Recent content by chuck

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    I just saw a RED laser beam at day time

    Of course...but the lower visibility of the red light, means that a visible beam requires a much higher mw rating. Anything common in the US, ie 5mw or less, won't be visible unless you have a major amount of smoke, smog, pollution, or dust in the air. -- Chuck Knight
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    I just realized something really horrible

    I was going to post some scathing comment...insulting, but just a little bit funny. Then I thought about it...this is not a joking matter. Everyone reading this... Please take a lesson from our new friend, Blinky. Don't look into a LASER device...EVER! -- Chuck Knight
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    Couple questions before I buy my first green laser...

    I have a red LASER from DX, and frankly, it's amazing. The build quality, and the brightness of the output is remarkable, especially for the price. I use it in a class that I teach. Now, green LASERs are a bit different. Here's the lowdown. Assume for a moment that it doesn't have an IR...
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    supercontinuum white light laser

    Continuous spectrum AND coherent?! How is that possible?! I'm really curious about this, as I thought this type of thing was impossible. Coherence requires the photons to move in lockstep, so how can photons of ALL frequencies in the visible spectrum move in lockstep? I've got to be missing...
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    PLAYING with my laser (LIGHT SHOW VIDEO)

    Looks like the same basic setup as the scanner from Spencers. I tried one (red) and it was very dim...but the output looked exactly like this. Sound sensitivity, and all. -- Chuck Knight
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    Laser pointer power levels and components

    I remember a side by side comparison article done on this forum, or LPF, that showed the difference in the crystals...and commented how heat would be an issue. Guess I extrapolated from that. So, from what you're telling me is that if I had the crystals available, I could misalign the crystals...
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    Laser pointer power levels and components

    The KTP crystal is likely to be larger in the higher powered one...if not, it risks thermal damage. The lens may or may not be the same... Same basic components...but beefed up for the higher power level. At those levels, you have to start worrying about heat. -- Chuck Knight
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    DX red LASER disassembly

    Thanks for the warning...nevertheless, I'd still like to get in there and mechanically reinforce the board/button, so it doesn't feel quite so spongy. Any hints for disassembly? -- Chuck Knight
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    Dealextreme "true" green versus green

    It's simple -- human beings can SEE green. IR is invisible to us, so where's the fun in that?! Seriously, that is part of it...but the other part is that green DPSS LASERs are actually IR LASERs that go through some crystals and get rebroadcast as green light. Pretty ingenious, really. BUT...
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    DX red LASER disassembly

    Someone posted, a while back, that he had disassembled this red pointer from DX. I have one (and it's very nice) but I don't see immediately how to disassemble it...could someone enlighten me? I want to have a little fun with it...and maybe completely re-engineer it. :grin2: I'll start...
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    Dealextreme 50 Mw laser

    IR filters remove IR leakage from around the crystal. A properly designed optical system should have almost no leakage, anyway...it's just an added safety feature. According to those numbers, it sounds like the leakage is extremely minimal. -- Chuck Knight
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    Dealextreme 50 Mw laser

    Huh?! With IR leakage of under 1mw (0.72mw) that's actually very good. At any distance involved with normal usage, since the IR is not collimated, I would think that it can be considered practically negligible. Am I mistaken? -- Chuck Knight
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    Laser virtual keyboard

    Oh, man...in grammar school, my best friend and I built a ZX-81. What wonderful memories...the thing never did work right with the case on it, but as a bare circuit board it was a phenomenal computer. Loved the membrane keyboard, too. ;-) I'm getting misty. -- Chuck Knight P.S. Did I...
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    hello first post and ir laser question

    Just for reference, the IR LASER in a standard CDROM drive (not even a burner) is between 1 and 5mw. A burner has a higher powered diode. Yes, I said CD drive...not DVD. DVDs use visible red diodes. Go to your local computer repair store and ask if they have a dead CDRW drive...harvest the...
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    Laser virtual keyboard

    I must admit, I LOVE that LASER keyboard, in principle. Can't imagine, though, actually using it. I have a physical bluetooth keyboard for my phone (Think Outside) and it works phenomenally well for when I do coding. Nothing like writing a web page, manually, while waiting at the dentist's...
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