Running the whole block of 445's!

[Markus Unread]

This from the blokes at Hackerbot Labs. Liquid-cooled array of 445nm awesomeness.

Hackerbot Labs » Photonic Beam: Results

Laser Yurt!!!

Yes. Really.

View from above the fog, a few miles away

Be sure to look at the photos of the hardware used for this project, in the photo stream.

 

[Fiddy]

looks nice, wonder what its putting out total.

 

[ElectroMagneticFreak]

I like how they say the laser was successfully "deployed."

Very suiting to that amount of power lol.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Looks nice

 

[Thejoker301]

Wow Very nice like Fiddy said above ^^ I really want to know the total output of the array ...

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Would be hard to LPM, but possible to estimate the output... not super accurate, but better than nothing.

 

[T_Warne]

Do you need to get some kind of clearence from the FAA to shoot such a death ray into the stratosphere?

 

[Benm]

It doesnt really state how hard they drive the diodes, but i'd say the total output would be anywhere between 10 and 20 watts - fairly impressive.

I don't think you would need any kind of permit to fire it up, as long as you make sure not to point it somewhere that interferes with aircraft operations, or pose danger to anyone else some way.

The best way to determine the power output on these things is to put a marshmallow on a stick, hold it in the beam, and time how long it takes to properly melt. I'm sure thats not going to make the SI, but it would be a fun new unit to introduce

 

[danefex]

impressive but........



can it pop balloons?

:beer:

 

[NickD070]

Do you need to get some kind of clearence from the FAA to shoot such a death ray into the stratosphere?

Yes, I believe anything over 5mw requires FAA clearance. You mean you guys don't request FAA permission when you shine your lasers in the sky?

 

[Pilgor]

I really like this shot http://www.flickr.com/photos/3ricj/7775079968/

 

[3ricj]

Thanks for the kind words about our laser. To answer some questions:

- You are not required to have FAA clearance, but it's a really good idea. We go into detail about this process here: Hackerbot Labs » Blog Archive » Photonic Beam: Safety and Regulatory Aspects

- The total output power was measured at just about 24 watts. It varied slightly based on temp, but we set the drivers such that it would not exceed 24 watts total.

- The cooling system was a PAIN! The whole driver array makes a ton of heat, and we had trouble extracting it. In the end, we kept the water cooling loop setpoint at 15c.

More questions? Fire away.

 

[NickD070]

I suppose we disagree about the FAA clearance issue then..
My understanding is:

In most cases the FDA/FCC is just saying you should do this or that. But "demonstration/lightshow lasers and SLA lasers are the only outdoor uses of lasers that are required under Federal law to get permission in advance from FAA."
The FDA says you must file FDA Form 3147 at least 30 days before conducting "Demonstrations including laser light shows and artistic displays" outdoors with a laser above 5mw.

Sources:
http://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/wildlife/guidance/media/Lasers_AC.pdf

Laser Pointer Safety - Rules and regulations in the U.S. (For those selling laser pointers)

 

[jakeGT]

Oh yeah and just to make it clear, there is almost always a plane in the sky near you. You know how many planes there are in the sky at any given time? Tons. Download an app or go to flight tracker and see if there are planes close to you if your really worried. (or if you are shooting a 20W beam in the sky)

 

[3ricj]

I suppose we disagree about the FAA clearance issue then..
My understanding is:

In most cases the FDA/FCC is just saying you should do this or that. But "demonstration/lightshow lasers and SLA lasers are the only outdoor uses of lasers that are required under Federal law to get permission in advance from FAA."
The FDA says you must file FDA Form 3147 at least 30 days before conducting "Demonstrations including laser light shows and artistic displays" outdoors with a laser above 5mw.

Sources:
http://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/wildlife/guidance/media/Lasers_AC.pdf

Laser Pointer Safety - Rules and regulations in the U.S. (For those selling laser pointers)

In fact, I think we agree completely. Our laser was not a "demonstration laser"; it had no galvos, was not a "laser pointer", was a fixed beam going straight up in a fixed configuration and was for science. If we *could* have done an FDA process we would have, but due to the nature of this laser testing we are not eligible. On the blog post I linked to above, it specifically states:

"Note that if the laser operations are for entertainment as opposed to scientific use, the Food and Drug Administration must be notified in addition to the FAA."

Part of this process (as explained in the blog entry) is to figure out what the hazard area is. Working with the FAA control towers in conjunction with spotters on the ground enables us to perform these sorts of experiments while not posing a hazard to aircraft. We received a letter of non-objection from the FAA based on our proposed laser operations. In addition, we operated our laser without incident under our SOP. This involved coordination with the control tower and our laser safety officer.

There are lots of ways to do this wrong. We did our best to ensure that we did it the right way.

 

[3ricj]

uhh, just to be clear, if any of these describes your laser operation at all then you should really do an FDA/FAA process:

- You are shooting a high powered laser into the sky with an unknown divergence, location and power.
- If you are doing a laser show or demonstration laser. This typically means a laser projector of some sort.

At the end of the day, if you cause a problem with an aircraft, regardless of your intent, it might be a major problem. Going through one or both of the above processes can help reduce your risk, but your a$$ is still on the line to ensure that nobody gets hurt. With aircraft, there is risk of visual distraction during critical flight operations. So laser energy below hazard thresholds are still a problem. Please do you homework before doing anything like we've shown above.

Thanks,
-3ric