Hey guys! Looking to get into the hobby of lasers! I have done ample research and am no stranger to the art of small electronics. Where are you guys sourcing diodes / drivers from? Everything I am seeing has very muddy specs / sketchy sites. Besides the safety aspect of this any tips on where to begin? Thinking a handheld altoid tin pocket laser.

EDIT - To add context, specifically looking for 405-488nm diode / driver package. Sub 500mw range.

I 3D print props, including a large selection of scifi laser rifles. Next year I'm going to an event and am scoping out the possibility of using a low-power laser emitter inside the prop and a set of receivers to set up a shooting gallery that visitors to our event can try out. As it's a public event I'm very concerned about safety, so before I embark on anything I want to make sure that #1 it's feasible to do this safely #2 this is a sane way to do things.

If this is feasible, I'd be interested to know what kind of range I'd be looking at and how the ambient light conditions would affect what I could do.

Hey there,

I had an old cd drive lying around and was bored, so I took out the laser contraption thing. The part I have has the diode and a piece of glass, (I think its supposed to reflect the laser and point it in the right direction). The diode has three pins. I just want to power it up and make it work, I'm concerned about safety, what kind of glasses should i use?

I also don't have a bench power supply, I'm thinking of DIY'ing one for myself but is that worth it?

Hi everyone!

I bought recently a 445-450 blue laser that might be anywhere between 200mW and 1W in terms of power. The laser didn't arrive yet so I don't know for sure as the seller doesn't specify the power lever for what I suppose are legal reasons. Anyway, even at 200mW it would be a dangerous laser.

I was looking into buying some eye protection glasses but they seem imposssible to find in my country. I did find a ton of "blue light blocking" glasses though. The seller claims they block 100 percent of blue light of frequencies up to 470nm.

Would such eyewear give my eyes any protection from the laser? I won't be doing anything stupid like staring into the beam or shining the laser indoors or at reflective surfaces. I live in a small town and behind my backyard there's kilometres of empty fields so I won't be blinding anyone by accident. It gets very foggy this time of the year so I just want to have some silly fun with the laser.

Hello

I am trying to laser marking machine. I need to engrave 0.035mm copper. I did a lot of searches so i just sure about that, i need a 1064nm laser. I searched aliexpress, alibaba and etc. 20w laser source is way over my budget. Suddenly i remind something. I have a reci fsc2000, may i use it for laser marking? If it is yes, which parts i need for make a marker and how i can do it.

Note: Which way i can engrave 0.035mm copper with a 455nm diode laser without using asid?

PS: This machine is for a school finish thesis. I choose this project but i cant sleep because of this, i cant solve problem. Please help me about that.

Thanks.

Hello everyone,

I have been looking into lasers for a bit but wanted to ask here what to get before I actually commit to anything.

I am not looking for a professional grade laser. More smth to mess around with. Thus the budget isnt the biggest, but I have already come to terms with that I'll probably be spending a hefty sum of money. I know I'll want smth with an ilda port, as dmx doesnt give the most control. So far I thought about getting a Helios Laser DAC and to write the software to control it myself. I know that that is a really hard task, but I am currently writing a dmx lighting software, so I can kinda guess how much work I'll need to put into the software. And adding laser control definietly sounds like an awesome problem to tackle. The last thing I really need is the actual laser.

The laser will be positioned indoors. It will never point at people directly. I will have to get both my father and brother on board. My father already said that he would definietly be onboard, and even pay more, if required to get a good device. The first reaction from my brother was smth along the lines of "there is probably smth for like 100€ on AliExpress, lets check". Which neiter I, nor my father, want to do, because as from what I could see these lasers arent quite safe and I couldnt really find any good ones with ilda support anyways. Considering that christmas is comming up, and that we are 3 people that would share the device, I am hoping I can get smth for like 450-600€ (that cost is just the laser). I would also be able to pay more, if nothing good is available at that price point.

So, what are your guys's opinions? Do you know any laser or have any ideas regarding this?

Thanks in advance for every answer!

Howdy folks, I work on fiber lasers and was wondering what the best respirator for protecting my lungs from the laser dust would be, I’ve tried looking on google but I don’t think I’m searching correctly as all the results seem to be for CO2 lasers. Any help is greatly appreciated thank you.

Hello everyone I’m interested in trying out something like LaserCube as both hobby and a non traditional way of advertising(commercial wall spaces, building facades etc..)

Is lasercube the best option? I’ve seen some Chinese alternatives like Miya Lasers and New Feel Light and would appreciate any of your inputs

I think they all use the same app and maybe branded versions of the same generic product. (Their app interfaces and machines looks exactly alike)

https://nfllaser.com/products/laser-cube-app-control-laser-lights?srsltid=AfmBOopdmuL6XIfZz8JpYPvrQjBmMGknQ6aVk_G4SKjQ3wa97fMjm78o

https://miyalaser.com/products/1-5w-laser-with-ios-app-control-and-battery-power

So in order to satisfy an old want from my teenager years I googled up some laser pointers and wound up at big laser pointers . Com picked up a mars green pointer and a 500mw Pluto blue burning.

After learning a little bit, the green one emits a bunch of IR. I saw you can get filter and test cards to check this but I also have a pair of NVGs and yea it definitely is emitting large amounts of IR.

So my question is outside of buying a reputable green laser, is there a way to cut down an IR cut filter so that it fits in one of the screw tops? TIA

Photo just showing some fun in the pepper tree, not trying to show IR.

not certain if this is the right place however i’m looking for a high power output laser that’ll be able to project a notable amount of beam in the daylight. used to show damages. preferably within $100 budget however if it goes higher that’s fine need something of good quality. what are the options? thank you in advance fellas. 👍🏼

We have a cool-looking Haloween one that stakes into the ground in front of our house. Very bright. Are these unsafe -- should I be concerned about kids looking into the laser thingies?

A quick calculation gave a beam brightness of roughly double the 445nm of equal power, which is insane.

Although I understand there are other factors like beam diameter, divergence, and time of day (because your eyes are more sensitive to shorter wavelengths at night).

Can anyone confirm this laser's brightness in real life?

I've got 4 lasers in the 500 to 1000 mw range that at the end of their lives (far premature to the 10000 hours they were rated for) made a big flash and now won't do anything. Can they be repaired? I suppose I should take a working one apart to test the driver board and resistance on the diode to get baseline values but I was hoping one of you kind geniuses might know/have a guide.

I git a 700 mw laser diode(638nm) and I want to know how to collimate it properly, I’m guessing it will have a faster axis because it’s 12$ on eBay so…..

any tips would be helpful

ps I want it for burning stuff

I’m dubious owing to the amount of less than reputable suppliers out there and how this website has spelling mistakes, generic photos etc but it’s one of the few stores I can find that sell this type of pointer (casing or form factor?) I’m looking for ideally a yellow one that looks like the picture. However I can’t find any reviews or any posts about this company here on Google or LaserPointerForum

Hey guys, I’ve been looking at buying a laser to create the balloon + speaker + mirror + laser oscillator. I’m a photographer who wants to get some shots and videos of it, out in the desert. I have some interesting frequencies to play too! I also want to use the laser for astrophotography if at all possible but that’d be the cherry on top, seeing as my budget is $50.

Is there are top choice when it comes to Amazon distributors or products on what to buy? Preferably a green or violet laser. Thanks in advance!

I got so many questions after my video on velocity, about distance measurement, so I made a video explaining how it works!

If you're like me, you probably think you know how LiDAR and all laser range-finding works, but I didn't realize how little I knew before researching for this video!

I hope it's interesting/helpful to you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWrmxsAmSTw