What keeps you going?

Lately there have been many members who have posted FS threads which state that their interest in the hobby has diminished and that all their lasers are up for grabs.

Not just a few, but quite a number of members. As well as long time vets who invested enormous amounts of time and money in the hobby.

I'd like to know what other members experiences are:

What inspires you to come here to LPF everyday? Has there been an occasion where you have lost complete interest but something has brought you back? What brought you back? Perhaps it's the new innovations in laser diode technology? Or perhaps it's the community and the people here who keep you coming back?

I'll share my brief experience:

Lately it has not been due to the new innovations in laser diode technology, but the innovations in the craftsmanship and production of high quality hosts that have kept me going in the hobby. You can only go so far in building with every single laser diode out there but there is no end to the possibilities and conceptions of new and innovative designs.

I have recently taken a stab at machining my own focus adapters and hosts. It has been a great learning experience to say the least. Obviously I have hit many barriers along the way, but what's important to me is the experience I've gained in the process. To draw out your ideas and to see them come to life is truly a fulfilling experience. Innovation from the hobbyists end. That's what keeps me going.

What keeps you going?

Photography opportunities. If I wasn't into photography at all I think my interest in lasers would have been a mere fleeting thought as part of the buzz for me is how lasers and a camera can be used to make amazing images.

As to keeping the interest going, I think it's just something I will find eternally fascinating. The interest for me has peaked already, I know this because I recently spent a lot of money not on a laser but on a jacket, had that been a few months ago it would have unquestionably been the laser. I doubt the hobby will die though as most of mine never truly die, and just when I wonder about the distinct possibility of selling a laser I turn them on, then I know not only why I got it in the first place, but that I'm not selling up.

Half of the time interest is lost in a hobby because instead of going out and doing that hobby we (as a collective) spend all too much time wondering about the thing we don't own and the things we have not yet done, all the while the equipment sits gathering dust. I've found that I get far more thrill out of just taking the laser in my hand and using it, than wondering what it would be like to hold that $400 589. And so what it's only a few pens and a 445, I LOVE the colour of 445 (its grown on me hugely) and no one is telling me otherwise.

What keeps me going is my curiosity. I don't know all there is to know about lasers, and I am drawn to things I don't fully understand.
What keeps me coming back to LPF is the ocasssional interesting discussion, and laughing at noobs who want a laser to fry their neighbors security camera.

I'm still waiting for some of these nerds around here to get out and I don't know maybe get a women... better yet a real women, not some facebook/internet babe... as if any of them will actually get that far. You know who you are:na::anyone::spank:. Once I seen proof that they left their nerd caves and have personally seen them married off and moving on in real life, then I will finally go to gas lasers. Derp!!!!

Somehow I find myself doing something laser related even when I dont plan to , and realize I have spent all day on it, then reading through the forums to the point where casual conversations (pm/posts) stike up, ,, and to be able to make something out of scratch. and it goes on..

The lpf/community is amazing, i mean all the support is there, everyone is trying to move things forward and keep pushing boundaries , innovation is always there and I dont buy the losing interest thing for one second.

And I have my reasons, I dont believe if a person says he has lost interest in the hobby, It sounds like they were forcing themselves to it? imo, but there is also the case of finding a hobby for yourself maybe it wasnt for them in the first place.

It's the BDSM thread in the vets section... JK

Blackwolf said:

It's the BDSM thread in the vets section...

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Mmmm, yes. One of the better threads in the vets section. A very interesting poll too.

sinner said:

Somehow I find myself doing something laser related even when I dont plan to , and realize I have spent all day on it, then reading through the forums to the point where casual conversations (pm/posts) stike up, ,, and to be able to make something out of scratch. and it goes on..

The lpf/community is amazing, i mean all the support is there, everyone is trying to move things forward and keep pushing boundaries , innovation is always there and I dont buy the losing interest thing for one second.

And I have my reasons, I dont believe if a person says he has lost interest in the hobby, It sounds like they were forcing themselves to it? imo, but there is also the case of finding a hobby for yourself maybe it wasnt for them in the first place.

Click to expand...

LOL this describes me pretty well. I stand by sinner on this one. I love this community, and everyone for the most part makes me feel like I belong. I've always liked lasers since I was little, and been fascinated by them and the way that light 'works'. But also its very expensive, and I frequently find myself getting in trouble from long experiments and high cost. I will probably be slowing down quite a bit in these coming months to pay off debts regarding my investments, but I'll try hard to hang onto everything I have. as I know that if I get rid of it i'd be nothing short of rich for my age, but hell if I'd see any of it ever again.

I took a break for unknown reasons to me. It just happened. It wasn't a conscious decision until 2-3 weeks in. Before then, I just didn't think about them.

What brought me back? The desire to learn.

I think I left due to not being stimulated. I had done just about every visual test on the lasers I know, many, many times.Getting 11 lines from a 5 line is normal to me, and it doesn't have the same Christmas morning feel that it did.

I came back to learn about DPSS, and do some hands-on research in that field.

If you see anything from me in the coming months, it'll be DPSS related.

EDIT: As far as the LPF community, I love it. There are several members here that I feel I have built a bond with. Not only on an intellectual level, but as a friendship. This is why I go to SELEM. To visit with these friends, and have a location for a one-on-one discussion. Something you don't get often with this hobby.