hi i'm new here

[laserus]

Encap said i should make a thread here introducing myself so here we go. im 38 years old and live in iowa. ever since i was a kid i've liked crazy and dangerous science projects. i used to make homemade harpoon guns and flamethrowers as a kid. as an adult i'm not as much into stuff like that as i used to be but i havent entirely grown out of it. i used to enjoy the kit builds in "nuts and volts" magazine (if anyone is familiar.)

guess that's all i have to say. if anyone is worried about me blinding airline pilots with lasers and bringing attention to your hobby, dont worry - i wouldnt do anything like that. but if i can figure out how to build a superpowerful handheld laser that will cut a tree in half or something, i probably will

 

[BowtieGuy]

Hello laserus, and welcome to LPF! :beer:

Have fun, stay safe, and enjoy your stay. :wave:

Don't hesitate to use the "custom search" bar at the bottom of the page, it contains tons of laser related information.
If you can't find what your looking for by searching, there are many knowledgable members who are willing to help!

 

[Encap]

Encap said i should make a thread here introducing myself so here we go. im 38 years old and live in iowa. ever since i was a kid i've liked crazy and dangerous science projects. i used to make homemade harpoon guns and flamethrowers as a kid. as an adult i'm not as much into stuff like that as i used to be but i havent entirely grown out of it. i used to enjoy the kit builds in "nuts and volts" magazine (if anyone is familiar.)

guess that's all i have to say. if anyone is worried about me blinding airline pilots with lasers and bringing attention to your hobby, dont worry - i wouldnt do anything like that. but if i can figure out how to build a superpowerful handheld laser that will cut a tree in half or something, i probably will

Don't worry about it, it will never happen :crackup:
Very obviously you do not know about what hand held lasers can and can't do in the real world of what you could conceivably ever own or get your hands on.
Lasers are not really a thing you can make Jacka$$ the Movie II with---dangerous things not play toys for people with "destroy things" obsession problems.

An excellent laser safety site is here: http://www.laserpointersafety.com

Anyway--welcome and enjoy the forum. Stick around & learn something about lasers and laser safety.

Use the LPF Custom Search at the bottom of the page to research any laser or related topic in the LPF database.

 

[laserus]

Don't worry about it, it will never happen :crackup:
Very obviously you know nothing about lasers what they can and can't do in the real world of what you could conceivably ever own or get your hands on

the US and russian navies have ship-based lasers that can knock missiles out of the air. obviously i'll never be able to make something like that in my backyard but look at the kind of stuff styropyro makes. didn't he make a 200W laser "bazooka" at some point? that would be awesome

 

[paul1598419]

Welcome to the LPF. Don't worry, you won't be cutting down trees with a laser. There are many interesting things one can do with them. The science is ever evolving and you will never learn all there is to learn about lasers and their applications. Do read up on using lasers safely.

 

[Gazen]

Welcome!

Make sure you read up on laser safety. Your body will heal from cuts and burns, but not from from a fried retina. Make sure you purchase safety glasses if you buy a laser over 5mW.

Stay safe, and enjoy your time here! :beer:

Styropyro did claim to have made a 200W, by knife-edging diodes and then focusing them. This aligns the diodes outputs so they’re parallel, essentially making a large diameter beam.

This won’t cut a tree in half though, as it’s power density is not high enough because it is difficult to focus so many beams into a small point, especially in a portable.

 

[Skittles]

Welcome laserus! Hope you find what you're looking for, just stay safe. :beer:

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi L,
Welcome to LPF yes safety is the predominant factor here, Here you will learn about Wave lengths and great array of colors. Tree cutting lasers not, but some of the best hand helds our community has to offer. The search bar is our google and has a multitude of info stored there. Have fun and be safe always ..

Rich

 

[Richie89]

hey Laserus! glad to have you here with us

 

[laserus]

since i'm new and everyone knows it, here's a n00b question. ultracrepidarian and richie89 both have pics in their signatures of "rainbow" arrays of lasers all running at the same time. since hobbyist lasers like this are so powerful and "spill" out a bunch of laser radiation all over the place and safety goggles only protect against one or two wavelengths in the visible spectrum, how do you guys safely do that without frying your eyes?

are you wearing three different colors of safety goggles on top of one another? lol :wtf:

 

[laserus]

and here's another question: how do you know if a green laser is IR filtered or not? since the red goggles that protect against green light don't stop IR light from getting through, is there any way to really view green lasers safely?

 

[Encap]

since i'm new and everyone knows it, here's a n00b question. ultracrepidarian and richie89 both have pics in their signatures of "rainbow" arrays of lasers all running at the same time. since hobbyist lasers like this are so powerful and "spill" out a bunch of laser radiation all over the place and safety goggles only protect against one or two wavelengths in the visible spectrum, how do you guys safely do that without frying your eyes?

are you wearing three different colors of safety goggles on top of one another? lol :wtf:

You view them through a camera not directly is one way.

and here's another question: how do you know if a green laser is IR filtered or not? since the red goggles that protect against green light don't stop IR light from getting through, is there any way to really view green lasers safely?

You can buy appropriate laser glasses/goggles---see some that handle 532nm and IR here --last 2 listed: https://www.survivallaserusa.com/Safety_Goggles/cat1667093_1527285.aspx
Eagle Pair goggles are the best low cost good laser goggle choice if you want excellent protection. The low cost junk on ebay is just that.

The only lasers that leak IR are DPSS lasers --532nm are all DPSS lasers.
Direct diode lasers do not emit IR.

PS Please do not double or multiple post on LPF it is very frowned upon---use the edit button to two or more messages within a single post.

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi L
Glad your here buddy but one thing double posting is a no no here use the edit button to add to your previous post if no one posted after yours
Rich

 

[paul1598419]

@ laserus

Many of us don't use goggles every time we fire up a laser. I have been using lasers for 38 years and know when to use them and when I am dealing with less than 200 mW and there are not reflections that can blind me. This only comes with experience and years of use. I have never come close to having an accident that could cause me any loss of vision because I am never not in control of my lasers and know where reflection might occur. But, that is me and many people new to lasers are not in control of their lasers at all times.

I hear weekly how an accident caused someone to drop their laser causing it to malfunction. That is not constant control. I have never had a laser of mine come close to dropping or hitting anything with force as I am always in control of my lasers.

 

[Alaskan]

 

[Gazen]

As well as getting goggles that block ir and 532, you can buy from a reputable seller that uses it filters, like cni resellers(laserglow + dragonlasers), optotronics, and jetlasers.

Edit: Dragonlasers is probably the worst of these, they’ve sent a few people underperforming 589s, and don’t know as much about their products as laserglow.