Hi No, not a question on laser levels or pointers, but I have acquired a
1000mW 810nm laser and control box. I was told it was functional but have not switched it on (it is marked class 4). Is there anything entertaining that I can use this for (apart from blinding myself)?
Not really. That's a dangerous wavelength - I presume this is a soft- tissue surgical laser? You can't see it, it will cause injury, it's particularly bad for eye injuries as your iris won't even notice it to close down.
Try flogging it? See if abex.co.uk will give you some gelt for it?
You don't even have to look into the beam. Reflections (which you also won't see) can be damaging, too. If someone gave me one of those, I would strip it for parts, but I'd never try turning it on.
I saw a 5W laser on eBay for £2k (which looks much more impressive), so if I can prove that my unit works, it might be worth trying to sell it.
No seriously. Don't muck about with it. Read the link to laser safety Dom posted and be very cautious.
I would strongly suggest that you do not attempt to turn it on. The safety precautions required to use a class 4 laser are very extensive and include no windows and so on.
Regards
James
I take on board all of your concerns, and will not power it up. How can I test it before selling? Will it burn objects? If so, I can put it in a sealed box and give it a quick try.
It has now turned serious. No, not the safety issue, but I've been told that a similar new unit (the unit I have was new last year - so I'm told) is in the region of £10-15k.
Gordon
If it is 810 nm then the beam will not be visible. It will be short wavelength infra-red. Even more hazardous then. You won't see the danger!
Peter Scott
At this low power, your only reflection hazard is specular reflection (flat shiny stuff), not a diffuse reflection, so one of the basic safety precautions is to strip out the workshop of anything specular (or cover it) before you start.
I am confused why has such a unit been given to you, I would have expected it to be sold on the open market?
Its a bit like getting hold of one of the large power transformers the power company uses.
we use 60-100W IR (CO2?) lasers for laser cutting.
don't put hand in beam..
Ew. The bit about not knowing that your eyeballs are boiling until you hear the sound it makes, should dissuade most people...
David
added alt.lasers from uk.d-i-y might be able to give you a better idea
810nm as others have commented is Infra Red , not visible to the eye. 1W is enough to cause you problems if you stare into it or its directly reflected into your eye, so dont go looking down the barrel ;-)As a certified laser for medical use etc. with its calibration certs etc it might be worth a lot , as an ex certified laser probably closer to worth its weight in scrap unfortunately.Though the PSU might be worth something.
810nm is not a lot of use as a pump , need 808, to obtain visible green and there is quite a lot of low cost diodes in the 1W+ class at these sort of wavelenghtsCheers Adam
It's not _that_ powerful, nor is it far enough IR. This one will create permanent retinal damage pretty much immediately. Although that's bad, it is often noticeable enough to make people move before they lose the whole eye.
It's only recently that I've encountered a class4 where I wasn't far more afraid of its PSU than I was the laser. PSUs can still get you from feet away, hours after you shut the power off.
Surely the difference betrween 808 and 810nm is about 7 degrees C operating temperature.
Incorrect. It's easily visible, albeit with greatly reduced sensitivity.
Martin
Are you unknowingly handling stolen goods?
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