>>The Source of the LASER "WeaponS"
www.lasershoppe.com
has acknowledged that they've stopped selling the powerful green LASERs that are being used to annoy pilots on approach<<
A review of the >100mw portable green laser that this guy was selling is here:
http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/second/pgliii.htm
As of a couple days ago, he's been persuaded by the FBI to stop importing this product:
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Guys, I would strongly recommend against trying to import these into the US right now. I spent an hour on the phone this morning with a Special Agent from the FBI, and that's why I cancelled the orders. Just forget about these lasers. Trust me on this. It's not worth having a search warrant served and your house raided by a bunch of agents with guns.
When shipping to the US, CNI most certainly DOES indicate on the outside of the shipping box that there are lasers inside. There is no way to get these into the US without being put on a list and receiving a call from the FBI.
Too many people are lighting up airplanes with lasers, and if you import one (or more) of these, the authorities are going to assume that you intend to do the same thing. The whole situation is really bad right now. Idiots with lasers, media hype, ignorance, confusion, and a bunch of FBI agents who are under pressure to do something about it all. If you don't want to be made an example of, then just forget about owning a PGL-III laser and use the money for something else right now.
That's my advice. LISTEN TO IT. You can't say you weren't warned.
From:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubb...=186&fpart=all
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By all accounts he was importing the lasers legally as far as U.S. Customs (or whatever it's called these days) was concerned. Whether it was legal to sell these > 5mw products to "hobbyists" without a "variance" is not clear to me, the Food and Drug Administration seems to have the lead in laser classification and regulation in the U.S.
There is an active community of personal laser enthusiasts here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubb...sed&sb=5&o=186
It is interesting that many of the arguments on whether a small laser can successfully target a moving airplane are similar to the ones in this PPRuNe thread.
From one of the messages on the forum above, here's information about targeting an aircraft with a green laser to simulate gunfire for a documentary:
http://www.lumalaser.com/redbaron.htm