Cheap Green Laser Pointers

[Ian]

There seems to be a huge amount of cheap green laser pointers on ebay at the moment.

Judging by the images, they're all pretty much the same devices...

Anyone got any experience? They're going for around £15 inc carriage

[JohnP]

Hi Ian,

Yes I have got one & for the most part it works well.. Some nights it's great & then other nights it's difficult to see the beam (at least from light polluted Bromley) - I think it has a lot to do with the moisture in the air. Seemed to work great with the darker skies of Tuesnoad though. I think Fay & Tony have both got one... I know that Fay's didn't work initially so she had to go to all the hassle of returning it via ebay etc..

Cheers,  John

[Ian]

cheers John. Did you get one of the lower powered ones, 5mW or so?

[JohnP]

I think it was either 5mw or 8mw... John

[Fay]

Ian, with my experience, I would say, buyer beware.
I got one, it did not work at all. They sent me another,  could hardly see it. Wanted to return this one as well.  

After many mails etc,. I got another which is ok, depending on the atmosphere, but I think they all only work if air is damp.

I would go to, say, Telescope House, & get a good one straight off.

Fay

[Ian]

Thanks Fay.

the ebay adverts certainly have "don't trust us" written all over them, but I thought I'd have a go anyway.

Either coz it's a small risk, or a case of "a fool and his money"...

We'll see.