What was your first Laser?

[Davidx]

Thought it would be interesting to hear how how and when we got started in this hobby.
My first laser was purchased at Radio Shack 20 years ago. Cost almost $100.
My friends were amazed that I owned a laser.

I tried a search thinking this was probably asked before, but I didn't find one

 

[NightExplorer96]

Dang, mine was a small green eBay pen I believe that I bought 3-4 years ago, not exactly sure. Cost me about $8 lol

-Alex

 

[GR3EN]

My first lasers were those of the cat toy/dollar store kind as a kid. Then moved up to a set of the cheap eBay pens and when I got those and used them at night for the first time and could actually seem the beam I was hooked. Seeing that beam is so satisfying to me.

 

[10fenny]

Ive loved lasers for years. But they were always too spendy for me. Little over a year ago i got an amazon 532 after seeing someone with one! They told me how cheap it was and i ordered on the next night!! I dont wand to think of how much has been spent since!!

 

[hwang21]

Started out with a red keychain pointer for presentations and whatnot. Probably 1mW or 2

Got a WL Evolution Pro 20mW, actually did 50-55mW. Bright green beam, pops balloons, melts plastics, lights matches? Hooked

 

[mwang]

First one was a red keychain pointer I bought at Fry's. Second one was an ~75 mW green pointer. Got hooked after that, and bought a 700 mW 445 nm.

 

[GSS]

I lived in MA near the NH border and would go to NH for tax free ciggs and bear and the liquer store had the first red lasers I ever saw with around 30 different caps that put out smilely faces to dollar signs. It cost around $40

 

[DashApple]

Laserwave 100mW 532nm lab system

 

[doubleone44]

A cheap laser pen from croatia. "100mW" of 532nm photons. It broke after two weeks, so I bought a cheap one on ebay after a TON of reading on here. Science is cool stuff.

 

[mortuus]

wicked lasers pen 40mW that i still have and works good, only host is a little miscolored now lol.. payed over 150$ back then.

 

[barthchris]

My first laser was from Radio Shack. It was I bought it in 1992!:wtf: Man, I getting old! I think it was 89$ on sale! Wavelength is 670nm, not sure though? I still have it and it still works.It takes two 1/2 size AAA 1.5V batteries.

NO BODY had a laser pointer back then, it was a lot of fun messing with people. I was a Freshman at the University of Maryland living in dorms. My room was on the tenth floor. I remember myself and a few buddies would point it out my window at the lawn below where people would be studying outside. We had hours of laughs screwing with people down there, I would point it at their books and they would go nuts trying to figure out what it was. It was especially fun at night since the laser was low power with no beam, no one could see where it was coming from. Yes, immature, I know but back then there weren't as many sources of entertainment.

The laser was probably less than 5mw but had low divergence so the dot would stay small at a distance. I would never do that nowadays since Im slightly more mature plus everybody knows what a laser pointer is, so it wouldn't have the same effect, and I would most likely be arrested for harassment, but remember the was 1992 and things were slightly different back then.

The thing I can believe is that the original batteries still work, that's freaking crazy that they haven't leaked or at least died in 23yrs!

 

[Lux Nitida]

My first laser was a flea-market purchase 18 or 19 years ago, it was a AAA-powered 670nm probably 3mw or so, fairly dark-red laser pointer from Clearline Concepts Corporation. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world at the time. Total garbage compared today and such a low useful range, not focusable, the beam diameter was huge after only a few hundred feet but to me it was awesome. I was only about 15 or 16 at the time but I started learning all I could about lasers and I was hooked from then on. Haven't thought about my first laser in quite some time, wish I still had it. Ah, the nostalgia lol, good question to ask.

 

[APEX1]

My first laser was a 650-660 1-3mw keychain laser lol That was around edit:15 years ago and my spark rekindled in the navy 5 or so years ago!

 

[Pman]

Radio Shack LX1000 also probably 1992 still have it but it finally gave out last year

 

[trussmonkey25]

I went all out. I had a Uniphase Novett 1 mw HeNe Laser back in 1984. I was ahead of times using it for Laser plumb Bob and level. I have to run two 100' cords to power it though. My stepfather thought it was so dangerous. Lol one millawatt??.

 

[Laser Chick]

About 12 years ago I bought a red laser from a science catalog for teachers. A real small diameter host as it uses 2 AAAA batteries. It is about 4mW, has a nice shiny silver host, pocket clip, a carry case with slots for the 2 batteries and the laser and the laser still works