Looking for laser pointer for pointing at stars.

[Xaromir]

I want to blind the living shit out of Justin Bieber. What should i buy? (JK )

Well, my girlfriend just recently developed an interest in astronomy, and i know a fair bit about it and thought about showing her around the nightsky, so i thought a Laser pointer would probably be a very helpful tool, but there doesn't seem to be a single laser pointer of reasonable quality and price.

First i was looking at Amazon, but the reviews usually haven't been good at all, often talking about short circuits, generally damaged products or simply rubbish performance even at night. So i turned to the only name that came to mind, which was Wicked Lasers, and i looked at the "Core" and googled it, but you guys said ney, so i thought i register and ask.

What the hell should i buy? I don't care much for the colour, but red probably would be the reasonable choice as it doesn't irritate the eyes as much, but i also really like green - well on the bottom line it doesn't matter. It should be at least a little bit visible at night as that's what i intend to use it for, I don't really want to spend any more than that what the core would have cost (40$ including international shipping).

Any recommendations?

 

[Moebius]

For astronomy I recommend a 50mW 532nm (green) laser.
After you've been outside in the dark for 20min, anything more powerful than that would probably ruin your night vision.
Red is harder to see so IMO it's not the best choice for astronomy (unless I had >500mW of it).

Stop looking at Amazon. Also the WL core won't be powerful enough for your application.
Check out Lazerer and O-Like.
Also, do some reading in the "companies" & "reviews" sections.
These sections will help you not get ripped off.
You should be able to get something in your price range without a problem.

good luck ,)

 

[sopark4000]

50mW of 532nm (green) is your best bet for astronomy purposes. Our eyes are more sensitive to green so you won't need quite as much power for the beam to be visible. Basically 50mW of green is more visible than 50mW of red.
Check out the companies section. Lazerer.com has some good greens in the price range you're looking for. You can get a 100mW green for 34$ from them but you don't need quite that much power. Check this link

Laser Pointers

 

[Xaromir]

Thanks guys! I'm thinking about getting this one:
LZTN - 532nm 50mW Smallest Green Laser Pointer
Didn't find much on this particular one, but apparently the smaller 30mW version is fine.

So, i can't actually use "regular" AAA batteries. Right?

Edit:
Just seen those:
http://lazerer.com/diy-50mw-532nm-green-laser-module
+
http://lazerer.com/diy-empty-classichost-for-laser-pointer-complete-set

The fact that it appears to be more chunky appeals to me, but what "more" can i expect in quality from that? What else do i need besides that and a power supply? How about regular batteries with something like that? These Li-Ion batteries seem quite steep in price, and it's nothing i could put away for a year - rechargeable batteries don't seem to like that.

Edit:
Someone just told me to steer clear of those batteries because they are only available as "unprotected" and would be relatively dangerous. Wtf.

 

[ApexProxy]

Lazerer would be a good solution. If you don;t want to deal with lithiums then a pen style from them may be your best bet. The 50mW one you are looking at would be perfect. The more power you have the more visible the beam would be and I think 50mW would be a pretty good brightness.

 

[Xaromir]

They have a whole mess of 50mW models, but they don't seem to have any that work without Li-Ion batteries, no "pen" models either in any color. :/

 

[ApexProxy]

The one you linked to is a pen model but I forgot that they don't run on AA/AAA sized batteries. Personally I think you may be better off just getting some lithium since they are so superior anyway. You can get cheap lithiums that work fine. While they may not be the best around they will work and they are quite cheap.

Ultrafire 16340 3.6V Batteries (4-pack) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme
There batteries would work with a larger model such as this:
LZMN - Mini 532nm 50mW Focusable Green Laser Pointer

Here is a cheap charger that would work as well:
Dual 26650/18650/18500/17670/14500/16340 Slots Charger - Black (AC 110~240V / 2-Flat-Pin Plug) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

 

[Xaromir]

"Pen" is a good keyword actually. I started searching for "50mw green laser pen", and something came up:
50mW Green Laser Pointer
Looked for it here, one guy apparently got it and was quite satisfied but i also found it on YourLasers, found nothing about that specific model from them, but looks like it's 1:1 the same.
True 50mW Green Laser Pointer Pen Black - Free Shipping
Also here:
50mW Green Laser Pointer Pen
I think if i order i actually use Meritline, at least they have SSL, and people here don't seem to be that stoked about YourLasers.

I don't want to come across all snooty, but for someone who only needs it occasionally normal batteries are big selling point, or that's what i feel. Not sure if i should just go for this one. If it's on spec and works with the two AAAs as described it should be fine, i guess i even could settle for a bit less though. *sigh* This seems like a great hobby to get into, but as a casual customer it's somewhat of a hassle.

 

[ApexProxy]

Did you know Lazerer offers a charger and batteries for your laser for an extra $5? IMO that's hardly a hassle lol. Yes they won't be top quality but I'm sure they would work well enough and if you turned out you use it more than you expected you could then invest in better batteries.

 

[Xaromir]

Well, as far as the charger is concerned:
You guys use 120V-60Hz, we use 230V-50Hz so it probably will not work, and these are a damn side more expensive here, than what Lazers offers, i think they are also a lot less common here, which may explain the higher price, my local electronics store doesn't stock any.

I also did some reading which is the foundation for my other worries: Protected cells vs unprotected. Unprotected Li Ions may over-(dis)charge which will damage them, and they can short out. You may remember back then when the papers and TV been filled with stories about cheap replacement batteries in cellphones and so on setting themselves on fire and/or exploding - from the looks of it, that's what unprotected batteries may do if you aren't careful, the downside of protected ones usually is that they are a usually 1/16" - 5/64" bigger, due to the circuitry in them, they are also sometimes slightly fatter, so they may not actually fit.

All in all it may cost me almost as much as the pointer itself, and i'm quite cautious about these by now, considering that i'm not sure how they will react to my kind of use. I may do some more research on that topic.

 

[Blord]

I have a new 30mW and a 50mW green laserpen. It uses two AAA cells. They are the same as in the link.
The output is measured with the Lasersbee LPM.

I can sell them if you want.

 

[Youknowwhatitis]

I would suggest the 50mw ultrafire laser from Gadgets N Gizmos. Amazing host and for your reason not too strong or too weak.

 

[ApexProxy]

I would suggest the 50mw ultrafire laser from Gadgets N Gizmos. Amazing host and for your reason not too strong or too weak.

As far as I know ultrafire does not make lasers and I personally wouldn't direct someone to a non-laser dedicated site to buy any laser above 5mW.

Blord is best option lol

As for the charger and batteries, well there are stories of bad things happening but its extremely rare and mostly avoidable with correct use. Over discharging is easy to avoid by simply watching your lasers' output and knowing they are dead when your laser begins to dim.

I have yet to see a charger that can't handle 100-240V at 50-60Hz. Its pretty normal for a lot of AC devices to take that range.

 

[Youknowwhatitis]

As far as I know ultrafire does not make lasers and I personally wouldn't direct someone to a non-laser dedicated site to buy any laser above 5mW.

Blord is best option lol

As for the charger and batteries, well there are stories of bad things happening but its extremely rare and mostly avoidable with correct use. Over discharging is easy to avoid by simply watching your lasers' output and knowing they are dead when your laser begins to dim.

I have yet to see a charger that can't handle 100-240V at 50-60Hz. Its pretty normal for a lot of AC devices to take that range.

Odd... Its one of the lasers I have and it has UltraFire right over the side. I was also cautious with buying the laser from a non-laser dedicated site but it seems my risk was well worth it.

 

[Youknowwhatitis]

I would agree though Blord is most likely the best option.

 

[jamaall]

I want to blind the living shit out of Justin Bieber. What should i buy? (JK )

Well, my girlfriend just recently developed an interest in astronomy, and i know a fair bit about it and thought about showing her around the nightsky, so i thought a Laser pointer would probably be a very helpful tool, but there doesn't seem to be a single laser pointer of reasonable quality and price.

First i was looking at Amazon, but the reviews usually haven't been good at all, often talking about short circuits, generally damaged products or simply rubbish performance even at night. So i turned to the only name that came to mind, which was Wicked Lasers, and i looked at the "Core" and googled it, but you guys said ney, so i thought i register and ask.

What the hell should i buy? I don't care much for the colour, but red probably would be the reasonable choice as it doesn't irritate the eyes as much, but i also really like green - well on the bottom line it doesn't matter. It should be at least a little bit visible at night as that's what i intend to use it for, I don't really want to spend any more than that what the core would have cost (40$ including international shipping).

Any recommendations?

If you don't want a laser that will irritate the eyes, you can actually get one from Amazon. Amazon.com: QQ-Tech® 5 mW 532 nm Green 2in1 Laser Pointer with Constellation Cap Mini Stage Light: Electronics
I've had this for a couple days and its good enough for astronomy. Beam is easily visible at night, though it won't be as bright as a 30mW or 50mW.