- Joined
- Jul 13, 2014
- Messages
- 35
- Points
- 8
Hey guys,
Haven't logged on here in a while but it's good to be back. I'm not an engineer, I know very little about lasers and nothing about building them. I am looking to purchase one however. I've just started doing some medium-distance backpacking trips and began thinking some sort of emergency signaling device would come in handy. However, residing in CA means it's illegal to possess flares (of any time) and isn't a good idea anyway with all the fires. A laser seems like the next best thing!
Color: Well blue is my favorite color, but I know green is picked up better from the eye. So I haven't quite decided but probably somewhere in the 532nm-465nm
Power: I only own a 50mW 532 and it's always been difficult for me to see how bright it is from someone looking at it from the side. I feel like it should be bright enough to be seen from many miles out. But I'm not going for a pure entertainment light show so I would like to find some optimum balance between power and yet visibility from great distance.
Weight/size: both of these are concerns when backpacking so the lighter and smaller the better. I'm sure this will be limited depending on the size.
Durability: Since this is to be used in a rugged environment extra things like durable aluminum and O-rings for water-proofing are desirable.
Forgive my ignorance and stupid questions in this process!
Thanks!
Haven't logged on here in a while but it's good to be back. I'm not an engineer, I know very little about lasers and nothing about building them. I am looking to purchase one however. I've just started doing some medium-distance backpacking trips and began thinking some sort of emergency signaling device would come in handy. However, residing in CA means it's illegal to possess flares (of any time) and isn't a good idea anyway with all the fires. A laser seems like the next best thing!
Color: Well blue is my favorite color, but I know green is picked up better from the eye. So I haven't quite decided but probably somewhere in the 532nm-465nm
Power: I only own a 50mW 532 and it's always been difficult for me to see how bright it is from someone looking at it from the side. I feel like it should be bright enough to be seen from many miles out. But I'm not going for a pure entertainment light show so I would like to find some optimum balance between power and yet visibility from great distance.
Weight/size: both of these are concerns when backpacking so the lighter and smaller the better. I'm sure this will be limited depending on the size.
Durability: Since this is to be used in a rugged environment extra things like durable aluminum and O-rings for water-proofing are desirable.
Forgive my ignorance and stupid questions in this process!
Thanks!