# Practical reasons for owning a laser?



## R.ticle One (Dec 22, 2008)

Everyone - I must add this preface before beginning: This is not intended to flame anyone! I am honestly curious about this question.

What are your practical reasons for owning lasers? What do they get used for (other than the balloon popping, match lighting, shining through smoke or fog for a neat effect, glow-in-the-dark-material writing, marble blasting things that I've seen)?

Sure, many would question the practical need for the good flashlights we love here, if you can easily see your way with a 20 dollar hardware store light versus a hundred and fifty dollar aluminum beauty or a five hundred dollar outrageous lumens wall of light - but to me it makes sense to invest in a quality light, because you want to count on it when you need it - even if we may take it a bit overboard. 

But lasers? What practical situations do you find yourselves using them in? I can imagine military, astronomy, and maybe lecturing.

What do most of you do with your lasers?

Serious question. I find them very neat, and the "tricks" you can do with them are impressive, but I can't imagine needing one as much as a good flashlight. Perhaps for some, the "tricks" are reason enough, and that's fine.

Thanks for your answers!

Cheers,

R.ticle One

Edited because I just saw that sticky eye damage thread - that's one scary aspect about owning one that could bother me. I know. I read "take the batteries out when cleaning!". Still, that sounds like an awful accident.


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## VillageIdiot (Dec 23, 2008)

Quite simply, lasers for the average joe are largely a hobby and for fun, like video games. Flashlights are a necessity, but some people on here have stretched that into a collection or a hobby because it's fun. And I know you're not trying to diss lasers. Lasers are very relevant scientifically and in experiments etc, but they are not nearly useful enough day-to-day to EDC or anything like that. They're just big boy's toys, really, you know like R/C.

Edit: Some people actually use lasers in different wavelengths for their job, but that's rare. I know that blu-ray lasers are better than UV LEDs for GITD.


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## JB3 (Dec 23, 2008)

"Equipped to Survive" a non-profit, educational website ( http://www.equipped.org/ ) states that a laser is, and can be, a very good signaling device in emergency situations. 
Might be good to throw one in your survival pack .... 
I dunno ... maybe .... :candle:


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## Yoda4561 (Dec 23, 2008)

I hear the green ones are popular in astronomy type stuff as it's easy to "point" with the easily visible beam to help people find a constelation/ messier object.


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## Light Sabre (Dec 23, 2008)

JB3 said:


> "Equipped to Survive" a non-profit, educational website ( http://www.equipped.org/ ) states that a laser is, and can be, a very good signaling device in emergency situations.
> Might be good to throw one in your survival pack ....
> I dunno ... maybe .... :candle:


 


I put one of Targets $5 laser pointers in my flashlight kit (multiple types of flashlights) in my car for emergencies. Got the idea from someone who posted a link to a website about a signaling laser so that search aircraft can find you better. It was a $100 tho. You wouldn't want to point a laser pointer directly at the plane or helicopter, but would make you more visible if you kept moving it around and pointing at nearby objects. Would work great in dense fog at night if there were an accident. Monochromatic light shines further thu fog than white light. I live in Boulder CO which is right up against the mountains. There are several twisty turny 2 lane roads thru the canyons. Cars drive off the edge of the road from time to time. If someone doesn't see it happen you can be stuck in a ravine out of sight, possibly injured and can't make it back up the embankment, or worse trapped in your car. A laser pointer could be used to signal passing vehicles. I keep my flashlight kit in the passenger compartment for above reasons.


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## ks_physicist (Dec 23, 2008)

I use them for lecturing and presentations, for optics demonstrations and labs, for Lissajous figure demonstrations, for small deflection measurement, and anything else I think of.

Haven't done holography yet, but it is on my radar.


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## 2xTrinity (Dec 23, 2008)

Here are the following applications I've personally used lasers for:

Handheld Lasers:


Aligning/Leveling
Presentations (any laser sufficient)
Optics Demonstrations
Star pointing (5mW green sufficient)
Focusing cameras for night photos
Fixed lasers:


Holography
Making pretty 3D pictures
Making diffractive optical elements (functionally similar to lenses)
 
Lithography (UV Lasers)
Manufacturing semiconductor devices, and other structures with very small (<1 micron) features
 
Laser Light Shows
Optical Data Links
Both freespace and optical-fiber varieties

While there's little reason to own lasers for lithography or data links privately, I know of some people who have set up DIY holography setups for making 3d art.


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## R.ticle One (Dec 23, 2008)

Thank you guys, 

I had since thought of emergency signaling, but had not considered the other uses listed. I can understand having "toys" to play with, but I'm happy to see that some are also putting them to a wide variety of other uses!

R.ticle One


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## allthatwhichis (Dec 24, 2008)

2xTrinity said:


> Laser Light Shows


 
:twothumbs:thumbsup:


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## TITAN1833 (Dec 24, 2008)

The red 5mw lasers can be used by doormen to point out potential trouble makers in a night club.


And of coarse for everything that has been said so far :twothumbs


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## Yoda4561 (Dec 24, 2008)

I hear the low power red ones are great for playing with cats?


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## TITAN1833 (Dec 24, 2008)

Yoda4561 said:


> I hear the low power red ones are great for playing with cats?


LOL If that is the case,I hope people who do this try playing with the 300lb+ cats first :laughing:


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## allthatwhichis (Dec 24, 2008)

My cats seem to see the 405nm much better than red. I don't play with them, well maybe one or two chases down the hall if I am pulling it out for no reason, but it is too powerfull to "play with any animals with. They will chase most any of them, but they seem to be interested in the 405 and 594 hene the most.


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## VillageIdiot (Dec 25, 2008)

My mum collects rocks, to put it very bluntly, and seeing if some of them fluoresce (I hate that word) is fun.

The little lines on this rock glow hot pink under 405nm. The lines are normally a dull maroon. 







Badly captured on cam, but this lil rock glows bright pink while all the others have no reaction. Amethyst tower btw.


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## Superdave (Dec 25, 2008)

Yoda4561 said:


> I hear the low power red ones are great for playing with cats?


 

Yes, i have 5 cats and they go completely nuts when the laser comes out. They even know the jingle of the chain and come running.


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## roadie (Dec 27, 2008)

err hmmm usage for pointing out one box out of the tons of boxes in a warehouse?


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## LuxLuthor (Dec 28, 2008)

To shoot down incoming missiles.


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## Milos (Dec 29, 2008)

LuxLuthor said:


> To shoot down incoming missiles.


..and hostile UFOs 

I use lasers as flash light (when i spread beam slightly with manualy focusable front lens), and as distance check in thick fog. Flash lights just don't cut it as they make fog glow and light disperses in fog within few meters. With laser, it can penetrate further and give me sense of better orientation and safety in woods. 

that, and many other uses mentioned or not mentioned above:wave:


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## Me+Light=Addiction (Dec 29, 2008)

I have a 105 mW greenie just for fun. Love taking it on vacation and amaze everybody who walkes by. I would say: If you have some money, just get one, last long and are really fun. They aren't really practical, that's why I have plenty of flashlights:nana::devil::thumbsup:

Once I the power went out in the whole city for aprox 2 hours, and I would have been bored like hell but with the laser it went by fast. (It was incredible dark on the streets.:devil:

:candle:


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## csshih (Dec 29, 2008)

ugh. ca legal is a no no.


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## Glasstream15 (Dec 30, 2008)

My cats tired of the laser in about 30 seconds. That's how long it took them to realize that there was nothing on that wall. And you want to be sure you don't shine in their eyes.

I do have a CAT laser on my Kel-Tec PF9 and a Streamlight TLR2 Light/Laser on my Glock 19. Quick target aquisition and some intimidation from that infamous red dot.


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## stangliter04 (Dec 30, 2008)

I have one mounted on the rail of my AR-15 but thats just for show. I also use a green laser on mt telescope.


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## Th232 (Jan 4, 2009)

Personally, just pointing at stuff. Pity we've had a spate of jerks shining them at aircraft cockpits recently. Our legislation now lists under "prohibited weapons":



> (8) A laser pointer, or any other similar article, that consists of a hand-held battery-operated device with a power output of more than 1 milliwatt, designed or adapted to emit a laser beam and that may be used for the purposes of aiming, targeting or pointing.



ONE milliwatt?!?:sigh:

That said, it's pretty fun using the class IV at work.


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## MaxIcon (Jan 5, 2009)

Another vote for cat utility. 

We usually use a red laser to play with them, so there's less risk to them if the get an eyefull, but I used my 50mw green laser the other night when one of the cats got a price sticker on his fur and freaked out, not letting anyone near him in the back yard. I used the green laser to keep him distracted while my wife approached him from behind and calmed him down.

A small victory, to be sure, but important to a serious gadget fiend. She was using my P2D EDC flashlight to find him, for bonus points. "See, honey, this stuff is very useful sometimes!" :twothumbs


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## luvlasers (Jan 9, 2009)

One of my favorites is Avian Dispersal, another way of saying scaring birds.

Apparently this is big business now with many councils paying pest controllers good money to scare birds. What a way to combine business with pleasure :thumbsup:


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## Rattlebars (Jan 10, 2009)

One use:

I'm looking into ways to upgrade this to green, but I think the housing is way too small. Laserlyte SCv2  is between the NiteCore EX-10 and the XD-9 Sub-compact rail.


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## SemiMan (Jan 16, 2009)

Use a mid-power 30mW waterproof green for snorkeling. It is very hard to point to specific things when you are snorkeling/diving with just just a hand/finger. The laser will penetrate deep enough to point out specific objects.

Semiman


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## Illum (Jan 25, 2009)

Yoda4561 said:


> I hear the green ones are popular in astronomy type stuff as it's easy to "point" with the easily visible beam to help people find a constellation/ messier object.



+1, and don't forget the NCG objects!

*Astronomy*:


Before the greenies conventional red lasers can't project a beam to point at stars, some astronomers actually made masks for non-astronomers to wear that references a specific constellation, cluster, nubula, star, etc to something bright enough to include in the scope field. After the greenies came about explaining what and what becomes very easy.
Alignments to stars have become easier now that lasers can be fixed to scopes and pointed to the stars. For those who do not have "go-to" devices, its probably the easiest way to point your scope toward something of interest.
*Geography*:


lasers are still best to point out certain things, especially if your on a hill and pointing out geographic regions down hill. I've seen someone use a greenie in the grand canyon pointing out trails on the cliff side
*Science*: 


First time I've seen a greenie used in a classroom was the professor demonstrating the internal reflection properties of water by sending the beam through a tube fixed to the bottom of the water tank and allows the water to flow out through the tube and bending the laser beam inside it.
Modulated Visible Diode Lasers can transmit voice or video over air
Collimated lasers allow precise manufacturing of optics by visualizing how light bend instead of applying theoretical physics at demonstrations
Spectroscopy: like LEDs, lasers emit near-monochromatic light and depending on how they are produced the wavelength of the laser can be confined to a range useful depending on the applications needs.
*Animal control*:


Although I do not agree with the practice, they do disperse birds but attracts cats and dogs. Birds can be more humanly dispersed by drilling holes on sides of CDs and hanging them around the perimeter of the place, there is a thing called cat nip for cats and ropes for dogs.
*Machining*: 


Class IV cutting lasers [CO2, He-Ne, etc] may be used to cut, engrave, or otherwise modify materials in machining. Stuff such as http://www.dynamiclaser.com/ tells alot about this sort of thing.

Since what the individual as a buyer's profession may be, its hard to pinpoint what that individual may use the laser for. but above are some of the many practical applications for a portable laser


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## dilbert (Jan 25, 2009)

LuxLuthor said:


> To shoot down incoming missiles.



I'm waiting for the hand held version.

Airborne Laser (ABL)
"The Airborne Laser (ABL) will locate and track missiles in the boost phase of their flight, then accurately point and fire the high-energy laser, destroying enemy missiles near their launch areas."


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## Flying Turtle (Jan 26, 2009)

Try holding your laser on top of binocs. as you view something in the distance. With a bit of repositioning you can fairly accurately zap a target you can barely see with your eye. Not of any real use, but adds to the fun.

Geoff


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## eddienyr (Jan 26, 2009)

rattlebars

Have you found a green laser to swap into your rig yet? I have an XD45 that I want to do the same thing


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## HamboneOR (Jan 27, 2009)

I use one for night map & compass. A laser works really well to keep you (& your team) on your bearing. And, yeah, for emergency signalling at night.


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## moefuzz (Jan 29, 2009)

Lasers are just another fascinating learning tool to keep my inquisitive side busy.

A thirst for knowledge and of course then the fun factor of adding lenses/prisms/mirrors/motors/gratings/audio...


I'm by no means a electronics minded person but science/light is my current fascination, -I guesss I need to know why things work and then how I can make use of them in an attempt to fill up and occupy my unused braincells. 

What I really want to do is build a laser light show for my hotrod garage.. I am currently working on a ruebens tube to accent the stereo in the garage. A laser light show would be a natural next step, then maybe a tesla coil and a UV strobe (just bought 1000 UV leds). 
All are just hobbies as well as learning tools (including building hotrods and restoring classic cars)..


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## HexCore (Feb 11, 2009)

Hi,

I think I have the best reason to own and use a laser. 
I'm colorblind and also a climber.
When you climb indoor, you have to stick to one color per route. With my laser, people who belay me can show me the holds I have to use.

And it works great :twothumbs


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## Me+Light=Addiction (Feb 15, 2009)

Alot of people ask why people would buy lasers whurt $200+.
I can totally understand that.
I just play around with it, burn stuff, looking how far it can get, etc. etc. No real practical use.
But it is my number 1 holiday "toy"
Every year we go "camping" (crappy caravan) and go from camping to camping and I just anoy people  Shine at there back and when they look stop shining, real childish I know but real fun 
I entertaint multiple small kids on campings aswell, they are fascinated by them and they try smash the dot, so I let them RUN!!!! Hehe:devil:
Real fun, but hey, I don't need 5 pairs of $100 boots so with a $200 laser I make profit!!! ...kinda... if you get my point.


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## bshanahan14rulz (Feb 27, 2009)

holography is really cool. all you need is a laser, holographic plates, stuff to hold these things in place, and chemicals to develop it after exposure. maybe some black spraypaint to make it easier to see the hologram. Very cool project. I used the glass plates but you can also get the film version. 

Also, I don't know if you guys know this, but green lasers are good for confusing zombies. Zombies are naturally attracted to noise, light, and brains. if you shine a strong laser at a zombie, first thing they will do is come straight for you. but they will have a dot in their vision that they will think is light and they will just keep moving towards the "light." This gives you time to get out of the way.


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## Glasstream15 (Feb 27, 2009)

bshanahan14rulz said:


> Also, I don't know if you guys know this, but green lasers are good for confusing zombies. Zombies are naturally attracted to noise, light, and brains. if you shine a strong laser at a zombie, first thing they will do is come straight for you. but they will have a dot in their vision that they will think is light and they will just keep moving towards the "light." This gives you time to get out of the way.


 

No, this gives you time to put about 5 shots from the Glock the laser is attached to in the head of the zombie and then line up on the next one.


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## bshanahan14rulz (Feb 27, 2009)

I'm not lucky enough to own any "power tools" like that..... yet.....

I definitely need to get one soon, though. I haven't seen many zombies lately, but something tells me the day is near.


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## hyperloop (Mar 1, 2009)

got myself a 30mw green laser off DX and love it to bits, am very careful with it as i dont think its shielded and i dont want to hurt myself or anyone else.

For playing with cats, think red is better, my dog doesnt react to green but does to the red laser i got.

Uses: 

1. pointing out the spot where a fish jumped (at night) so we can cast there (or as near as possible).

2. pointing out faults in renovation works near the ceiling (used in conjunction with bright LED lights)

3. signalling friends across a big and crowded fishing pond so they know where we are (or we can use the strobe on my Jet III Pro ST)

4. its just fun to own


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## axd (Apr 3, 2010)

Me+Light=Addiction said:


> Every year we go "camping" (crappy caravan) and go from camping to camping and I just anoy people  Shine at there back and when they look stop shining, real childish I know but real fun



Problem is that this will help ban lasers from private possession. Because some people see such "funny stuff" and also want it, buy lasers without documenting themselves on the things, and then they get involved in this.

And you can never be sure yo might not hit someone by accident. I assume your 200$ laser is powerful enough to damage eyes.

I handle a laser like it's a weapon: it is not to be aimed - even remotely - at people, even with the safety lock on it.


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## Databyter (Apr 3, 2010)

When I used to work in a Shipyard Pipe shop, nothing I have ever found showed the quality of the inside of a straight pipe like a 5mw red laser (I have much more powerful ones, and green but they are too bright for this). 

The polerised light pointed into the tube towards the side a bit shows reflective patterns all the way down as it goes through the pipe. 

I got to be sort of an expert in reading those patterns to determine which pipes were likely to cause me problems on pipe bending machines where a mandrel is held near the bend point on the interior of a pipe and the pipe slides past it as it bends around a die. For some materials (and some chinese manufacturers) it was a chore to not bust a pipe or a mandrel tip.

Some of the pipes had manufacturing defects (fine for water but not for bending) that were almost impossible to detect from the inside or outside with any kind of light, but with the highly polerized laser light you could actually see the bulges or lop-sidedness amplified in the patterns and skip the risky stock. a non polerised light such as a flashlight or even a borescope wouldn't show the web like patterns that were full of information to the discerning eye.

It was a skill and technique I discovered by screwing around to be honest, but after I started to check all my pipes that way a few other guys started to do it as well. For all I know this technique is still being used. Your not looking at the bright reflection, but the weaker ghosting patterns that seem to show the surface texture and roundness amplified quite a bit.

I also just like the tech. of lasers, I've always been fascinated by handheld size lasers. It's truley amazing how far we have come.


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## blasterman (Apr 14, 2010)

I work for two local animal shelters that house 150 free roaming cats between them.

My 60mw DX is a necessary tool for animal excercise. Cats typically won't bother with hardware store variety red pointers, but they'll go insane over the 60mw. As soon as I walk in the door, they are all over me waiting for me to pull out the 'cat toy'.


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## Glasstream15 (Apr 14, 2010)

That is both a great service and a great appliction of your laser.

Thank you.


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## Fulgeo (Apr 14, 2010)

One of the most practical lasers I own takes the form of a bore sight. You can also use it to play with the cat, but sometimes I worry about damaging his eyesight. Although I have to admit the cat does not look at the light directly.


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## sandcrab (Apr 22, 2010)

I use a red laser pointer every day at work, I work for Honeywell doing shot
peening and cleaning. I use the laser to set up my machines and verify that
the nozzles are the correct distance from the parts. You stick the pointer in
the nozzle and shoot a beam onto the test panels. So sometimes lasers arn't
just for fun. :thumbsup:


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## KasualObserver (Apr 30, 2010)

My cats and my dog love our 5mW red lasers - never tire of it. Neither do my kids I use 5mW green lasers for presentations and for business gifts.


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## uk_caver (May 14, 2010)

Mosquito defence?

http://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gadgets/backyard-star-wars


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## DrQuantum (May 15, 2010)

Yes, surface to air lazer defense. Perhaps mosquitoes and antiant colony zappers are next.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...US-military-develops-anti-aircraft-laser.html


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## boondongle (May 16, 2010)

For rescue purposes or distance signaling, you really need a laser that projects a line, rather than a dot, as I understand it. Trying to hit a target at a distance with a laser is difficult, and you can pretty much forget signaling a search aircraft.


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## lolipopo (May 28, 2010)

Yoda4561 said:


> I hear the green ones are popular in astronomy type stuff as it's easy to "point" with the easily visible beam to help people find a constelation/ messier object.


yep,absolutly right,star pointer,green laser is my fav:naughty:


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## Tachikoma (May 29, 2010)

Most common reason for me too, star pointing, but 1 year ago I started using my Spyder II for an added wow effect in my Resident Evil costuming group:
http://www.umbrellaitalia.com/gallery/cartoomics2010/13.jpg


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## bshanahan14rulz (Jun 1, 2010)

Don't forget, somebody has to run those lasers at raves and whatnots. I doubt some jimbo x-popping, acid-tripping punk's also going to be programming scan routines and calculating power on surface and stuff like that...


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## Steve K (Jun 2, 2010)

another good reason: object detection!
http://www.velodyne.com/lidar/

admittedly, not that necessary if you don't have a robotic vehicle guiding itself, but still a cool gadget! 

The only reason I mention it is that I expect to be doing a little work with one of these in the near future... should be interesting!

Steve K.


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## cheapbastard (Jun 3, 2010)

> Practical reasons for owning a laser?



If you are the US Navy you can use lasers to vaporize stuff
http://www.news.com.au/technology/us-brings-drone-down-with-laws-raygun/story-e6frfro0-1225874886708


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## shipwreck (Jun 3, 2010)

I have one on my PS90 carbine. My optic is set for 50 yards, but the laser is set for about 7-10 yards. It would be for indoor self defense purposes (closer than the optic sight in distance)


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## Cataract (Jun 3, 2010)

boondongle said:


> For rescue purposes or distance signaling, you really need a laser that projects a line, rather than a dot, as I understand it. Trying to hit a target at a distance with a laser is difficult, and you can pretty much forget signaling a search aircraft.


 

I tried a green 50mW laser with my cousin from view points at about a mile away at night. We could see the incoming beam better than our own outgoing beam. I figure that you could easily attract a pilot's attention by pointing close to his aircraft, but you do need to point TOWARDS your target at a fairly close angle (+/- 10 yards left or right from the observer). If you don't point close enough, there is no way anyone would see the beam, except perhaps if it is really really dark around (can't see your own hand type of dark). For that reason, I don't think it would be much help if you're stuck in a ditch where people can't see you, but you could still point at trees over their heads.

I also got his attention by pointing it in the field next to the path he was walking at about the same distance. I needed my binoculars to point properly, but he did stop and called me on the walkie-talkie even though he didn't know I was going to do that.


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## TooManyGizmos (Jun 5, 2010)

luvlasers said:


> One of my favorites is Avian Dispersal, another way of saying scaring birds.
> 
> Apparently this is big business now with many councils paying pest controllers good money to scare birds. What a way to combine business with pleasure :thumbsup:



I don't understand how a green laser would scare birds .............

Can anyone explain ?

If so ..... I need one to scare heavy pelicans and large cranes off the top of my pool cage . They ruin the screen and it's costly to repair their damage .

Would it require 50mW ?

Thanks ~


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