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pseudolobster said:[quote author=rocketparrotlet link=1228403992/0#10 date=1228456488]It is illegal to buy them, but not to build and operate them.
I wasn't aware of that, thanks. Do you have references to applicable laws to back this up? I've been harassed by police before for shining my laser into the empty night sky. They were under the impression any point in the sky is a potential flight path for aircraft and that any laws applicable to pointing lasers at aircraft pertain to any portion of the open sky unless it's cleared in advance with the FAA or whomever the appropriate authority is... They seemed to know what they were talking about, and at least in theory they had a point, but I never looked into it and always thought they may have been making that up on the spot. They went on to say that anything over a certain power requires some sort of licenses... I'm guessing since they were called in advance they looked up some law database or something telling them what laws they could use to tell me why I wasn't allowed to be doing what I was doing. [/quote]
9th Amendment rights. If there is no law against it, it is not illegal. However, shining lasers into the sky may be illegal where you live (The 10th Amendment (state rights) takes priority over the 9th Amendment); just not on a national scale. Anything above 5mW does require a licence if you are a business, but not for a personal owner. At least, that's how I understand it. If they give you trouble about it again, just cite them on this.
pseudolobster said:At any rate, I apologize if my remarks come off as an ad-hominem attack on kipkay personally, but I'm just saying, making videos showing how easy and fun it is to make powerful lasers without mentioning in any way that they're dangerous is just irresponsible. After answering dozens of people asking over and over again "I followed the kipkay lazer phazer video and it blinked on for a second now why doesn't it work anymore?" I may be speaking with a barbed tongue, but don't get me wrong, I don't mean anything personally... I'm just saying that if you're going to pose as a professional you should at least refrain from giving stupid or dangerous advice.
Kip, your videos are good. They're well cut and the information is presented in an easy to digest format. I think you're a very talented videographer and have good presentation skills... Particularly since your videos are so good and so well received, you should hold some responsibility for informing people about the risks involved.
I very much agree with you on the safety issue. Kipkay should be educating his viewers about the dangers of lasers. I just don't think he's a bad person for making the video/not using a driver. He probably didn't know a driver was important at the time. However, educating your viewers on safety is very important. I will probably be making a safety video tonight.
-Mark