First Annual SouthEast Laser Enthusiasts Meeting

Ok - maybe the title of this post is a bit premature, but there definitely seems to be some interest in having a get-together for laserists on the East coast.

Several destinations have been kicked around, but based on the Frapper data it seems like Atlanta, GA would be a pretty good place to start.

Several people have also requested that we schedule this in the Summer so it won't conflict with the school year.

So, with the above in mind, I propose a meeting in Atlanta this summer over the weekend of June 17th and 18th. I don't know much about the city (only been there twice), but Spec surely would be able to suggest several locations were we could get together.

I'm thinking something along the lines of a conference room or ball room at a hotel. We can collect an attendance fee in advance from everyone, and that will pay for the meeting room. Guests can choose to stay at the hotel, or stay elsewhere with friends or family.

Comments? Suggestions? Other ideas? Come on people, let's do this!

I like the title, sounds official. As such: it must be done ;)

Im definitely game! That weekend looks good.

Im partial to the Atlanta location... I dont really like Atlanta but its damn sure local, i would have an easier time transporting the toys... all of them.

I will look into hotels in a decent neighborhood with adequate ballroom space, no windows and no problems with foggers/hazers being used.

Usually when organizing get togethers hotels cut deals on rooms... I will definately look into that.

Its a bit early but I think it would be nice to have a Photondream16, Pangolin,Alphalite, and other such dacs set up for testing/comparison... I dont think thats ever been done before: even at an ILDA conference...

I'll bring the bar with me... got about 50 bottles of stuff and mixers in my personal home bar and enough scotch to placate even the most demading native...

Lets all figure this one out. Even if we dont accomplish a damned thing, could be fun ;)

sounds pretty cool !!

I wonder if my girl will let me go alone on a weekend trip 800miles away from home ;)

Spec;

Thanks for offering to step up to the plate and investigate room space for us! As for providing for a bar - I think everyone can help out there by bringing a little "something" to keep everyone in good spirits. (Pun intended)

I'll bring everything I've got - so long as we've got room and power to run it all. I figure I'll need three 20-amp, 110 volt circuits.

Power is an important point. Some people might be willing to bring their larger-frame argon lasers, but they would need 3 phase power for that. Not sure if that's an option in most hotels. Might have to limit the equipment to air-cooled single phase stuff that is 220 volt or lower... (Though closed-loop water-cooled equipment should be OK too.) Either way though, we really ought to take a survey of everyone's power needs up front, so we don't end up only being able to run one or two lasers at a time...

I especially like the idea of setting up comparisons between different hardware. I'm sort of thinking that this could be set up similar to a swap meet or a flea market... (Not literally, mind you, just the general layout.) Something like: everyone has a table, or a couple tables, where they set up their stuff, and we all take turns geeking out with other people's stuff and demonstrating our own equipment...

I've never been to an ILDA conference, so I'm not sure how to organize the whole thing. Then again, at present we're only talking about 6 or 7 people, so we probably don't need a written agenda - we can just wing it. Still, if anyone has any suggestions, now is the time to kick ideas around.

I'd really like to be able to swap show files, too. I'll probably bring a couple computers - one to run my alphalite projector and another as a backup. If I can get one of my Amiga's running with the LD1000 software, I might bring one of them too. I've also got that hard drive *full* of frames from that Eclipse Technologies projector, and if I can somehow figure out how to translate those files into .ILDA format, I'll have them available as well. I'll bring an ethernet switch and some cable, so we can network our PC's and trade animations, ilda files, etc... (I know I've got an 8-port 100mbit switch lying around here somewhere!)

Adam

sounds very cool, too bad I live in europe :D

:D Only need one 15 amp /120 v outlet. I probably have the smallest setup. Can operate from a end table. I would love to get Spec to figure out a way for me to share files....I can import and export ilda files. I have to convert frame by frame if it is not a .Q file. I think this is tied to Riya. Anyone thought of some type of trinkets ot shirt/ hat thing? Show logo? Possible that a civic center or the like would be easier to obtain power needs. Public or private issues need to be dealt with.......someone walks { hotel staff} in and zap! Needs to be controlled. I am ready to head south. A conference room in the hotel might be good. Some of those rooms are pretty large. Would be nice if they all had white walls !

<<<<<<<<< SELEM 2006 >>>>>>>>>

SELEM! SouthEastern Laser Enthusiasts Meeting! Perfect! (Now all we need is a cool logo...)

Good point about the need to keep the hotel staff out. We could place a sign on the door that says "do not disturb" or something like that. I'd hate to have to post a guard just to prevent someone from barging into the room.

As far as sharing files - I'm not familiar with the .Q file specification... Is Riya the only hardware/software you use? From their website it looks like they support ILDA files...

As for the walls - well, if they're not white we can always hang some sheets up! I agree that it would be good to have a large area to throw beams and graphics at, but we also want to keep the cost reasonable. (Renting a ballroom that holds 400 people is probably going to get really expensive!)

Lots of good feedback so far. Keep it coming!

Adam

I dont think the requirements would be much different than a LAN Party where people bring computers to play games.

Same power requirements at least ;)

Ill go scouting locations today and get back to you by the end of the weekend with size/pricing estimates

Hello everyone.

I was just cordially invited to add my two cents to this thread. (Thanks!)

Yes! I would be very interested in getting together in person with other laserists! As a matter of fact, my thoughts are all about not having to cross the border into Canada for such a meeting. I would do that also, but I would not risk taking any laser equipment with me, for fear of not being able to get it back into the USA.

As I have said before, I really enjoy voice conversations with people and I can call anywhere in the US or Canada for free.

I would like to coordinate with other people who are also interested in the meeting to figure out what equipment would be there and how to make my project most compatible and impressive when I got there.

I am also interested in getting other people started in the wonderful world of Linux. It would be nice to see other people get a chance to work with LaserBoy for a while before the meeting to see what they can create with it.

James. :o)