Lasers

[andrewwski]

Amazon doesn't allow the sale of laser pointers, just lasers that are meant to be mounted (such as scopes) - although that may actually be more useful here.

You can get all sorts on Ebay, and a lot of them are labeled saying they are <1 mW, <5 mW, etc. However, a lot of times, they are way more powerful. I've bought green laser pointers from China labeled at <1 mw that actually output 60-70 mW. So be careful with whatever you end up getting.

Most lasers you can buy do come with a label.

For a safe, guaranteed low-power pointer, check an office supply store for laser pointer pens. I've bought a few before that have labels.

[chalker]

Amazon doesn't allow the sale of laser pointers, just lasers that are meant to be mounted (such as scopes) .......

For a safe, guaranteed low-power pointer, check an office supply store for laser pointer pens. I've bought a few before that have labels.

Sure they do. Here are some example links from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_ ... er+pointer

It can be a little hard to dig through and find one though. Looking at office supply stores is a good idea. Here are some examples I found with quick searching:
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/9 ... #reviewTab
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Quartet-Apoll ... k/14279379
http://www.staples.com/Class-2-Standard ... uct_595662

[andrewwski]

Actually, that's the reason you have to dig through to find them - they're prohibited items, although listings often slip through.

See here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/ ... =201232010

Examples of Prohibited Listings

• Portable, handheld laser products, such as:
  • Lasers pointers
  • Laser flares
  • Laser pens
  • Presentation remotes with integrated laser pointers
  • Pet toy laser pointers and similar products

Most of the presentation remotes that have integrated laser pointers don't advertise the laser in the product title, I'm guessing this must let it slip by easier.

Handheld laser pointers used to be all over Amazon, now they're rather difficult to find.

They're all over Ebay though - although I'd caution anyone that buys a laser pointer there to NOT trust the class rating, especially if they are advertised as "bright," "tactical," "military," "5 mile range" or anything like that. I was building the laser shoot setup for the Optics event at our regional tournament and got a supposed <1 mW laser off Ebay. It was way too bright - was able to test it with a light intensity meter and got over 70 mW! Which is great for pointing out things in the sky at night, but can also be rather dangerous. I ended up building a constant-current power source that drastically lowered the intensity to what it's supposed to be.

[chalker]

Actually, that's the reason you have to dig through to find them - they're prohibited items, although listings often slip through.

See here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/ ... =201232010

Examples of Prohibited Listings

• Portable, handheld laser products, such as:
  • Lasers pointers
  • Laser flares
  • Laser pens
  • Presentation remotes with integrated laser pointers
  • Pet toy laser pointers and similar products

Wow... learn something everyday. Thanks for pointing that out.

[watermydoing14]

It's just so frustrating that almost every laser pointer that is a legal class isn't labeled with its class... which means we can't use them, right? Unless we're allowed to provide some other sort of proof of the laser's class

[chalker]

It's just so frustrating that almost every laser pointer that is a legal class isn't labeled with its class... which means we can't use them, right? Unless we're allowed to provide some other sort of proof of the laser's class

You might be able to convince some event supervisors if you bring the original packaging that clearly states the class of laser.