How to Tell People Your Hobby is Making and Collecting Lasers

[KRNAZNBOY]

A more interesting tutorial would be..... "how to explain your wife you spent over $5K in lasers...."""

That could help me a lot....

I will work on that...

I'd prefer a "how to impress a gf" guide

That sounds like something lazeerer could write

If a person, after seeing the beam at night, asks "Dude can you shine it into that bicyclist over there so he falls over?", is a punch to the face an appropriate answer?

Seriously I had people ask me that.

Depends, how well you know them, and how they are going to react! :crackup:


BTW guys im very surprised this thread got so much attention. Funny!

 

[IsaacT]

STEP 4: This usually consists of a series of questions about your hobby, and the person is a friend or you know them well, they might want to see your L.A.S.E.R.s. Make sure they wear safety goggles too, though, if you show them, which will make them even more impressed!

You actually wrote out the acronym! I am pleased, +1 for you. I hate it when people say lazers or lazors because that is not the acronym! :beer:

I am lucky in that my girlfriend likes my hobby. She thinks it is pretty unique, and I built her a couple lasers and gave her safety glasses and a brief overview of safety(with lasers AND with Li-Ions).

 

[Leodahsan]

If a person, after seeing the beam at night, asks "Dude can you shine it into that bicyclist over there so he falls over?", is a punch to the face an appropriate answer?

Seriously I had people ask me that.

People asked me "will it reach 'that' airplane?" or "will it blind someone?"

Damnit.

 

[IsaacT]

Yeah, I had someone ask me:

"Can you build me a laser that can kill people"
"Haha, probably, but I would never sell it to you" (mental checklist to not stay in touch with said person.)

I also showed some coworkers a laser, and a MANAGER, after I told him how powerful it was, pointed it at his eye and turned it on. Me - "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!!" him - "Damn, that was bright. Oh well, I have bad eyesight anyways". To those who are interested, it was a mitsubishi 500mW diode at ~460mW. I THOUGHT the manager was responsible. Guess not.

 

[Leodahsan]

Yeah, I had someone ask me:

"Can you build me a laser that can kill people"
"Haha, probably, but I would never sell it to you" (mental checklist to not stay in touch with said person.)

I also showed some coworkers a laser, and a MANAGER, after I told him how powerful it was, pointed it at his eye and turned it on. Me - "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!!" him - "Damn, that was bright. Oh well, I have bad eyesight anyways". To those who are interested, it was a mitsubishi 500mW diode at ~460mW. I THOUGHT the manager was responsible. Guess not.

LOL damnit. That nearly happened with someone I handed the laser someday... The person pointed at someone else eye (around 3 feet away) and I removed the laser from his hands. Since then, almost no one touches my lasers.

Heheh. Thats a responsible manager uh. He got some damage?

Edit: I've heard "can you build a laser that can slice people?" HAHAH. I'll maybe write a list of that funny laser questions and post it on a thread :beer:

 

[Eudaimonium]

Yeah, I had someone ask me:

"Can you build me a laser that can kill people"
"Haha, probably, but I would never sell it to you" (mental checklist to not stay in touch with said person.)

I also showed some coworkers a laser, and a MANAGER, after I told him how powerful it was, pointed it at his eye and turned it on. Me - "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!!" him - "Damn, that was bright. Oh well, I have bad eyesight anyways". To those who are interested, it was a mitsubishi 500mW diode at ~460mW. I THOUGHT the manager was responsible. Guess not.

Long ago I made a mental note, to never hand the laser to anybody I don't know. If they insist, your eyes never leave the laser - predict what they're about to do with it before they do it.

I saved one eye being paranoid like that. Not my own.

 

[Leodahsan]

Long ago I made a mental note, to never hand the laser to anybody I don't know. If they insist, your eyes never leave the laser - predict what they're about to do with it before they do it.

I saved one eye being paranoid like that. Not my own.

Unfortunately that happens. People say I'm just too worried, but much don't even know what a diffuse reflection is, and that it can blind you depending on laser power..

+1 for saving that eye.

edit: You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Eudaimonium again.

 

[Lazerbeak]

My family just looks at me funny and requests I don't burn the house down. I don't really talk about it anymore.

"What's that?"

A flashlight

~ LB

 

[scumbagatheist]

A more interesting tutorial would be..... "how to explain your wife you spent over $5K in lasers...."""

That could help me a lot....

We just don't discuss such things in my house. And, tonight, I'm going to have to explain my new $100 carrying case. No way she's not going to notice it.

 

[KRNAZNBOY]

We just don't discuss such things in my house. And, tonight, I'm going to have to explain my new $100 carrying case. No way she's not going to notice it.

Oh yea where can you get laser carrying cases? I'd prefer one that can hold at least mid-sized lasers

:thanks:

 

[scumbagatheist]

See my multimedia thread in my sig.

 

[hakzaw1]

Stranger or friend:
' That a cool laser... can I see it.
ME: 'sure thing..'' (as I remove the battery(s)
them" WHY did you do THAT??"
I tell them-
do you hand your loaded gun to someone? 'NO' you unload it FIRST--
lasers--'SAME thing' only safe in the hands of the ignorant without power.

works every time...

Since their invention people have pointed a flashlights at their OWN eyes when it seems to be not working or getting almost out of batt power- That will not change.

its done w/o any thought- NEVER assume the youngsters around you will NOT play with your lasers every time they get a chance.

LOCK them up!!!

Then lock up the key- the lock on my Dads gun cabinet never stopped me.

 

[scumbagatheist]

Well said, Hak...and clearly spoken from a Texan.

Gun locks? I know that feel, bro.

 

[Zircarg]

"I build variable light spectrum photon accelerators"...that impresses them...but then I blow it and lose all respect when I add "they pop balloons and can signal aliens."

 

[DrSid]

I usually show 1mW red first. Everyone laughs .. I say .. this is 1mW .. safe to look into .. but not really pleasant, is it .. I let them try ..
Then I pull out 200mW red .. this is DVD burner diode I say .. 200 times stronger .. in that moment people usually move one step away and cover their eyes ..
Then I pull 1.5W 445nm .. and deal goggles .. and do some burning and setting things on fire. After this, nobody wanted to hold any of my lasers in their own hands .. :-D
Then I show some greens, especially my 400mW o-like .. which has nice beam even in daylight .. do some dismantling to show insides .. I usually talk about how DPSS works (though nobody really understands what I talk about) .. and so on ..

 

[Gun]

Nice guide :thanks:

I haven't really told too many people about my hobby, no one seems to really ask. However, I was on LPF when at a friends house and he said "What's that?" I said "It's a laser forum", he just looked at me weird then looked down and asked no questions . Next time a friend comes over I'm going to light a match with my 405nm, then maybe they'll ask questions :evil: