Hello All

[tmoney321]

Hi everyone, my name is Nick, I have lurked here for awhile but wanted to make an account so I can participate and interact with the community. I have always enjoyed lasers, but only this year have began to research and learn more. I have a background in science, so the fundamentals and theory are easy for me to follow. It really amazes me how much is out there now and the different routes you can go. I only have a handful of cheap 532nm 303s right now, but also have experience with aiming modules (visible/IR) for low light shooting. I plan to buy a 445, 532, and 635 from the Sanwu pocket series as soon as I can find them, and eventually the goal is to build my own at home. I have watched and read a lot of material on this and looked at what is available in terms of components and necessary tools so I am excited for that. Besides lasers, I also enjoy astronomy, amateur radio, computers/building them, and hi-fi audio so lasers fit right in I think. Thanks!

 

[ManCave]

Hello, Nick, wellcome to the forum.
Fellow amateur Astronomer here, and HiFi head!
‘Looking forwards to see your planed built.
‘Enjoy the forumas and be safe
Cheers

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi, Welcome to LPF enjoy your stay lots to learn here by many interesting people.
Be safe..
Rich

 

[paul1598419]

Welcome to the LPF, Nick. Glad to have you here.

 

[tmoney321]

Hello, Nick, wellcome to the forum.
Fellow amateur Astronomer here, and HiFi head!
‘Looking forwards to see your planed built.
‘Enjoy the forumas and be safe
Cheers

For sure, thanks!

Hi, Welcome to LPF enjoy your stay lots to learn here by many interesting people.
Be safe..
Rich

Thanks Rich, will do.

Welcome to the LPF, Nick. Glad to have you here.

Cheers! And great collection btw.

 

[BowtieGuy]

Welcome to LPF, Nick!
Be sure to have the proper safety eyewear for your lasers.

Have fun, be safe, and enjoy your stay.

 

[Snecho]

Welcome welcome

 

[hakzaw1]

welcome Nick-- I see you already know about double posting where you replied to 3 posts in just one by you.... Doubles and necros are IMHO the most common 'errors' made at LPF.

I have 'necroed' myself by accident when I did not check dates in the OP as well as the posts last made.. so see #1 and at least some of the other posts last made.
Not sure where you are,,,, but there are many 'LEMs' held all around the world and meeting in person other members has been something special...
one small example-- those of us who own meters are 'duty-bound' to meters for any other members any time and for free]

I only found one thing left out of your 'intro' --- we cannot send you a LEM invite unless your location (besides in your profile) is known and that often happens where location is in THE TITLE of your 'intro'.
Its is OKay to give out just your general location if you prefer.


Our last forum put our locations below our avatars every time we posted.. this new forum does not do that--which is a big shame...hope your are in Texas--we are planning more TEXLEMs.
The biggest and best USA LEM is SELEM held mid Aug in Newton NC. It will be year 14!
UKLEM has been held 27 times!!
I made 5 SELEMs in a row & the ~17 hour drive was worth the effort.
Hope to meet you next Aug at SELEM. (Search SELEM Laser).

You got 'greets' from some of our greatest members-- we are here if you need any help---Len (hour south of Houston)

 

[lasersbee]

Welcome to the Forum Nick.
Enjoy the Forum and be Laser Safe....

Jerry

 

[CurtisOliver]

Welcome to the forum Nick.
Enjoy your stay

Jerry, nice to see you.

 

[paul1598419]

Hi, Jerry. Where have you been hiding? Great to see you posting.

 

[hakzaw1]

I see from your profile that you are in Florida.
There are quite a few members there--and afaik each one is an outstanding and friendly and I have become good friends with most.
One of the most satisfying things is being asked where you got a laser.... If you can reply that you built it.. wow! good feeling. Another thing is knowing/meeting other members in person. AND the best place for that is by attending a LEM (Laser Enthauisist Meet) Orlando is a great place for lasersists. Aside from great forum members, Orlando is the 'home' of Pangolin.
They make the best and most popular laser show softwear. The have developed amazing other 'tools' for this. The one is 'top shelf' laser projectors and outstanding 'state of the art galvo scanners'. ALSO Pangoilin has been a major sponsor of LEMs everywhere.
Often they donate super LEM doorprizes. BUT also important are the free demos and seminars they bring to the LEM table. A search of 'FLEM' will help you find out more. There is an Orlando FLEM once or more times per year.

The subforum 'Meets and Greets' is where you need to go to meet Florida forum members and . how to contact them--and join them at a LEM or other ways. You will get 'hands-on' help.
You need to know that not only lasers but also laser meets can be addicting. Like me, you may want to host a LEM yourself. I hosted a mini pop-up LEM in Texas about a month after my very first SELEM. Just one day/night and just a few projectors and only 4 forum members. AFAIK this is how most all LEMs start. I invited many friends and we had a great time.
SELEM has been going on for a long time, in Newton NC. It has grown to almost 100 'attendees' ( both forum members plus their guests and family [who attend free btw ]) and next Aug will be SELEM 14!! UKLEM (often in London or Surfleet) has had happened 27 times !!!!. UKLEM It is on my bucket list for sure. AND FLEM too.
The 'draw' of these is not easy to describe-- JUST GO!! You will be glad you attended and wont want to miss another. There are also some outstanding members also in south Florida as well as on the Gulf coast. Read the LEM posts--see the where others live and reach out. Everyone is very welcome-- no need to be any kind of expert or big time laser owner. These meets are very 'laid-back', informal and you will enjoy!! You can thank me later. PM me if you have any questions-- (near Houston)
btw my parents lived in FT Pierce and I once lived in Bonita Springs.

VR
Hak

 

[tmoney321]

Welcome to LPF, Nick!
Be sure to have the proper safety eyewear for your lasers.

Have fun, be safe, and enjoy your stay.

Absolutely, plan to buy a pair for each wavelength I acquire. Thanks.

Welcome to the Forum Nick.
Enjoy the Forum and be Laser Safe....

Jerry

Appreciate the welcome, cheers!

welcome Nick-- I see you already know about double posting where you replied to 3 posts in just one by you.... Doubles and necros are IMHO the most common 'errors' made at LPF.

I have 'necroed' myself by accident when I did not check dates in the OP as well as the posts last made.. so see #1 and at least some of the other posts last made.
Not sure where you are,,,, but there are many 'LEMs' held all around the world and meeting in person other members has been something special...
one small example-- those of us who own meters are 'duty-bound' to meters for any other members any time and for free]

I only found one thing left out of your 'intro' --- we cannot send you a LEM invite unless your location (besides in your profile) is known and that often happens where location is in THE TITLE of your 'intro'.
Its is OKay to give out just your general location if you prefer.


Our last forum put our locations below our avatars every time we posted.. this new forum does not do that--which is a big shame...hope your are in Texas--we are planning more TEXLEMs.
The biggest and best USA LEM is SELEM held mid Aug in Newton NC. It will be year 14!
UKLEM has been held 27 times!!
I made 5 SELEMs in a row & the ~17 hour drive was worth the effort.
Hope to meet you next Aug at SELEM. (Search SELEM Laser).

You got 'greets' from some of our greatest members-- we are here if you need any help---Len (hour south of Houston)

I think it comes from people who use fast-paced platforms, like Reddit for example, and have to realize how a traditional forum differs first. I've spend enough time browsing various forums in my life that I started to note whats good and whats not. Anyway, I have been steadily going through the different stickies around the board for reference.

Currently I go between FL and AL., but I am originally from the Space Coast area. I have a brother that lives near Bonita Springs and drive by Ft. Pierce all the time on my way to Palm Beach. Texas is a good place, never been but hope to visit some day. Will look into LEMs and other events soon as I get caught up with everything else I have going on. I've been so busy that it will probably be good for me to get out and go to one haha, sounds like a fun time! I appreciate all the info, and will keep your contact in mind if anything comes up.

 

[rvrh3]

Welcome! Enjoy the forum. It holds a vast wealth of information.

Learning to put your own lasers together is a very rewarding experience, and you can get more and more technical as you gain knowledge. I've learned to put my own units together, so now the next step is to learn to build my own driver circuits (even though it's far easier to build a hand held unit with a pre-built driver).

As for Sanwu, it's unfortunate that they are having issues. Someone showed me an email exchange with them, in which they mentioned that they "may never sell lasers again", so hopefully that doesn't end up being the case. They are in my opinion the best laser company for the casual (non-commercial/industrial) consumer.

 

[Snecho]

Hi, Jerry. Where have you been hiding? Great to see you posting.

Jerry said he's been very busy when I contacted him. He said he only drops in once in a while.

As for Sanwu, it's unfortunate that they are having issues. Someone showed me an email exchange with them, in which they mentioned that they "may never sell lasers again", so hopefully that doesn't end up being the case. They are in my opinion the best laser company for the casual (non-commercial/industrial) consumer.

God bless Sanwu, I will be severely upset if that happens

 

[hakzaw1]

New tariffs and taxes in imports from China may cause many companies to close.

thanks DT