SANParks.org Forums

No

It is a:

1. Green
2. Lazer
3. That you use to point with.

It gives a nice long and visible green light, and makes pointing at the stars fun.

just googled it Imberbe
I guess some of them should be used with caution , as I read they can burn plastic and some military use the more powerful ones to disarm enemies?
laser pointers were banned from some schools here as the students were using them in 'not for use' ways
If you feel this post is too serious...please delete

@Lockie: Its not too serious at all. Its a very serious issue. Especially with the new green lasers, they're apparently a bit more powerful than the older red pointers

This is what I was referring to joshilewis. I will NOT be posting where this quote was taken from. The price quoted was US$99 for 20mW
I agree it would be a useful tool for stargazing, but in the wrong hands and for the wrong purpose...a weapon!

I was agreeing with you
Most reviews I've read online claim that manufacturer's claims are usually exaggerated, i.e. the lasers can't burn plastic or pop balloons etc. They're still very dangerous though.

I knew you agreed with me and thanks josh, I just wanted to drive my 'point' home
I was amazed by the Southern Sky both in the daylight, but especially at night! EVERYTHING was so different from what we were used to, and at time I was kicking myself I didn't include an astronomy book with the rest of the bird, reptile, mammals books we had used while visiting that most beautiful spots most of you call home

Not as dangerous as the bazooka like flashlights some carry ...

Yeah it is very different. I've made a point of looking at N Hemisphere stars on two occasions, both in deserts (in Israel and India) and our stars are much more impressive.

I'm slowly starting to get into the finer aspects of guiding/ecology etc, including star gazing (I wouldn't quite call it astronomy yet).

For book recommendations check this topic.

I wonder if there's a market for a 'safari book' rental service?

As Imberbe has said they are excellent for star pointing - on one of our Mopani night drives the guide was using one very effectively got the distance to the closest star the wrong way round but did'nt want to embaress him - it was vry very windy and there was not much doing animal wise so it made a nice break to stop and do some star gazing (the old fall back position )

We recently had 2 or 3 instances here where some idiots were using them to flash pilots on approach to land - could potentially cause a catastrophe. So, being the good old nanny state they are now effectively banned!

yeah I read about that. Amazing how stupid people can be somtimes.
I'll be getting mine early next week, but I'm currently in Israel and I'm not sure its such a good idea to use it here. So I might open it when I get back to SA only.

Yes Lockie, I appreciate with your comment in which you mentioned about banned laser pointers generally used by defence forces. Once, I watched on TV about its use against kidnappers and criminals. During, encounter the highly incensed laser point exaggerated towards criminals eyes which causes big parrot green(not sure about colour) spot against his eyesight suddenly. Then, he get disturbed by it which allows sharpshooters to aim him easily.

This is only slightly related....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7651466.stm

Its amazing how a useful invention can be deadly when given to a couple of idiots, isn't it?

Preliminary review: I've been playing with my pointer over a few nights, but I haven't had a chance to do some decent star gazing due to the weather and light pollution in Jo'burg.

So far I am very impressed. The laser dot can be seen clearly at 50m away in twilight, and possibly more (I haven't had the chance to check further distances yet). The beam can be seen indoors with curtains closed (assuming decent curtains). The beam can also be seen clearly while pointed at a full moon.

All in all, I am very impressed.

The only real downside is it seems to eat batteries (rechargables); and the beam intensity drops after a few minutes of continuous usage (not sure if its batteries, heat or a low quality unit).
I paid under USD20 for mine from Amazon (with a traveling relative kindly bringing it back).

I can't wait to try it out 'for real'.

I'll try taking some photos and posting them soon, when the weather here clears a little.

We recently had 2 or 3 instances here where some idiots were using them to flash pilots on approach to land - could potentially cause a catastrophe. So, being the good old nanny state they are now effectively banned!

TP there was also the case where one of these was used to "blind/disorientate" one of the Proteas cricket players in a T20 match in Aus! Good thing they are banned then!

Josh, you might find that either the batteries are really cheap or the laser unit itself is low quality - at that cost Longevity should be more than that.

bushguy - ja, they really got the aim wrong there - should have blinded the whole Aussie team............... nah, they are bad enough as it is