Welcome to Laser Pointer Forums - discuss green laser pointers, blue laser pointers, and all types of lasers

LPF Donation via Stripe | LPF Donation - Other Methods

Links below open in new window

ArcticMyst Security by Avery

SELEM 2019 - Aug 6 - 11

Joined
Feb 25, 2008
Messages
2,128
Points
63
Some of you know about SELEM - southeast laser enthusiasts meet. While it is more for show and show projectors, anyone interested in laser stuff can go. Just don't be stupid with pointers.

Check this thread out for more information. https://photonlexicon.com/forums/showthread.php/27640-SELEM-2019-sign-up-thread

Click this link and scroll down to page 24 for a great write-up on what it's like. https://www.ilda.com/resources/Laserist/Winter-2018-2019-Laserist_12.27.18.pdf

Some videos from the couple times I've gone.

 





Joined
Jan 2, 2008
Messages
1,513
Points
83
This is my 8th or 9th in a row I think.

Very educational and lots of fun, no matter what you like.
 
Joined
Sep 20, 2013
Messages
17,253
Points
113
It helps if you live in North Carolina. I live in western Washington. That is a long trip for me. I have wanted to go in earlier years, but it is just too far for me now.
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
10,662
Points
113
I have been dumbfounded when I PM a new member living SO CLOSE to SELEM that they can sleep at home (saves them~$120)
AND bring their one meals--- the last time the members felt it was a bad deal== AND I replied that he can bring as free guests anyone he wanted.. and THEY could 'chip-in' on the attendee cost (now at $179 and no shirt)

WTF!!!???

SELEM has beed described by Brad B in his EXCELLENT article in 'The Laserists' mag-- ''SELEM is a laserperson's PARIDISE .

I have said many times that SELEM is a must for our bucket lists..
Unique?? except for other (& smaller LEMs) there is NOTHING like SELEM.. NADA.

oh well its their loss--- they have no idea how lucky there are...

Words and videos are no way adequate --- you have to be there to get the entire deal.


I 'guess' if you were a 'roadie' for the biggest and best lasershow company-you would get something like SELEM but with way less, things to do.

- you would still not see what we have seen.

The attendee fee is barely enough to over the rent of the VENUE(S)---now grown to 3 big areas-- a bunch of classrooms for demos-seminars and much more...

BS&T ---whoa=== super deals --- and we do not have to 'sit' on our items-- If you see what you want-just get with the sellers and do the deal.
AFAIK- there has never been any problems (like theft)

HOWEVER-- I have come to the conculsion that I will not be able to make SELEM 13--- instead will start a plan to make SELM 2020 (#14)

I will start with the SELEM fee and send that in ASAP--this cost is NOT refundable-- so that helps me to follow thru.
I expect #14 will cost ~$100 for 'early payers' which includes A VERY NICE monagrammed knit POLO shirt..
Late payers get NO shirt and the cost to go doubles. Some show up and pay there--many cannot be there for the entire time BUT still pay in full-- any bit leftover is donated to the forums
AND afaik everybody pays... we (LPF members) chipped in twice to cover that fee for Dr SAM!!! (yeah THAT SAM!!!)
and members drove him there and back--we covered his shirts , lodging and meals too...

Extra shirts IIRC are $20 each and MUST be paid for way in advance.

ask any questions in this thread-- ICEC- and many others can answer any Qs you may have.

join the show forum and follow the SELEM thread-- and you can see posts from almost every past SELEM==YTube has lots of vids--'SELEM Laser' ------BUT they really do not show all we have seen in person....
......hope to see many of you at SELEM 2020... WOOT!!!!!!
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
10,662
Points
113
It helps if you live in North Carolina. I live in western Washington. That is a long trip for me. I have wanted to go in earlier years, but it is just too far for me now.
AFAIK your best chance to carpool would be from one of the Portland members. AND now there are many--DR Lava- Sugeek=Joe- Flamin'pyro and many more.. AND there is now an outfit who buys any airline tickets unsold ==example ==trip to Hawiaii that would be >$1000 can be had for around $300 ... -----====
these, of course, are not refundable-- and dates are very limited.. not sure how far in advance they can be gotten.. the flight there may be limited BUT IIRC the return trip can be reserved to fit SELEM end date--
 
Joined
Jan 2, 2008
Messages
1,513
Points
83
Hakzaw1 always talks up SELEM - every year on here.

Its always good and this year will be no exception.

someone is talking about bringing a SP 125 this year .
You probably won't see one of them otherwise, anywhere! :)

I will mention this again for any who are interested. Why go, besides the awesome laser shows and education and food?

You will never see this many projectors in one place. A couple years ago, I think there were about 40+ projectors just in the gym.
not counting the main theater and backstage and the cafeteria where some of the projects are. and the Gas room.

There are also door prizes for those who pay to be there and are present on Saturday night. Last year, I won a $1200 door prize.
X-Laser and Pangolin, along with others usually contribute door prizes.

In the BS&T - Last year alone, I also picked up two sets of cheap scanners for less than $20 each, brand new.
In the past - It's where I got my SP127 and a number of other lasers, including the Orange HeNe I got from Sam Goldwasser.

Seminars on LSX and Pangolin Beyond/Quickshow and other things.

3 phase Mixed gas lasers / Argon / Krypton and other large from lasers are always present. These beasts can draw 40 or more amps. Besides being beautiful to see, they are HUGE.

Several years people have brought vintage hardware and connecitons
This year I'm bringing a newly built custom Apple IIgs DAC (only 2 exist) that connects to any standard ILDA projector. Along with my Kvant and I hope to have a series of pics and animations from the early 80's along with a couple new ones.

Also there are the side projects people are working on. Some are not laser related (liquid nitrogen generator/3d printers/Tesla Coils/Drones)

Do what you want, but it is well worth going if you can.
 
Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Messages
5,410
Points
113
SELEM has always fallen on a bad time of the year for me to travel, usually due to school starting back up or family events. This year though it looks like I'll finally be able to make it. I'm super stoked to see what the hype is all about! I know next to nothing about shows and projectors but I certainly can enjoy watching them. I'll be looking forward to meeting some of the people that I've been talking lasers with for 10+ years on here and other places. I have a couple projects I want to finish so I can bring them with me to SELEM (don't worry, no laser bazookas, just some low powered but unique lasers :D )
 
Joined
Feb 25, 2008
Messages
2,128
Points
63
SELEM has always fallen on a bad time of the year for me to travel, usually due to school starting back up or family events. This year though it looks like I'll finally be able to make it. I'm super stoked to see what the hype is all about! I know next to nothing about shows and projectors but I certainly can enjoy watching them. I'll be looking forward to meeting some of the people that I've been talking lasers with for 10+ years on here and other places. I have a couple projects I want to finish so I can bring them with me to SELEM (don't worry, no laser bazookas, just some low powered but unique lasers :D )

Looking forward to meeting you. Even if you just bring some of the stuff to show without powering it on would be nice.
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
10,662
Points
113

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
read all
X

Inevitably, in any budding laser enthusiasts’ career, a suggestion
may be made to explore the online forum Photonlexicon.com. Often
within a few introductory posts, the new person is urged to consider
attending a unique event called SELEM.
The brainchild of ILDA member Adam Burns back in February
2006, SELEM (pronounced Sah-leem) is the South Eastern Laser
Enthusiasts Meet which takes place every August in the town of
Newton, North Carolina. From its humble two-day beginnings with
about 10 people, to now being nearly a full week and the largest
gathering of laser enthusiasts in the U.S., SELEM is truly the
Mecca for anyone with an interest in lasers. In an effort to provide
something of value to all interests of lasers, it now encompasses
three venues: a 500-seat auditorium plus classrooms, a large school
cafeteria, and a gymnasium.
While it began life as a hobbyist event and a chance to associate
real faces with people formerly only known by screen names, SELEM
is also regularly attended by various industry professionals. It has
drawn people from as far as the Netherlands. The ILDA Laser Safety
Officer class has been taught there for a number of years, and many
people who passed the ILDA class have come from SELEM.
While manufacturers are welcome and regularly attend, it is not a
trade show or sales show. They’re welcome to talk about or show
new technology as Pangolin has done every year but, it’s more about
having an opportunity to enjoy the lasers.
The Newton-Conover Auditorium is the focal point for
choreographed material. Graphic, abstract and beam shows run
constantly from mid-day Wednesday until the wee hours of Sunday.

New this past year was the addition of “Abstract Friday” where both
new digital consoles, as well as old-school analog consoles have
been employed for live performance of abstracts. The auditorium
also features a mix of ion and solid state lasers.
The gallery is often used for more specialized presentations of what
people are working on with lasers such as synthesizers, holography,
and more recently, UV laser reactive glow-in-the-dark abstracts.
The auditorium also houses a buy/sell trade area as well as the
ion lasers work room. There are often a large number of ions being
tinkered on throughout the week.
The cafeteria serves as the hub of hobbyist activities both laserrelated and otherwise. As we tend to dabble in interesting
pursuits besides lasers you may very well find musical Tesla coils,
LED wall programming, Sterling engines, manufacturing liquid
nitrogen for making ice cream, 3-D printing, RC cars, helicopters
and quadcopters. (We have both indoor and outdoor racing quad
tracks.) There’s also an area for people to show-and-tell their various
experimental laser projector builds.
The gymnasium serves as the world-class display known as
“ClubSELEM” with multiple trusses filled with dozens of projectors and
beam rails, some up to 30 watts. Several control stations allow people
the opportunity to try their hand playing a wall of projectors and
accompanying live DJ’s into the wee hours of the morning. There is
also non-coherent intelligent lighting moving heads, LED video walls,
and control stations for people to learn more about DMX/Artnet.
There is a daily schedule of activities and presentations and
shows content going on in all areas that’s finalized prior to the
event so people can plan their day accordingly. There are talks and
educational components going on in the afternoons on Wednesday
through Saturday.
One of the best parts of SELEM is the people of the town of Newton
itself, many of whom we have interacted with for years and who
always enjoy having the opportunity to come out and see what new
things we’ve been up to in the previous year. It’s not uncommon
to see the local police stopping by to relax in a bean bag chair in
ClubSELEM and enjoy the show. Between DJ’s one evening an
officer yelled the best line ever, “I’m taking someone to jail if you
don’t start another laser show!”
If you have any interest in lasers at all, you owe it to yourself to
throw caution to the wind and come experience SELEM. As I often
tell new people, there are certain life milestones that tend to stay
with you forever. Things like your wedding day, the birth of your first
child, and your first SELEM. It’s up to you to rank the order


bradfo69
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Brad did an outstanding job on this--he hit all the high points--





--make it happen for you--
IF you want the best LEM experience start NOW to make SELEM 2020.
When I got home from my 1st SELEM (aug2010) I planned and held my own STEXLEM in Nov.
small and just one night BUT we had a great time,,


The one this Aug can still be attended-- you can get there anytime it is still going--pay your $179 (no shirt)
Just pay and sign the waiver--leave whenever you want---BUT to be a 'good' attendee one needs to be either there for set-up OR take-down Sunday---BUT BOTH is the way to do your first SELEM and make awesome new friends--THEY bring the gear-set it up-=and pack out at the end==they still pay to go and get no extras from bringing a ton of PJs-- everybody pays--including 3 DJs who could be elsewhere doing a paying gig

NEWEST edition of Photonic Spectra is out- cover and big article on Lasers--
AND has the best article on Lasers ever--will find and post a link ASAP.
I have, in the past read everything I can find on Lasers--
This article has much I never found--anywhere else.


lots more to read at PLEX where SELEM and many other LEMs are organized..
like: SCALEM=UKLEM-NWLEM-NYCLEM-CALEM FLEM and more..



HAK
 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
10,662
Points
113
History_Max Planck wrote about lasers in 1900...jpgreserved for pics of the many who made lasers what they are today--NOT just one person but many. History_Max Planck wrote about lasers in 1900...jpgcover OF SP MAG LASER ISSUE.jpgHistory_LaserInOperation  ER.jpg



 
Joined
Sep 20, 2013
Messages
17,253
Points
113
I, too, have the Photonics spectra, June 2019 issue. "The Laser Issue 1960-2019". I signed up to get all their paper issues and am grateful I did, a couple of years ago.
 
Joined
Jan 2, 2008
Messages
1,513
Points
83
SELEM has always fallen on a bad time of the year for me to travel, usually due to school starting back up or family events. This year though it looks like I'll finally be able to make it. I'm super stoked to see what the hype is all about! I know next to nothing about shows and projectors but I certainly can enjoy watching them. I'll be looking forward to meeting some of the people that I've been talking lasers with for 10+ years on here and other places. I have a couple projects I want to finish so I can bring them with me to SELEM (don't worry, no laser bazookas, just some low powered but unique lasers :D )

Always like watching your stuff on youtube, will be fun to see what you bring.
 




Top