Power Meter Calibration and Comparison

Zom-B said:

I'm in the Europe loop and I've been waiting for this to start rolling for three months already (that's how old this thread is). I also think it's not quite fair if he joins in midway, because we've paid the wage, split evenly. I'd like to think of this as at least as our ticket to get the lasers as planned, without interruptions from new people who join in later. Just my thoughts about this.


I've also got some news myself. I'll probably able to use the laser power meter and maybe even a spectrometer, at the University of Utrecht. So I'll be measuring them with two meters.

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thats perfectly fine with me! i can wait til it gets back to the states

Well, sk8n doesn't mind waiting, and the more the merrier (and better) overall. So, sk8n in and placed at the end of the list sounds fine to me, I don't see a problem with a stop right before Kenom and after Europe. Kenom had to pay shipping an extra time I think, so that extra $10 or so for participation should cancel that out maybe?

I think that's probably best to wait until the laser has been shipped back to me and verified so that the test isn't interrupted before going back out again.  The lasers weren't going to be sold specifically so that they could be passed on to others after this was all done with so that they could verify the integrity and accuracy of thier meters.    

The only thing I can see as a potential problem though is that as jayrob mentioned we all paid a portion of the cost necessary to build the lasers and now that we've all spent the money and they are assembled, there's really no legitimate way for us to split 1 $10 payment back to each of the individual contributors via paypal without the entire payment being eaten up by fees.  It's not exactly fair either to pay nothing to get this to test your meter nor would it be fair for me to take the entire payment.  So do we come up with a slush fund to put that money towards for future projects similair to this?
Only trying to be fair. I know it's not a lot of money and in the grand scheme of things $10 gets thrown away from one person to another all the time. But I wouldn't feel right taking that measly $10 payment each and every time this gets shipped to another interested in testing thier meter.

how bout we donate some of that money towards laserpointer forums?

since this wouldnt be possible without the forums, why not have the extra people just donate the cost to the forum?

I was thinking about that as well. However the cost for shipping was in addition to the $10 fee. It's not a bad idea and I'm certainly not apposed to it. I know it's certainly a great way to give back to the forum. I do also like the idea of creating a slush fund for other experiments like this. We can then throw it towards worthy projects and rebuild it as time goes on. (one thing I can think of is igort's lens experiments in trying to find a good replacement lens for blurays.)

im am down for anything and of course the person would still cover the shipping charge

i know the money would be going to a good cause either way

Another way to look at it, (because collectively it was really a small investment for such a cool experiment), is the thought of... 'the more information added to the Google form, the better'!

I don't know exactly who contributed a little more here and there, but it is obvious that Kenom has contributed the most, with his time and effort in building the test lasers. That's why it only seems right that they end up back to you Ken.

In my mind, after they make the loop and end up back in your hands, it is entirely up to you what happens next, and what it should cost!
Jay

Kenom said:

It's not exactly fair either to pay nothing to get this to test your meter nor would it be fair for me to take the entire payment.

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I was actually thinking something similar too (the latter). The motivation is that we paid the full price because we organized it and are in the first round of calibrations (of possible future rounds). When this round is completed, what remains there to be paid for? We - who paid for the lasers - did it because we wanted to set it up in the first place. People in future rounds won't have to set it up anymore because it is already there. They have an advantage we didn't have. I could see how paying nothing would make it seem unfair to some, but on the other hand, it's not something commercial and no single individual should profit (in case there are plenty future rounds, which I expect, kemom could become rich). If someone/thing should profit, as said by others, it should be the forum itself.

re: Kenom getting rich... [smiley=grin.gif] [smiley=rolleyes.gif] [smiley=lolk.gif]

remember that the reference lasers need to be kept somewhere... and shipped, and then received back, and re-tested from time to time (and readjusted)... and dusted off weekly... ;-)

So $10 a shot may not even cover his time at minimum wage. I think we should let Kenom figure out how much time he'll need, and price it out; then charge whatever that is for each time he has to send them out. If someone wants to contribute extra $$ to LPF on top of that, then great; or if Kenom feels like he's making too much on it he can donate too.

btw, Jay, I'm next after you... will pm you my address.

DanQ

I don't think $10 is going to do much but if enough people want to join in at the end it can add up. A slush fund is good; it can be use toward future laser build for calibration. One setting at each wavelength is not enough to calibrate effectively.

Results have been uploaded to the spreadsheet!

Cool~! I'm looking forward to the end of this and seeing how everyone's results differ. I'll have an opportunity to see if my meter is the same as everyone's especially since my meter showed a different initial reading thus far than everyone elses for the bluray.

Hydro, what meter did you use for the third reading? the same as for the second?

Looks like Scopeguy's going to have to tweak that meter a teenie bit and retry this testing.  Readings were just a little bit too far off for my comfort.  I think that this was one of the later builds I put together so has a potentiometer for calibration instead of a fixed resistor.

Glenn if you don't mind pop open the meter and look right off to the right of the sensor and see if there is a blue multi-turn potentiometer there.  If there is, your meter can be tweaked for calibration.  If not, I would be happy to modify it to include the pot needed.

pullbangdead, just checking in to see if you got the test lasers from hydro yet...

Just let me know how much the shipping is to me and I will PayPal you right away!
Jay

Getting kinda stoked to get your hands on these test lasers eh? I'm anxious to see how these lasers rate to everyone elses readings and I can adjust my meter if necessary. Scopeguy already looks like he's going to have to do some tweaking on his kenometer.