Laser Pointers

[ufcrusher]

I need to find a Blue or Yellow Laser Pointer for my Boss. My searches are turning up dreck. (A $1,000.00 blue laser from Th|nkgeek for example) Anyone have a lead for me?

FYI - Due to color blindness, my boss cannot use the standard red or green lasers.

TIA

[InfiniteNothing]

LOL @ color blind.
Yes, the blue ones all cost at least $1000.
Maybe with the volume of HDDVD lasers the prices will finally start dropping.

[zippyjuan]

Could you change the color of a laser by putting a colord filter in front of it?

[InfiniteNothing]

100% no. The light is monochromatic. Filters would only dim.
I have an idea: spay the projector screen with some sort of blue phosphorescent and use a decent laser pointer. When the laser hits the screen it'll glow blue.

[Jeffbx]

I imagine he'd be able to see a green one pretty easily. He might not be able to tell the beam is green, but he'd almost certainly be able to see the dot on the wall. Have you seen how bright those babies are??

[InfiniteNothing]

I thought the same thing: dogs and cats chase pointers and they are color blind right? I'm pretty sure rods can pick up green rather easily. It's likely that he can see the dot but it just isn't very easy to pick out.

[gwilks98]

I thought the same thing: dogs and cats chase pointers and they are color blind right? I'm pretty sure rods can pick up green rather easily. It's likely that he can see the dot but it just isn't very easy to pick out.

Dogs are not completely color blind. They do see color, but just not as vividly as humans.

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_004.html
http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/dog/LA/DrP4.htm

[gwilks98]

by the way, this site seems to have cheaper yellow and blues, but they're still pricey.
http://www.laserglow.com/Portable.html

[InfiniteNothing]

Dogs are not completely color blind. They do see color, but just not as vividly as humans.

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_004.html
http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/dog/LA/DrP4.htm
I think you're missing my point. Humans are almost never totally colorblind either. My point was that your monocromatic sensors (rods) would be able to pick it up but having it colored would help make it stand out and easier to find.

[Houdini]

If he's r/g colorblind, as long as it's bright enough, it seems like he could see the dot. Not the color (kind of like the proverbial traffic light) but the dot.

On that note, I'd love to get a green pointer. Can you really see the beam?

H

[InfiniteNothing]

Yes, you can see the beem if it's dark.

[Houdini]

Nifty. Gotta get one when the prices go down. Last I checked, they're pretty steep, especially as you can buy a decent red one for <$10. And I have a bunch of lasers from drug reps - even got a laser pen engraved with my name, with back/forward controls for a computer for powerpoint presentations. They were giving out all sorts of cool things at the APA meetings.

For all you SD'ers...sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you this time. I was a lot busier than I expected to be. I'll be heading back soon enough though. Gotta visit a buddy (who, with his wife, was also my housing host in Carlsbad while I was there) before he gets deployed. So I'll probably go back in a month or two. Maybe another Castle visit as well. :) Or a drive to the Reagan Library. Went to lots of interesting conferences, went into a virtual-reality (3d movie with separate left/right speakers by your ears and olfactory stuff) psychosis room, ate at "Bertrand's at Mr. A's" with some Pfizer people - damn good food and service, probably ate $250 worth of food, and had a nice cigar on the balcony while sipping scotch and watching the skyline.

Only G|Aer I got to hang out with was Roniman in Hollywood for a night. Damn good time.

If anyone finds any deals on a cheap but decent green beam, let me know. :)