this is why I don't like my friends knowing my hobby.

[Richie89]

The paranoia can really suck a bit of the fun out of this hobby. Whenever I take a laser outside now I feel the need to make sure the neighbors aren't out on their balconies/backyards/etc, check the skies for any helicopters, and I immediately shut off the laser if I hear a door opening or shutting somewhere in the neighborhood. I won't be doing anything illegal, but I also don't want some idiot to call the cops or something because he just saw some "news report" about pilots being targeted by lasers.

Yeah Raz that's pretty much how I feel, and it sucks! I always get paranoid just aiming them at my trees thinking someone in the area will automatically think I'm doing something illegal.

I have had no trouble with neighbors although my pleasant Guatemalan neighbors have seen me aiming into my yard, but only at a downward angle from my 2nd story window into my yard where I have a prepared fire pit. I would likely tell anyone who ask that I play with multicolor LED flashlights of which I have many bright ones to hand over and display if I choose , my worry is not that I would do anything wrong as I am very careful although accidents do happen to everyone in time, but proper safety precautions will make those accidents a small oops and not a life altering disaster.

What would be bad is if the teenage kids sneak into the woods to smoke cigarettes and start a fire and I would be known as the laser beam guy who starts fires in his yard, so I try to keep it to myself, also how you say things matters, speaking in 3rd person, such as " I can imagine how an angry person could ---------- < insert horrible deed " rather than saying " I could " when making an example of something, same goes for my flashlight and laser hobby, if a passer by actually saw me and came to ask I may display to them some LED flashlights, I wouldn't say I don't enjoy lasers, but I wouldn't say that I do either, heck I was a reader here for half a decade before I made an account, but as your browsing is all on record anyway it's a moot point for the most part, I have taken down a lot of burning videos just because I don't want to add to the bad image some may have of our hobby, and I don't post beam shots into the sky, distant tree line yes, sky no, but be careful about aircraft popping over the treetops, look and listen before you lase and don't be a showoff ( except here ), it's not worth the risk in my opinion to alert the neighborhood as there are some real A-holes among the many otherwise decent people.

Very good point Redcowboy. You're right, it definitely makes a difference how you say something.

 

[Accutronitis]

I have to say shooting even a laser as powerful as my near 7 watt laser up into the night sky is not anywhere as visible as I once thought it was unless it pointing right at you or you are right underneath it, One night last week I propped up my laser so it was shooting almost straight up and started walking down the street and at just one block away I could barely see ! I had always assumed it could be easily seen for miles in all directions but that's just not the case ?

 

[Richie89]

I've had friends like that in the past, stupid, young, mouthy, I let them go their own way.

Absolutely! I need to just tell him to cut that s*** out and quit thinking just because I have these things doesn't mean I'm gonna do something stupid! I'd +rep you but It won't let me, lol

I was shooting mine up into the night sky last week and my next door neighbor said "wow that's some flashlight you got there" and I just said thanks..... :can:

:crackup: that's awesome man, I should do that to see if my neighbors believe me, most of them are old anyways lol

I have to say shooting even a laser as powerful as my near 7 watt laser up into the night sky is not anywhere as visible as I once thought it was unless it pointing right at you or you are right underneath it, One night last week I propped up my laser so it was shooting almost straight up and started walking down the street and at just one block away I could barely see ! I had always assumed it could be easily seen for miles in all directions but that's just not the case ?

Oh wow really!!? Well that sucks lol
I always thought it would be seen for miles also. Maybe a 1.5 watt 520 would be :thinking:

 

[Accutronitis]

Oh wow really!!? Well that sucks lol
I always thought it would be seen for miles also. Maybe a 1.5 watt 520 would be :thinking:

Ya I was kind of bummed out too....... :thinking:

 

[steve001]

Holy cow man, see that's what sucks about this hobby, hopefully being super careful will prevent this from ever happening, but what happens if a member on here or anyone for that matter really does accidentally (somehow) hits a chopper unknowingly. And they arrest you, how do you convince them you really didn't mean to and it really was an accident? They'll never believe you


I agree 100% this is why I usually try and limit who knows I own lasers. Ironically, over where I work at the OU/children's hospital facility in Oklahoma City area are State cops, and they all know me very well and have seen all my lasers, they always ask me if I have a new one, hah! Those particular cops love them



Sorry for back to back posting
Yeah I agree. This isn't the first time he's done that. He's a great guy but he's a moron IMO, good thing he'll never see this post :crackup:
He's probably the one who would hit a plane on purpose.

Pilots are smart enough to distinguish an accidental hit by a laser and being specifically targeted. Don't worry.

I don't understand of anyone could hit a aircraft that is in range by accident because you should hear it long before it gets close enough for a laser to be a real hazard of flight safety ?

You obviously don't have the slightest idea what the range of lasers can be. There are charts that detail hazzards of lasers at distance, go search now.

I have to say shooting even a laser as powerful as my near 7 watt laser up into the night sky is not anywhere as visible as I once thought it was unless it pointing right at you or you are right underneath it, One night last week I propped up my laser so it was shooting almost straight up and started walking down the street and at just one block away I could barely see ! I had always assumed it could be easily seen for miles in all directions but that's just not the case ?

Absolutely! I need to just tell him to cut that s*** out and quit thinking just because I have these things doesn't mean I'm gonna do something stupid! I'd +rep you but It won't let me, lol


:crackup: that's awesome man, I should do that to see if my neighbors believe me, most of them are old anyways lol

Oh wow really!!? Well that sucks lol
I always thought it would be seen for miles also. Maybe a 1.5 watt 520 would be :thinking:

See my post #11 in this thread for pertinent info. http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/lasers-prove-we-ve-been-moon-100780.html#post1482595 Click the link. Look for "Visibility of High Power Laser Beams" click the link. Scroll down, look for again "Visibility of High Power Laser Beams".

 

[GSS]

Accidentally :thinking: Hmmm.....
1) deciding to go outside with turned 'ON' Laser
2) deciding to point it above the horizon

Jerry

Look at his eye's in the mugshot
Is he petrified because he got "caught" or it was a mistake...
He hit a police copter I believe? so no mistaking here is what I think..
Ritchie, thanks for clarifying he wasn't your friend and it wasn't one of your lasers...

 

[Alaskan]

Re: Steve's statement regarding how far lasers can go:

Light is timeless, it doesn't know time, doesn't stop unless it hits something, goes on forever as a wave, I think. No one can prove it doesn't continue as a wave, unless observed. It amazes me that the alternating light wave (or electromagnetic, RF etc.) does that, oscillates as a wave forever unless it hits something, then some reflects off and continues in another direction anyway. I don't think entropy affects it at all, if left to travel unimpeded.

The key to whether a beam will bother someone is the power, distance and divergence. Divergence is a huge factor, in some regards more so than distance or power, when above a certain amount of power.

If this chart were to include divergence figures, it would be a much different story. They are using common divergences of DPSS lasers for this graph. Most laser diode pointers (not DPSS), unless they are single mode or the beam is expanded, would be far less of a hazard at any given power level than what this chart shows. If the FDA wants to regulate laser pointers, they probably should be regulating the divergence, not the wavelength or power so much. Regulate the diameter of the collimation lens, done. I am not endorsing the idea, just saying.

 

[Richie89]

Ya I was kind of bummed out too....... :thinking:

They look great in storms

Pilots are smart enough to distinguish an accidental hit by a laser and being specifically targeted. Don't worry.

Very true. Plus you also kinda have to wonder about law of possibilities, if you are careful about where you shine it and do it slowly, their are hudreds of millions maybe billions of places for that laser to go based on square feet in the sky or your area, and the odds of actually hitting a plane or helicopter in the cockpit accidentally is gota be incredibly slim.

Look at his eye's in the mugshot
Is he petrified because he got "caught" or it was a mistake...
He hit a police copter I believe? so no mistaking here is what I think..
Ritchie, thanks for clarifying he wasn't your friend and it wasn't one of your lasers...

You're welcome, yeah I posted that and didn't sign on for a day or so and I checked back without signing in and it looked like a lot of members thought I had some kind of relation to that story. Thank god I didn't

 

[RedCowboy]

I have to say shooting even a laser as powerful as my near 7 watt laser up into the night sky is not anywhere as visible as I once thought it was unless it pointing right at you or you are right underneath it, One night last week I propped up my laser so it was shooting almost straight up and started walking down the street and at just one block away I could barely see ! I had always assumed it could be easily seen for miles in all directions but that's just not the case ?

You walked a block away with it powered up, propped up, aimed straight up into the sky, at your apartment?
There are many reasons why this is not a good idea.
Was someone else at least standing watch over it?


The beam disappears from a perpendicular perspective with distance when standing on the ground with ambient light, it disappears a lot sooner in daylight.

However from the air, such as in an aircraft you have a BIRDS EYE VIEW and beams stand out a lot further with much less ambient light around, yes straight on is the brightest but beams don't disappear from the side as fast as they do from the ground, I have posted in cockpit videos of lasers being waved around in all directions on a beach during a holiday with fireworks, the laser was visible even when not seen straight on.

I can't find the one I am looking for but here are some more, don't think your laser can't be seem from the BIRDS EYE VIEW, it's not like standing on the ground.

Here's someone with an 8 dollar laser pointer, he gives some advise at the end. vvv

 

[Alaskan]

And the more they report on laser strikes, the more it will happen, I bet.

 

[lasersbee]

You walked a block away with it powered up, propped up, aimed straight up into the sky, at your apartment?
There are many reasons why this is not a good idea.
Was someone else at least standing watch over it?

What a question to ask a guy that blatantly posts
Videos and Pics of his "burnt-by-Laser" home ceiling
fan...:crackup::crackup::crackup:

What do you really think RC...


Jerry

 

[GSS]

What a question to ask a guy that blatantly posts
Videos and Pics of his "burnt-by-Laser" home ceiling
fan...:crackup::crackup::crackup:

What do you really think RC...


Jerry

I can't believe how many of us skimmed???:thinking: by that post

 

[Accutronitis]

You walked a block away with it powered up, propped up, aimed straight up into the sky, at your apartment?
There are many reasons why this is not a good idea.
Was someone else at least standing watch over it?


The beam disappears from a perpendicular perspective with distance when standing on the ground with ambient light, it disappears a lot sooner in daylight.

However from the air, such as in an aircraft you have a BIRDS EYE VIEW and beams stand out a lot further with much less ambient light around, yes straight on is the brightest but beams don't disappear from the side as fast as they do from the ground, I have posted in cockpit videos of lasers being waved around in all directions on a beach during a holiday with fireworks, the laser was visible even when not seen straight on.

I can't find the one I am looking for but here are some more, don't think your laser can't be seem from the BIRDS EYE VIEW, it's not like standing on the ground.

"You walked a block away with it powered up, propped up, aimed straight up into the sky, at your apartment?
What a question to ask a guy that blatantly posts
Videos and Pics of his "burnt-by-Laser" home ceiling
fan...:crackup::crackup::crackup:

What do you really think RC...


Jerry

Gees can't anybody read these days ?

I said "I propped up my laser so it was shooting almost straight up ", Where on earth did you guys get "at your apartment" from ??? I don't even live in a apartment, I live in a house ! AND how would a "apartment" be straight up ???

Please don't put ridiculous statements in my mouth and then comment as if I said them ! Come on you guys are better than that !

Oh and bite me lasersbee..... Oh wait, Does this make what I just said ok ? :crackup::crackup::crackup:... It's a dead ceiling
fan with a blade that broke off in my work room and there are no videos of it and only a few pictures of it posted here alone, Blatantly strawman much there lasersbee ??? I know what I really think... What do they call those little creatures that live under bridges ? It escapes me at the moment......

See my post #11 in this thread for pertinent info. http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/lasers-prove-we-ve-been-moon-100780.html#post1482595 Click the link. Look for "Visibility of High Power Laser Beams" click the link. Scroll down, look for again "Visibility of High Power Laser Beams".

Yes that's where you read....

I used to be able to sparkle off the new moon with my YAG at full power and full convergence. It takes some doing but you can see the sparkle from the Sea of Tranquillity with the naked eye off the corner cube reflector, aka: retroreflector left there in 1969 by the astronauts.

But it doesn't make his statement true, Please don't misunderstand as I'm not calling anything you have said in to question......

 

[RedCowboy]

QUOTE: Oh and bite me lasersbee..... Oh wait, Does this make what I just said ok ? ... It's a dead ceiling
fan with a blade that broke off in my work room and there are no videos of it and only a few pictures of it posted here alone, Blatantly strawman much there lasersbee ??? I know what I really think... What do they call those little creatures that live under bridges ? It escapes me at the moment......
: END QUOTE


You're mincing words and creating a false narrative, leaving a multi watt laser propped up pointing almost straight up while you walk a block away is a bad idea for many reasons, one being air traffic, if a helicopter flew over he could be right on top of it with his spotlight on faster than you could run back and turn it off.

Also your ceiling fan blade being broken off in your workroom is not what your video showed, I see ceiling behind the fan blade, now I say it's your fan burn it if you want, but what you said creates a different image than the video.

You have been burning on that fan, on your ceiling with your ThorII and then your 44/Hammer, so it's a target and that's ok by me, but what you said is misleading, did you take a broken fan from your workroom and install it in a room with a stippled drywall ceiling?

 

[Benm]

You're mincing words and creating a false narrative, leaving a multi watt laser propped up pointing almost straight up while you walk a block away is a bad idea for many reasons, one being air traffic, if a helicopter flew over he could be right on top of it with his spotlight on faster than you could run back and turn it off.

You might notice a helicopter flying above you from, say, the deafening noise those things produce at low altitudes. Even at for a helicopter high altitudes of over 1000 feet or so you'll still hear them, though your typical laser will not be dangerous to them.

If you want to make legislation against people lighting up aircraft from the ground, there should be a clear limit to what is allowed and what is not. You could state that for example 100 lm is the limit of legality.

You cannot set this limit to zero: if i light up a candle on the ground that will illuminate jetliners crossing over me at 40.000 feet. Not by much, but it is still more than zero (i.e. chances are that at least one photon of my candle will hit that airliner on its bottom as it passes over).

So implement smart legislation here: 1 lm is no problem ever, up to 100 lm is a minor offense that gets you a fine, 1000 lm/m2 is a major one, 10.000 lm can be considered a realistic attempt to interfere with operations, and 1.000.000 lm is an outright attack that'd set fire to the aircraft.

 

[RedCowboy]

I am not debating the insanity of the laws, but there are laws that we must be aware of, in the USA where he lives you cant point to the sky if you are within 10 miles of an airport.

Also I have been looking out my window when a helicopter going some est. 90 miles an hour appears over my tree line, at 90 miles an hour that's what - 1.5 miles a minute, call it 9000 feet a minute, that's 150 feet a second, at 1500 feet away flying low you don't hear them in a suburban area until they are about 3-4 seconds away, so being a block from his propped up laser is dam stupid, sure people will get away with it, a lot, but that one time will make it all not worth it.

BE IN CONTROL OF YOUR LASER AT ALL TIMES, it's a simple common sense guideline, hell put a simple RC toy sourced remote control kill switch on it at the very least.

But all else aside I have seen helicopters flying low come by my house and the audible warning time depends on their airspeed and altitude, they can come up low and fast so be in control of your laser, this is a good piece of advice, I do not agree with the stupid laws, but I don't want to see them get any worse.