has your laser ever gotten you into trouble?

[jeffreythe00]

Just thought I'd share last nights experiences. As some of you may or may not know I like to walk around and shine my lasers in the city at night. Its not really a good idea but its what I like to do. So last night I made a new friend. I was walking to Weis market to buy some li-ion AAA,s for my green pen and I had my 445 handy. So as I was walking I was shining it in the sky. Well I heard and saw a bunch of people so I turned my laser on and shined it into the sky. Next thing I hear is "hey look at that's kids flashlight!" they were all excited to see it as most people are. Then one of the guys yelled what I did not wanna hear. " hey I'm a cop! Let me see your light and I wont arrest you." We live next to about 3 or 4 city police officers and the police station is only a few blocks away. I'm not worried about trouble as I don't cause any. Anyhow the Guy ran tward me and said "Woah that's neet! Where did u buy it?" I told him I made it and he asked how. I proceeded to explain and yadayada. Gave him the rundown on safety and let him. let him have it. He accidently burned himself with it because his finger was on the lens and said "Holy **** this thing is crazy!" He then told me he could confiscate it but since I let him play with it he was ok with me having it and told me to be careful not to burn down any houses. I lol'd and told him I only point it in the sky because it is illegal to point it in or on houses. After that I told him it was cold and I had to go... So that was my next close call

Edit: I'd like to say too before anyone tells me. I do know it is also illegal to point a laser in the sky. I choose to point it in the sky because its not like anyone is going to call the cops on me for Stargazing but they "will" call the police if you point it in or on a house.

 

[Gsquared18]

I had a red pointer back in the early 90's and took it everywhere I went. After I lost my money at the local Indian run casino, I got bored waiting for my friend to lose hers so I whipped out the pointer and started shining it around the casino. You know on things like walls, slot machines and even the backs of peoples heads.

While testing the boundaries of laser legality on some old lady's cheek, I all of a sudden felt an intense squeezing pain between my shoulder and neck kinda like the Vulcan nerve pinch. Come to find out it was in fact the famous Spock derived manuver used to control enemies. Seems in my pursit for ever-lovin laser fun I left out one important issue. Casino security cameras!

Anyway, I traced the source of the pain back to a fairly large Indian reservation police ossifer who had a firm grasp on my neck. He snatched the pointer out of my hand, escorted me right out of the building without saying a word. Oh and he kept the pointer. About 5 minutes went by and I started to ponder getting my pointer back but considering my neck was still numb, I decided not to unleash the Bruce Lee in me. Man was that policeman ever lucky:evil:

 

[inuboi8]

i was once messing with a home build blue shining it into the sky, sadly my neighbors hate me and found that a good reason to call the local PD on me, when the cops arrived at my house and saw nothing illegal was going they let me off the hook, but told me to just be careful

 

[Toke]

Gsquared18,
The Vulcan have my full sympathy and respect for a job well done.
You got the point without him having to waste breath explaining anything.

 

[MojoLA]

I understand that lasers are "cool" and we all want to take them with us and show off, but seriously, taking a 100mw+ laser to a party and shining it around and letting people borrow it for "fun" is not so far off from letting people fire a loaded gun for fun.

It some ways it's worse, because it's unlikely that someone would "accidentaly" fire a loaded gun at an innocent bystander - but it IS likely that the laser would find its way into someone's eye where even a quick flash can spell trouble.

That guy who said he likes to take his pointer to club and "help" with their laser show by pointing it at the disco ball is out of his mind (and I don't care how careful you are only to "point it at the top" of the ball).

The only reason anyone does this is to show off and get their ego stroked by people saying "hey that thing of yours is so cool." Of course I get it and of course i've been guilty of the same thing... but the lasers we have are just too dangerous. And as the public's perception of them grows, more and more people will be wary of that beam they see coming from down the road.

Its sort of a tough dilemma, because if you're going to buy a high power laser and just let it sit at home gathering dust, what's the point? It's not like any of us are actual scientists using it for research, and very few are creating professional laser shows. In fact i'd wager the primary reason most people even have these things is to show them off...

But they're just too dangerous to play with in public. Even as I was inputting my credit card for the Arctic 3, I was asking myself "what am I even going to do with this thing? It's way too dangerous to play with. I'm going to shine it into the sky a few times, light a few matches and stick it in a drawer."

That didn't stop me, of course... and I most probably will take it with me to work or and show off to a few friends - but all the while sweating bullets and praying no one gets hurt.

It really isn't worth it.

 

[inuboi8]

I understand that lasers are "cool" and we all want to take them with us and show off, but seriously, taking a 100mw+ laser to a party and shining it around and letting people borrow it for "fun" is not so far off from letting people fire a loaded gun for fun.

It some ways it's worse, because it's unlikely that someone would "accidentaly" fire a loaded gun at an innocent bystander - but it IS likely that the laser would find its way into someone's eye where even a quick flash can spell trouble.

That guy who said he likes to take his pointer to club and "help" with their laser show by pointing it at the disco ball is out of his mind (and I don't care how careful you are only to "point it at the top" of the ball).

The only reason anyone does this is to show off and get their ego stroked by people saying "hey that thing of yours is so cool." Of course I get it and of course i've been guilty of the same thing... but the lasers we have are just too dangerous. And as the public's perception of them grows, more and more people will be wary of that beam they see coming from down the road.

Its sort of a tough dilemma, because if you're going to buy a high power laser and just let it sit at home gathering dust, what's the point? It's not like any of us are actual scientists using it for research, and very few are creating professional laser shows. In fact i'd wager the primary reason most people even have these things is to show them off...

But they're just too dangerous to play with in public. Even as I was inputting my credit card for the Arctic 3, I was asking myself "what am I even going to do with this thing? It's way too dangerous to play with. I'm going to shine it into the sky a few times, light a few matches and stick it in a drawer."

That didn't stop me, of course... and I most probably will take it with me to work or and show off to a few friends - but all the while sweating bullets and praying no one gets hurt.

It really isn't worth it.

My thoughts exactly hence why I canceled my arctirc 3 too much money to tie up right now for what is in eccence a long range lighter..that's not to say I'm not gonna order one with my next paycheck >.>

 

[ixfd64]

Anyway, I traced the source of the pain back to a fairly large Indian reservation police ossifer who had a firm grasp on my neck. He snatched the pointer out of my hand, escorted me right out of the building without saying a word. Oh and he kept the pointer. About 5 minutes went by and I started to ponder getting my pointer back but considering my neck was still numb, I decided not to unleash the Bruce Lee in me. Man was that policeman ever lucky:evil:

You should have pressed charges against him for assault. Of course, it's probably too late to do that now because the statute of limitations for simple assault is only a few years.

 

[MojoLA]

Yes, technically even security personel are not supposed to use any sort of physical force with you unless they HAVE to, but come on... if I were a security guard and saw some kid shining a laser not only at hardware but at the PATRONS of my establishment, i'd say being "firmly" escorted off the premises was getting off easy.

I'd be super pissed off at the asshole with the laser. I don't care if it's a 1mw red, you shouldn't be aiming it at people "for fun."

 

[Toke]

You should have pressed charges against him for assault. Of course, it's probably too late to do that now because the statute of limitations for simple assault is only a few years.

This must be some kind of Californian humour???

 

[00Giorge]

You should have pressed charges against him for assault. Of course, it's probably too late to do that now because the statute of limitations for simple assault is only a few years.

Since he was at an indian casino he was on tribal land, the laws on tribal land are different than being on city, county or state land. So pressing charges is different, you have to go to the tribal police or the tribal council.

I used to live next to an indian res.

 

[Alaskan]

About ten years ago before I got into this hobby, a neighbor kid kept shining a red laser in my kitchen window from his own bed room window a few hundred feet away. I went over and knocked on his door for a long time, he never did come to the door, nor did anyone else. I don't recommend shining lasers into someone else house, or at them, or pets or anything like that... I was so miffed he kept doing that off and on I was ready to grab him by the neck.

 

[CheekiBreeki]

No, I have most of my fun with lasers in the basement or in the stairwell of my house, only rarely do I ever bring my lasers outside and even then I point them further into our property and turn them off when I hear a car coming... I think the only thing that could remotely be called as trouble was accidentally getting the tip of my index finger burned because it passed through the focal point of my 1W.

 

[alessnilsen]

Yes, in the night of new year's eve, I was playing with a boy that I meet at my uncle's house at the beach, I with a 5mW red laser, he with a 5mW green laser (not overspec, very dim), we was pointing the lasers at a antenna far away, but close to the antenna, some persons and kids was walking around (persons at the ground, the antenna at a good altitude), then, someone started to point me a red laser (20mW +, at a good distance, was very bright) directly at my eye but I ignored it, some time after this, the boy went out with the family to the beach and I stay alone at the street, this time an angry man come straight to me and started to say that I was pointing the laser at her son's eyes (I won't) and he threatened me (with bad words, of course), I prefer not write what he said, I said that before someone has pointed a laser at my eyes and he said that he has given the laser to the kid and told him to point at my eyes too.
Since my laser was 5mW and I was at a big distance (100m away), I preferred to ignore the man, I not pointed it to the kid, maybe the other boy did, but I preferred to ignore and go away from the street.

I don't tried to explain because the man was so decided that I did this, that If I try he might not accept my explanation, and at new year's eve, I don't wanted be bothered.