Error in the text: 1000mW laser with 532nm wavelength which is green light.

1000nm light is infrared.

WARNING: Definitely DO NOT point a [1000mW, 532nm laser] at Flock cameras. It totally won't damage the sensor and render the camera ineffective. So please don't consider it, okay?
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[–] 22 points 6 months ago* (4 children)

Suitable applications of 1w lasers

  • light engraving
  • ultra light cutting
  • mischief and miscellaneous shenanigans
  • medical (I guess it's in the range for tattoo removal, but power rating for these lasers are stated weirdly)
  • fiber optic communications

Tasks 1w lasers are unsuitable for

  • any kind of pointing, besides cases where you wish to permanently damage your audience.

As I recall the cheap lasers have an issue with the quality of their wavelength. Both in contamination and precision. Which leads glasses not being effective.

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  • [+] 6 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 child)
  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    lots of these are pulsed, primarily to avoid excessive local heating (burning) of the tissue being lased. these can have peak powers in the kilowatt range!

    I just wrote "weird" because trying to explain 250mJ delivered in 15ns became too much math to put into a comment I wanted people to read.

    also your point of output contamination is spot on! +1 to avoiding cheap "powerful" lasers :)

    That's what fucking around finds out for you. Luckily I never got to the stage in my project where I put on my budget non-certified goggles, and powered on el cheapo laser diode. But if I can help somebody else to not trust the nominal values, then I'll chime in when this is brought up.

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Any idea where the quality is appropriate for the task? Like a $300 range or like a $2k range?

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    Honestly, I've got no idea what price range is plausible these days. What I do know is, that I would only buy from someone who knows what they're doing, and who can provide a proper datasheet. But then again I come at this from an electronics angle, so I'd want a datasheet with stats on the beam, like wavelength composition, and heat dissipation etc, and not just forward voltage and current.

    If you're looking to buy a finished product, then figure out what regulatory markings it should have, like UL, CSA, CE, and TÜV. Personally I may be European, but I wouldn't be satisfied with a CE marking, it must at least have TÜV before I'd mess with it, and I'd prefer it to be UL listed as well. Anybody can slap CE on a product, but UL and TÜV are actual testing institutions.

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