Signaling With A Laser Pointer

[maxingout]

During our circumnavigation, we sometimes used battery powered laser pointers as a signaling device to get the attention of friends on the other side of an anchorage hundreds of feet away. We would bounce the laser off their yacht in the dark. A bouncing red light at night does get your attention. It gave us a silent way of communicating without hailing them on Channel 16. Weak lasers viewed at great distance don't present a hazard to people looking in their direction. (I shoot high powered lasers into eyes every week as I am an eye surgeon)

A laser pointer could be used as a signal to come up on a prearranged VHF channel or HF radio preset.

Don't look directly at laser pointers up close. You may damage your eyes.