Advice needed

[proaudioguy]

I would like to get a green laser that is powerful enough to see in the grass 200ft away in daylight. I need to have this mounted in an aluminum block and the beam needs to be parallel to the surface of the block. I would power this remotely with a hand held battery pack with a switch. 2 or 3 conductors at 24gauge would carry the power.

Where would I get such a laser, and how much would it cost?

This will be used in place of this

http://www.nexo-sa.com/user/data/GeoSight%20manual%20V1.pdf

I don't need the inclinometers. They get about $8k for this set. The lasers are not extremely bright, but they are very well aligned and you can see them in the sunlight if you are looking for them.

Here are the details in that manual for the laser they are using. I am quite ignorant on the subject. Thanks for the help.

Laser on--14 hours---Laser ClassClass 2 / IEC825 Wavelength532nmMaximum Output Power<5 mWBeam Diameter (1/e2)<1 mmBeam divergence<1.4mradMean

 

[Aseras]

A 5-10mw greenie would do it if you knew to look for it. if you could terminate the beam on a reflector it'd be MUCH brighter and much more visible in daylight.

 

[r0b0r]

Yeah that 3M reflective stuff that they use on safety vests would be a good idea

May aswell go for a 20mW module, not much pricier than a 10

 

[pseudonomen137]

Are you machining the black yourself or not? Most of these pen lasers will not have a beam that exist aperture completely straight so you would have to custom align everything. Perhaps take a cheap greenie module and make it portable?

Also it really depends on what you mean by visible. Against pavement, even my >150mW greenie can be eradicated after a few feet in bright daylight. Against grass though might improve things and you may even be able to make due with a <5mW atlasnova at well <$100 as the manual seems to indicate they aren't using any more than 5mW to begin with. Good luck

 

[abeland1]

http://www.atlasnova.com/APCModule.htm

Much better divergence, should perform well.

 

[stevetexas]

Are you trying to see the beam or the spot? If you're looking for the spot, 5mW should be more than enough.

As Abe was pointing out, better (lower) divergence means that the beam is tighter and that over a distance retains a greater amount of power per unit area than a unit with worse (higher) divergence.

Many of the units commonly sold on e-bay have divergences over 1.5 mRad. Using one with a divergence of 0.6 mRad would give you a longer range before having as large an apparent loss of power.

 

[SenKat]

I skimmed over the PDF file - what exactly is this used for ?

 

[proaudioguy]

Thanks for the advice so far guys. I'm going to try to address all your questions.

I am machining the block myself, or at least having it done. I'm not sure they will let me play with the equipment having no prior experience, but I'm going to try to make that happen. I have no doubt I can handle it.

I am only looking for the dot. I don't need to see the beam. I would never expect that in sunlight. My experience in the grass was at around 8am in FL on the east coast. The laser was pointing west so I wasn't facing the sunrise. We could see the beem which was spread a bit 200ft out on the grass easily. It was amazingly bright.

Without knowing the terms, you are all right. I would want it as tight as possible so it could have the best range. In a darker room I could get away with it spreading out a bit, but the alignment is absolutely critical regardless.

The unit the pdf is refering to is used on top of a line array of louadspeakers to help in the aiming process. There is an inclinometer as well. I have learned that if I get the hieght of the array correct then the laser is all I need to get the alignment where I need it. It would be cool to have the inclinometers, but they are very proud of them. 4 laser/ inclinometers and 1 reader with a set of 5 pin cables runs about $8,000. I'm buying this for personal use. I can't afford that, EVER! The companies that own the PAs should have these tools available but more often then not you show up and they don't have them. I'm just trying to make my job easier.

Several of the big concert touring companies mount lasers INSIDE the top speaker. This works pretty good too.

Thanks again, and if anyone else wants to pile on, I really appreciate it. I am completely ignorant about lasers but I'm learning with your help.

Here are some pictures of some lasers in action at one of my shows.

http://picasaweb.google.com/HBrillJr/UltraFest2007a

http://picasaweb.google.com/HBrillJr/UltraFest2007b

I don't normally do the raves, but I had 3 stages on this one. I don't know the name of the laser company.

 

[Aseras]

Any laser and a beam splitter would do it. You can get the ones that do an X. that would make it very easy to see. If you have help, a keychain red would be sufficient for spotting. especially if you have time to check. I was thinking you were going to do some kind of RSD stuff.