timmbottoni
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/25/05
Posts: 1373
Loc: W Chicago suburbs, IL USA
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Quote:
When it's cold, you'd probably be better off using a Telrad for finding purposes.
Lithium batteries may also help, they have a price premium over the typical alkalines, but they're available in the AAA format and tend to function better in the cold. As has been mentioned earlier, the general design of green lasers does make them more sensitive to temperature.
FWIW, I too have ordered one of those $20 lasers from Amazon. It was the same dealer as on Ebay, but cost a good bit less via Amazon. I suppose it could be due to the fees Ebay charges, but it ended up being about $22 shipped. Hopefully it really is shipped from PA, but if I don't get it in another day or two, we'll know another vendor probably misrepresented the location of the item.
Can you tell us which one you ordered and whether you like it after you get it?
Thanks,
Timm
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WO GTF 102, WO Megrez 80FD, Celestron C8, WO SWAN 33mm, WO UWANs 4mm, 7mm, 16mm, WO SPLs 3mm, 6mm, 12.5mm, WO Zoom II 7.5-22.5, WO EZTouch, SV F50B2 Finder
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Doug Brown
sage
Reged: 02/24/06
Posts: 476
Loc: Fort Worth
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The green laser arrived intact and in working order! (all the way from Hong Kong)
It appears to be of at least decent quality. It came in felt covered padded case and with 2 AAA batteries.
I'll attach a photo of it here ....
I'll give it a full test tonight after it gets dark. But holding it under the bed (where it's dark), I can the see the beam. 
Regards and clear skies,
MikeG
that is the one I got for $16.39 
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Doug Brown
Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too truly to be fearfull of the night. ---Sarah Williams, 1868
10” Mead converted to Dob
Broken 20 x 70’s
7 x 50’s
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imeridian
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/22/07
Posts: 896
Loc: Hagerstown, MD
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This green laser is the one I ordered. $16.39 prior to shipping fees.
As requested I'll comment on it once I've received it, which really ought to have been by now... *shrug*
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john D
All you have to do is ask!!
Reged: 08/05/07
Posts: 5682
Loc: Midlothian, VA
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This green laser is the one I ordered. $16.39 prior to shipping fees.
As requested I'll comment on it once I've received it, which really ought to have been by now... *shrug*
thats the one i want to get when the job comes! 
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My Blog
United States Marine Corps! Oohrah!
Meade ETX-125
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Scanning4Comets
Markus
Reged: 12/26/04
Posts: 10114
Loc: Deep Space!
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I just got back from a local astronomy meeting and won a GLP for the door prize. I never win ANYTHING...Go figure. 
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Markus
10" F/4.7 Modified Skywatcher Reflector, 38mm Orion Q70, 22mm Vixen LVW, 14mm Denkmeier, 10mm Pentax XW, 7mm Pentax XW, 5mm Vixen LVW, 2" GSO 2x ED Barlow, 2" DGM O-III, Custom Laminated Star Charts, Uranometria 2000 Custom made maps with custom made rotating map holder, Astro Cards, Seen All Messier, Hundreds of NGC, Working on Herschel 400, Star hopper for over 30 yrs.
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imeridian
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/22/07
Posts: 896
Loc: Hagerstown, MD
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Quote:
Can you tell us which one you ordered and whether you like it after you get it?
My laser finally arrived today! I ordered it on the 7th, it was shipped on the 11th, and it took until today the 18th to actually get here. That's from a mere 131 miles away! Man, the postal service is really slowing down... though I can confirm that the seller on Amazon that lists the item being shipped from PA really does ship it from PA. I guess ultimately it wasn't that long, but much longer than I expected it to be, given the item's location.
It really does light up a dark room! The 'dot' is extremely bright even in daylight. I can see the beam fairly clearly in a windowless room, keeping in mind that outside at night I'd not be seeing the room brightening effect from the end of the beam when pointing at the sky. It's not like the photos, of course, but nothing ever is. I suspect there would also be more material in the air outside to scatter/reflect the beam. I do look forward to trying it this evening outside with relatively dark adapted eyes.
The body of the laser is a nice rubberized black material. I replaced the included ultra-generic batteries with slightly used Duracells, but didn't notice any real difference in brightness. This is the first green laser I've seen, so I don't have a point of reference, but thus far I'm satisfied with the purchase.
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Zhumell 10" Dobsonian
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john D
All you have to do is ask!!
Reged: 08/05/07
Posts: 5682
Loc: Midlothian, VA
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Quote:
I just got back from a local astronomy meeting and won a GLP for the door prize. I never win ANYTHING...Go figure.
thats really coool!
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My Blog
United States Marine Corps! Oohrah!
Meade ETX-125
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 17931
Loc: Oort Cloud 9
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Indigo,
The beam is more visible outside. There are particles in the air and humidity makes it more visible as well. Also, give your eyes a bit to adjust outside. It will seem brighter once you are dark adapted.
These cheapie lasers don't like cool temperatures. I thought being in Louisiana I wouldn't have to worry about the finicky lasers and cold issue. But apparently an outside temp in the low 60's is enough to dim the beam. If you keep the business end of the laser warm (rub it between your fingers a bit and keep the button pressed down for a while), it will brighten. At first, when it's cold outside, the beam is really weak. But after it warms up, it brightens back to normal. Maybe a heater strip around the business end would help in cold weather.
Maybe your batteries it came with were better than mine. I had some Chinese-language batteries that were already weak out of the box. Brand new Duracells made a noticeable difference.
Regards and clear skies,
MikeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
☄ ⒼⒶⓁⒶⒸⓉⒾⒸ ⓈⓉⓄⓃⒺ ☞ www.galactic-stone.com
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imeridian
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/22/07
Posts: 896
Loc: Hagerstown, MD
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My batteries had to be better than the ones you were given. I replaced them as a matter of standard procedure versus to increase the brightness; my experience with cheap batteries that come with imported products has not been good, lots of leaks.
I'll probably get some of the Energizer Lithium batteries, but I'll wait to see just how this performs. I don't plan on using this particular laser as a finder mounted on the scope, but more as a pointer when showing the family where the scope is pointed.
I'm partial to the Jasper Always when it comes to finder lasers, magnificent price difference, but I really like the mount, always on function, and general increase in overall quality.
If nothing else, I'm glad I was able to find a vendor (and confirm it for everyone else) that is being truthful about where the item ships from.
Thanks for the tips on warming it up. I'm lucky if it's 60 degrees at night, when I first received my scope last month it was 52! ...in September.
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Zhumell 10" Dobsonian
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imeridian
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/22/07
Posts: 896
Loc: Hagerstown, MD
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I just wanted to follow up for anyone still wondering. I was able to use the green laser last night outside and even with the moon it was clearly visible reaching to the stars. This particular one seems to be plenty powerful/bright to do the job. It does take a little time before the beam brightens and really intensifies, but when it does, wow!
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Zhumell 10" Dobsonian
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john D
All you have to do is ask!!
Reged: 08/05/07
Posts: 5682
Loc: Midlothian, VA
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My Blog
United States Marine Corps! Oohrah!
Meade ETX-125
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NorthCoast
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/05/04
Posts: 2308
Loc: Westerville, Ohio, U.S.A.
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I just ordered two at less than $20USD ea. and I'll compared to my LuckyDuck APC GLP that was on sale around the Holidays last year...
I also got two mounts from ScopeStuff to put on my alt/az setups.
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Mark
Hold the "Alt Key" and type 248 on the number pad for °
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timmbottoni
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/25/05
Posts: 1373
Loc: W Chicago suburbs, IL USA
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Thanks - let us know how they compare.
I am planning on getting a green laser pointer and if I don't have to spend $100+ to get something good enough for basic use, that would be great.
Timm
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WO GTF 102, WO Megrez 80FD, Celestron C8, WO SWAN 33mm, WO UWANs 4mm, 7mm, 16mm, WO SPLs 3mm, 6mm, 12.5mm, WO Zoom II 7.5-22.5, WO EZTouch, SV F50B2 Finder
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 17931
Loc: Oort Cloud 9
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Yeah, the good thing about a $20 laser, is it's somewhat expendable. If it gets dropped or damaged at a star party or an outreach event, it's easily replaced.
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
☄ ⒼⒶⓁⒶⒸⓉⒾⒸ ⓈⓉⓄⓃⒺ ☞ www.galactic-stone.com
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timmbottoni
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/25/05
Posts: 1373
Loc: W Chicago suburbs, IL USA
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Quote:
Yeah, the good thing about a $20 laser, is it's somewhat expendable. If it gets dropped or damaged at a star party or an outreach event, it's easily replaced.
Or dropped by my kids on the deck at night 
Timm
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WO GTF 102, WO Megrez 80FD, Celestron C8, WO SWAN 33mm, WO UWANs 4mm, 7mm, 16mm, WO SPLs 3mm, 6mm, 12.5mm, WO Zoom II 7.5-22.5, WO EZTouch, SV F50B2 Finder
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 17931
Loc: Oort Cloud 9
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Yup. Just make sure you teach young kids to use the laser responsibly. It's very tempting to "play" with it and "zap" things like animals and people. Pointing the laser into someone or something's eye can be hazardous. And the green laser beam also contains infrared radiation. Definitely not a toy.
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
☄ ⒼⒶⓁⒶⒸⓉⒾⒸ ⓈⓉⓄⓃⒺ ☞ www.galactic-stone.com
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ngc6475
Fearless Spectator
Reged: 03/02/02
Posts: 5024
Loc: 38°21'N 120°55'W
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Good advice, Mike! Thanks!
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Walter
"There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls."
-George Carlin
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timmbottoni
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/25/05
Posts: 1373
Loc: W Chicago suburbs, IL USA
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Quote:
Yup. Just make sure you teach young kids to use the laser responsibly. It's very tempting to "play" with it and "zap" things like animals and people. Pointing the laser into someone or something's eye can be hazardous. And the green laser beam also contains infrared radiation. Definitely not a toy.
Thanks! good advice!
Timm
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WO GTF 102, WO Megrez 80FD, Celestron C8, WO SWAN 33mm, WO UWANs 4mm, 7mm, 16mm, WO SPLs 3mm, 6mm, 12.5mm, WO Zoom II 7.5-22.5, WO EZTouch, SV F50B2 Finder
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DoctorNoodle
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/14/07
Posts: 1146
Loc: Lawn Guyland, NY
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Got my $22 laser last week, also from Amazon. I was able to use an old 6x30 finder and bracket to mount the laser by removing the objective lens and holding the laser in with packing foam. It really worked well although it'll never be as accurate as my red-dot finder.
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“If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.” - George Carlin
Orion 120ST and Apex 90,
An iOptron MiniTower to put 'em on,
And a bunch o' goodies to go with 'em.
Alanoodle's Model Portfolio
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NorthCoast
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/05/04
Posts: 2308
Loc: Westerville, Ohio, U.S.A.
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I got confirmation but I don't have my less than $20 lasers yet. I did get the laser mounts from ScopeStuff. I place the mounts on the standard WO stocks and mounting brackets already installed for my WO finders.
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Mark
Hold the "Alt Key" and type 248 on the number pad for °
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