GREEN LASER DIODE $25

[ICantAffordIt]

Originally posted by: El Norm
I'm such a sucker for stuff like this. I ended up ordering the 150mW and a 30mW (after i heard u can "overclock" these) so if i can get the 30mW one up to par with the 150mW i will try returning the 150mW.

But i've been interested in stuff like this since i was a kid... lol i can wait till this thing arrives in the mail... =D

Can you point me in the right direction for "overclocking" the 30mW laser?

Sorry laser police... I'll be careful, I'm an adult but I like cheap gadgets.

 

[theridion]

Ok, well, a couple things that people should know.

#1 - a 150mW green laser (untested) might only have like 30mW of green, the rest IR. I.e. most lasers on ebay and from not-good companies.
#2 - Don't wear the wrong glasses (or even sunglasses) as it can be WORSE for your eyes. You need to have glasses that specifically block the wavelength of your laser. I.e. My protective glasses make it so everything but a dim orange dot are visible when I use my 132mW green laser. Why not the wrong glasses? Well, when you put on dark glasses, your eyes dilate. If you're wearing sunglasses (for instance) you are blocking just a small portion of the laser light, but your pupils are now big and open.
#3 - There is a pretty good website: http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl where you can find all the information you want on lasers. I ordered mine from Novalasers (a Canadian company, which also has goggles, prisms, mirrors, diffraction gratings, etc.
#4 - Yes, they are stupid to point at people! That's why high powered lasers are illegal for sale in the US. Novalasers (for instance) is located in Canada (i believe). Customs always has the right to take any (if they find them). I think most out-of-country companies label lasers as 'pens' in order to bypass customs.
#5 - Don't use these in the city. Take them with you camping or out to the desert before you start flashing lights in random directions.
#6 - I believe you have to 4x the power of a laser before it is 2x as visible. Stick with a low powered green laser 5-10 mW. It can still damage the eye, but its much less intense. The beam is still visible in dark locations.

 

[jsxlynn]

Originally posted by: nealh
Guys I am an Ophthalmologist and fellowship trained Vitreoretinal specialist

We use Argon green lasers for retianl disease treatment....diode laser are used as well

These things are not toys and should never be pointed at anyone or a place where your not intending.....

You will do serious and permanent damage to someone's eyes..if your really unlucky you will hit their macula and potentially make themy legally blind

Not a very nice outcome....skip these stupid things...

Damn... people are stupid so often and these should not be for purchase...lthis IMHO is like a gun that has no consequences becasue the person playing with it doesnt see blood and gore from their stupidty

Good advice--but my understanding is that near uv,and uv get focused onto the macula since uv doesn't attenuate with water. I thought that IR or near IR reacts with water, thus damaging the cornea and never even coming close to the macula since the vitreous fluid within the eye would attenuate the beam before it reaches it... But then I'm neither a Opthalmologist nor a Vitreoretinal specialist--am I understanding this wrong?

As for the spider on the wall--it will damage the spider first since the spider is mostly water, of course the plaster is also 30-60% water--calcium sulfate dihydrate makes the plaster ~30, adding hemihydrate or decahydrate is used in fire code gypsum board--but low powered lasers aren't likely to be focused enough or powerful enough to burn a hole in it--so begone spiders.

*lol* what fun this topic is....

 

[BigLar]

My memory is that it is very difficult to use water as a solvent for a sample in an infrared spectrometer for precisely that reason.

 

[El Norm]

Originally posted by: ICantAffordIt

Originally posted by: El Norm
I'm such a sucker for stuff like this. I ended up ordering the 150mW and a 30mW (after i heard u can "overclock" these) so if i can get the 30mW one up to par with the 150mW i will try returning the 150mW.

But i've been interested in stuff like this since i was a kid... lol i can wait till this thing arrives in the mail... =D

Can you point me in the right direction for "overclocking" the 30mW laser?

Sorry laser police... I'll be careful, I'm an adult but I like cheap gadgets.

Well there are a few things i found, most these lasers have strength adjustments. So... all you have to do is adjust he little pot inside that just looks like a screw fitting and it increases the power by alot.

another project i'm going to be playing with is you can actually turn a dvd burners laser diode into a red laser that has the potential to burn a few things as well.

Most this stuff can be found on youtube.

Lost storey short... i'm not positive u can adjust the power on the 30mW one, but there is a good chance that u can just open it up and adjust it with the pot (which mean all u do it turn a thing that looks like a screw).

 

[theridion]

1- One of the first things I did when I got my 132mW green laser was shoot a spider. It didn't like it, but it just ran away. Although, I did burn a freckle-sized burn into my brother's hand in about 1 second at 3 inches away.

2- We're not talking about 'heating water' or vaporizing cells to cause damage. We're talking about photoreceptors, DNA, and every other organelle of a cell receiving photons of a wavelength that can disrupt the bonds in their molecules... UV messing with DNA is like hitting the roots that destroy a tree... Any intense light of certain wavelengths can effect the bonds of cell molecules. The cells in your eye are few and precious. Do you want cells which absorb photons of various lengths to OD on green? It ain't good for them. I have been around ophthalmic surgery since I was born and know the delicate nature of the retina (btw - IF YOU HAVE DIABETES, CHECK YOUR BLOOD-SUGAR LEVELS OFTEN OR RISK RETINAL-DEGENERATION).

3- As mentioned, you-tube is filled with videos of people popping balloons, burning plastic, burning paper, and even making lasers out of diodes from CD-RW and DVD-RW drives.

4- You will not set your house on fire from your typical hand-held laser. In fact, the mere fact that you are 'holding' a laser moves the point enough that it is hard to compound heat at a specific point.

5- 'True' vs. 'Un-true' - merely the idea that your laser might output 100mw of photons (normally 1 mW or so for your over the counter laser which is usually red). Any 130mW laser will burn through black plastic, paper, or rubber quite easily, but only 'true' 130mW lasers will have their full output be at a specific wavelength (IR, red, UV, green, etc.) Often times people sell a 'green' laser that has a 50mW output, but it only has 1-5 mW of green and most of the output is IR. (hence the talk of an IR filter inside the laser).

6- Again, the before mentioned website in my previous post has answers and people that can help you with any laser questions (even yellow and blue lasers!)

 

[BigLar]

Nicely done. And Theridion...welcome to Anandtech...outstanding first posts!

 

[covert24]

Originally posted by: Assassimon
why don't you just make your own 245MW laser? http://www.metacafe.com/watch/...laser_flashlight_hack/

can u use a cd burner instead of a dvd burner or no?

 

[Analog]

Originally posted by: covert24

Originally posted by: Assassimon
why don't you just make your own 245MW laser? http://www.metacafe.com/watch/...laser_flashlight_hack/

can u use a cd burner instead of a dvd burner or no?

No, CD burners use the wrong wavelength.

 

[BigLar]

Originally posted by: Analog

Originally posted by: covert24

Originally posted by: Assassimon
why don't you just make your own 245MW laser? http://www.metacafe.com/watch/...laser_flashlight_hack/

can u use a cd burner instead of a dvd burner or no?

No, CD burners use the wrong wavelength.

"WANTED: Schroedinger's cat. Dead or alive."
GREAT SIG LINE!!!

 

[LurkingInNC]

Originally posted by: theridion
Ok, well, a couple things that people should know.

#1 - a 150mW green laser (untested) might only have like 30mW of green, the rest IR. I.e. most lasers on ebay and from not-good companies.
#2 - Don't wear the wrong glasses (or even sunglasses) as it can be WORSE for your eyes. You need to have glasses that specifically block the wavelength of your laser. I.e. My protective glasses make it so everything but a dim orange dot are visible when I use my 132mW green laser. Why not the wrong glasses? Well, when you put on dark glasses, your eyes dilate. If you're wearing sunglasses (for instance) you are blocking just a small portion of the laser light, but your pupils are now big and open.
#3 - There is a pretty good website: http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl where you can find all the information you want on lasers. I ordered mine from Novalasers (a Canadian company, which also has goggles, prisms, mirrors, diffraction gratings, etc.
#4 - Yes, they are stupid to point at people! That's why high powered lasers are illegal for sale in the US. Novalasers (for instance) is located in Canada (i believe). Customs always has the right to take any (if they find them). I think most out-of-country companies label lasers as 'pens' in order to bypass customs.
#5 - Don't use these in the city. Take them with you camping or out to the desert before you start flashing lights in random directions.
#6 - I believe you have to 4x the power of a laser before it is 2x as visible. Stick with a low powered green laser 5-10 mW. It can still damage the eye, but its much less intense. The beam is still visible in dark locations.

I've heard people talk about the risk of eye damage due to reflections off of whatever you're aiming at (e.g., say a white wall 6 feet away (after the spider you're aiming at moves)). How much of a threat does that pose? Seems like it could possibly be greater than the threat of the direct beam as you'd (presumably) avoid shining the direct beam towards anyones eyes in the first place....

 

[bookster]

My luck being what it is. The beam would get stuck on then I would drop it and as its falling shine right into my eyes thus blinding me. So yeah I'm stayin away from this kinda stuff.

If I didnt have bad luck I wouldnt have any luck.

 

[shira]

Originally posted by: bamacre
How would this work for spiders found crawling on walls?

Why would you want to kill spiders? The vast, vast, vast majority are harmless to humans, and they eat bugs that would otherwise be crawling around in your house.

 

[ICantAffordIt]

Mine shipped today... now lets see how long it takes to arrive from Hong Kong.

 

[VinceDee]

Originally posted by: shira

Originally posted by: bamacre
How would this work for spiders found crawling on walls?

Why would you want to kill spiders? The vast, vast, vast majority are harmless to humans, and they eat bugs that would otherwise be crawling around in your house.

I can't believe you would seriously ask that question.

People would kill spiders because the vast, vast majority of humans don't want them crawling around on them. Further, spiders sometimes bite which, while not usually dangerous, leaves a itchy red bump. Yes, spiders are not generally bad, but I'm also not interested in sharing my house with them.

I don't think it's too cool to use a laser on spiders, though. Seems like a form of torture to me. If you want to kill the spider, just pick it up (using tissue paper) and put it in the toilet or outside.

 

[jsxlynn]

Originally posted by: shira

Originally posted by: bamacre
How would this work for spiders found crawling on walls?

Why would you want to kill spiders? The vast, vast, vast majority are harmless to humans, and they eat bugs that would otherwise be crawling around in your house.

Yes, with the spiders gone, soon the house will be overrun by silverfish, and being silver and capable of specular reflection, the owner will soon become permanently blind and probably be eaten by the silverfish. Get that guy's address....

 

[BigLar]

Got mine today!

Instant review:

1. Didn't seem to do anything to a moth or a moth larva (don't ask), but stunned a fly such that I swatted it.

2. Can easily see the beam at ten feet on a white outside wall at midday- 50 ft in a shadow -- didn't try further.

3. The beam going through the night sky is a kick.

Nagging question...so what? What's next? Seems to be a bit too bright to use as a lecture pointer.

 

[Cstefan]

I got mine 10 min ago. 30mw one. It's SO bright. Can see beam in floating room dust at full light but only slightly. I'll play with it tonight. And the beam hitting a white surface gave me an instant headache

 

[rip]

Die Thread! Is this really responsible internet usage? Just the fact that this information is available here creates another chance for eye/sight damage. Does it need to be here? I don't think so.

 

[El Norm]

Originally posted by: rip
Die Thread! Is this really responsible internet usage? Just the fact that this information is available here creates another chance for eye/sight damage. Does it need to be here? I don't think so.

huh? Responsible internet usage? really? You know... a car can kill, do we need to take down any car related posts? Computer games can ruin ur life because mmorpg's are overplayed and require a ton of time, lets get rid of those too! Drinking too much water can kill u too, please keep posts about bottled water limited to 2 liter good deals. Thanks!

If your so concerned maybe you should not buy it... or not use it. why should we censor it?

its all in using things responsibly...

 

[byronface]

Originally posted by: rip
Die Thread! Is this really responsible internet usage? Just the fact that this information is available here creates another chance for eye/sight damage. Does it need to be here? I don't think so.

isn't it better that these things are discussed so people can be informed about the danger?

 

[Miramonti]

The FAA loves these things.

 

[ICantAffordIt]

Originally posted by: BigLar
Got mine today!

Instant review:

1. Didn't seem to do anything to a moth or a moth larva (don't ask), but stunned a fly such that I swatted it.

2. Can easily see the beam at ten feet on a white outside wall at midday- 50 ft in a shadow -- didn't try further.

3. The beam going through the night sky is a kick.

Nagging question...so what? What's next? Seems to be a bit too bright to use as a lecture pointer.

I just got mine, it's not dark yet, but I can easily see the dot on an off-white house 200 feet away in the daylight.

 

[El Norm]

Got mine too, i ordered two different ones.

I received the 30mW one and the beam is a little visible in the day through dust and the dot is extremely bright.

I am looking forward to receiving the 150mW one i ordered as well.