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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Friends and strangers reactions to your lasers

Joined
Dec 21, 2012
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540
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18
One thing i love to do with my lasers is show them off to my friends, family and even strangers who probably have never seen a true laser before, many have only the 5mw teacher pointers to compare them to, so as you would expect i get some pretty funny reactions out of people.

Generally i get some variation of the same 10 or so reactions
them being, with just showing off the brightness and the beam, (usually outside at night. also hitting safe targets or clouds miles away gets a good reaction

common reaction
:drool:
the usual holy s*it , wtf is that? thats bright how much was it ect.

for this i generally explain the wavelength and the power behind the laser.
then i get

how much was that? where did you get it ?
i say the price and usually Lazerer or custom made on this site :)


now for burning reactions

the same as above plus, usually
is that legal? can that hurt my eyes?
this is one i answer even if not asked, i explain laser laws and safety and show them how my goggles work.
basically yes it will eye nuke you which is why you cant hold it so no begging! :tsk:

this is also where i explain how the power works, ie mw


for burning i usually show people it through my ultimate pair of 100% safe group safety goggles, my iphone videos .. people are just as impressed by the video and no laser danger is around,

when people ask what would happen if i pointed it (my 1.6W blue) in someones eye i basically say this would be your eye :lasergun: then i would probably go to jail

i also almost always get the can you hit a plane question and i respond with i dont like prison or committing felonies sooo :tsk:

alot of people are even scared of it after they can see what it can do, i generally assure them that dont worry i wont eye nuke you, thats why you gave thoes goggles :)




so what reactions do you get to showing your lasers to people for the first time ?
 
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Stin

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Sep 29, 2009
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I'll show them to friends if I think they can handle it. High powered lasers like my 1W blue, will only be in the hands of me. I'll hand some of my friends a 30mW green at night and I almost have to immediately take it away or scold them for using it so carelessly after I explained how dangerous it is and felonies etc, so they really have to earn my trust. They are usually pretty astounded by them and I'll do some demonstrations (I have enough safety glasses).
 
Joined
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Well you don't need to be THAT careful.
I sometimes use my laser near the seaside at night.
Occasionally I get approached by some old couples or joggers stopping by and saying
"wow, thats REALLY bright. I thought someone was having a laser show . hehe"
Then I'll reply.
"yeppy! 1000mW of PURE ENERGY (not really accurate, but good dramma) . It reaches almost 22km out . Basically a lightsaber"
Then the husband (for some reason, women don't seem particularly interested in lasers...) will say. (as I continue to shine it at the abandoned island)
"wowww! That'll be great for using as a survival beacon now wouldn't it. Say, did you build it yourself?"
Embarrassingly I'll mutter..
"well...not exactly. I bought it from xxxx"
And then we'll go on and on , about where can he get one, the basic laser safety, the laws about it . Blah blah blah.

And when he ask if he can touch it.
Usually I'll say yes. (unless its some snobbish teenager whom I won't even trust with my car keys)
But before I do, I'll disassemble the laser and explain the danger associated with it.
At which point, starts to get weird to have a kid explain to a grown men how stuff works...... (not really used to being the teacher when I've been the pupil for my whole life so far)

With the basic precautions out of the way.
I'll then let them use the laser.
As they shine the laser into the distant galaxies and planets .
You can see the sheer amazement and joy beaming out of his eyes like a 3000mW TEM00 single mode laser.
Usually by then , the wife would start to get annoyed and drag him away :crackup:

I think I'm spreading a plague over here
 

djQUAN

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May 27, 2013
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When I take my laser out to friends, the posts above basically cover it all. :D

Once I did a mistake of letting a friend borrow my 100mW 450nm pen, while me and a few others were about 100ft away, he kept shining it towards us and wouldn't stop until I got a direct hit in the eye. It was a very quick sweep and fortunately, there was no permanent damage. Lesson learned, no I won't be letting anyone touch my lasers unless I know they are mature enough. Call me selfish or whatever you like but I won't risk losing my or someone else's eyesight for another's immaturity.

PS: I get the "can you hit a plane with that?" question too. It's surprising how many are so ignorant or don't even care what happens to the people on the plane incase someone happens.
 
Joined
Dec 21, 2012
Messages
540
Points
18
Well you don't need to be THAT careful.
I sometimes use my laser near the seaside at night.
Occasionally I get approached by some old couples or joggers stopping by and saying
"wow, thats REALLY bright. I thought someone was having a laser show . hehe"


I think I'm spreading a plague over here


And when he ask if he can touch it.,
i often get this reaction but often they are referring to the beam, of a 1.5W+ laser,, i generally say,, well it will hurt a bit,, trust me lol. usually starting a fire will suppress that desire

well im not overly careful, if im in a room with 20 people i usually wont show off starting fires in person, but i have lit peoples fireworks for them, or lit matches, as long as its an accident proof environment :) then i explain where i got it.

lol i live right on the beach so too so the beam is often even more brillant on the misty air of the beach

i am also spreading a "laser plague" but these are usually of lower power ones that i get for people who want one lol
 
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......

i am also spreading a "laser plague" but these are usually of lower power ones that i get for people who want one lol

One night when I was shinning shining my 1W laser out of my apartment window ,as you do lol
Suddenly I got a red beam shining back at me from across the opposite coast (its almost 2km away),then it started flickering as if he was signaling me or something .(its time like this I wish I knew moss code)

We then started a make shift laser show together lol :wave:

Its time like this I wish there were more people into laser in my community.
 
Joined
May 9, 2013
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I pretty much don't show anyone anything until they have a safety briefing and understand what is expected of them... that kinda deflates the "shock and awe" surprise factor a little.

lol...

Be safe and have fun!
c
 
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I pretty much don't show anyone anything until they have a safety briefing and understand what is expected of them... that kinda deflates the "shock and awe" surprise factor a little.

lol...

Be safe and have fun!
c

You can always give them the short version.
"If that laser hit anyone in the eye, he's gonna be blind. If that hits anything that is reflective. WE are gonna be blind .So be careful eh?:poke:"

That usually is enough.
 

tonyt

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I'd love to know moss code too.. But unfortunately I only know Morse code :p

I went to a shop with my lpm the other day to test some of their "1mW" lasers they had for sale.. Long story short not one was under 30mW and the greens were putting out about 50-60% ir!!! Crazy..
Anyway I had my 2800mW blue in the case I had my lpm in and the owners son asked me to show him "that one" so I pulled out 3 pairs of goggles (which they thought was complete overkill) and pointed it at the lpm.. Within seconds it's was hitting maximum and their jaws were on the floor! Then I went over what a beam that powerful can do and he didn't believe me that it would burn his skin and put his hand out. 2 seconds later he believed me :yh:

But as others have said.. Alot of my friends are actually scared of my high powered lasers..
 

DJZ

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Well my hobby with lasers is slightly different from what's common around these parts, but when I try to show my projector to family or friends for the first time I usually explain how the projector works and how much money it cost to build such a projector. I then let them watch this show:
M4H03998 - YouTube
Which is an extremely basic abstract show, in single color. I usually get a crazy look of some kind! I then let them see what the projector can do:
M4H03999 - YouTube

tongue.gif
 

ixfd64

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Sep 12, 2007
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People generally think it's cool, and a few will ask me where I got it. I used to let others use my lasers, but I no longer do so because people tend to wave them around in an unsafe manner.

I've also had an incident three years ago in which someone claiming to be an FBI agent kept accusing me of pointing my 200 mW laser at aircraft. As such, I've been especially careful about showing off my lasers in public ever since.
 
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People generally think it's cool, and a few will ask me where I got it. I used to let others use my lasers, but I no longer do so because people tend to wave them around in an unsafe manner.

I've also had an incident three years ago in which someone claiming to be an FBI agent kept accusing me of pointing my 200 mW laser at aircraft. As such, I've been especially careful about showing off my lasers in public ever since.

Probably another one of those nut jobs who doesn't have any friends and is dying for any form of human interaction.

I got a few of those in my neighborhood too.

There was on time where a crazed old lady literally jumped out of a bush shouting
"HEY STOP THAT! You are scaring the cats! GIMME THAT!"

Of course I didn't and just told her to "go away" , she then started cussing out my ancestors :thinking: with the amplitude of a boeing jet .

Then the cop showed up and asked her to quiet down .
She then went full on conspiracy mode and ah well you know how it goes.

Nut jobs , nut jobs everywhere.
 
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Joined
Dec 21, 2012
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Probably another one of those nut jobs who doesn't have any friends and is dying for any form of human interaction.

I got a few of those in my neighborhood too.

There was on time where a crazed old lady literally jumped out of a bush shouting
"HEY STOP THAT! You are scaring the cats! GIMME THAT!"

Of course I didn't and just told her to "go away" , she then started cussing out my ancestors :thinking: with the amplitude of a boeing jet .

Then the cop showed up and asked her to quiet down .
She then went full on conspiracy mode and ah well you know how it goes.

Nut jobs , nut jobs everywhere.

ill never let someone confiscate my lasers,, even a cop, well at least not with the batteries in them, so they dont say im resisting or something.
 
Joined
May 14, 2013
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I had a buddy came over one day with a basic 5mw-15mw 532nm laser pointer. He wanted me to break out my Artic III 1.5W to compare to his. We carefully selected an area of the sky which appeared to have no air traffic, and he fired off his little pointer, I then fired up the Artic III and projected my beam along side his. After a few seconds, he stated "I feel so inadequate now...". I smirked but felt bad for him because I think I shattered his perception of his newly acquired laser pointer which he was so proud of.
 

tonyt

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I had a buddy came over one day with a basic 5mw-15mw 532nm laser pointer. He wanted me to break out my Artic III 1.5W to compare to his. We carefully selected an area of the sky which appeared to have no air traffic, and he fired off his little pointer, I then fired up the Artic III and projected my beam along side his. After a few seconds, he stated "I feel so inadequate now...". I smirked but felt bad for him because I think I shattered his perception of his newly acquired laser pointer which he was so proud of.

You're lucky I wasn't there to fire up my 2.8W :D Then you might have felt inadequate! Lol I can barely see the beam of my 1.4 arctic next to my other lasers! It gets completely washed out.
 

Laik

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It sucks in Australia because we can't use our lasers without thinking a cop is going to show up and arrest us (well, at least that's what i'm like). I just got home from a small holiday and we had a beach side apartment, i wanted to use my lasers so bad because i had all of them just sitting on the table waiting to be used, but i ended up just using an overspec red ebay pen that i could only see the beam if i held it eye level because i didn't want anyone else to see. I wanted to break out the greenie but i knew i shouldn't. Our laws are too strict sometimes... :(
 




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