Recent content by IceKnight366

Oka! It sounds like we're narrowing it down. Is it pretty agreeable that a 520 direct diode is one of the more stable and durable lasers? Durable enough to say, drop it on the ground? Or throw my backpack on the ground with it inside? To be in 100 degree direct sunlight for a few hours...

Thank you for all the responses guys. Unfortunately, there is less consensus on the topic than I was hoping for. Also, I was hoping we would be able to stay on topic slightly more than we are. Great ideas about radios, sat phones, distress beacons, etc... But I am referring solely to...

Oka, so basically I'm getting a "no" from two different people. That's good to know that I'm not going to waste hundreds of dollars on something that's not even going to work well hah. What flashlights would you recommend? Anyone else have input?

No... we're not talking about that anymore. In fact, I never was. The thread was hijacked for a while by someone who brought that up.

Just to reiterate. You're saying, say, a 500mW 532 on a cloudless night is virtually invisible? Must less visible from miles away? How many mW are we talking to be clearly visible on a cloudless night? And what about this focused flashlights, how far are these able to be seen?

Sure, that's a possibility. I don't know how strong that would look though surrounded by thick brush. You might need to find some sort of clearing for that to even be visible. So it seems to have more drawbacks than the other two options.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I guess I need to think about a flashlight instead. Let's suppose you're in a helicopter flying over vast forest looking for someone at dusk or night. You're searching for any form or light or something that sticks out. If I shine a laser or a flashlight...

If I'm in a survival situation, what "people" are you referring to? There isn't going to be any "people" around. Remember, this is deep into national forest. There will almost certainly be emergency people looking to when I'm scheduled to come back home on a certain date and 1-2 days has past...

Hey guys, Haven't logged on here in a while but it's good to be back. I'm not an engineer, I know very little about lasers and nothing about building them. I am looking to purchase one however. I've just started doing some medium-distance backpacking trips and began thinking some sort of...

A little late, but welcome Britishkid! Everyone I've met here is extremely helpful, polite, and knowledgeable. I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

I agree with you Atomic, from what I've heard from most people the reliability and stability of a single mode diode is the way to go. However, I was under the impression that a 50mW 450 would have fairly little beam visibility and a 20mW 450 wouldn't have any. So when you say it will still be...

Good stuff DorDie. I appreciate the recommendation. I'll ping him about it and see what he says. However, I'm still thinking along the lines of 20-50mW now, so 250mW just might be too extreme for me hah. I've kind of given up on the whole visible beam idea due to the fact that I want to be...

I understand where you're coming from. To be honest, I do want you to tell me to go with the high powered 445! hah. But more than that, I want you to tell me what's realistic like I know you have been. It's unfortunate it's just not realistic for what I want, but that's life. So I'm thinking...

Thanks for your input! Again, thanks for your input as well. I'm still getting tons of new information so I really appreciate the help. And the thing is, this just IS part of my research. How else better to research something than asking people with years of experience? If you find it...

Sorry I haven't replied in a while. As I said I was out of the country and really didn't have great wifi access. I'm back now though! Oka, that's a big misunderstanding I had I guess. I had no idea it could only be turned on for fairly brief moments. As I've been thinking about it more I...