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using laser pointer to mark athletic fields

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kmrod

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Hi,

I searched before posting but didn't see anything like this.

My son picked up a part-time job painting soccer field lines for the town. I'd love to get a BeamRider to do it perfect but they're $4k so that's out. The town does have a $199 manual painter and a a budget to buy string, but doing it that way the lines aren't as straight as I'd like them (granted I'm kind of a perfectionist).

That's where you guys come in..........I had an idea to use a laser pointer to help out. I figure i could put a laser pointer on a stake and jam it in at one corner of the field and aim down the sideline to a corner target. As long as he walks toward the pointer (in front of the corner target) and keeps the laser "spot" on the front of the painter, then the painted line should be straight.......yes?

He'll mostly be doing the painting after school when it's bright(er). Is there a laser color that would be better for daylight? I read someone on here said blue shows up well......... would you recommend something for the front of the painter to make it easier to see the spot (like maybe a white target for the blue laser)?

Is there an inexpensive laser pointer that keeps a fairly confined beam at 100 yards? What color would be good? Any suggestions? Any guess if this will actually work (hahaha)?

I appreciate your help.
 





Jacob32123

Jacob32123

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Welcome to LPF.

It would work great. Green is going to be the brightest to the human eye, and 5mW should be fine. Anything over 5mW is an eye hazard.

You will not be able to see the beam during the day, but you will be able to see the dot no problem. The dot will appear brightest on white, so I would recommend using a white target on the painter.

The beam is guaranteed to be straight, but you will need to make sure that the beam is aimed at the right spot.

The only challenge is finding a pointer that has a low divergence (usually shown on a site, measured in mRad, lower is better)

The whole thing should be cheap too.
 
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K

kmrod

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i was talking about this in the office and they were saying it wouldn't work. i can't see why it wouldn't work, but this is really my only concern (and you nailed it in the first reply)

Jacob32123 said:
The only challenge is finding a pointer that has a low divergence (usually shown on a site, measured in mRad, lower is better)
Click to expand...

over 100 yards (that's the longest line he'll do) if the "spot" is maybe 2-3" across then it'll be about 11000x better than using string.

i get from your post that lower mRad means lower (what I'll call) confinement on the beam? so lower mRad means a smaller spot at distance?

could you tell me what would produce a spot no more than 2" at 100 yards? or is my thinking off, and they'll all be smaller than 2" at 100 yards?
 
InfinitusEquitas

InfinitusEquitas

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If the laser is pointed straight, and he keeps the dot on the painter while moving forward... a straight line should result.

For what you're looking to do, a green laser pointer would work best, possibly even 50mW would be enough.

Your best would probably be a labbie, not a pointer though, since it would need to be on for extended periods of time.

http://www.lasever.com/producttitle.asp?id=1371

http://www.o-like.com/index.php?mai...oducts_id=89&zenid=7jum26du9iirbq2ga1e84td5p2

You could do this for a few hundred easily. For the target, you can just use any matte white surface, and personally I would probably paint a target on that surface :eg:

As a proof of concept, if you can access the location at night, buy a cheap pen pointer from ebay/amazon 5mW green, that will likely be overspec, and try it out.

You just have to be careful initially setting up the laser for each line, and targeting it to the other end of the field, but aside from that... should work.
 
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Jacob32123

Jacob32123

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kmrod said:
i was talking about this in the office and they were saying it wouldn't work. i can't see why it wouldn't work, but this is really my only concern (and you nailed it in the first reply)



over 100 yards (that's the longest line he'll do) if the "spot" is maybe 2-3" across then it'll be about 11000x better than using string.

i get from your post that lower mRad means lower (what I'll call) confinement on the beam? so lower mRad means a smaller spot at distance?

could you tell me what would produce a spot no more than 2" at 100 yards? or is my thinking off, and they'll all be smaller than 2" at 100 yards?
Click to expand...

Correct. Lower mRad = smaller dot at a distance.

It should be around .5 mRad for a 2" spot at 300'
 
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kmrod

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InfinitusEquitas said:
For what you're looking to do, a green laser pointer would work best, possibly even 50mW would be enough.

Your best would probably be a labbie, not a pointer though, since it would need to be on for extended periods of time. You could do this for a few hundred easily.
Click to expand...
it would be on for about 20 min/field x 4 fields, but it wouldn't be on the entire time......and frankly, when i can get a 50mW laser pointer for $20, i'd rather use rechargeable batteries than spend a few hundred.

For the target, you can just use any matte white surface, and personally I would probably paint a target on that surface :eg:
Click to expand...
the problem is the ground isn't perfectly flat so the paint 'truck' will go up and down. the target needs to be maybe 3" wide and a foot tall to account for dips in the field.

I'll need a target for the corner so i'll probably paint up a white board maybe 14" tall, aim the laser at it, then transfer the board over to the paint cart and walk at it. I have a cheapo design in mind that will lay the board back to i can always see the spot.

straight lines will be nice, but (for me) the best part of this will be that all lines are parallel...it really bugs me when the sideline boxes on each penalty area don't line up. my son says i'm way overthinking this but in the long run it'll save him time (and that means it'll save me time because i have to bring him to the field).

thanks!!
 
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Jacob32123

Jacob32123

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If you go for the 5mW laser it wont be an eye hazard, and heatsinking shouldn't be much of a problem.
 
InfinitusEquitas

InfinitusEquitas

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My bad, meant to say 100 yards. Even at 100 feet though, true 5mW of green isn't very bright when it's sunny out.

Try this out as a proof of concept with a cheap pointer, and if it works, which it should... great :D
 
K

kmrod

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skylaser2012 said:
as you said ,100 yard seems a little distant.so you need to use higher power laser,
emits more bright beam.whats more, we shuold ensure our safety when do it.
if you want know anything about it , SKYLASER here can
provide you such pointer. cheers !
Click to expand...

I'd love to have someone post a link and say " THIS is the one you want!! "
 
tsteele93

tsteele93

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:)

Just got to thinking that might be a way to do it. Not as cool and fun as DIY, but might be a good way to accomplish your goals.
 
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