Hold the Mayo

December 30, 2004

LASER Update

Further developments is the Lasers targeting airliners have been posted by Michele Malkin.

LaserShoppe.com whom I cited in this post yesterday has issued the following statement

Unfortunately, we have decided to STOP selling these lasers to the general public. Too many people have been doing stupid things with lasers recently, and this product is misunderstood. This laser DOES NOT pose a threat to airplanes or pilots, but due to the media hype and hysteria, I can't risk being blamed for such a thing. This laser does have the potential to do damage at close range however, and I can't sleep at night thinking that something I sold could fall into the wrong hands and be used to hurt people. It's unfortunate that that the actions of a few idiots have caused me to take these steps. If you are a responsible adult, and you are willing to fax me a copy of your driver's license, a short essay on laser safety, and sign a waiver, then I will consider selling one of these lasers to you. Please email me if you want more information.

The statement that the product is misunderstood and poses no threat to airplanes doesn't seem to mesh with the warning given on their site.

A word of caution - This laser can be DANGEROUS. Please NEVER point this laser at a person, a vehicle, an animal, an aircraft, or operate it in an environment where the reflected beam can hit your face. Like all high-power lasers, if the beam from this laser hits your eyes at close range, it can cause blindness. This laser must be treated like a loaded gun at all times.

These contradictory statements leave me wondering if the product is dangerous to aircraft or not.

They have also edited some of the sell copy on the site. The quote I pulled yesterday read in part:

Compare this to the 3 to 5mW of a good quality regular green laser pointer, and you get an idea how powerful this laser really is. This laser is not legal to use in public, and while we are not asking for any proof that the buyer is qualified to own this device, we trust that it will be used in a responsible fashion. This is a Class IIIb laser device.

The revised copy reads

Compare this to the 3 to 5mW of a good quality regular green laser pointer, and you get an idea how powerful this laser really is. This is a Class IIIb laser device that has been FDA certified and issued and FDA accession number. That means this laser is legal to own and operate, but the buyer is advised to check the laws related to lasers to be certain that the intended use does not violate the law. We will sell this laser to responsible adults only.

I suspect that combined with their new requirement of a waiver or liability and essay on laser safety they are trying to more fully cover their backsides as it is unlawful to use a laser generating more than 5mW in public without a permit. That would mean that you couldn't do something like this without a permit. Which according to the LaserShoppe site is the beam hitting a tree a quarter of a mile away.

While I think it is good thing that a company like LaserShoppe has rethought its sales policy of blind trust unfortunately their efforts seem to be focused only on their liability.

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 04:03 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment

1 While the laser pointer at Lasershoppe.com appears to be more powerful than mine, which I found at http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/5a47/, I can assure you, hitting a tree a 1/4 mile away with my -5mW $100 laser pointer (no permit required) is an easy task. In fact, hitting a tree with it at 1 mile is no problem (range is estimated at 9,000 feet), so I don't think you can say that the 1/4 mile demonstration would require a permit.
This green laser, and others like it, have become very popular with amatuer astronomers, because, unlike their red-beamed cousins, the entire beam of a green laser is visible at night, which makes them usefull for pointing out astonomical objects. With comet Macholz peaking now in visibility, thousands of astronomers will be out each night, pointing their green lasers skyward to help others locate this astronomical wonder. Perhaps some pilots will see our beams. Hopefully, all of us will take care not to let an airplane cross the path of a laser. I'm even more hopeful that people will realize the serious consequences of pointing a laser of any kind into an airplane cockpit.
Perhaps it is time to put our pointers down for a few weeks while this controversy blows over. I, however, intend to continue cautiously using mine for the purpose for which it was designed.

Posted by: jb at January 04, 2005 04:57 AM (vQ03Q)

2 JB

I did not mean to imply that the mere act of pointing a laser at a tree at any distance would require a permit. Laser shop claims its product is significantly more powerful than 5mW and the use in public of a laser stronger than 5mW does require a permit. Thus the demonstration pictured on their site - using their product - would require a permit.

(I corrected your original comment and removed the follow-up. You used the less than symbol in the text and that was read as part of an html tag.)

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at January 04, 2005 06:55 AM (UquFN)

3 As the mw of the green lasers increases (i.e., a 5mw compared to a 10mw) is the beam easier to see in light polluted areas?

Posted by: Ron Coolley at January 18, 2005 11:41 AM (Frpox)

4 high powerful maybe harmful to eyes, but if you use it correctly, never have this sitution. last week i bought 5mW green laser pointer from GadgetTown.com and play with my cat, rather nice.

Posted by: Randall at August 19, 2010 10:32 PM (zX42f)

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