- Joined
- Mar 24, 2016
- Messages
- 1
- Points
- 0
Hello Everyone. I've been lurking on and off for quite a while, here as well as many other forums. Been on the net since before the web was a thing, but this is like maybe the ~10th time I've ever posted anything on the net, & I rarely ever join any communities or forums (or groups). In another thread I was reading today I finally saw several posts that finally got me to break down and sign up with LPF. Maybe some other day I'll chime in with my opinions on the posts I read. I'm sure I'll get a chance again sooner or later, but I digress. 
I should probably start by saying thank you to everyone for the interesting and informative forum. I appreciate the effort you guys put into all the replies and I'm sure a ton of admin stuff. Like I said I've been lurking for a long while, and I've learned a lot, maybe even saved an eyeball or two.
I'm sitting tight right now until I manage to get my hands on the right safety glasses. They always seem pricey every time I've checked them out.
(I am actually aware, considering what they do, how inexpensive they really are.)
I checked out a link someone posted to survival laser's glasses, I'm starting to understand things I think. It seems the Eagle Pair 190-540nm & 800-2000nm in OD4 (an attenuation of 10,000) says its good for looking at a non reflective spot from a 10w or less laser in the indicated wavelengths.
Does this mean if you got flashed (with a red 650nm laser say), like the guy who accidentally dropped a blue laser he was working on, and burned his retina, they would not protect from that sort of accidental exposure?
They seemed like the best deal for only 1 pair that would cover anything I'm interested in currently. I'm going to check a couple places locally, before I do anything, I'm hoping I might be able to get a deal.
Also was reading that pretty much anything transparent blocks IR, does that mean standard wrap around Lexan safety glasses would block say 780nm? or is it much higher IR wavelengths (say up around 1000nm) that are blocked by everything?
Just like another newbie mentioned, I've got tons of CD and DVD burners, & I'm keeping my eyes open for a steal on a blue ray burner. I'm interested in using unfocused or only slightly focused IR diodes as illumination for CCD cameras. I'm guessing they are ~50-200mw. It seemed like the red 650nm ones with no lens produced ~ 1meter spot @ 1-2meters distance.
I'm interested in eventually building my own power meter, I've read Sam's FAQ, where he mentions DIY power meters with simple K type TCs and black objects. I've got a few people that might be able to help me with calibration. I've got a few bolometer / thermopile type things, but they are prolly too sensitive and not made for measuring high intensity flux.
Can a neutral density filter be used to affect the intensity of a laser beam, like it affects regular light. I have a set of ND filters that came from a laser lab actually. So could I use them to extend the range of a power meter or measuring methodology? Sam's technique was either carbon on a plate or graphite pieces I think, which should cover my needs for a while.
For various reasons, I'm only now able to start working on many of the projects I've been waiting for and wanting to do. I've been collecting stuff for a long time now, and have quite a collection of "junk" or "stock", depending on your view.
A few other things I'm interested in building are, an Air-gap flash, (sort of the Edgerton variety) for high speed photography. I'm pretty sure I have all the parts, just need to put it all together.
A laser cutter seems like it would be fun to build and useful as well, solid state or CO2 based.
Building a TEA Laser seems like a no brainer just to do it, A CO2 laser(DIY tube) is also within the realm of possibility (think the tubes have gotten dirt cheap, almost not much point in a DIY tube).
Not sure if I'll ever build one but I have always been fascinated by the CuCl Amateur Scientist laser from Scientific American. Pretty Sure I have everything (but Brewster windows) on hand to put one together.
I'm rebuilding / repairing a MIG welder, and modding another one for better performance too right now. I've got tons of other little projects, to many to name, lined up, like battery pack rebuilds, equipment rebuilds, and upgrades.
It's weird how many times over the years I've ended up here, after searching for something not necessarily directly laser pointer related. So again thanks for the effort you guys put into this forum.
One last Question: When is a thread dead? I ran across posts referred to as being semi-necro, the thread was old, but apparently not quite dead. So when does etiquette dictate a thread is old. I used the search (actually answered several of my questions, but earlier wasn't able to get a good answer) to find point #3 in the etiquette guide, but it doesn't really say how old is old. Just curious, why is it that considered a bad form?
Sorry about the long post.
Looking forward to participating in the forum
Quick
Had a 5w Spectra physics Argon head but I let someone check it out for me before I knew what was up, I suspect some critical optics evaporated. Got rid of it.
Siemens 5mw HeNe
Uniphase 5mw HeNe
Hand held 5mw HeNe with line generator for barcode reading
and various 5mw 650nm laser pointers
I should probably start by saying thank you to everyone for the interesting and informative forum. I appreciate the effort you guys put into all the replies and I'm sure a ton of admin stuff. Like I said I've been lurking for a long while, and I've learned a lot, maybe even saved an eyeball or two.
I'm sitting tight right now until I manage to get my hands on the right safety glasses. They always seem pricey every time I've checked them out.
(I am actually aware, considering what they do, how inexpensive they really are.)
I checked out a link someone posted to survival laser's glasses, I'm starting to understand things I think. It seems the Eagle Pair 190-540nm & 800-2000nm in OD4 (an attenuation of 10,000) says its good for looking at a non reflective spot from a 10w or less laser in the indicated wavelengths.
Does this mean if you got flashed (with a red 650nm laser say), like the guy who accidentally dropped a blue laser he was working on, and burned his retina, they would not protect from that sort of accidental exposure?
They seemed like the best deal for only 1 pair that would cover anything I'm interested in currently. I'm going to check a couple places locally, before I do anything, I'm hoping I might be able to get a deal.
Also was reading that pretty much anything transparent blocks IR, does that mean standard wrap around Lexan safety glasses would block say 780nm? or is it much higher IR wavelengths (say up around 1000nm) that are blocked by everything?
Just like another newbie mentioned, I've got tons of CD and DVD burners, & I'm keeping my eyes open for a steal on a blue ray burner. I'm interested in using unfocused or only slightly focused IR diodes as illumination for CCD cameras. I'm guessing they are ~50-200mw. It seemed like the red 650nm ones with no lens produced ~ 1meter spot @ 1-2meters distance.
I'm interested in eventually building my own power meter, I've read Sam's FAQ, where he mentions DIY power meters with simple K type TCs and black objects. I've got a few people that might be able to help me with calibration. I've got a few bolometer / thermopile type things, but they are prolly too sensitive and not made for measuring high intensity flux.
Can a neutral density filter be used to affect the intensity of a laser beam, like it affects regular light. I have a set of ND filters that came from a laser lab actually. So could I use them to extend the range of a power meter or measuring methodology? Sam's technique was either carbon on a plate or graphite pieces I think, which should cover my needs for a while.
For various reasons, I'm only now able to start working on many of the projects I've been waiting for and wanting to do. I've been collecting stuff for a long time now, and have quite a collection of "junk" or "stock", depending on your view.
A few other things I'm interested in building are, an Air-gap flash, (sort of the Edgerton variety) for high speed photography. I'm pretty sure I have all the parts, just need to put it all together.
A laser cutter seems like it would be fun to build and useful as well, solid state or CO2 based.
Building a TEA Laser seems like a no brainer just to do it, A CO2 laser(DIY tube) is also within the realm of possibility (think the tubes have gotten dirt cheap, almost not much point in a DIY tube).
Not sure if I'll ever build one but I have always been fascinated by the CuCl Amateur Scientist laser from Scientific American. Pretty Sure I have everything (but Brewster windows) on hand to put one together.
I'm rebuilding / repairing a MIG welder, and modding another one for better performance too right now. I've got tons of other little projects, to many to name, lined up, like battery pack rebuilds, equipment rebuilds, and upgrades.
It's weird how many times over the years I've ended up here, after searching for something not necessarily directly laser pointer related. So again thanks for the effort you guys put into this forum.
One last Question: When is a thread dead? I ran across posts referred to as being semi-necro, the thread was old, but apparently not quite dead. So when does etiquette dictate a thread is old. I used the search (actually answered several of my questions, but earlier wasn't able to get a good answer) to find point #3 in the etiquette guide, but it doesn't really say how old is old. Just curious, why is it that considered a bad form?
Sorry about the long post.
Looking forward to participating in the forum
Quick
Had a 5w Spectra physics Argon head but I let someone check it out for me before I knew what was up, I suspect some critical optics evaporated. Got rid of it.
Siemens 5mw HeNe
Uniphase 5mw HeNe
Hand held 5mw HeNe with line generator for barcode reading
and various 5mw 650nm laser pointers
