[Noisebridge-discuss] red laser diode module group order

[Andy Isaacson]

On Thu, Jun 03, 2010 at 11:51:02AM -0700, Don French wrote:
> On Thu, Jun 3, 2010 at 1:33 AM, Christie Dudley <longobord at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Eh.  You'd need a lot more than 5mW to put an eye out.
>
> As far as permanent blindness goes, that is correct.  But there are cases
> where people have (stupidly) shined a <5mW laser into their eye at close
> range for several seconds and received a scotoma (blind spot).  But even in
> those cases, they all fully recovered within 3-6 months.

I wouldn't blindly (heh) trust the sticker that says "5mW" on a random
diode from a reseller in China; I've heard stories of parts being badly
mislabelled (5 mW on the label, 40 mW on the meter).

There's market demand for "brighter", but legal restrictions on selling
anything rated higher than 5 mW.  So, definitely an incentive to
under-label.

Luckily, we have friends with tools, so we'll meter out a few diodes
from this batch.

-andy