I know in the past there have been threads posted discussing how to obtain IR Lasers. However, have any of you come across versions of the PEQ/2A, PEQ 15, or something similar that were just visible lasers and flashlights? If not what have you found that's similar to that?

eBay has Asian market copies with visible lasers and flashlights.

If you want the closest thing to a real Peq-15 for civis, look at the Laser Devices Class 1 DBAL

I always find amusement when people realize how expensive real lasers are, IR or visible.

Topic Moved

There is no good (read: legal) way to get a real DoD issued laser.  Last fall, a government agency (DHS?) began an account on this board posting about how they were trying to round up wayward DoD IR lasers.  There may be airsoft copies out there if you want a clone that looks the role, but not the same specs.  Look at LDI's OTAL/ITAL line from TNVC if you want a "real" visible laser.

I second the Laser Devices advice.  Milspec housings with FDA approved eye safe lasers.  Very solidly built stuff - no airsoft knockoff crap.

Vis laser / IR laser / IR illum - LDI DBAL D2 - http://tnvc.com/shop/ldi-dbal-d2-class-1-ir-laser/
Vis laser / IR laser - LDI DBAL I2 - http://tnvc.com/shop/ldi-dbal-i2-class-1-ir-laser/
IR Laser or Vis Laser - LDI OTAL or ITAL
 IR - http://tnvc.com/shop/ldi-ital-class-1-ir-laser/ or http://tnvc.com/shop/ldi-otal-class-1-ir-laser/
 VIS - http://tnvc.com/shop/otal-offset-tactical-aiming-laser/ or http://tnvc.com/shop/ital-inline-tactical-aiming-laser/

TNVC has a full line of illuminators as well.

"Sharks with fricken laser beams on their heads!"  

I noticed that all of these have a Visible Laser output of 5mW or less. Is that the standard output?







 

Read more about the FDA & lasers here, including classification (i.e. IIIa)

Thank you for the link...interesting.



Here's one of mine and why I asked.







 

Looks like an older airsoft setup?  I wonder if it's a true 10mW laser.  I suppose it may have been imported prior to 2008 or one of the laser systems that snuck through customs.

From my point of view, the thing about lasers to consider is what your intended use is going to be.  More power is not necessarily better - particularly with IR lasers used with NVGs.  The newest eye safe class 1 IR lasers are 0.7 mW.  I have seen first hand with NVGs that they are effective in aiming out to 200- 300 yards easily.   This is at or near the limit for target ID with good gen 3+ NVG anyway.    In closer, like inside a structure, even 0.7 mW has some bloom to it under goggle, making them less effective not more.  This is why the new pistol IR lasers are even lower power - 0.1 mW.  No one is trying to shoot a pistol under NVG out at 300 yards.

Good green visible lasers (LDI or other) are visible in daylight in my experience out to 100 yards or so easily.  I find use of red dot scopes more effective than the laser at engaging targets at range in the daytime out to the limits of the rifle, shooter, and ammunition.  At night, that equation changes significantly as NVG use on the helmet is much more flexible and safe than NVG mounted to the rifle.  This is where the IR laser really shines to me.

Military lasers are used for more than just aiming that particular rifle system.  They are often target designation for something bigger.  That use doesn't really have any civilian application, so for me - more power - is not something I am looking for in a laser.

The LDI OTAL .7mw IR laser that I got recently was a lot brighter than I had been lead to believe.  Definately adequate for my purposes.

The 5mw "homebrew" IR laser that I had been using is arguably too bright when used under certain circumstances.  The dot sometimes totally obliterated the target–– all I could see was a bright dot and nothing else.  This was during really dark conditions; would probably be just the ticket in urban areas, though.