Hello,
It's great to find this forum and see so many more people who share my love of lasers. A bit about myself...
I'm from the UK and the laser bug bit me when I borrowed on a 10mW HeNe in 1988. I seriously got into them after getting my hands on a 6W YAG at Burning Man in 1998. The guy who owned it also had one of the first ever handheld greenies and I was blown away! (although I must confess the damn fine mushroom tea may have helped with that:undecided.
I've spent tens of thousands on lasers since, and still can't stop spending even though I don't have a pot to piss in. Some of you know the score here I'm sure.
Anyways- jump forward to tonight...
So I just mounted some of these mighty new fangled 12mm 2W 462nMs to some heatsinks and went out to play. In my opinion the three element lens trumps the G2 as I was amazed at the collimation and tightness of the beam - even at a mile! These things are truly "something else" and I now have have mixed emotions...
They are achingly beautiful.
They are incrdedibly cheap.
They are bloody dangerous!! - in the hands of "stupid".
There is a lot of stupid out there - but not on this forum I'm sure.
I'm now counting down the day's before these things hit the media and the new public ememy number one (on either side of the Atlantic ) with exagerated and sensationalist headlines concerning this "new breed of battery powered superlaser". Quads and drones will have to take second place for a while.
I can see new legislation coming in, and when it does, there's a danger that the baby will get thrown out with the bathwater as it could possibly cover all handheld lasers.
I have my 6W 445nm on its way and I'm gonna make hay while the sun shines.
I hope I'm wrong with all this and our wnderful pastime doesn't have to go underground.
Sorry to be so negative on my first post. It's nice to be here.
Any thoughts or comments?
It's great to find this forum and see so many more people who share my love of lasers. A bit about myself...
I'm from the UK and the laser bug bit me when I borrowed on a 10mW HeNe in 1988. I seriously got into them after getting my hands on a 6W YAG at Burning Man in 1998. The guy who owned it also had one of the first ever handheld greenies and I was blown away! (although I must confess the damn fine mushroom tea may have helped with that:undecided.
I've spent tens of thousands on lasers since, and still can't stop spending even though I don't have a pot to piss in. Some of you know the score here I'm sure.
Anyways- jump forward to tonight...
So I just mounted some of these mighty new fangled 12mm 2W 462nMs to some heatsinks and went out to play. In my opinion the three element lens trumps the G2 as I was amazed at the collimation and tightness of the beam - even at a mile! These things are truly "something else" and I now have have mixed emotions...
They are achingly beautiful.
They are incrdedibly cheap.
They are bloody dangerous!! - in the hands of "stupid".
There is a lot of stupid out there - but not on this forum I'm sure.
I'm now counting down the day's before these things hit the media and the new public ememy number one (on either side of the Atlantic ) with exagerated and sensationalist headlines concerning this "new breed of battery powered superlaser". Quads and drones will have to take second place for a while.
I can see new legislation coming in, and when it does, there's a danger that the baby will get thrown out with the bathwater as it could possibly cover all handheld lasers.
I have my 6W 445nm on its way and I'm gonna make hay while the sun shines.
I hope I'm wrong with all this and our wnderful pastime doesn't have to go underground.
Sorry to be so negative on my first post. It's nice to be here.
Any thoughts or comments?