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Things not looking good for lasers right now....

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Avi

Tue Apr 08 2008, 08:37AM

Registered Member #580 Joined: Mon Mar 12 2007, 03:17PM
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 410

I was thinking of getting this

much cheaper then jaycars price. But by the time they get more in stock i am worried they will be banned, and since i don't have a credit card i cant even get it under my own name

don't want to get someone else into legal trouble.

quicksilver

Tue Apr 08 2008, 01:53PM

Registered Member #1408 Joined: Fri Mar 21 2008, 03:49PM
Location: Oracle, AZ
Posts: 679

I have several very close friends in NSW & Sidney (Aus) and to a man they echo the same sentiment....They are seemingly worried about something becoming illegal. Now I don't in any manner want my comment to be seen as demeaning to my Australian friends because I really love & respect them but they appear consumed with the fear of their government "banning" something and I believe that this began with the school tragedies and the firearms laws.

I don't live there so I couldn't say but would the government of Australia go into one's home and search for such things? Would the average citizen go to prison for such a thing? Good people don't want or intend to break any laws but often laws are made in an effort to prevent the abuse of an inanimate object. That object having no mind of it's own, is perfectly content to remain at rest & commit no crime. I wonder at legislators who believe they can legislate morality by targeting the object instead of the person behind the object.

But attempts at legislation at inanimate objects are SAFE as they cannot vote and they are potent symbols for behaviour; instead of people who can constitute a voting block, etc. So I suppose I understand why any symbol of misbehaviour is attacked....it's a clever political method of gathering votes without risk.

Tesladownunder

Wed Apr 09 2008, 07:28AM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

I doubt that things are greatly different here than in the US, UK or other places. We are not highly regulated (not talking about guns here) really and most hobby stuff is below the radar until someone does something stupid when noises will be made.

Having said that, I was visited by the Dept of Energy Safety a couple of years back in regard to my website. After some thought and discussion I showed then how my HV equipment was powered by dropping down to 50VAC with an arc welder and their jurisdiction stopped there, (I simply stepped it back up to 250 V with a back to back welder and he seemed happy with that). He was probably more concerned that I wasn't doing public shows, wasn't being an idiot and wasn't earning a living as an unlicenced electircian.
So I have more reason to be paranoid than most.

BTW inanimate does not equal safe with any number of examples from explosives to electrical to biologicals to chemicals.

TDU

lpfthings

Sat Apr 12 2008, 10:56AM

Registered Member #1361 Joined: Thu Feb 28 2008, 10:57AM
Location: Cairns, Australia
Posts: 305

Dr. Shock, not to sound like an @$$ or anything, but take a look around laserpointerforums.com, about 70% of people that have bought from them have recieved underpowered lasers. Companies like NOVAlasers.com, laserglow.com and optotronic.com are far more reputable. Wicked lasers _were_ once good, i dunno maybe they changed supplier or something, but their lasers have really gone down hill.

lpfthings

Sat Apr 12 2008, 10:58AM

Registered Member #1361 Joined: Thu Feb 28 2008, 10:57AM
Location: Cairns, Australia
Posts: 305

Sorry for the double post, having a prob with the editing button atm.... TDU, having the Dept of Energy Safety on your doorstep would be pretty scary, i'm glad they let you through though, your site pretty much lead me right into high voltage.

Tesladownunder

Sat Apr 12 2008, 04:16PM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

I thought the Dept of Energy Safety would be the end of much of my hobby so I was pretty anxious. I hid almost all of my stuff except low voltage or commercial but left out the Tesla coil hooked up to run from (legal) 50VAC.
I'm still not sure if he had actually seen my website or was just told to go check things out.

Back to the original topic.
Has anyone on the LP forums had a customs knockback? or problems?

TDU

lpfthings

Sun Apr 13 2008, 05:07AM

Registered Member #1361 Joined: Thu Feb 28 2008, 10:57AM
Location: Cairns, Australia
Posts: 305

Many people have, but usually laser suppliers mark the items as a LED pen or something, so most get through. There are a few people tha have had their lasers taken, but generally its not much of a problem ATM. One thing we have found, is that if you get more expensive shipping, the boxes are usually checked more. All the lasers i have ordered, from laser shows to modules to pointers have all made their way through fine.

Avi

Sun Apr 13 2008, 06:29AM

Registered Member #580 Joined: Mon Mar 12 2007, 03:17PM
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 410

where can i find an actual copy of this law and its exact words and where it applies so far.

lpfthings

Sun Apr 13 2008, 10:52AM

Registered Member #1361 Joined: Thu Feb 28 2008, 10:57AM
Location: Cairns, Australia
Posts: 305

Lasers are not banned yet, but they are thinking seriously about it. In AU, lasers over 1mw in POINTER form are illegal anyway, any wavenlength (not that people follow those laws anyway hehehe)

Alessandro

Sun Apr 13 2008, 12:42PM

Registered Member #70 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 08:19AM
Location:
Posts: 43

Are we talking the banning of the actual standalone laser "pointer" as a whole or the actual laser module/diode itself. Here in AUS jaycar has been selling 10mw red laser diodes and 10mw green laser modules for quite some time. Laser pointers of that power are out lawed here. Does this mean if the ban was successful only the entire pointer device would be banned, but we would still be able to purchase laser modules? If that was the case I don't consider the ban so bad.

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