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Thread: Laser FAQ

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    Knoxville, TN, USA
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    Thumbs up Laser FAQ

    Great idea!!!
    RR

    Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
    1979.
    Sweet.....

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    1,725

    Default

    I've been hosting a mirror of the laserfaq for a couple months now and I thought I had it visible on the front page like it is now but I messed up a permission setting. Whoops.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
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    231

    Default

    Love the idea-can you include all facets of laser discussion? Lumia, spaghetti, etc...too? for us basic learners?

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Location
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    Smile

    Sam's Laser F.A.Q. is a famous Internet resource devoted to lasers. It's information that has been gathered over many years from posts to the alt.lasers usnet newsgroup. Sam Goldwasser maintains the FAQ, and adds to it periodically.

    Sadly, there aren't any resources for Lumia effects, or Gary's Spaghetti software, or for any other facet of this hobby that are even close in scope or depth to what Sam's Laser F.A.Q. covers.

    So, while it's great to have a copy of the Laser FAQ here on PL for folks to browse, it's something of a one-trick pony. No one has yet created a FAQ (or a wiki) for all the other questions people have about this hobby. (Though there was an effort to start a wiki a while back...)

    Adam

  5. #5
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    Default Hmmmmmmm...................

    Gary-sounds like a job for SPAGHETTI MAN!!!!!!!!

  6. #6
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    Default

    In my opinion it doesn't really make sense to have a general FAQ that encompasses everything. Perhaps it makes sense to have a FAQ for beginners with some links to other places but anything more than that would be to hard to manage. It wouldn't make sense to have a Spaghetti FAQ when I already have a forum of my own dedicated to it. People are best off to just go over there and learn. But, there is definitely a black hole when it comes to which galvos to buy, how to use dichros etc. I believe the Wiki approach is the best way to go. If a person thinks they have some knowledge and want to share they should start one up. They are easy to navigate and have become the "standard" for posting general information about something. Anyone can start one and anyone can contribute. They don't have to be a group effort. Anyway, that's my opinion on that.

  7. #7
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    Default

    I just realized that what Admin was saying that he was mirroring the existing laser FAQ now and was expressing a desire to create a PL FAQ of everything laser show related. Sorry.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Default

    Approximately 800 internet years ago I had a mediawiki thing installed and configured here. It was a catastropic failure for a number of reasons.

    1) There was no way to integrate existing forum login information with the wiki.
    1a) Attempts by myself and third party modders for vbulletin failed, amazingly.
    2) Secondary registration is as stupid as it is silly.
    3) Unregistered members being able to add content to the wiki was tried for about 2 weeks.
    3a) In that time I spent most every waking second removing new user accounts and their spam wiki pages.
    3b) There are automated systems out there to spam content to things like mediawiki while at the same time there is no way to make an automated system to remove them.
    4) Any attempt by third parties to make a wiki system that met the integration requirements turned ugly, fast.
    4a) Bugs everywhere and slow development cycles. Typically done as a basement project
    4b) Base functional but severely lacking in the features/usability department.
    4c) The mindset, as I saw it, was as follows: "If you use it like we intended you to, there won't be problems". - This led to silly shit involving users having to set their own permission system for the added content.
    4d) These got expensive, especially for a modification. I bought a couple and tested them. Never again.
    5) Each update of vbulletin wrecked the templating system at the very least.
    5a) Vbulletin4 destroyed a majority of these projects by not even attempting to follow conventions in use since vbulletin2.
    5b) Each incremental update in-version, like 4.0.1 to 4.0.2, wrecked the functionality of the wiki system at the least, at worst: the wiki was rendered inaccessible.
    6) Each update of the core wiki software wrecked the bridging/plugin system used to tie it all together.
    7) An update of either meant that you could not upgrade anything and expect it to work unless you wait for confirmation from the bridge developer.
    7a) This gave the impression that the products were non functional and thusly - people rarely bought them.
    7b) Because of all the middleware nonsense a number of these developers quit working on their products thus making it impossible to upgrade the forum, the software or the bridge components.
    7c) To upgrade the forum you would often have to destroy the entirety of the wiki contents because they were now tied to a permission system that either was broken, no longer worked or no longer existed.
    8)Vbulletin4.
    8a)Fuck this so hard it bears repeating.
    8b)See 8a

    Now, all that being said: I am keeping an eye out for solutions. Right now one of the solutions I am eyeballing is moving to *another* forum platform.



    ...The Aristocrats!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Tampa Florida
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    502

    Default Support the FAQ!

    Hi,
    It is true Sam has little information on repair of "common" lightshow DPSS lasers. So who has say a dead 200 mW green CNI or a dead 50 mW 594 nm CNI? Laserver? Etc? Send the lasers to Sam and let him add a new catagory: Lightshow lasers and equipment. The FAQ is all about lasers, history, repair etc. I bet I have invested $500-1K or more sending interesting laser junk to Sam. One example of each brand like a Noahs Ark thing... Phil 142laser and a friend of lasersam.
    Phil Bergeron( AKA 142laser)

  10. #10
    mixedgas's Avatar
    mixedgas is offline Creaky Old Award Winning Bastard Technologist
    Infinitus Excellentia Ion Laser Dominatus
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    Default

    While Sam would cover the Chinese lasers, I have tried for years to get him to include some show stuff, galvos etc, and he is uncomfortable with the concept.

    Steve

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