Newbie laser pointer question

[Scotch]

Hi,

I am new here and I wish I found this forum before I bought my first laser pointer.

I do not know if I am at the right place so feel free to move me.

I bought a 30mw (legal in Canada) green pointer non IR filter for astronomy use.

I was told as long as I use normal safety precautions it was ok. Also that the IR filter pointer cost more because of the more powerful components use to get the same mw output as a non IR filter laser.

In this forum, I read that many factories in China do not install an IR filter in order to get more output but at the expanse of quality. A 30mw laser could in reality be a 5mw green lasers and 25mw of IR.

Well my pointer is made in China, Global, UKAS quality management and it's from Maxon Technologies.

Can anyone tell me from experience if Maxon Technologies is a reputable seller and did I buy a good laser pointer?

Thank you
Scotch

 

[Patriot]

Hi,

I am new here and I wish I found this forum before I bought my first laser pointer.

I do not know if I am at the right place so feel free to move me.

I bought a 30mw (legal in Canada) green pointer non IR filter for astronomy use.

I was told as long as I use normal safety precautions it was ok. Also that the IR filter pointer cost more because of the more powerful components use to get the same mw output as a non IR filter laser.

In this forum, I read that many factories in China do not install an IR filter in order to get more output but at the expanse of quality. A 30mw laser could in reality be a 5mw green lasers and 25mw of IR.

Well my pointer is made in China, Global, UKAS quality management and it's from Maxon Technologies.

Can anyone tell me from experience if Maxon Technologies is a reputable seller and did I buy a good laser pointer?

Thank you
Scotch

That's pretty much correct regarding the safety precautions but an IR filter is always better and the only kind I'll purchase.

Regarding the output they're really not held to any honesty standard anyhow so they could have just as well called it a 50mW instead of 35W. You have all types of manufacturers and distributors so maybe one group w/o IR filters actually does measure the output and add the 532nM and IR to get total output while another group doesn't do measurements at all. They often just use the number that the manufacturer says it has. Another group just buys the cheapest diode they can get and sticks the highest random number on there that they think they can get away with. Occasionally people just get darn lucky and get the output level they paid for but that's the exception. Unless you're buying from the most reputable known dealers you're usually getting ripped off, so to speak, to some extent. On low power lasers up to 50mW the difference probably isn't going to sting the pride or wallet too badly but if you make a mistake on a high power greenie, you can needlessly throw away hundreds of dollars.

 

[Scotch]

Patriot,

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question

Scotch

 

[armlaser]

YES, there are many laser pointers non IR in the market. You can simply take IR filter laser pointer out from non IR filter lasers by :

look at the laser dot on the wall , if the laser make your eyes very uncomfortable, it's non IR filter, if it's just bright and you feel good,that's IR filter laser pointer.

 

[proud2deviate]

YES, there are many laser pointers non IR in the market. You can simply take IR filter laser pointer out from non IR filter lasers by :

look at the laser dot on the wall , if the laser make your eyes very uncomfortable, it's non IR filter, if it's just bright and you feel good,that's IR filter laser pointer.

Wow. Umm, no.

 

[bshanahan14rulz]

mmm, looking at that laser makes me feel good =)

 

[luvlasers]

YES, there are many laser pointers non IR in the market. You can simply take IR filter laser pointer out from non IR filter lasers by :

look at the laser dot on the wall , if the laser make your eyes very uncomfortable, it's non IR filter, if it's just bright and you feel good,that's IR filter laser pointer.

Looking at the beam point of a high power laser WITH IR filter close range with out safety glasses will not injure your eyes but it is likely to give you a head ache.