Laser question: What can you do with the them?

What is the SolarForce L2 of the laser world.

Thx!

T-Mart has a ton of lasers that get delivered quickly.

Before you order one, go to laserpointerforums.com and study this thread

Certain types of lasers can cause serious eye damage even if you don't get "hit" directly in the eyes. Please get very informed before you buy one. Many of these lasers can blind you before your eyelid has a chance to blink.

And even though Tmart will ship their lasers to you, most of the lasers they sell are technically illegal in the USA.

You can do this:

Most of the inexpensive ones aren’t branded so it’s hard to answer your initial question.
You can pay more or you can pay less but in many cases you will get the exact same laser.
You do really need to read up on them regarding the safety issues. Just assume that they don’t have a IR filter and therefore they really aren’t the best things to use to use around your pets (to chase) unless you are very careful.
A green laser is very effective as a pointer …surprise :slight_smile:
I’m only talking about the 5mW pointer versions (which is all I own or want to own).
Other than just playing around with it the most useful thing I use it for is with astronomy. I use it as a quick way to aim my telescope. I just hold it parallel to the tube of my telescope, turn it on, and point it at the object that I’m trying to locate.
Once you have one and if you happen to have it with you there are occasions when it comes in handy but is generally not that necessary (IMO). I’ve been out rock climbing and discussing a route with my climbing partner and I’ve been able to point out some almost hidden bolts with the green laser pointer.
I don’t have one powerful enough to light matches or pop balloons nor do I want one.
Red ones are less effective but they don’t give your location away or draw attention to yourself and are a bit cheaper.

a purple laser will charge glow in the dark stuff faster than anything I've tried (even faster than direct sunlight).

I don't know a lot about lasers (one of the reasons I don't use the ones I have much and the main reason why I won't touch the high-powered ones), but as I understand it, it's the long-range UV radiation that "charges" the phosphorescent particles. For that reason, I assume that pure UV would work even better, as long as the amount of energy transmitted is the same.

To answer the original question: nothing, really. :D

There are a handful of situations where I personally find having a laser useful (eg. sighting in firearms, laser sight, pointing at stuff from far away) but to be honest to me, it's just a toy. I don't know enough about lasers to handle the high-power stuff safely so I won't. Popping balloons may be fun but I'm not going to try to get into lasers and start buying safety glasses just to be able to do that.

I think the only laser I use regularly is the one on my IR thermometer.

I'm not sure what you mean by long-range - if you mean concentrated, then yes, absolutely. I'm pretty sure the laser I've used and call purple is UV, but w/o knowing the specific wavelength, I call it purple.

Here's a great explanation of what to use and why it works.

Being 'naughty' with a laser is illegal in just about every civilized country on earth.

Please lock this thread, Mr. Admin.

easy now Chicago. Nobody is telling him to shine them at aircraft or in ppls eyes.

One of the coolest purposes is for astronomy. I love how you can 'touch' the star with them. It makes navigating the sky much easier and much more fun!

Also, they put out street lights ;) If you have the ones with the light sensors on top. They come back on after a few minutes but its funny to see.

I’m surprised by some of the responses on here lately regarding “lock that thread” and “close that thread”.
Most of us had enough of that on CPF. Locking a thread does nothing to prevent someone from reading something that you find questionable nor does closing a thread.
Just about everyone other than the OP has advised caution. What does locking or closing threads do?
If it’s just a matter of personal taste being violated then it seems just not reading a thread would be the better course of action.
I’m not picking on anyone here but I’ve just noticed more posts lately regarding locking or closing threads and it has surprised me.

I was kind of wondering if the vid w/ scaring birds might get that chap in some hot water.

They look like starlings, which are an invasive species here in NY, so it is open season if you want to shoot them (if it is legal to be shooting at all where you find them...it is obviously not where that vid was taken). In fact, I've been encouraged to shoot them by DEC officers - but, I bet you could still get a ticket for 'harassing' them with a laser at them (but maybe not?). Does that make any sense? No, not in my opinion, but a 14 trillion dollar debt doesn't make much sense either, does it. And those are the people in charge.

my point is, i think some people are just worried that content here could have legal implications, and they'd like to make sure we don't have any problems, so their concern doesn't bother me.

ultimately, i trust the admin to do what needs to be done, and not do what doesn't...

Bingo. The last thing we should do is get the owner of the site in trouble.

The owner of this site could let someone post instructions on how to build a nuclear bomb and would not be in legal trouble for that. Jeez, you guys have never seen the Anarchist's Cookbook? It's been in print since the early 1970's and you can still buy it on Amazon.

If you look at my earlier post for US members, there are a whole bunch of things that a sight owner may get in trouble for in the future. It is stunning what might happen.

Wade

That bill that you referred to is aimed at overseas websites that illegally sell copyrighted material, i.e. pirated goods. Would that affect our flashlights? Probably, but I'm glad someone is trying to enforce copyright laws. I operate 9 or 10 websites and it is not something I would lose any sleep over.

BTW, I have a green one. Seems to be the most visible, without going to stuff that has serious UV bleed.

Mine had a keylock on the back that I keep the key separate from.

T-Mart no longer lists lasers stronger than 5mW, which are within USA regulations.

It's not clear that lasers with power greater than 5mW are "Illegal", but there seems to be a concerted effort to make such lasers difficult to acquire.

Probably in response to the behavior of a small but VERY STUPID group of people that need to abuse these interesting toys, so that normal people suffer through Government bans. (I wonder if they know that it is illegal to point guns at other people too?)

It seems that these lasers are being confiscated by the FEDs while trying to import across USA borders, but are not being restricted when shipped within USA borders.

It also seems that high powered lasers can be imported if they meet FED guidelines, like momentary switches, key locks on main power switch, and a few other rather small issues.

My searches have found high powered lasers available through foreign suppliers, but at astronomical prices, some as high as $1000.00.

Laws prohibiting hand-held lasers may be coming, but may take time to craft the proper wording.

CD, DVD, and Blue-ray, burners still come with pretty powerful laser diodes.

Not that I'm an expert but I've been interested in building a laser sight for a rifle, and I've been lurking around the internet, trying to find out what's what.

Green is the best for a visible beam since its the brightest by far compared to other colors of equal mW power. Relative Brightness Calculator

Be aware almost all "5mW" green lasers are overspec. Often ~30mW & not safe around pets. They are just labeled "5mW" to sell in USA & elsewhere. Be careful around shinny or glossy surfaces & streetsigns.

If you like red, the new 635nm diodes costs a bit more but give extra brightness.

You should only see very high prices for exotic wavelengths or CNI resellers (Laserglow,NOVA,Optotronics,Dragon).

Luckily we haven't seen any idiot abusing truly high power lasers yet. Unfortunately it will likely happen with the high power 445nm diodes that are around now. At least their poor divergence reduces the danger with distance.

what a ridiculous statement to make

let me clue you in - there isn't one single example of technology that could be abused by some idiot and has not been - ok, maybe one or two, like LHC, but seriously - lasers?

ie. "Over the last three months, there have been 17 reported cases of laser attacks on aircraft in Moscow alone." http://rt.com/news/features/laser-terrorism-view-cockpit/

I have a 200mW red laser that is visible during daylight and especially at night for pointing out stars. I can engrave with it (focusable beam) and burn things but rarely use it. It's fun but it gets old fast.

I want to get a high powered one for chasing away the murders of crows that invade my property and kill our squirrels. Living in the city I can't just shoot them with a gun and a green laser is the next best option. So far a red laser doesn't get their attention unless I nail them in the eye with it.

There are entire forums that discuss lasers just like we have BLF or CPF for flashlights. There is no harm in discussing lasers, their use, modifications to them, or even rediculously high powered versions that make a 200mW laser look like a dollar store pointer. Unbunch your panties and relax a little. "Laser" is a five letter word not four.