Sickening... we need someone to take action

[Cheech]

Well, they can't search every one of our homes for lasers, now can they?

old technology



yes they can,
ex:
you shine a laser outside
the blimp sees the beam
the beams originating coordinates are saved

 

[goninanbl00d]

yes they can,
ex:
you shine a laser outside
the blimp sees the beam
the beams originating coordinates are saved

Over here we have police helicopters.

I guess it's time to start buying up 808 and 1064nm.

 

[ossumguywill]

Go somewhere there are no police helicopters... taking away lasers en masse would be a huge waste of money. There has never once been a single serious accident caused by a laser, why waste cash on it?

 

[goninanbl00d]

There has never once been a single serious accident caused by a laser, why waste cash on it?

In Australia, there has been such incidents at multiple airports around the country where groups of people target planes with lasers.

In the thick of it in 2008 there were up to 200 nationwide incidents a month. Sad thing was they were mostly in NSW.

I'm still surprised the braindead assf*cks had enough brain cells left to plan a co-ordinated attack.

And after a few of those attacks the bovine fecal matter really hit the rotary air moving device. The Federal gum'mint steps in, and you all know the story from there onwards.

 

[ossumguywill]

In Australia, there has been such incidents at multiple airports around the country where groups of people target planes with lasers.

In the thick of it in 2008 there were up to 200 nationwide incidents a month. Sad thing was they were mostly in NSW.

I'm still surprised the braindead assf*cks had enough brain cells left to plan a co-ordinated attack.

And after a few of those attacks the bovine fecal matter really hit the rotary air moving device. The Federal gum'mint steps in, and you all know the story from there onwards.

Sure, there were "incidents", but have they ever caused a plane crash? I've never heard of a truly fatal accident.

 

[Cheech]

One important persons sight would probably be enough to shut it down.
I don't think any of us qualify as important though.

 

[goninanbl00d]

Sure, there were "incidents", but have they ever caused a plane crash? I've never heard of a truly fatal accident.

It shouldn't have to take 183 people killed as a result of a plane crash before a ban is enacted.

There were several pilots who suffered long-term (6+ months) vision damage from these incidents.

Is that not enough to call for restrictions?

 

[ossumguywill]

It shouldn't have to take 183 people killed as a result of a plane crash before a ban is enacted.

There were several pilots who suffered long-term (6+ months) vision damage from these incidents.

Is that not enough to call for restrictions?

It's certainly not enough to warrant the amount of restriction today. I think to warrant this kind of restriction it better have killed a few hundred people... of course it hasn't, and it certainly doesn't deserve this much fear and red tape!

 

[goninanbl00d]

It's certainly not enough to warrant the amount of restriction today. I think to warrant this kind of restriction it better have killed a few hundred people... of course it hasn't, and it certainly doesn't deserve this much fear and red tape!

It's not about whether the amount of damage has been done or not. It's about whether the item has the potential to cause such significant amounts of harm

From the government's perspective it's better to prevent the incident in the first place, instead of cleaning up the mess afterwards.

 

[ossumguywill]

It's not about whether the amount of damage has been done or not. It's about whether the item has the potential to cause such significant amounts of harm

From the government's perspective it's better to prevent the incident in the first place, instead of cleaning up the mess afterwards.

Great-so let's ban cars, alcohol, and fatty food as these cause the most harm of any products out there. Lasers are thousands of times safer than any of those things, yet are regulated more tightly than any of them. It's easier for a kid to get alcohol than a powerful laser, I guarantee you.

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

A portable laser is a weapon ------
As is a baseball bat, golf club, kitchen knife, sharp pencil, screwdriver, hammer, sling shot, etc etc. ANYTHING including a broken whiskey bottle can be used by a bad person as a weapon. Is it the object or the person which needs to be dealt with?

HMike

Who rated 1 watt as a weapon? Now the military has laser weapons a "little" over a watt.

 

[goninanbl00d]

fatty food

I'll assure you that throwing large amounts of fatty food at a plane will not have the same effect as a laser. :crackup:

Yes, fatty food, cars and alcohol are capable of causing much more harm than a laser.

But remember, a high-powered laser can be used as a directed energy weapon.

A cheapo 100mW unit could be used in a hold-up to disable security cameras and blind people. You can't do that with alcohol or fatty food.

A laser is an extremely effective weapon when used correctly, and if to drive the point home that's what the Photonic Disruptor from Wicked is marketed as- a weapon.

Cars are also dangerous, yes, and accidents kill people regularly. But rarely is there an occasion where a car can cause an accident killing over 100 people simultaneously.

And on top of that, a kid with a powerful laser and no idea what they're doing is much more dangerous than a stone drunk kid on a park bench.

Now, if lasers didn't have so much potential as weapons, then they wouldn't be so tightly regulated.

 

[ossumguywill]

I'll assure you that throwing large amounts of fatty food at a plane will not have the same effect as a laser. :crackup:

Yes, fatty food, cars and alcohol are capable of causing much more harm than a laser.

But remember, a high-powered laser can be used as a directed energy weapon.

A cheapo 100mW unit could be used in a hold-up to disable security cameras and blind people. You can't do that with alcohol or fatty food.

A laser is an extremely effective weapon when used correctly, and if to drive the point home that's what the Photonic Disruptor from Wicked is marketed as- a weapon.

Cars are also dangerous, yes, and accidents kill people regularly. But rarely is there an occasion where a car can cause an accident killing over 100 people simultaneously.

And on top of that, a kid with a powerful laser and no idea what they're doing is much more dangerous than a stone drunk kid on a park bench.

Now, if lasers didn't have so much potential as weapons, then they wouldn't be so tightly regulated.

You ignored pretty much every way these things are dangerous... sure, lasers can disable security camera, but that's even less likely and more of a pain in the ass than just setting the bank on fire with alcohol :crackup: sure, a laser might distract a pilot, but it's really unlikely that it will actually cause an accident. Modern plane windows are polarized, filtered, and reflective on the outside. The chances a laser would actually cause a crash at a distance are very low. Alcohol, on the other hand, allows the pilot to put every single passenger in danger. Criminals use cars for drive-buys, hit and runs, and even as accessories to robberies and kidnappings. Are they illegal? The logic you're applying to lasers can be used anywhere. I'm obviously not saying caution and reason should not be used, but lasers should not be so tightly regulated. The public is just ignorant of the real dangers.

 

[goninanbl00d]

I guess if you want to look at it that way you can.

A reasonably powerful laser in the hands of somebody who doesn't know what they're doing can be dangerous. I think you wouldn't just hand a 100mW pen to a stranger and see what they do with it.

Also, most attacks occur during the final 500m leading up to a landing, where the plane is relatively close to the ground, and where precision is vital. Plane windows may be reflective, but they will let laser light pass through the window and into the cockpit.

Yes, there should be regulation, but not the way it has been implemented now.

If they had introduced an alternative system, whereby anyone over the age of 16 can apply for permits for devices within a certain power rating, provided they can provide evidence(i.e. from character witnesses) that they are sensible people capable of thinking rationally.

However, the 5mW restriction is sensible. 5mW would all you need in a pointer. 5mW of green is plenty of visibility.

setting the bank on fire with alcohol

Gasoline would be easier :crackup:

 

[ossumguywill]

^that seems reasonable. And I'm obviously very biased here, but I don't think an age requirement is a good thing... I've been messing with moderately powered lasers since I was 12, and never used them unsafely. On top of that, I've never let an age requirement stand in the way of something I felt it would be safe for me to do... However I think a portable laser license is perfectly fine as long as it's cheap (or free, like an internet test and database) and accessible. We don't want the hobby to die because it's hard to get in to.

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

Freedom >>> common sence rules >>> Regulation >>>>> Testing and registration >>> Confiscation.......
Come on America - That's how incrementalism works toward socialism (or worse). Read your history. We are already there.

HMike