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FrozenGate by Avery

Post your vintage pointers (weather you still have it or not)

The first laser "pointer" was the Spectra-Physics model 130 from around 1964. Here's a pic of one being used that way by Art Schawlow, who later said he regretted being in that photo. A pic showing inside the head and a replacement tube is also below, a page from the brochure, and a pic showing an original plasma tube being repaired (for show). This was the first laser that was DC excited, the first with an integrated head and power supply, and it featured a power switch on its side.
SP130&Schawlow&Bell_1_1.jpgSP-130B Open.jpgSP130Brochure.jpgSP-130 tube repair.jpg
 





Something about seeing old lasers makes me feel like we made the discovery of the laser ahead of our time. Almost 'alien' tech conveniently from the space age.
 
In the '60s and '70s, people used cylindrical head He-Ne lab lasers for pointers. The first such laser was the Perkin-Elmer model 5200, introduced around 1962. He-Ne laser power supplies got much smaller in the following couple of years. By the mid-'70s, Bergen Expo Systems offered their model LP-6 that featured a mechanical shutter with its lever on the side of the head. This was the first laser pointer with a "momentary on" switch.

5.00PE-5200 System.jpgBergen System 79.jpgBergen Ad.jpeg
PE 5200 Brochure B.jpeg
 
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Imagine if that host was fitted out with modern components (diodes and li-ions) now. You could get a lot of optical power out of it.
 
Radio%20Shack%2063-1040.jpg


Not mine, but my dad had a diode laser pointer he bought from Radio Shack in 1994. There's an outside chance that it's still somewhere in the "junk drawer" at my mom's house, but I highly doubt it's still in operable condition in any case.

I never thought of that thing as "vintage" though.
 
"Vintage" just means old, with hints of significance, representation, and fond memories. Maybe another 40 years before lasers get to antique status, like this classroom pointer from the 1890s (the one with the tape on it).

Pointer Sticks.jpg
 
When I first saw this thread title I thought someone might be excited by my funky old diode laser, but wow am I blown away by some of these (mostly) handhelds! :D Especially the He-Ne portables!

Anyway, here’s my humble contribution. I don’t know all that much about it other than that it used to be my dad’s (fortunately still with us so maybe I’ll pester him for some more info at some point). A brief session of google-fu seems to indicate it was made no earlier than 1993, although frustratingly the manufacturing date stamp has been commended to the great forum in the sky; doubtless by an unrelenting barrage of sweaty fingers throughout the years.

9EC9F29E-D9C9-4281-BB80-B6E5233B5D01.jpegA491B872-FDAC-4ACF-AF79-B9F2DFE49995.jpegF96087F2-209A-4CA3-A4D4-7AB04980A5B4.jpeg
1B5CD04C-6DA5-4081-996D-8F60C03B9D2C.jpeg
4C3EE52F-FA91-42E4-A78B-CF693BE36215.jpeg

I do find it interesting that the laser is activated by squeezing the clip so that it bends down and makes contact with the body of the housing rather than by making use of a classical switch or button. Other than that, it’s a rather unremarkable 5mw red.
 
That's a nice pointer! ALS apparently made them for others too. The one below was branded for Coherent in 1998. The switch design is unique. To be honest, I think the gold colored cap makes it classier.

Coherent Pointer (1).jpg
 
New old laser I couldn't pass by is "The Point" (mentioned above) but in white. Doesn't work and the plastic around the switch feels crushed a bit under the sticker, but I don't really want to disturb the stickers and trim to open it up. Must've been intended for hospital use. The wall wart is white too.
 

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