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+--- Thread: Saunter, you cretins? Green Laser Pointers, and low grade beam weapons.... Cheap. (/showthread.php?tid=39772)
Saunter, you cretins? Green Laser Pointers, and low grade beam weapons.... Cheap. - Paul F. - 09-13-2007
Tech Toy Deal Tip!
Do you spend hours with your cheap red laser pointer putting dots on things? Running your cat, dog, or children around chasing the dot?
Well, I don't know if you know how much BRIGHTER green laser pointers are than red ones... but they are. And just darn cool!
(Technical reason; the 635 nanometer wavelength of the red lasers is at the edge of the eye's ability to see... whereas the 530 nanometer wavelength of the green laser is smack in the "sweet spot" of human vision... appearing much brighter).
After my red laser pointer (after many years of good service, and after many many hours of entertaining my cat) was stolen out of my desk at work (and yes, I'm still a little bitter....).. I went looking for a new one.
A couple years ago, Green laser pointers were still HUNDREDS of dollars. After some googling and reading some forums about some really weird gadget geeks that "mod" their laser pointers (you think computer overclockers go overboard?), I found this site with some good laser deals;
http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.911
I ordered two ultra-cheap red laser pointers (sub $3 ea) for my desk at work and one <5mw (less than 5 milliwatt) Green laser.
The red lasers are perfectly adequate...
The green laser is freakin' awesome! Especially at just under $18.
I can see a visible beam in low daylight, and at night, the beam is visible for at least 800 yards! (neighbors house, currently UNoccupied, that I have used a rangefinder on in the past).
Dealextreme ALSO carries higher powered 10mw, 20mw, 30mw, and 50mw green laser pointers. WARNING! At 10mw, the green lasers are "casual contact safe", but WILL cause eye damage shining it into your eyeball. the 20-50mw lasers will DEFINITELY cause some no-sh!t damage to your eyeballs even with INCIDENTAL reflected contact! I wouldn't use a greater than 10mw laser without laser safety goggles!
The 5mw is seriously cool... I'm thinking about buying a 10mw one.. but beyond that I think I'll pass... too easy to get just a LITTLE too sloppy and direct a reflected bean onto my tender retina's and fry some rods and cones...
By the way... some folks have "modded" 50mw green lasers to over 100-150mw, enough to pop balloons and light matches! 8D
Re: Saunter, you cretins? Green Laser Pointers, and low grade beam weapons.... Cheap. - AAA - 09-13-2007
I just added dealextreme to my favorites last week. (still not sure why)
Re: Saunter, you cretins? Green Laser Pointers, and low grade beam weapons.... Cheap. - papercup - 09-13-2007
Keep in mind, green lasers are very, very, very dangerous to eyes, and they can & will damage permanently almost instantly.
Not a toy.
DealExtreme is excellent, though. Lotsa cheap Chinese crap. Shipping is slow.
The CREE LED flashlights are a steal, and fantastic.
Re: Saunter, you cretins? Green Laser Pointers, and low grade beam weapons.... Cheap. - Will Collier - 09-13-2007
Yeah, but can you put them on sharks?
Re: Saunter, you cretins? Green Laser Pointers, and low grade beam weapons.... Cheap. - OWC Jamie - 09-13-2007
I'm tempted to get a green one to fire back atthe jerks in traffic who think it's funny to aim their's at the rear view mirrors in front of them.
What I'd really like to get my hands on would be a few pounds of black powder again.
(used to be fun to put a quarter teasopoon in smoker's ashtrays)
Re: Saunter, you cretins? Green Laser Pointers, and low grade beam weapons.... Cheap. - Paul F. - 09-13-2007
billb;
http://www.powderinc.com/catalog/order.htm
Unfortunately, the minimum quantities and shipping fees tend to preclude getting "just a little"...
Come next payday.. I'm going to get one of those 10mw or maybe a 20mw green laser to see how far across the valley I can get the beam. Especially come the nice foggy mornings in the fall!
Re: Saunter, you cretins? Green Laser Pointers, and low grade beam weapons.... Cheap. - PeterB - 09-13-2007
Thanks Paul, for the link -- I had ordered one of these (but not from this vendor) through ebay several months ago, and have still not received it, despite many emails going back and forth with the seller. Under normal circumstances, I would have already given the guy a negative feedback, but I'm very loathe to do that unless the person is making no effort to try to remedy the situation. (And in this case, I suspect that since the seller is probably dealing with an overseas shipper, everything may take longer.) At any rate, I will be glad to have one of these; it helps with a lecture or talk to have something other than red.
Re: Saunter, you cretins? Green Laser Pointers, and low grade beam weapons.... Cheap. - mrbigstuff - 09-14-2007
gee... let me get this straight. anything over 50mw will fry eyes, and the 200mw lasers are all sold out on that site.
great.