Thanks to Sky Lasers for sending in one of their 125mW Green Laser Pointers for review. I have had normal 5mW green laser pointers in the past but there is no comparison between a normal laser and one of these high power 125mW units. The laser uses 2 AAA batteries, high power mode will work fine using rechargeable nickle metal hydride batteries but low power mode will not operate with rechargeable batteries. I am told this is due to the lower voltage of the rechargeable cells compared to alkaline cells. I originally thought that I had a defective unit but after I popped in some alkaline batteries the unit worked just fine. See the pictures below of the laser pointer at night. It is hard to capture the nice bright beam on camera but you are able to easily point out stars on a fairly bright evening with city lights around.
The construction of the unit feels solid. It has a 3 position switch at the rear of the unit which is switched using the included barrel key. In the red position the unit is off, in the green position the unit is in high power mode and in the yellow position the unit is in low power mode. It is nice to be able to change the unit to low power so that it can be used as a normal laser pointer for presentations. The laser activation button action is precise and it is nice to have the LED confirmation of a active laser. The only thing that Sky Lasers needs to work on is the case. When the laser pointer has the rear switch assembly screwed on it is to long to fit into the case.
It is important to use some protective glasses when using a laser of this power, you would not want the beam to reflect back into your eyes by accident.
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How’s the divergence? Also, if you know of any place to do so, you should test its actual output. While its avertised at 125 mw, it might peak at 125 mw and not average at 125 mw. It would also be interesting to see how many mw’s the “low power” setting is. If you can, it would also be good to see how much IR leakage there is.
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Anytime the power of one of these green lasers gets into and above the 50mW range they become quite dangerous. The amount of time it takes to inflict damage on the retina is shorter than reaction time (blink reflex).
I have been a longtime user of these lasers for public astronomy demonstrations, but limit myself to devices in the 25mW range for safety.
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Not even a burn test..? Wow, thats fail.
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I’ve always wondered what the splash range of these things are – while the primary user may have protective glasses, random passers-by probably won’t…
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Very nice presentation, yeah i’m also wondered for its splash range when it is on low power..