SERIOUS, KICK-ASS 405 nM and 532nM 200 to 300 milliwatt
Blue and Green Handheld LASER Sabers

Chances are if you are looking for a LASER, you've been all around eBay and the Internet looking for something SPECIAL.... at a REASONABLE price. Well, you came to the right place. I am going to tell you a secret that some people in the industry are going to be angry at me for, but I am a businessman whose business on the Web since 1994 (www.TelsonUSA.com) has been built on total honesty, and not only 100% customer satisfaction, but 100% customer DELIGHT. Everyone knows that as a rule, you get what you pay for, and those who don't supply a quality product may make a small fortune in the beginning, but their business quickly erodes to nothing when they don't get customer referrals, and previous customers don't come back, and don't tell their friends... or worse - they spread the word on the 'Net that your business rips off its customers.

The "secret" I referred to is that most ALL of the pen-style LASER pointers sold on eBay - or anywhere on the Web for that matter - whether they are 15 milliwatts or 100 milliwatts - are all IDENTICAL internally. The units LOOK identical because they ARE identical. The power output is adjusted at the factory before the unit is assembled. It is possible for the end-user to "adjust" some of these 5 to 15milliwatt units without exceeding the rated capacity of the LASER crystal, but chances are you will wreck the unit in the process of taking the LASER head out of the tube, and you WILL mar the finish on the head twisting it out of the barrel. In some cases, it is impossible to remove the LASER head from the barrel (it is press-fitted and cemented in place), and it becomes necessary to hack the case open in order to gain access to the adjustment potentiometer. If you don't completely destroy your LASER doing this, the following photos show what you are left with.

Hacking a cheap junk LASER pointer to modify its output power to exceed specs

The two photos (above) were downloaded from a LASER user group posting describing how to modify a 5mw LASER pointer to obtain 30mw output. The adjustment potentiometer is the round, silver ring at the right of the LASER's pushbutton (rectangular black). This LASER is the NewWish™ 5mw "toy" LASER pen.

Truth be told, when you are done - IF you know precisely what you are doing and have the special tools and the skills to do it - is at best, a 30 milliwatt unit that is impressive, but not exactly "awesome" - comparatively speaking.... if you compare them with OURS. And it goes without saying that if you attempt these crude modifications, you've voided the warranty and have ruined the aesthetic appearance of the unit.

What we are offering you here is AWESOME by comparison to those TOYS, and "handyman specials". These LASERS are NOT TOYS. Some people who are selling 5 to 15 milliwatt low-power TOY LASER POINTERS on eBay (REAL LASERS have been BANNED by eBay) have used the phrases "most powerful", and "extremely powerful", "most legal power available" etc. to describe LASERS that are barely visible in the night sky unless it is foggy, raining or snowing, or are projected through clouds of atmospheric particulates (smoke and haze). Another seller elsewhere on the Web boasts "Ours blasts a LASER beam for over 100 miles"... which is a pretty good trick, since the Earth's horizon is 22 miles at sea level. This 100-mile long LASER beam is apparently bouncing off the ionosphere (and is not being scattered or absorbed by humidity and smog) and is on its way to circumnavigating the globe, which leaves  the astute reader to wonder what planet it was tested on, and who is observing. Obviously, these statements could not be further from the truth; they are marketing hype which targets the uninformed in an attempt to make a sale. After you finish reading this article, you will know all you need to know in order to make an intelligent purchase.

First of all, let me tell you that a 5 or 15mw LASER pointer is NOT suitable for "sky pointing" (astronomy lectures, etc.). The beams on these units are barely visible in clear, crisp air. To even approach usefulness for "sky pointing", anything less than 30milliwatts, and any color OTHER than 532nm (green) or 405nm (blue) is a complete waste of money, no matter what anyone else may tell you... and you will be disappointed. If you use a LASER for pointing out stars in the night sky, you will be very impressed by the visibility of the beams with the high-power units shown here.

I have watched the auctions for these things on eBay for several months (until eBay BANNED sale of serious LASERS), and people have bid $75.00 and paid $21.00 USD shipping for a 15mw LASER that can be bought at Edmund Scientific for much less. The circus tycoon P.T. Barnum once said, "there's a sucker born every minute"... and he was absolutely right! Not becoming one of them involves knowing exactly what you are buying as much as dealing with an honest merchant. All you have to do is look at some of the exorbitant shipping & handling charges to know that some of these sellers are covering the wholesale cost of the units with the "shipping & handling" charges - and the bidding is gravy on the potatoes. I REFUSE to run my business that way.... and that is why we will have a lion's share of this business. Sure, we will make a decent profit, but it will be due to the sheer volume of sales. You, the retail customer won't come away from dealing with us, feeling like you got raked over the coals. I absolutely won't sell anything that I don't personally own.... and I DO own several of these LASERS.

What we are offering you here are PROFESSIONAL QUALITY instruments. The insides are as well-constructed as the outside. The enclosure tubes on these LASERS are made of SOLID MACHINED BRASS or HEAVY ALUMINUM - not extruded tin. The LASER head itself is free-floating within the tube and shock-mounted - not press-fitted into the enclosure (shock mounting is impossible with press-fitted LASER crystal assemblies). THESE LASERS are also equipped with an internal beam collimator lens and U.V. filter. The LASER crystal (IC) itself is mounted on a heavy brass internal heat sink, which keeps the LASER diode cool and extends the life of the LASER. When THESE LASERS light a match or punch through a balloon, the operative force doing the punching is LIGHT - NOT (invisible) ultraviolet radiation. I.R. radiation is undesirable for several reasons: A) Power which is radiated as Infra-Red is NOT radiated as visible light - and visible LIGHT - NOT HEAT -  is what you bought the LASER for (if you need InfraRed radiation, buy a quartz space heater). B) Infra-Red radiation is invisible to the human eye, and it is possible to damage one's eyes with reflected IR radiation that is not noticed.

When using these LASERS, it is highly recommended that eye protection be employed. If you do not have a set of LASER goggles, a pair of dark, mirrored sunglasses is better than no protection at all. The beam on OUR devices is EXTREMELY INTENSE, and even looking at the dot projected on a wall may cause (non-destructive, temporary) spotted vision similar to what you would experience by being out on the beach on a very bright summer day.

The beam on these LASERS is extremely tight. When you see a LASER beam in the air, the only reason you can see it is because the light is reflecting off microscopic water droplets (humidity) or dust particles in the air. The brighter the beam (obviously) the more easily it can be seen. The thinner the beam, and the smaller the angle of divergence, the farther the beam will travel, and the smaller the projected dot will be on the target. A "tight" beam concentrates the LASER's power into a smaller area, and therefore the less the diameter of the beam, the more it is able to do things like pop balloons and punch holes in plastic spoons.

NOTE: When attempting to light matches with a LASER, always use a black magic marker to color the match head black. This is done for two main reasons: 1) Coloring the match head black allows it to absorb the light and convert it more efficiently into the heat required to set the match on fire. 2) Coloring the target black reduces the amount of reflected light, saving you from developing "spot blindness" from looking at a bright, reflective light source as you aim the pointer. The degree that the target object cannot reflect the light determines the ability of the LASER to impart energy into the target.

These are NOT "LASER pens" or "pointers" - these are Star-Wars, Luke Skywalker / Jedi Knight light sabers. These LASERS have TRULY AWESOME POWER; they can burn your skin, slash the retinas in your eyes, pop balloons, burn the tattoos out of your skin, cauterize razor nicks, light matches, punch really tiny holes in plastic spoons, and be seen OVER 20 MILES AWAY.... (22 miles is the horizon at sea level). The beam is not only clearly visible, but punches through the night sky like a lighthouse beacon. Without a word of marketing hype, THESE LASERS are truly "EXTREMELY POWERFUL" - they have no peer among handheld devices - even at a cost of $1,600 USD elsewhere on the Web, and they are SIMPLY SUPER-COOL! The photos shown here are not processed or enhanced in any way, but even the pictures really do not do these LASERS justice; you simply have to witness these LASERS personally to get the full effect.

These LASERS are NOT TOYS.... They are SERIOUS, QUALITY INSTRUMENTS that with reasonable care, will last probably longer than you'll live. Of course they are great as "geek toys", but there is more to them than just being the hottest-selling "novelty / hobby" item on the Web. As a customer, you don't want to settle for second-best. If you've owned a LASER before, these will absolutely SPOIL you. If you currently have a "toy" LASER pointer, put it next to one of these babies and see the difference! You will SELL YOURS to buy OURS!

NOTE ON POWER: The brightness of a LASER is determined by several factors; these are: 1) The output power (rated in milliwatts) 2) the diameter of the beam (the smaller the diameter, the brighter the beam) 3) The beam divergence (measured in Radians "Rad"), which is the angle that the beam "spreads out" after leaving the aperture. 4) The distance of the observer from the point of origin.

PLEASE NOTE: The imparted energy of a LASER beam is not significantly attenuated with the distance from the source. In other words, due to the very low angle of divergence, the power of the LASER to impart energy to a target is not significantly diminished by the target's distance from the beam source. The lower the beam divergence, the less the difference of power between the beam measured at the aperture and the beam power measured at a distance. In layman's terms this means that the DANGER of eye damage from direct exposure to the beam is not significantly affected by (reasonable) distance from the LASER. Of course, beam power is scattered and absorbed by atmospheric humidity and other pollution particulates (this is why a LASER beam shot into the sky in a large city seems to stop or end in mid-air). The constant presence of atmospheric humidity is the reason you can see the beam at all; the higher the humidity, the more impressive your "light saber" becomes (to you), and the less the distance it is able to travel without being scattered and dissipated by the microscopic water droplets. Below is a chart that outlines the LASER classes, their hazards and usage. The class of LASER for the 200Mw units described here is presented on a blue background. 

Class

Hazard

Applications

I

LASER is usually self-contained within a small enclosure, and is considered non-hazardous.

LASER printers
CD players
DVD players
Computer Mouse

Visible LASER or LASER system that cannot cause eye damage unless viewed directly for an extended period of time.

Retail bar code scanners

IIIb

LASER can cause eye damage if viewed directly

Industrial LASERS

LASER pointers

LASER leveling devices 
  
LASER light shows

Open cut healing

Research LASERS

IV

This class LASER may also cause severe skin damage and present a fire hazard.

LASERS used to perform LASIK eye surgery

Our 200mw models - almost 1/4 Watt of concentrated light source, are over 100 times brighter than the sun at its 405 nanometer (pure blue) or 532 nanometer (pure green) frequency. The beams on all these LASERS is "tight and bright" with one of the lowest beam divergence angles available in a handheld LASER. A low beam divergence means that the spot of light doesn't "bloom" or spread out when the beam travels long distances. I have personally put a spot on the Empire State Building at a distance of 12 miles with the 200mw units pictured here. Even on clear, fogless, smogless winter nights, the beams on these units are STARTLINGLY VISIBLE - You don't have to be "looking for them" - anyone in the vicinity will instantly notice the beam cutting through the air.

We individually test and "burn-in" every unit that leaves here. In this way, we are 100% confident (and you can be assured) of ABSOLUTELY NO D.O.A.s.

This is what a TRUE Astronomy LASER pointer looks like when it is aimed skyward. The beam seems a bit wider at the source in the center photo because its brightness is overwhelming the CCD in the digital camera. As with all quality LASERS, the beam seems to abruptly "end" when it reaches the atmospheric "ceiling" - an inferior LASER would simply widen and become invisible against the diffuse light of a twilight sky. Note that the beam from these units is visible from whatever angle it is viewed from. it is particularly impressive if it is "comin' at 'ya".

 200 mw LASER photographed in a dark room. The star head has been removed to take this photo. Note the digital clock which is next to the LASER. These photos have not been processed in any way except for cropping to fit into this space.

Diagram showing typical internal components of "toy" LASER pointers (top) and high-power LASER sabers shown here (bottom)

 Photos above were taken with a Panasonic Lumix 4.0 Megapixel digital camera - Photographs are original digitally encoded photos, are copyright 2007 by TelsonUSA.com unless otherwise noted, and are the   intellectual  property of David Todeschini. Use outside of this venue is a violation of copyright. You may not use or copy these photos for any purpose. Violators will be prosecuted to the full extent the law allows, and may also be liable to civil lawsuit.

WARNING - IT IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE TO POINT A LASER AT AIRCRAFT, OR AT TRAFFIC. NEVER POINT THESE LASERS AT ANYONE AS IT CAN CAUSE SERIOUS AND IRREVERSIBLE EYE DAMAGE. KEEP THESE LASERS OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN. DO NOT USE THESE DEVICES TO TEASE PETS. DO NOT AIM A LASER DIRECTLY INTO THE LENS OF A DIGITAL CAMERA - DAMAGE TO THE CCD WILL MOST LIKELY RESULT. DO NOT LET IDIOTS HANDLE THESE DEVICES. AT CLOSE RANGE, THESE LASERS WILL PUNCH AN INCREDIBLY TINY HOLE IN A PLASTIC SPOON IN APPROXIMATELY 10 SECONDS (see photos and videos above). PLASTIC SPOONS ARE HARDER AND MORE DURABLE THAN THE RETINAS IN YOUR EYES. AVOID USING THESE INSTRUMENTS INDOORS OR IN CLOSE QUARTERS - AND NEVER USE IN A ROOM WITH MIRRORS, BECAUSE REFLECTED BEAMS (LIKE RICOCHETING BULLETS) CAN ALSO CAUSE EYE INJURY. REMOVE THE BATTERY BEFORE STORING THESE UNITS OR CARRYING THEM IN YOUR POCKET, AS INADVERTENT ACTIVATION MAY SET CLOTHING / BAGGAGE ON FIRE. THE SELLER ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEATH, INJURY OR LOSS OF PROPERTY ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR MISUSE OF THESE INSTRUMENTS. PURCHASE OF THESE PRODUCTS IS CONFIRMATION THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THESE FACTS. A WARNING FLYER WILL BE PACKED WITH YOUR SHIPMENT, AND YOU WILL RECEIVE THIS WARNING IN YOUR EMAILED PURCHASE CONFIRMATION.

Two characteristics of LASER light contribute to the hazard of handheld LASERS:

• LASER light is emitted in a tight beam that does not grow significantly in size at a distance from the aperture. This means that practically the same degree of hazard can be present both close to and at a distance from the LASER.

• The eye can focus a LASER beam to a very small, intense spot on the retina which can result in a permanent burn or "blind spot".

Many of our customers have e-Mailed us with questions about BLUE LASERS - They seem to be a FAD, since the color is "different", and they are very expensive and almost impossible to come by in a hand-held pointer. However, we have finally found a reliable source for the 200mW blue LASERS. For those of you who want the whole story on BLUE LASERS - we have a book for you. This should answer all of your questions.

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