[AZ-Observing] Re: Green Laser Pointer

I purchased a 20mW green laser at the RTMC last year, and have used it for 
many school and public star parties since then.  It cost a bit more ($190) 
than the Wicked equivalent, but it seems to work fine for public & school 
star parties.  Got it from Camera Concepts & Telescope Solutions - made by 
Arcturus Optics.  I was told that if it quits working it can be repaired (or 
perhaps adjusted?) for about half the price of a new one.  Don't know if 
that is really true or not, but I have had no problems with this unit (but 
it has never been dropped either).  This 20 mW unit replaced a 5 mW unit 
that I used for a few months which didn't show up in light polluted skies.

Based on my experience with this one, it seems that around 20 mW to 35 mW 
would be optimal for most conditions.  Guess if you want to spend the money, 
more would be impressive, but IMHO unnecessary.

Randy Peterson


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "George Barber" <gbarber@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 8:01 AM
Subject: [AZ-Observing] Green Laser Pointer


My laser pointer finally bit the dust after a little more than a year of
use.  I purchased it at wickedlasers.com.  It was a really nice 55mW unit.

Another friend of mine had his 20 mW laser pointer die after 6 months or
so.

I've been shopping on the internet, and ran across a green laser made by a
company called Laserglow.  Their unit is a class IIIb, which makes it legal
for anyone to own, as it has safety interlocks built in.

The unit is larger than a laser pen, and designed to efficiently dissipate
the heat built up by the I/R pumping diode inside the laser.  Thus, they
claim, the unit can maintain its power output over time.  Their graphs
demonstate this.  The graphs also show that the high-power laser pens only
output their advertised power levels for a short time, quickly diminishing
the output level.

The lasers made by Laserglow are more expensive than the high-power laser
pens.  However, if their quality is that much better, you would save money
in the long run by purchasing a unit that will last probably the rest of
your life.

So, I have two questions:
First, does anyone have any experience with a Laserglow unit?

Second, how much power is really adequate for your average star party?
Sure, the idea of a 100 mW laser is cool!  But would it be overpowering at
such events as the Grand Canyon Star party?  Such an instrument might be so
bright as to cast green light and interfere with night vision.  What do you
think the ideal green laser power level is?  I need a laser that can do
star parties in areas ranging from downtown lights nearby (like at a
school) to a dark area like the GCSP.

If I bought their Herculese model (OK, too much to spend...) I might be
able to take out those pesky orbiting satellites, ha ha.

Thanks for your inputs,

George





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