How We All Started.

So I'm curious as to how you guys got into lasers, so share your story of the event that got you hooked.

My story is a short one and probably common, I had one of those cheap red lasers from the dollar store, and saw a green(oooh, shiiiny) laser, and thought it would be cool to have a new color, so I ordered a 5mW, from DX, and as soon as I turned it on I was amazed at how bright it was compared, to my red. But it wasn't until when I used it at night was I hooked, when I saw the faint beam, then I had to have more so I got a 30mW green and thats I got started into the world of lasers... today beam quality is still the thing that is most important for me. Believe it or not but I had a 473nm before I got my dilda, or a 405nm, it was my second wavelength, of a laser more than .75$

**EDIT**Another question, what aspect of a laser is most important to you? ex. divergance, wavelength, beam specs(size, shape) power, etc.

I got hooked after seeing the first National Treasure movie when he uses a green laser
to trip the temp sensor. I always loved lasers but my knowledge of lasers didn't go past
red key chains until i saw the movie and got myself a LeadLight, then and Aries, and so
on and so forth

My first laser was an old Siemens HeNe I found on a shelf in a local surplus shop back in 1992. I took it and made a small spirograph that my friends and I used to love to stare at.. Man that was a long time ago.. After it died I went for almost a decade without any lasers at all other than the occasional keychain cat toy. I didn't own a laser over 5mW until I got a 20mW green module of Chinese origin (no idea who made it) in 2004 I think.. But I was hooked right from the start.

Oh it was about 5 years ago. I had just got into hacking my PSP and then on psp-hacks.com I saw the ad for wicked lasers then I watched what these bad boys could do and I was hooked. Started out with a cheap 5mW green off ebay. Then I moved up to a 100mW+ CNI pen (the very laser that I burnt my CCD with lol )

Oh it was about 18 months ago. I had just got into hacking my maglite...

Seriously though, I saw some YouTube vids, (Yes, THAT one as well but only in passing ), looked into things a little more and ended up here after drowning in the detail of Sam's FAQs. I'd had a nice red pointer from a long time ago, before legislation hit in the UK, promptly broke it open and went from there.

One of the best things I've ever done to be honest. Yay LPF!!!! :friend::gh:

M

I find it funny that everyone who posted is a vet... don't know why though.

I bought a cheep red laser 'cat toy'. I then bought an extremely over priced <5mW 532nm laser from radioshack. I then bought an old HeNe tube I found at a surplus store. It all goes downhill from there

brando132 said:

I find it funny that everyone who posted is a vet... don't know why though.

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Because we are enthusiasts and therefore enthusiastic about it

and LOL @ Morgan

HumanSymphony said:

Then I moved up to a 100mW+ CNI pen (the very laser that I burnt my CCD with lol )

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Ahhh, so thats the one that put that burn there

Mid to late 1970's, it was my first trip to the Seattle Center's laserium.

ICU said:

Mid to late 1970's, it was my first trip to the Seattle Center's laserium.

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Was there a certain laser that piqued your interest?

dunno how, but i came across videos of some dragon lasers burning stuff. I had no idea at that point that they actually had lasers that could burn stuff or produce beams except in dense smoke. almost like them being in sci-fi meant they couldnt exist elsewhere yet lol. the idea of a laser that could actually burn things was too much to resist so i got a ~100mW laser from DX. must have been reasonable power actually, since it could burn me and other things focused at infinity. switch broke after a few months. I forgot about lasers temporarily until a few months ago, when i recieved a nice insurance claim based on a facial scar i recieved 9 years ago i figured i could splash out a little, and if i was to get a laser i wanted a good one, so got the 500mW one from o-like. it was great till the innermost lense was damaged. As a side note if anyone thinks they may be able to advise me about fixing it i'd be very grateful. since then i've gotten my o-like violet and red, but overall im still starting out.

In middle school (in the 90s), some kid had a red laser pointer, which were expensive for me then (most ~$100) and I thought it was really cool. Within the next year, I found one for $40 and saved up for it and bought it. Couple years later, I opted for the even brighter 635nm pointer. After being stupid and zapping someone in the face at school (it was a 5mW, not the high power stuff we're accustomed to), I had it confiscated. After having my mom call to pick it up, I found out it was conveniently "lost".

I picked up an old HeNe on Ebay for $50 sometime in high school. I thought it was really cool and liked seeing the tube light up. But, it wasn't as bright as I expected since I had read somewhere that HeNe were a lot "brighter" and could light up clouds! That was obviously false and kind of funny to think that I actually believed that (well, I had yet to learn about physics at that point).

Fast forward a few years later to 2003, I spent $150 on the awesome 5mW green laser, which I thought was a good price! That was enjoyed for a few years, then I got bored.

One day, in 2007, I was searching deals sites and saw a post about how to make a high powered laser from a DVD burner. That eventually led me here, and I've since been pushed ahead lightyears in laser technology. (haha, just realized that's kind of a pun)

@Fonduman->You could try e-mailing O-like, they may be able to repair it for you. if it's out of warranty they might charge you, or not do it at all. hopefully the former.

ive had lasers in the past(5mw keychain) and seen videos but it was kip-kays video(yeah i know..) that made me start to look into things more as far as burning lasers.

Started around 12-13 years old. Got those cheap reds you'd find at any store. I didn't know that there were other colors after a couple of years and didn't know they went so high up in the mW. Pretty crazy stuff, but that's when i got hooked.
Colors and Beams.

Oh, and the 'burning' aspects of it.