I'm new to laser world....

[VT-Metal-VT]

I wanna buy my first green laser. I know that there are lasers on ebay that are cheaper than wickedlaser.com ...but is the quality fine??

i have to use it with rechargeables li ion or AA nimh can u help me?

 

[SenKat]

Hoooo-boy ! Where to start ? First off, some of the sellers on Ebay misrepresent thier products - so always err on the side of caution. If this is your first purchase - you have to make a list of items -

What do you want to do with it ?
High power, or low power ?
Do you have eye protection SPECIFICALLY for lasers ?
What is your budget ?

Answer some of those, and do TONS of reading here, Laserpointerforums, Lasercommunity, and Sam's laser FAQ page BEFORE making a decision...

I know it seems I haven't helped much - but more info is needed before any of us on here could probably help out....

 

[Perfectionist]

What can you actually usefully do with Laser Pointers ..... aren't they really just cool Toys !!

 

[Kiessling]

You can point with them. Actuallly they are pretty good at that, depending on color and power.

 

[VT-Metal-VT]

Hoooo-boy ! Where to start ? First off, some of the sellers on Ebay misrepresent thier products - so always err on the side of caution. If this is your first purchase - you have to make a list of items -

What do you want to do with it ?
High power, or low power ?
Do you have eye protection SPECIFICALLY for lasers ?
What is your budget ?

Answer some of those, and do TONS of reading here, Laserpointerforums, Lasercommunity, and Sam's laser FAQ page BEFORE making a decision...

I know it seems I haven't helped much - but more info is needed before any of us on here could probably help out....

i wanna enjoy with the laser pointer and also i can use it when i'm hiking.....i don't know if 50 mw is enough (can it reach 30 km of distance??)

i can spend around 100 usd ....but i wanna use it with rechargeables li ion or nimh
thx for the help

 

[Ashton]

What can you do? BURN BABY BURN!!! (lol sorry, little bit of a pyro streak bubbling up)

but a 75mw can cut electrical tape and pop baloons, focused it can also light matches and possibly other dark materials. the more pwoerful (higher MW) the more damage it can do (if you want to see a NICE laser, look down below on this forum for the tread about the Hercules 400mw!)

Also, jsut FYI: a "laser pointer" is <5mw, anything >5mw is a "laser device" or a "laser module" as per FDA regulations. Also, these regulations require a crapload of safty features that make it a chore to opperate most "legal" lasers if you dont 'bypass' the features (not knocking them, great to have these features in a home with kids or very irresponcible adults, but some of us would prefer not to have to spend 5 minutes 'unlocking' our lasers before we can use them)

Also ebaysers tend to have no IR filter, so they're HIGHLY dangerous, and also FAR overrated (a "75mw" may only put out <20mw of green and 55mw of uselss, dangerous, IR) so be *very* careful where you buy your laser from.

If you want a good deal and dont mind adding your own IR filter, DealExtreme has a nice 100mw greenie for $100 dollars. should more than suit your needs.

EDIT:
NiMH batteries are fine, but most lasers WILL NOT use LiIon's without riskign damage (voltage diff, 1.5X2 = 3, 1.7(liion (I think))x2 = 3.4)

 

[SenKat]

Lithium batteries are perfectly fine to use in Green Lasers - but most of the time, not in Reds. The greenies have voltage limiting circuits built in, wheras most of the red "pointers" do not....some of the higher power ranges for red can stand the lithiums, but always ask the vendor first before investing in the expensive batts !!!

 

[VT-Metal-VT]

X ashton

li ion voltage is 3,7 each

 

[allthatwhichis]

You really want to live in Vermont? :huh:

Welcome, and get ready to have a thinner wallet... I'm more into laser projectors and have dropped about $2000. I also started with pointers... :lolsign:

 

[yellow]

I started 5mW greenie a few weeks ago, its a cheap E-Bay model.

While output is fine on new batts (or with the whole thing heated by rubbing between the hands, on oven, ...), it sucks when used a bit, in the cold, most every time and especially on Ni-Mhs.
A 5 mW greenie with a regulated output would be THE great thing for starters.

Gotta need upgrade the whole laser thing to: 1 (or 2) AAs, step-up and voltage fixing driver, good housing with protection from the elements (especially NO hole to the laser where dust clogs in).
Compare actual led lights with the common flashlight base some 10 years ago.

 

[VT-Metal-VT]

I want a laser that can generate a green line in the sky.....and is possible to see this line from a big distance!

 

[stevetexas]

seeing the line from a distance requires some serious power if you're "off-axis". Say you just point it straight up, with a 5 mW pointer, you can see the beam quite well if you look straight down the laser line, but if you step 10 feet away and look at it from the side it may be nearly invisible. Even with my Aries 225, if I am more than 50-100 feet away I can't see the beam when I look at it from the side.

 

[VT-Metal-VT]

wickedlaser.com items have an IR filter inside?
whats the problem without IR filter?

 

[Unleashed]

From what I've read the IR filter IS good. It blocks out the dangerous infrared light/radiation. The mw rating the manufacture gives the laser is closer to what you get in visible/green light. The one thing that turned me off as far as wickedlasers was the possibility of customs seizing it. Unfortunately it seems your better off buying from the country where you live. Either buying legal IIIa and modifying it yourself or buying legal expensive IIIb. Anyone had any dealings with their local customs when personally bringing a laser back, like in a suitcase, say from China?

 

[2xTrinity]

Also ebaysers tend to have no IR filter, so they're HIGHLY dangerous, and also FAR overrated (a "75mw" may only put out <20mw of green and 55mw of uselss, dangerous, IR) so be *very* careful where you buy your laser from.

If you want a good deal and dont mind adding your own IR filter, DealExtreme has a nice 100mw greenie for $100 dollars. should more than suit your needs.

I hear this thrown around all the time that the lasers without the IR filters count the IR output in the power rating, however, in the case of the Dealextreme green lasers, the 10mW has been tested by some members on this board to emit around 15mW of green, and around 4mW of IR. I suppose DX may be an exception to that though.

wickedlaser.com items have an IR filter inside?
whats the problem without IR filter?

The output from the beam will be slightly higher, in the form of non-visible IR, which won't contribute to the brightness. Should you accidentally catch a direct reflection of it that would make it potentially more damaging as you will be intercepting the visible + the IR light. Also, if you use safety goggles designed to filter out green, it probably will not filter out the IR, so you'll still be vulnerable to the IR component of the beam.

 

[Don_Redondo]

Here's a company that sells rescue lasers that will put a line in the sky but they are intended to get attention when someone crosses through the beam as opposed to seeing the line. To see the details, click on "how it works" on the left side of the page.

I don't have any experience with these just happen to see a review recently and thought they might fit the line in the sky task.

 

[Snipermang]

im also new to green lasers and i have a question...
ive been reading a bit about "warming" the laser and i have noticed that my laser does not perform well when cool, im wondering why that is.

 

[SenKat]

The MCA (Master Crystal Assembly) will "lase" at different wavelengths depending on the temperature of the crystals. By warming it - you are changing the wavelength that the laser is emitting. The crystals will warm up naturally due to the IR radiation bathing them, but it may take a few seconds to reach optimal temperature.

 

[Snipermang]

gotcha, thank you.