[AZ-Observing] Green Laser Pointer
- From: George Barber <gbarber@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 08:01:51 -0700
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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