Joe on the March 24th, 2008 Did you ever watch Mr. Wizard’s World? I did… I watched all the time, so this weekend was a real treat. About a week ago, a company called Tech Lasers asked if I would be interested in a laser from their product line to review. I’m much more computer geek than I am science geek, but I’m also much more science geek than most people, so I wasn’t about to say no. The following came in the mail:
Better safe than blind
To be honest, I haven’t really done much with lasers at all, so I had not expected the protective glasses. Wearing them was just foreign to me, but I’m a fan of being able to see, and getting a laser beam in my eye might ruin that for me. Besides, Tech Lasers thought well enough to provide them and they know their stuff, so I’ll heed the warnings in the instruction booklet and wear them. By the way, NOW I know they were crooked. Put yours on straight and you won’t look as goofy. Even though this is a much more powerful laser than the typical ones you might use to play with your cat, always keep the same principal in mind and never look directly into one.
About Tech Lasers
Tech Lasers is a company based in Hong Kong, and although they seem to be the new kids on the block, they definitely don’t look like it. I’ll let them speak for themselves for a moment:
We strive to provide our customers with a variety of high powered laser pointers to choose from. While Tech Lasers currently offer green, blue, yellow and infrared lasers, our laser specialists and merchandizing staff are working to develop and source more.? This is only the beginning of what is to come.
A really cool laser pointer
The laser appears to be the 15mW version from the Infiniti line. It’s hard to say for sure, as it doesn’t appear to be labeled. It does say that it’s “<125mW". I suppose that's a downside of their lasers and I hope that either I am mistaken or they eventually add some kind of means of identification to the Infiniti products.
That small detail aside, this 532nm wavelength (green) laser pointer is about the size of your standard Radio Shack laser pointer, only the button is a little easier to hold down for a long period of time. I have cats, so I can say this with certainty. Of course, this one has a larger price at about $90, but the differences between this laser product and your average laser pointer answer for the price gap. Tech Lasers also included a price comparison chart between them and the “Viper” series from Dragon Laser, which looks like an exact duplicate of my new Infiniti laser pointer for about ten bucks more. To be fair, I searched for a similar product from other companies. I found other companies selling what looked like the same product for usually $10 more than Tech Lasers. The prices Tech Lasers offer look better and better with the higher mW products.
I didn’t have a black balloon to try and pop, but that’s not very practical for most of us, anyway. It’s neat, but just not something you need very often. The web site points to these lasers a great tools for backyard astronomers. I’ve been getting a bit more into astronomy myself this past year, so I thought I’d try pointing to some stars with my Infiniti. I waited until it was nice and dark and headed outside with my laser. I checked for aircraft and there were none in sight, so I pointed it to a group of stars and pressed the button. I was a little shocked, at first. The laser beam went as far into the sky as I can see and I easily lined it up with a star. Because my wife likes to view the stars with me, I brought her out to see. Within a minute, she had control of the laser and was pointing to stars. I tried to take photos that just didn’t turn out too well (but they’re on Flickr, regardless), so here’s a quick video clip of the laser in action (indoors).
Before it arrived, I had planned on giving away my new Tech Lasers Infiniti, but after pointing it to the sky, I think I’ll keep it to use for my star gazing. If you want something to keep your cats busy, head to Radio Shack, but if you want a real laser, head to TechLasers.com.
| 2.5 |
del.icio.us
Stumble it!
Powered by FireStats
on March 24th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Nice review. You have great stuff there :).
on March 24th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
shman: Thanks. I’m hoping I get the opportunity do do some more product reviews soon, too.
on March 25th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
My question to you is, did you try and catch anything on fire with it?
Josh’s last blog post..Double your Technorati ranking
on March 25th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Josh: I was able to burn a dried leaf with it, but that’s about it. This laser seems to be made more for astronomy than other uses. It’s a huge hit around the office, though.
on March 26th, 2008 at 9:38 am
I purchased one of these on eBay last year for a air soft gun and it’s basically like that. It’s half the size, but same type of laser that shows a GREEN LINE as you’re pointing it. The last I recall, these are illegal because they do have radiation and if you point it up to the sky, it may reach far enough for towers to see (cops?). The one I purchased shot up pretty high though and of course I had fun too, but like I said, these may be illegal.
-Mike
p.s. The one I got also came from Hong Kong and the shipping box says contens are “CDs…”
Mike Huang’s last blog post..Battle Credit Card Companies And Win!
on March 26th, 2008 at 9:39 am
One more thing, the goggles you must wear if you want to use it. They WILL make you blind if you don’t use it.
Mike Huang’s last blog post..Battle Credit Card Companies And Win!
on March 26th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Hey, great work with this website. I’ve been coming fairly often to your website mainly because of EC slots, but I finally got around reading your articles.
Anyways, best of luck to you,
Richard from http://hedgeagainstspeculation.com
Richard’s last blog post..BULLS vs. BEARS, MY PREDICTION
on March 26th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Nothing is cooler than lasers. I am also interested in astronomy, so I may need to check these out. Great post.
Philip’s last blog post..Best Podcasts
on March 28th, 2008 at 3:33 am
Hey, great article. I forgot how much fun lasers are. Course I never had a real good one. I buy mine at the dollar store LOL I wrote a crazy little story and you are in it. It is my way of giving a little link love. Please stop by and take a quick peek. Let me know what you think. Oh one more thing. I am a native of Phoenix. I was born in St Joseph’s hospital and lived my whole life around 43rd ave. and Thomas/Indianschool road. I miss it a lot sometimes. I re -located to NC with my job.
ettarose’s last blog post..I Wrote a Story Using My Favorite Links.
on March 28th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
I love it! Did you make light saber noises when you turned it on and off? hee hee. :-)
GeekMom’s last blog post..He knew she was The One when she agreed to this…
on March 29th, 2008 at 1:19 am
[...] has Lissajous cruves Just after my last post, one of my employees told me that he had a Lissajous curve maker at home. I have to admit that I [...]
on March 29th, 2008 at 1:23 am
Mike: I should check into the legality of it, but for the most part, I try to use common sense, as well. Laws are designed for people lacking common sense. For example, if you can keep yourself from pointing it in someone’s eyes, at traffic, in the direction of aircraft, etc., it shouldn’t be a problem. Still, I’ll double check.
Richard: Thanks. I am pretty backed up on the slots payments due to lack of time, but I’m about to automate them and get everyone taken care of soon.
Philip: They’re great, aren’t they. Definitely a cool purchase.
ettarose: I liked the story and GorillaSushi’s comments on his involvement. Is he ever NOT funny?
GeekMom: Nope, but I will now!
on October 21st, 2008 at 8:26 am
[...] in march I did a review of a green laser from TechLasers. Just like after my review of the NJOY e-cigaretter, similar companies from all [...]