Jim, that's a very good use for your laser and you're ahead of the curve. Last year SLAS bought a Beta 10mW laser & bracket, and mounted it on the 32" Grim scope, along with a momentary remote switch. That is an extremely effective device for answering the question from visitors, "where exactly is the telescope pointed?" Bruce installed it internally, so it can't be fiddled-with by curious fingers. I was so impressed with it in this application, that I'm seriously considering adapting my 20mW for use as a "finder". I still have my digital light meter, and for anyone who is curious, I can tell you how bright your laser is in terms of lux. It can accommodate lasers up to and slightly over 20mW. I'll bring it to SPOC later this spring. On Fri, Feb 6, 2009 at 12:50 PM, Jim Gibson <jimgibson00@yahoo.com> wrote:
Chuck, I have 5,10 and 20 mw green lasers. The 5 and 10 mw use the AAA pen light batteries but the 20mw pointer uses a lithium battery similar to what you describe, and I like to use it in a teaching situation. I can only see the 5mw laser when the seeing is lousy or there is a bunch of junk in the air.
I bought a laser holder from Orion that attaches to their dove-tail mount and I like to use 10mw in my back yard to quickly point my scope at objects when there is no one else around. I would prefer to use a higher output device if I could because as you mentioned they are a lot easier to see.
I would like to try that 30mw pen. I think that would be easier to see, good duty cycle wise and still a bit of a safety factor compared to the 200mw light saber.
Jim