Is this laser okay for house party ?

[Davej]

I am looking at two different lasers

 

https://www.beamzlighting.com/product/pandora-600-ttl-laser-rgb/

Red 200mW @ 650nm

Green 50mW @ 532nm

Blue 150mW @ 447nm

 

 

And https://www.laserworld.com/en/laserworld-ds/laserworld-ds-1000rgb.html#detail_desc

 

Red 200 mW / 638 nm

Green 140 mW / 520 nm

Blue 700 mW / 450 nm

 

Its only going to be used for house parties in a room of around 40 Square meters and people will be standing around 4 meters away from it. The second one looks like it could be too powerful for what I need. The reason I am considering the second one is because It can produce more colors because the first one is a TTL laser and the second one is analog.

 

Will the difference in power and brightness be very noticeable between these two lasers ?I also don't want something too bright since I will be standing quite close to it. Above my head.

[Shez]

Without wishing to sound too doomy & gloomy, this might be one of those questions that if you have to ask, should you really be doing it?

 

That said, you can always turn down the brightness of unit that is too powerful. Analogue will always be better than TTL as your range of colours is far superior. As long as you're following the usual laser guidelines about distance and clearance height above people's heads, you should be OK. However, unless your ceilings are particularly high, you might struggle to do so in a "house party" context. How high is your ceiling? How do you plan to control the laser?

[pmiller056]

They are both Class 4 laser devices. A class 4 laser device is extremely dangerous and *must* be used correctly. If you are asking here, you most likely do not have the training, knowledge or experience to use such devices safely.

Don't bother thinking about using them. They are not worth the risk of inflicting life-changing injuries on your friends at a party.

 

[David Ripley]

Presumably, this unit is for use in the far flung future where you'll be allowed to have house parties as I'm guessing, as a student, you couldn't afford the fine if you are thinking of doing it now?

[ImagineerTom]

Above my head.

Also don't forget that "above head height" is actually "above hand height if someone puts their arms in the air" because reflective jewellery, watches etc can very easily redirect beams straight down into someone's eye and thus make things very very unsafe quickly.

[Ynot]

... "above head height" is actually "above hand height if someone puts their arms in the air...."

and JUMPS, to be honest...

 

I too am among those who feels that the use of lasers - although of course they LOOK cool and all - in any situation that is not properly controlled by an experienced and safe user is a huge no-no... :(

FAR too many people ignore (or are ignorant of) the risks involved and just dive in.

 

And this OP is again someone who's just joined the BR, asked a contentious question (the likes of which HAVE ben asked before) and is unlikely to be seen or heard from again, especially if we give answers they don't like....

 

:(

 

 

 

[Shez]

3m above the floor is generally the minimum permissible height for any beams.

 

PLASA has a safety guide here which is a useful starting point for your learning.

[musht]

Lasers in small rooms can be simply painful, reflection of walls and ceiling may or may not be dangerous but it`s tiring.

 

Projecting on to scrim adds to just beam effects , but you need a scrim and another chunk of change on control hardware and software.

 

Bit like strobes, great effect , but needs to be used sparingly for impact.

 

For the cash some mini moving heads or dedicated beam effects are going to give a better result most of the time.

 

Lazerwurlde have a less than stellar reputation and you can take their power output ratings as being achieved with a pair of dice at the marketing stage.

 

Specialist laser forum: https://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/

[alistermorton]

That should be clarified - it's not 3m for the source of the beam, it's 3m above the floor for any part of the beam in any part of the room. There's no point in the laser being 3m above the floor if the beam is pointing down into the crowd and hitting the floor they're standing on.

[dje]

Out of curiosity, does anyone think there should be more regulation on the sale of such devices?

 

Whilst I appreciate that British Health & Safety is generally very good because of the 'do what you like, as long as you're competent" philosophy - which places responsibility on people to not do stuff unless they're competent... I also feel that such a philosophy only really works where people realise they're doing something dangerous.

 

When people are buying these for small nightclubs and house parties, and trying to emulate the effects they've experienced in professional environments, with little understanding of what they're actually doing... it's hard to educate them on Health and Safety because they may not realise they're doing anything which requires competence or qualification.

 

With technology always comes bigger and more powerful units at lower costs. We will start (if not already) seeing very powerful units being used in amateur environments and maybe the manufacturers and distributors should start taking a little more responsibility for who they sell to?

[adam2]

Agree, this should not be used.

As has already been said, the laser beam should be at least 3 meters above floor level, and a greater height might be prudent. Consider the risk of someone standing on furniture for example. What about the beam exiting the room and being dangerous to someone half way up the stairs.

Consider also the dangers of reflected laser beams Mirrors, shiny metal light fittings, reflective ornaments and the like.

If the laser light can pass through windows, consider the risks to neighbours in upstairs rooms.

 

In theory you Might have a room with sufficient height, no reflective surfaces, no windows, and no stairs near the room, but in practice this is a big NO.

[Ynot]

Out of curiosity, does anyone think there should be more regulation on the sale of such devices?

Simple answer - YES.

More complex answer - yes, but not quite sure how it would be managed....

 

 

 

[sleah]

Out of curiosity, does anyone think there should be more regulation on the sale of such devices?

Simple answer - YES.

More complex answer - yes, but not quite sure how it would be managed....

Agreed!!

 

Everything said above regarding safety and how lasers can be safely used was being said to us in the early 1990's when I setup and operated (I wasn't the owner) argon lasers in entertainment settings - basically disco's and nightclubs - when they were all the rage at raves.

We used a 150mW and 1W argon (ex medical) laser. Seriously dangerous in the right hands, never mind the wrong..

 

House parties? I hate being a party pooper, but just don't do it.

 

But do do lot's of research in to laser types and how they can be safely used as display lasers, they are a fantastic effect when done properly.

[musht]

Anything above Class 1 is a hazard, the items the OP mentioned are Class 3b not Class 4

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/laser-radiation-safety-advice/laser-radiation-safety-advice

 

Still toast your retina, with little black dots.

 

Misunderstanding about laser eye damage, unlikely to turn you blind in an instant, what actually happens is knocks out bits of your vision, few cells of your retina get toasted bit like a projector with blank pixels,that `s from someone who had worked in a laser lab since the late 60`s when eye protection was considered less important.

 

High power LEDs also represent a not insignificant risk of eye damage , especially short wavelength ones, no rush to ask for legislation there.

[Jivemaster]

Lasers are very effective in warehouse sized venues, where you can use them to paint pattern and colour in the smoke above people's heads -so people get 3 metres high then lasers use the 3 metres above that. Be very sure that there can be no downwards beams from your laser.

 

Currently the idea of a "house party" is so dubious on covid and statute law grounds, that brains should be engaged on lots of topics before proceeding.

Put simply lasers are NOT safe.