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SELEM 2025 Sign-up Thread (SELEM 18)
18th annual South Eastern Laser Enthusiast's Meeting (SELEM 2025)
Sunday, August 3rd through Friday, August 8th
at the Executive Banquet and Conference Center in Newark, Delaware.
Register via Paypal: selempayment@gmail.com
Be sure to include a note to specify your shirt size (Sizes: Small to 4X)
Be sure to state the type of shirt you want (Polo or T-shirt)
One shirt is included with your registration. Extra shirts are $20 each.
Early registration - Now through May 28th (Guaranteed a shirt): $179 EARLY REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
Standard registration - May 28th through July 2nd (Guaranteed a shirt): $199 STANDARD REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
Late registration or at the door – July 8th through the end of the event (no guarantee of a shirt): $229
Please note that registration fees are non-refundable.
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Guests are free to attend. Generally, guests are family or friends of the people who have registered to attend. Guests may share some interest in lasers or laser shows, but guests are not laserists themselves. If they are, they should register as attendees and not guests. Please do not abuse this policy.
Teenage children are allowed to attend if they are mature enough to follow rules and be responsible. Young children (under 13) are discouraged from attending, and may only attend if they are continually supervised by a parent or guardian. Note that all minors must have a parent present at the event.
Liability waivers (see attached .pdf file) will be required for all persons (this includes registered attendees and all guests). Minors will need a parent to sign their waiver. When you arrive, go to the sign-in area in the lobby to sign your waiver. (There will be a sign at the sign-in table so you know where to go.) Waivers must be witnessed by another registered SELEM attendee.
Once your waiver is signed, you will be issued a lanyard with a name badge, and if you registered in time (before July 2nd) you will receive your official SELEM shirt. (Extra shirts for yourself or your guests are completely optional and may be purchased in advance for $20.) As posted above, be sure you specify your shirt size and choice of either a polo or T-shirt when you register. (No preference specified means you get a Polo.)
Also, just a reminder that ABSOLUTELY NO WEAPONS OF ANY KIND, ESPECIALLY FIREARMS, WILL BE PERMITTED AT SELEM. THIS INCLUDES ALL INDOOR SPACES AS WELL AS THE OUTDOOR AREAS SURROUNDING THE BUILDING AND ALL PARKING LOTS. If you have a concealed-carry permit, leave your weapon in your car and don't park it at the venue. No exceptions to this policy.
Event Schedule:
SPECIAL EVENT SATURDAY, AUGUST 2nd (Before SELEM): The Pink Floyd Tribute Band, "Echoes" will be performing a concert in the venue on Saturday evening, August 2nd. Select laserists from our group will be performing a live laser show to accompany this concert. This will be similar to the concert we participated in back in 2023. More details to follow.
Sunday, August 3rd: Start at 10 AM, run until 6PM. This is load-in and set-up. The main ballroom will be divided into two spaces, one for “Club-SELEM” and one for the ”auditorium” space. The main lobby will be the "show off space", and the area to the right of the lobby will be used for presentations. The “buy-sell-trade” area will be in the kitchen service hallway, and the ion laser work room will be at the far right of the kitchen service hallway near the loading dock. We will have both 208/240 3 phase as well as 480v 3 phase available in the area near the loading dock. Even if you are not bringing any equipment to SELEM, you are still welcome (and encouraged!) to come help out with the load-in. (Seriously! We really could use the help!!!) Once load-in is completed, we will all get together afterwards for dinner out at a local restaurant.
Monday, August 4th through Thursday, August 7th: Start at 10 AM, run until at least midnight, if not later. Typical SELEM activities running all day in various spaces inside the hall. We plan to extend until 2 AM on Wednesday and Thursday night.
Friday, August 8th: Start at 10 AM, run until 6 PM. Pack-up, load-out, clean-up, and say your goodbyes. For those who will be staying in town Friday night and leaving Saturday morning, we plan to go out to dinner one last time on Friday night once load-out is complete.
NOTE: We are not allowed to bring our own alcohol into the building at any time during SELEM. We have the option to have a cash bar open in the evenings, but there is a minimum charge of $250 per night. Initial plan was to have the bar open from 7PM-Midnight on Wednesday and Thursday night, but I am open to feedback from the group regarding the bar. (Having a cash bar helps build goodwill with the venue, as it is extra revenue for them, but it's also difficult for a small group like ours to meet the $250 minimum each night.) Please share your comments about the open bar option below.
Venue Layout Details:
Main Entrance atrium will be the sign-in location. This is where you'll need to go to sign your waiver form and pick up your lanyard and name badge (and shirt, if you registered in time). This is also where you can purchase extra shirts (pending availability). Also, there is an ATM in the entrance atrium if you need cash.
Front half of the ballroom (to the right - stage side - of the dividing wall) will be used for running pre-choreographed graphics and abstract shows, along with pre-choreographed multi-projector beam shows, just like we used to do in the auditorium. Front of house will be at the stage end of the room to the far right, with the dividing wall serving as the main display surface for graphics and abstracts.
Back half of the ballroom (to the left, - emergency exit side - of the dividing wall) will be "Club-SELEM" and will be dedicated to live beam shows. Front of house will be on the kitchen-end of the room (primary projection direction rotated 90 degrees compared to the layout for the “auditorium” side). Laser control consoles will be available for those who want to try their hand at running a show "live", and we will probably have a few live DJs set up as well.
Front lobby near main entrance will be the "enthusiast display space", or as I like to call it, the show-off room! The purpose of this space is to showcase home-made projectors, laser modules, electronics projects, computers, and any other cool hobby items, regardless of whether they are related to lasers or not. Space is going to be tight in here, so please be cautious. Note: we can extend this area down the hall to the left (towards the coat closet) if we want.
Far right corner of the lobby (near the bar service hallway) will be the "abstract corner". DZ will have his Z5 master console and Alpha Tauri projector (dual scan heads, each with AVI scan-through effects) set up here. I'm probably going to have my Z5, Radiator, and Audiolaze color organ set up in this space as well, just like last year.
The long kitchen service hallway will be the buy / sell / trade area. Tables and racks will be set up along one side of the hallway for people to display the stuff they're selling. There may also be some projector repair going on here, so long as it doesn't block people's ability to move down the hallway. (It's a very wide hallway.)
The area near the loading dock will be the ion laser work area. There could be exposed high voltage and/or high-power beams in this space! Always ask before approaching this area.
Outdoor patio area will be used for drinks, food, and snacks. In case of rain we will need to move the food inside, either into the commercial kitchen area or to one of the offices or storage spaces. Lunch and dinner will be provided Monday-Thursday, and as mentioned above, we have the option of having a cash bar open on Wednesday and Thursday evening if we want. Also, please remember that we can't bring our own alcohol in from outside. (Doing so is unlawful and could result in the venue losing their state liquor license.)
The right half of the main lobby (near the bar window) will be used for training and special presentations during the day, and as a social gathering area at night. We will probably have the Virtual Reality Gaming Area set up in this space as well.
The bridal suite (in the bar service hallway behind DZ's abstract corner) will be available for glow-in-the-dark show displays, assuming that David Kumpula is able to join us again this year.
More information concerning the presentation schedule and sign-up information for show display time slots will be coming soon.
Travel and Lodging info:
If you will be flying to SELEM, the two closest airports are Baltimore Washington International (BWI) and Philadelphia International (PHL). Philadelphia is slightly closer (45-50 min), but even BWI is only about an hour and 15 minutes by car from the venue. (Unless the traffic on I95 is really bad...)
Note that there is a $4 toll on I95 at the state line between Maryland and Delaware. The toll is charged both ways. The venue is in Delaware, just off the first exit from I95. Thus, if you are staying at a hotel in Maryland (as most people will be), you don't want to get on the Interstate to get to the venue each day. Instead, avoid I95 and take the secondary roads when you go to and from the venue each day. It only adds about a mile to your drive, and it saves you 8 bucks a day in tolls! See this post for details.
Last year some people stayed at the Holiday Inn Express located on Elkton Rd in Elkton, Maryland. The direct number to the hotel is (443) 350-9154. However, the feedback from last year suggests that this is NOT the best hotel to use. :( Buyer beware!
There is a better option, however: There is a very nice Bed and Breakfast that is just down the street from the Holiday Inn Express. It's called The Elk Forge B&B Inn. Their number is (410) 392-9007. This place is similar to the Trott House Inn that many of us stayed at in Newton, but the Elk Forge B&B is much bigger. They have 14 rooms, 6 of which are multi-room suites. Some of the suites even have a full kitchen! Rates range from $129 to $250 per night, but the larger rooms and suites can comfortably sleep several people. If you are traveling with a buddy or two, you can save some money by sharing one of these larger spaces and splitting the cost vs booking separate hotel rooms. Several people stayed here for SELEM last year, and they all agreed that it was very nice.
As always, we're open to more ideas! If you have any questions or suggestions, please post them below. And remember, registration is now open. The longer you wait to sign up, the more it costs, so sign up early!
Hmmm. SELEM 18 - does this mean we're adults now? ;)
List of registered attendees:
Buffo
Bradfo69
HankLloydRight
Rodman1369
Telmnstr
LazerJock
Displaser
Hitekvoop
Mmuhler
Lulighttec
Swamidog
DZ
BradStockdale
MEEP
Cfavreau
Sam Morin
J4cbo
Singlemode
ILDADirect
Dkumpula
Jrock
Araugh
Looks like Chris found a better place to stay!
That's a pretty good rate! I think the Holiday Inn Express in Elkton was around $120 per night, and even at that price point people complained that it wasn't a nice place to stay. (Recent reviews suggest that it hasn't improved by much - if at all.)
Considering that the HIE in Elkton, MD is around 6 miles from the venue, adding just 1.4 miles to go the other way up to the HIE you found in Delaware seems like a wash in terms of driving distance.
Actually, it might even be faster; since you'd already be in Delaware, you wouldn't have to worry about hitting the $4 toll on I-95 when crossing between Delaware and Maryland. Thus, you could jump on I-95 every day to go to the venue, rather than taking the back roads from Elkton. So while it's slightly further to drive, you'd be on the highway most of the time, so it's likely to be a faster trip overall. (And really, if we're only talking 1.4 miles, does it even matter?)
So, cheaper rate, nicer place, and basically a wash in terms of the drive? Yeah, sounds like the smart move to me. Nice find, Chris! :D
Here is a direct link to the website for the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Wilmington - Newark.
Adam
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Start thinking about planetarium dome shows...
Just wanted to remind everyone that we will have an actual inflatable planetarium dome set up in the auditorium side of the venue this year. This is much larger than the igloo-style dome we had last year! For some idea of scale, here is a somewhat blurry picture of Mike Muhler inside the new dome...
Attachment 61863
The plan is to have a schedule posted where people can sign up to run shows in the dome. There will be time slots for "dome content" and time slots for regular "auditorium content". Even though the dome will have it's own sound system inside, we wouldn't want to be running shows in the dome and in the auditorium side at the same time. (The dome is great for blocking out light; it's completely dark inside, but it doesn't block any sound at all, plus it's large enough that it will block some of the auditorium projectors when it's fully inflated.)
Note that the dome only takes about 5 minutes to inflate, and it can be deflated in about a minute, so it's no big deal to switch from "dome shows" to "auditorium shows". Also, the blower that inflates the dome is damned near silent. You really can't hear it running unless you are standing right next to it, and even then, the unit is extremely quiet. However, we want to minimize the amount of people going in and out of the dome while shows are running, which is why it's important to have a schedule posted.
We are also encouraging people to bring beanbag chairs, or any other comfortable seating solutions, so we can all spread out inside the dome and get comfy while we watch the shows. I've got a pair of the "big joe" beanbag chairs that I'll be bringing, and I think Wil said he was going to pick up a few of those inflatable couches that looked like hot dog buns that we had last year, but we could always use more...
If anyone has shows that they want to run in the dome, be sure to sign up for one (or more) of the time slots. Better yet, if you have a plan for what you want to run, send it to Greg (Displaser) so he can get a schedule started ahead of time.
Adam
Scanner Tuning? Schedule for the dome?
Greg Southerland was wondering if we should do another presentation on scanner tuning. I'm happy to do that, but I wasn't sure if there would be any interest in the topic.?. If you'd like to see a demo, please respond below. (I'm also happy to do something one-on-one if that's more comfortable.)
Also, we will have an inflatable planetarium dome in the auditorium side this year. It will be set up near the bar, so that the top of the dome fits into the raised tray of the ceiling on that side of the room. The dome can be inflated or deflated in just a few minutes, making it fairly easy to switch between running shows in the dome vs running shows in the full room, but I'm wondering if we should schedule some specific times for "dome shows" and "auditorium shows".?. What do you all think?
Adam
