BLIND.....Re: [Laser] medium power IR diode

[Andrew T. Flowers, K0SM]

John,

Not to worry, I'm fully aware of the danger of such a beast.  Quite 
honestly, I don't want to be using this fully collimated into a tiny 
beam at 100mw.  It should be possible to operate this a little above Ith 
to get something in the 40-50mw range (still, not a toy).  Also, I think 
I would want some sort of beam expander to reduce the power density in 
the near field, just in case.

Andy

John Schnurer wrote:

>
>	Dear AT.,
>
>	I will try to write some more on the topic, but at 50 mw IR lasers
>are not toys.... at 100 mw plus, you can do permanent damage to your eyes
>VERY easily by accidental specular incidence on a wide range of
>surfaces...
>	This can REALLY ding your eyes and the eyes of OTHERS in 100
>milliseconds and less.
>
>	We all might do well to help design a "safe-switch" that
>interrupts power under a number of overlapping conditions.
>