp. the basketball sized circle of light you'd see two mile away -- I have got to try that sometime!D<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I think I left out a word.
It should have said "basketball backboard" and not "basketball".
Basketball sized beam - probably more like 1/2 mile out (with an above average unit) without any help.
If you collimated the beam with external optics like 10x50 binoculars or a larger telescope, you might get a basketball sized or even smaller spot at 2 miles out.
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
..well...still...that's a long way...do I sense keen interest in this item here?..do I smell group buy? ..wonder what the mark-up is on this ?
vcal
Flashlight Enthusiast
Craig, -that nasty laser sounds great!! -All except the part about "vanadate and Nd:YV04" -what the hell does that mean?
(in 50 words or less)
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by vcal:
Craig, -that nasty laser sounds great!! -All except the part about "vanadate and Nd:YV04" -what the hell does that mean?
(in 50 words or less)
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
To put it as simply as possible, these are the expensive crystals inside a green laser that give it its green color.
An infrared laser diode (808nm) shoots into the Nd: crystal, this crystal then lases at 1064nm (yes, deeper into the infrared). That light then shoots into the vanadate crystal which doubles the wavelength (1064/2) into the green you see coming out the end.
An IR filter (for safety) and a simple lens (to collimate the beam) finish the job.
I did *not* count the words. I did *not* spell out the actual chemical composition of the crystals. And I did *not* mention these comprise an intracavity resonator.
What I did want to write about tonight was the FUN I had with my green pointer during the annual tree lighting ceremony in downtown Seattle earlier this evening.
I was about a block and a half to 2 blocks away from the large tree in Westlake Plaza, and about 3 blocks away from the gigantic illuminated star on the Bon Marche building.
Every year in the 15 or so minutes leading up to the tree lighting, someone in the 50,000+ crowd shoots the big empty wall of one nearby building with a red keychain pointer, and then "laser races" start going on as more and more people add their red spots to the wall. Tonight, I whipped out my greenie, and all but one of the red beams almost immediately vanish. I shined it on the wall off and on for the better part of ten minutes, chasing the lone remaining red pointer dot around on the wall.
Then they began the 15 second countdown for the tree lighting. 5...4...3...2...1...0... and nothing. Totally dead. So after waiting around ten seconds, I whip out Mr. Green Laser once again and illuminate the upper half of the tree with it for the 90 or so additional seconds it took the guy to find the light switch.
I heard several people go "look at that" and point up to the upper part of the tree where my beam was being waved around.
Once the tree lit, I put the laser away, as I figured I wouldn't need it any more.
Next up was the big "star" on the corner rooftop of the Bon Marche building. Same countdown, same results. Totally dead, except for 4 of the spokes up at the top.
So I lasered that on and off, a few seconds at a time, until the Star finally came to life several minutes later in a shower of sparks and fireworks.
I forgot all about this until the 11 O'Clock news came on - and there was my green laser spot, bright as heck, waving around the top of the Bon Marche building where the star was as the news guy described both of the lighting failures.
Turned to another channel, and my laser was on that one too, this time on the failed Christmas tree, but only for a very brief second that time.
Don't see that everyday... first time I've seen a green laser (mine or anyone else's) on the TV news.
Craig, -that nasty laser sounds great!! -All except the part about "vanadate and Nd:YV04" -what the hell does that mean?
To put it as simply as possible, these are the expensive crystals inside a green laser that give it its green color.
An infrared laser diode (808nm) shoots into the Nd: crystal, this crystal then lases at 1064nm (yes, deeper into the infrared). That light then shoots into the vanadate crystal which doubles the wavelength (1064/2) into the green you see coming out the end.
An IR filter (for safety) and a simple lens (to collimate the beam) finish the job.
I did *not* count the words. I did *not* spell out the actual chemical composition of the crystals. And I did *not* mention these comprise an intracavity resonator.
What I did want to write about tonight was the FUN I had with my green pointer during the annual tree lighting ceremony in downtown Seattle earlier this evening.
I was about a block and a half to 2 blocks away from the large tree in Westlake Plaza, and about 3 blocks away from the gigantic illuminated star on the Bon Marche building.
Every year in the 15 or so minutes leading up to the tree lighting, someone in the 50,000+ crowd shoots the big empty wall of one nearby building with a red keychain pointer, and then "laser races" start going on as more and more people add their red spots to the wall. Tonight, I whipped out my greenie, and all but one of the red beams almost immediately vanish. I shined it on the wall off and on for the better part of ten minutes, chasing the lone remaining red pointer dot around on the wall.
Then they began the 15 second countdown for the tree lighting. 5...4...3...2...1...0... and nothing. Totally dead. So after waiting around ten seconds, I whip out Mr. Green Laser once again and illuminate the upper half of the tree with it for the 90 or so additional seconds it took the guy to find the light switch.
I heard several people go "look at that" and point up to the upper part of the tree where my beam was being waved around.
Once the tree lit, I put the laser away, as I figured I wouldn't need it any more.
Next up was the big "star" on the corner rooftop of the Bon Marche building. Same countdown, same results. Totally dead, except for 4 of the spokes up at the top.
So I lasered that on and off, a few seconds at a time, until the Star finally came to life several minutes later in a shower of sparks and fireworks.
I forgot all about this until the 11 O'Clock news came on - and there was my green laser spot, bright as heck, waving around the top of the Bon Marche building where the star was as the news guy described both of the lighting failures.
Turned to another channel, and my laser was on that one too, this time on the failed Christmas tree, but only for a very brief second that time.
Don't see that everyday... first time I've seen a green laser (mine or anyone else's) on the TV news.
vcal
Flashlight Enthusiast
"Intracavity resonator" huh, -thanks for clearing that up, Craig!
Btw-didn't any of the newspeople comment on seeing that greenie laser flitting about?
Btw-didn't any of the newspeople comment on seeing that greenie laser flitting about?
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by vcal:
"Intracavity resonator" huh, -thanks for clearing that up, Craig!
Btw-didn't any of the newspeople comment on seeing that greenie laser flitting about?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well, you asked me to keep it simple.
Explaining an intracavity resonator would make it no longer that simple.
Go to http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm and get to the DPSS and DPSSFD lasers, and learn about them there.
Didn't hear any comments on the news.
But I missed one station. So if they did say anything about it, it was while I was on another channel.
"Intracavity resonator" huh, -thanks for clearing that up, Craig!
Btw-didn't any of the newspeople comment on seeing that greenie laser flitting about?
Well, you asked me to keep it simple.
Explaining an intracavity resonator would make it no longer that simple.
Go to http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm and get to the DPSS and DPSSFD lasers, and learn about them there.
Didn't hear any comments on the news.
But I missed one station. So if they did say anything about it, it was while I was on another channel.
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mrchri5:
i really want one of those! 240 is a little high for me though. are the 45 dollar red lasers from the site you gave us any good?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
No idea about those... I haven't tried one.
I don't exactly have $45 on hand right now either. Spent most of my "free money" on Christmas lights over the last several days.
i really want one of those! 240 is a little high for me though. are the 45 dollar red lasers from the site you gave us any good?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
No idea about those... I haven't tried one.
I don't exactly have $45 on hand right now either. Spent most of my "free money" on Christmas lights over the last several days.
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
I wionder if Stingmon's green laser has been modified - if so - then are the standard green lasers not worth the money i.e. wouldn't be nearly as bright as his (Stingmon's)?
007
Newly Enlightened
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
Fluorescent Mineral Hunting Flashlight (High power 365nm UV)- Latest: Lumencraft (Matt)
-
Does anybody know happened to Oveready? (Out of stock for several years)- Latest: PoliceScannerMan
-
-
-
-
