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I dont mean that thread title to start an argument or to upset anyone. Not at all. My concern is: What do you do with your new laser(s) to keep yourself from getting bored, so that the purchase didnt seem too frivolous? Here's why I ask this question:
I'd always been into gemstones since I was a kid after we stopped at a roadside gem store and do-it-yourself mining/panning spot in the N.C. mountains.
So years later, I decided to start buying and collecting faceted/cut gems, of every type/variety/color I could find. I hooked up with a few sources out of Thailand(colored gem hub of the world), and was able to buy stones at a small fraction of their value. But It was still an EXPENSIVE hobby, and took about 12 years or so, and I pretty much stopped buying them about 4 years ago. I had bought sapphires, emeralds, rubies, opals, tourmalines, rare garnets, kunzites, aquamarines, morganites, spinels, etc. I bought 2 large, flat trays with separate compartments for each stone with a clear lid.
It was cool initially, and it was fun to show it to people who got a kick out of it, especially girls/women, but as I spent more money and I realized it could be stolen and I'd be out a lot of money, I became worried about it. Now it sits in a safe deposit box in my bank, where nobody can see it, not even me. Even before I put it in the bank, it had become a bit boring. There's only so much excitement you can get from looking at them over and over. I'm not saying that I wish I wouldnt have bought them in the 1st place, as I love the collection, but it was money I couldve spent elsewhere on something more useful.
I got my 1st lasers last week, and they were really cool! I went out and shined them on trees, signs, buildings, etc. I take them out at least once each night to check them out. But its already starting to get a little boring.
I want to buy a 1W 445nm blue, and a 200-400mW 532nm green, but the 2 will cost around $360 from O-like, and much more if I bought them from a more "high end" laser supplier.
I really dont want to spend that money if I'm going to run out of interesting stuff to do with them in a matter of hours. So, I assume I am just too new to this that I am just not yet familiar with all the different stuff you can do with them. I have a few high-end, production LED flashlights, and they arent real cheap, but they do come in handy almost every day(night), so they are a more justifiable purchase to me.
I know there are probably many people here who have no such issues with their lasers, such as boredom or not being useful, because there are people here who build them and/or use them in their work or day to day activities. Plus, they probably buy enough parts that they get their own lasers for free or almost free after selling the rest. Therefore it all works out for them.
So what do you do to keep yourself interested in your laser purchases, and do you still find a use for them regularly, or do they wind up on a shelf unused after a little while?
PS: Sorry this thread was a bit long, I just didnt want to come off sounding like I was bashing the hobby in any way, and felt I needed to explain my point so nobody was offended.:thanks:
I'd always been into gemstones since I was a kid after we stopped at a roadside gem store and do-it-yourself mining/panning spot in the N.C. mountains.
So years later, I decided to start buying and collecting faceted/cut gems, of every type/variety/color I could find. I hooked up with a few sources out of Thailand(colored gem hub of the world), and was able to buy stones at a small fraction of their value. But It was still an EXPENSIVE hobby, and took about 12 years or so, and I pretty much stopped buying them about 4 years ago. I had bought sapphires, emeralds, rubies, opals, tourmalines, rare garnets, kunzites, aquamarines, morganites, spinels, etc. I bought 2 large, flat trays with separate compartments for each stone with a clear lid.
It was cool initially, and it was fun to show it to people who got a kick out of it, especially girls/women, but as I spent more money and I realized it could be stolen and I'd be out a lot of money, I became worried about it. Now it sits in a safe deposit box in my bank, where nobody can see it, not even me. Even before I put it in the bank, it had become a bit boring. There's only so much excitement you can get from looking at them over and over. I'm not saying that I wish I wouldnt have bought them in the 1st place, as I love the collection, but it was money I couldve spent elsewhere on something more useful.
I got my 1st lasers last week, and they were really cool! I went out and shined them on trees, signs, buildings, etc. I take them out at least once each night to check them out. But its already starting to get a little boring.
I want to buy a 1W 445nm blue, and a 200-400mW 532nm green, but the 2 will cost around $360 from O-like, and much more if I bought them from a more "high end" laser supplier.
I really dont want to spend that money if I'm going to run out of interesting stuff to do with them in a matter of hours. So, I assume I am just too new to this that I am just not yet familiar with all the different stuff you can do with them. I have a few high-end, production LED flashlights, and they arent real cheap, but they do come in handy almost every day(night), so they are a more justifiable purchase to me.
I know there are probably many people here who have no such issues with their lasers, such as boredom or not being useful, because there are people here who build them and/or use them in their work or day to day activities. Plus, they probably buy enough parts that they get their own lasers for free or almost free after selling the rest. Therefore it all works out for them.
So what do you do to keep yourself interested in your laser purchases, and do you still find a use for them regularly, or do they wind up on a shelf unused after a little while?
PS: Sorry this thread was a bit long, I just didnt want to come off sounding like I was bashing the hobby in any way, and felt I needed to explain my point so nobody was offended.:thanks: