What introduced you into lasers?

[ska8r411]

Well I remember the first time I was amazed by lasers was in 8th Grade(in 9th right now)


It was me and my friend where in the computer lab at our school during art class(a blowoff class ) And we where in there doing a project
and we had been the very first ones finished,so i googled high powered lasers and it brought me to wickedlasers.com :-/. As soon as I saw it I was amazed.
And ever since then I have been amazed by lasers!

Then a while ago I rembembered that day and decided to google "Laser Pointer Forums" not the website itself,becuase I had never heard of this site,but...just forums about lasers!
My first High powered laser was purchased from daguin a while ago! ANd im totally in love with it!

[highlight]whats your stories?[/highlight]

 

[Tran]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

YouTube supposedly showed me how to 'convert' a low powered laser pointer into a high powered one. I've never tried it, and I wanted to do some research before I actually bought anything. After a few google searches I found this forum, yesterday, and I'm still here

 

[Switch]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

First time I saw a laser when I was like 6 or 7 years old at the university I'm studying now.My grandfather was a teacher there so he showed me around.It was a red HeNe ;D First time I saw a laser pointer I was amazed at how tiny it was (compared to the HeNe).And until a year ago I had no idea that such highpower lasers existed and so well known and accesible and DVD writers were a mistery to me, that's when i saw kipkay's video. And about 6 years ago when I was in the 9th grade I first heard about a green laser pointer when I saw it for sale on thinkgeek for 80 bucks or so.It was also the time when I first got internet into my own home.

 

[billg519]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

About a year and a half ago, I was looking at high voltage videos on youtube, and somehow came across a DVD laser video and a reference to LPF. I already had a couple of 5mw red 2 x AAA pointers, so a DVD red burner looked interesting. I looked through this forum for quite a while, and started to build lasers.

 

[LRMNmeyer]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

Two or three years ago, I saw some of DL's videos on Youtube. I wanted one, but couldn't get one at that time. Then, last summer, I came to this forum, and bought an X100 in October.

 

[potatorage]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

Random searching on DX, then came the impulsive buying...

 

[artix]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

I had a 1mW red pointer and I felt that I wanted something more... At that time, I was looking around ebay for a 5mW red pen style laser. My parents didn't trust ebay, so I had to look for something else.

Finally, I searched "high powered laser" on google and guess what came up. :

 

[Schrecken_Licht]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

Well, about 11 years ago I found myself unemployed for a period of time so in desperation I joined a temporary agency even if it meant doing menial work.  First I was placed at a packaging plant, and then when that job ended, I was then placed at a laser machine shop.

Being absolutely clueless about lasers (all I really knew about were lasers you see at rock concerts - the visible kind), I was totally dumbstruck the first few days there on the job.  I truly thought that the only place where lasers could cut thru thick metal was in sci-fi movies.....I just could not get enough of watching those multi-kilowatt CO2 lasers (and until then I had no idea of lasers with invisible beams!) slice thru metal, wood and plastic like a hot knife thru styrofoam.  They also had a couple of powerful YAG lasers there too.  I swear I would even spend parts of my breaks and lunch (unless it was really nice outside or I felt like chatting with my co-workers) watching the machining lasers in action.  I was totally hooked from then on.  Sadly I never got to actually work with the lasers (I was relegated to inspecting laser-welded car parts), but at least I got to see what went on there.

But back in those days, a 1 mw red pointer would set you back $50 or so....I know because I bought one in 1998.  So I soon quit that job for one that paid a whole lot better (and where I could actually do what I was trained to do), and forgot about lasers for the most part over the intervening years.

Well, a couple years ago I happened to be watching Future Weapons on Discovery Channel and that particular show was about directed energy weapons (microwaves, lasers, particle beams, etc).  That re-ignited my interest in lasers, and I started googling - and I'm sure you can guess what seller of high-powered laser pointers site I came across in my searches...I thought for sure that their claims of hand-held battery powered laser pointers being capable of lighting matches and burning things was bull hockey.   I knew my 1998 red pointer couldn't even burn a gnat, and I had no idea of how much technology had progressed in those several years after that.   So I did what lots of laser "noobs" end up doing and bought a 95mw green pointer from WL.  And then I soon found out that they weren't the only purveyors of powerful pointers + other companies had modules and lab lasers for sale as well at affordable prices.   And I've been adding to my collection ever since.

 

[mike666]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

I have always loved lasers as a kid. Vertually every Sci Fi film I ever watched had lasers in it, and I love Sci Fi.

But more recently, November 5th 2008 (Bonfire Night for us in the UK) we all went out to see a firework display. It was a foggy night but with the smoke from the fire and fireworks it was even more dense plus there was a fine rain in the air.

Anyway, I took my two 5mW reds out with me to use them in the fog. Then suddenly I saw this amazing green laser come from a car. It was sooooooo fu#@ing cool. It made my reds look rather lame by comparison.
I went over to the car to ask the guy what the hell he had, and he shown me his 20mW green pointer that he got from Ebay. He let me have a go and I was hooked.

That night, when we got home, I searched Ebay and found/brought two 50mW green pointers.
Got them about a week later as tried them out indoors and was even more impressed.

Then somehow, probably by doing a Google search or something (can't remember exactly) I came across this forum.

I read things, asked questions, learnt stuff, ect..... and now I am even more hooked.

 

[Snytbaggen]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

I guess I always have liked lasers, and I remember I bought a few of those El Cheapo 5mW red lasers with several front caps, and the coolest thing I had was a small gun with a laser and butane lighter ;D

About a year ago I was looking around on DealExtreme and found the lasers they had. At the time I thought their green lasers were expensive, but then the only thing I knew about lasers was that they made a colored dot on the wall and didn't know much of the differences between green and red lasers more than the color. I bought a cheap 5mW keychain laser and yeah, it was kinda cool. However, one foggy evening I was out with the dog and thought "Hmm... If I shine the laser up in the sky, will I see the beam?". I was like "OMGWTFBBQ COOL!". I started to look at lasers on DX, and came across the name "Laser Pointer Forums" in the forum several times. I decided to check it out, and the rest is history

 

[rocketparrotlet]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

I had heard about how cool green lasers are, because you could allegedly even see the beam at night! I didn't care much for red pointers back then (and I still don't; everyone has them, and they're not too cool.) So, I was talking about green lasers and how awesome they are to my brother.

A couple of days later, I came across an ad for green lasers in Popular Mechanics (ad by Amazing1); they were selling a 5mW laser for $60, and a 165mW laser for $500. The ad said that you could see the actual laser BEAM (unimaginable science fiction awesomeness!) for the 5mW, with a visibility range of 2 miles! I thought to myself, "I NEED that!" Then I saw the 165mW..."Visibility range only limited by the curvature of the Earth. Capable of lighting matches and popping balloons."

I was hopelessly drawn in now, with no escape. I just HAD to have a green laser! An eBay search led me to the 1,600 or so results for "green laser", and I found one for $13 shipped and insured! I was psyched! I got my laser and OH MAN was it awesome! I screwed with the crosscountry team quite a bit...and it was foggy that night! EPIC!

So I started looking more into it. I was searching eBay some more, and I realized that burning lasers could be obtained for about $150! I needed one of them! So I thought, "Why are they so expensive? There must be a way to make them for less!"

But I needed a tutorial. After drooling at Wickedlasers and Dragonlasers, then recoiling at their prices, I decided that building a laser would be the best choice. But I didn't know how.

I knew Youtube would have an answer. Immediately, I happened on Kipkay and Reisyboy's videos on how to make a burning laser for pretty cheap. I found out soon that Reisyboy's was a fake, so I brooded on how to obtain the parts for a burning laser without my parents knowing. I was going to use Kipkay's video guide, but I ran into a problem. After realizing that Aixiz modules were only sold online, I was in a bad situation. (My parents were paranoid at the time about my green laser.) So I just sucked it up and talked to my dad about it. Unexpectedly, he said it was okay, and agreed to help me on building it!

I watched Kipkay's video over and over again, and found a link to Styropyro's laser video! Styropyro's video helped me realize that Kipkay was wrong, and Styropyro included a link to www.laserpointerforums.com for if I was confused. He said they had great tutorials on there, so I decided to check it out. I registered immediately, and began browsing around. But even after an hour straight of reading tutorials, stickies, and FAQ's, I could not make anything out of them. All the technical information and abbreviations had me unbelievably confused.

My first posts were requests for help, very patchy threads about how to build a burning laser, what parts I would need, what the terms and abbreviations meant, etc. I am deeply in debt to those who helped me, especially Jayrob and Mikeeey.

After a couple months of trying to make sense of things, I decided I was ready to start making a burning laser. I spent a couple weeks desperately trying to understand the tutorials, and making post after post requesting help. I was about to give up, as I couldn't figure out the information I needed. Just in time, Jayrob and Mikeeey helped me with problem after problem, and all of my misconceptions were eventually resolved.

Using Jayrob's "MXDL Side-Button Tutorial", I ordered the necessary parts and started to build the laser with my dad. Jayrob helped me along the way as I encountered many problems. But through perseverence and the devoted help of a patient and helpful forum member, my dad and I finally managed to build the laser. It was one of the most worthwhile projects I have ever attempted, and I'm so glad I stuck with it through to the end!

A special thanks goes out to the dedicated forum members Jayrob and Mikeeey. You have helped me make my unattainable dream a tangible reality.

-Mark

 

[DTMF]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

the movie tron when i saw that movie as a kid my eye's pop'd out of my head . man i wish i had these when i was a kid

 

[laserwanabe]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

youtube

 

[digital_blue]

Re: What introduced  you into lasers?

I was disassembling a CD-ROM drive approx 7 years ago when I bumped across the laser diode. Before I had a chance to power it up, I dropped it and broke the window ... A few years later in picked up a NeHe tube and PSU at a local surplus shop. Ever since then, I've been hooked...