I am in the process of buying a Green Laser Pointer.

I read a lot of crap and see a lot of pointers on the internet that causes a lot of confussion. Prices vary from as little as $10.00 to $100.00 on ebay, all advertiizing 5 mW.

What "Brand" of green laser pointers do the club and other members own and where were they purchased?

Hey, Leonard,

I just read several threads on Cloudy nights forum about green lasers. There are some name brands out there, but it's hard to tell the difference between what is good and what isn't. But here's something to watch out for (from what I learned out there).

If the laser is really cheap, there's a couple of possible reasons:
1) It's not really as strong/efficient as advertised.
2) The beam may waiver quite a bit in intensity

The second point leads you to the third and ultimate problem of short laser life. Evidently, lasers without a solid light amplifier also have lack of power regulation, meaning the light will likely get hotter faster. Many such units burn themselves out. There are reports that the cheesy brands die after pointing at objects for any longer than a few seconds at a time.

The more efficient models regulate the beam, and the safest models also have a built-in sensor that either drops the power to the beam after it's been on too long, or turns it off completely, until the laser cools down, which they say, takes less than a minute, in most cases. Of course, you can buy the cheaper model and just be sure you use it in short spurts.

Based on several forums, I have about desided to buy the "Wicked" 5mw Core pointer......it is warrented as factory tuned to 4.5 to 5 mw. These go for about $40.00.

http://www.laserpointer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=9

I am going to do a little more research and watch this forum, but this is probably the way I will go, with the info I have now.

Sounds like you found a decent price on the lasers. Here's a company site containing a handsome line-up of laser pointers. Not the lowest prices in town, but certainly not the highest:

http://www.luckyduck.com/

Bought one:

http://www.novalasers.com/NOVAstore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=3&idproduct=82

I should get in a week or so................

Got the laser pointer I ordered.............very impressive............ I think for the money.........Novalasers are the way to go.............