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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

An Oldie and a Newbie

Joined
May 4, 2013
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Hello everyone!

I just joined your great forum and wanted to introduce myself. I'm and oldie (62-year old grandfather of 6) and a newbie both to the forum and almost a newbie to lasers.

I'm a retired research engineer from the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory at Edwards AFB in Southern California. I ran a small lab focusing on using electricity for space propulsion, mainly arcjets and magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters (think impulse engines for the starship Enterprise.) Yes, the AF really thinks that far ahead.

I retired at the ripe old age of 41 to pursue my own research interests, which can be browsed on my website at: http://www.waynesthisandthat.com. This is a non-commercial site. I don't sell or advertise anything. It consists of 400 pages covering well over 200 topics boasting 4000 images and over 1,000,000 words. It's a good example, or warning, of what happens when someone has too much time on their hands.

For the last two years I've been doing a lot of work with ultra high power lightsabers (30+ watt LED strings) for the FX lightsaber forum. To sample the type of threads I hope to contribute to the LPF, log onto the FX forum and search for Supernova.

My interest in lasers spawned from a small page created for my website many years ago comparing green laser pointers for use in astronomy. Back then the most powerful laser I could find was 50 watts and it cost $70. I recently received the URL for a video about a laser popping 100 balloons (laughingsquid.com/popping-100-black-balloons-with-a-pocket-blu-ray-laser/.) This piqued my interest in how the technology had advanced over the years, so here I am: an oldie and a newbie rolled into one package.

The only lasers I have right now are 5, 20 and 50-watt green pointers. I plan of expanding this.

After spending many hours browsing the excellent laser pointer review threads, I've decided I'd like to get in on the new Jetlasers group buy. I'm interested in the Jetlasers PL-E Pro 800mw 532nm pointer.

It's my intent to create a new page for my website about the pleasures and pitfalls of someone new to lasers entering the high power laser pointer field. In addition to a detailed report on testing my laser I plan on showing all the different ways they can be used, in the hope that I'll be able to contribute something useful.

I'd like to thank everyone involved in creating and maintaining this forum. It's an outstanding resource and the main reason I've decided to give lasers a try. I find the threads to be well written with professional quality data. Most importantly, participants appear to have a mutual respect for each other even when embracing different opinions. This is rarer than you might think. (You don't even want to know what happened when I joined an Elvis Presley forum and started a thread saying that while Elvis was great, his accomplishments paled in comparison to Bing Crosby's. That was years ago and there are still people on that forum burning me in effigy.) ;)
 
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Joined
Dec 17, 2012
Messages
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Magnetoplasmadynamic has to be the coolest word I have heard all year. I think you mean mW when talking about 532 lasers. Even a 5W 532 laser is a few grand at the least.

Any way wlecome to the forum!!

Speedy78
 

norbyx

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Joined
Apr 18, 2013
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Well first let me welcome you to the forums, I am new here as well but I soon realized that this is a great comunity and has thousands of useful information.
Since you are no irrisponsable newbie I would suggest you read the safety rules and stickies.
Lasers have gone a long way from 50mW and they are very dangerous if not handled in a proper manner, unlike other light sources that even if powerful don't create a permanent damage to the eyes, lasers do.
Use your safety goggles on powerfull lasers at all times (if you happen to get one and you most likely will).

See you arround...
 
Joined
May 4, 2013
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Thanks!

I respect the hazards associated with high power lasers and appreciate all the valuable safety guides on this forum.

The only problem I'm having with the Forum is posting images. Whether I use "Reply" or "New Thread" clicking on the Manage Attachments does not open a window that enables me to enter an attachment. I know not to use the "Quick Reply" if I want to add an attachment.
 
Joined
Dec 11, 2011
Messages
4,364
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Welcome!

You have to use an external image hosting site (I use imageshack.us) and then post the direct image link between tags: [.img] image link here [./img] just remove the periods (.) in the tags to have them work. Be sure to resize the image to at least 800x600 or lower else the board stretches and does funky things.

I use quick reply almost all the time. The only exception is during quotes and multiquotes where you can't.
 
Joined
May 4, 2009
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Howdy and Welcome to the Forum :wave:

glad to have you aboard have fun and be Safe :)

Yep that's the coolest word I have heard all year :gj:

MAGNETOPLASMADYNAMIC ;)
 

Gun

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Apr 11, 2013
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Welcome to the forums!

Please try not to quadruple post, people here hate it when you merely 'double post'. Instead, use the edit button under your first post and type into that. I recommend deleting your other 3 posts and just edit your first one.

EDIT: 5 posts in a row! STAHP. :p
 
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May 4, 2013
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Thanks, Gun!

I deleted the bad posts and edited the original as you recommended.

Now I have to try posting an image. Here goes:

crystalschromealumnew.jpg


It worked!

The reason I chose this particular image is that while browsing the forum I came across a couple of old threads about growing Q-switching crystals. As it happens I have a lot of experience growing high quality single crystals. This image is one of my best efforts. Is there still any interest in this topic?
 
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
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170
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Macdermot,

The laser featured on the Laughing Squid article you had mentioned is a "hot" Jayrob SS C3 kit with a G1 lens (with a Jayrob custom knurled focus ring) and a 12X Blu-ray diode out of a Pioneer BDR-205 Blu-ray drive (though any 12X Blu-ray diode should work more or less equivalently) combined with a copper heatsink. The diode was set to be driven at 500mA. This video explains a bit more about it.


Here's a fairly comprehensive review by forum member lazeerer about Jayrob's SS C3 build.


Cheers,

-Scott
 
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Joined
Dec 11, 2011
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That is one excellent crystal!! Yes there would still be interest in laser crystals, especially large ones.
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
10,662
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WELCOME WAYNE

Super first post-- that the kind we all like to see-- I think you will be an asset to the forums.

Hope I answered all your Qs about JETLASERS lasers.

Sending you and invite to J.O.G.-- subscribe to the group('tools')
to get an email when something new happens there.
There are about twice as many JL owners than we have as JOG members.

Also sent you a friend request and your first +rep

Us O.Fs. need to stick together.

hak
class of 69
KSU
 
Joined
Dec 17, 2012
Messages
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63
Class of 69!? Try class of 07. Haha. Makes me feel super young!
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
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Points
113
HS?:wtf:
for me that was '65:beer:
ahh he good old days--;)
being a freshman was the best two years of my life...:tsk:
 




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