[Azathoth]

Originally Posted by z0ng

I'm no expert but I've had some experience with optical communications in the past. I have access to an optical light meter designed for use in telecom environments. It allows for measurement of light levels at specific wavelengths.

This is useful for getting an idea of how powerful a laser is. One of the wavelengths of light it can measure is 850nm which is around where most IR lasers are in the spectrum. It doesn't tell you however if the IR laser is calibrated right at 850nm so I would hesitate before using this technique to completely OK a laser for use. It could be calibrated for a different wavelength resulting in a lower power reading at 850nm which would not give an accurate indication of it's true power.

If I can get access to an optical spectrum analyzer then a more detailed report of what frequencies and strengths of light is being emitted from a specific laser diode would be possible. At that stage you could safely say a laser is OK to use. Sadly it's not so easy to get access to this type of gear as it's typically in excess of $10k or more for a spectrum analyzer.

Thanks for the info. When we had a meeting with Game planners and field owners 2 years ago and they asked the question "what about laser measuring devices" we couldn't find anything that was portable and/or cost effective. The post from C3SK made it seem like something like their was a new development or we missed something in our research.