Hello from upstate NY.

[Xquantumtheory2019]

Hey guys I'm fairly new to the site and just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Ryan and I live in upstate NY. I have been a laser enthusiast since I have been very young. I am 33 years old and I remember seeing my first red laser pointer at RadioShack back when literally nobody had them at all. I convinced my father when I was like 9 to buy me a 75 dollar probably less than 5mw red laser pointer and I fell in love. I have owned several lasers since then including a 125 mW dpss 532nm viper from dragon lasers which was actually a very nice laser. It had no way to focus the beam but still burned pretty well for the power. 2 days ago I ordered the 3 watt 445nm striker saber from sanwu because of all the good reviews on this site of the company. I am also purchasing a 1.2 watt 520 nm diode from Dtr's ebay page and having lifetime17 assemble it into a host for me since I have never done a build myself. I do plan on purchasing a cheaper diode and building my first pointer very soon so any tips at all would be greatly appreciated

 

[paul1598419]

Welcome to the LPF, Ryan. Yes, I saw my first laser in 1965 when I saw a ruby laser pop a blue balloon from across a stage. I had already been aware of them since I had done some reading on the physics of lasers. After college I started making my own holograms with the aid of a HeNe laser and, now that I have retired, I build and collect lasers that interest me. Glad to have you here among us.

 

[Xquantumtheory2019]

Welcome to the LPF, Ryan. Yes, I saw my first laser in 1965 when I saw a ruby laser pop a blue balloon from across a stage. I had already been aware of them since I had done some reading on the physics of lasers. After college I started making my own holograms with the aid of a HeNe laser and, now that I have retired, I build and collect lasers that interest me. Glad to have you here among us.

That sounds amazing Paul I would love to see what you have sometime. Do you have any videos posted anywhere?

 

[paul1598419]

I have many threads of laser builds and also reviews of lasers I haven't built, but obtained. Those are mostly gas lasers and lab lasers in unusual wavelengths. I don't currently have links to any of them, but I'm sure you can find some.