UK Meet ..anyone suggested this yet ?

[JStewart]

Hi Guys,

Sounds like it could be fun. Well done on getting a meet to come to about. It was good seeing just a few of you guys earlier in the year. More people and more lasers should be good.

I've got some new toys I can bring along too. It will be like the last day of term, when everyone was allowed to bring their toys to school as a treat. Paul (www.laserads.co.uk), will you be driving down in your laservan? That camera/laser thingy on the top looks pretty cool!

Cheers,

James

[Lasermad]

Hey James,

cool to see you hanging around here , richie swears by your beamsculpture software ..i think he said the price has dropped recently ? whats the new price ? and spec .

Sadly the laservan is history , there wasnt much call for it and now all the kits dpss theres no need for so much space .I certainly miss it , was great to drive . Interestingly it sold on ebay in 4 hrs ! some guys touring the UK with a jet ski with it !

Good to hear you might attend UK MEET , i keep promising myself to attend your safety course but everytime i hears it upcoming either LIFE or financials get in the way ...but 1 day ..hopefully soon !

PAUL

[uk-laser]

Hi All....

Bit late on joining the thread but I am up for the meet & greet.
The only toy I have portable at the moment is a 10W battery powered CO2 laser rifle.
I take it 'death rays' will not be permitted at the venue?

I could always bring a couple of D4Thing power meters to flog...

Best Regards,
Robin

[steve-o]

a 10W battery powered CO2 laser rifle.

WHOA!! Got any pics?

[uk-laser]

WHOA!! Got any pics?

http://www.die4laser.com/CO2pics/D4SparksCO2.jpg
http://www.die4laser.com/CO2pics/D4SparksCO2.mpg

Will write them into the rest of the site one day.
The 10.6um is invisible, the yellow dot is the wood beam stop emitting light ;-)
The vid clip has me toggling the 'enable' line on the PSU.
Cooling is by thermal inertia of the water, circulated by a windscreen washer pump.

[steve-o]

AWESOME! What's the max range? (How far does the beam stay collimated for burning?) Nice project!
What's the battery V and current draw?

[uk-laser]

AWESOME! What's the max range? (How far does the beam stay collimated for burning?) Nice project! Yeah, invisible;10.6 um right? What's the battery V and current draw?

Ah...
Therein lies the problem...
When I say 'rifle' I mean 'rifle shaped'
Diffraction limited divergence (in radians) is approx.
1.27 l / d where l = wavelength in m & d = effective aperture in m

so for a 1mm diameter exit beam at 10.6um
divergence is 13.5mrad !

Great for setting paper on fire at 1m, scorching wood/card at 3m, keeping your hands warm at 5m.

Battery is 12V, current 8 to 9A

[steve-o]

Yeah, that's portable, strap a 12AH gell-cell to your back
They don't make optics that could better collimate that beam?

[Aidan]

Manchester?

I would like to keep the wheels on my car thanks!

I’m based in the south.

We could do with somebody with a barn / large building so we can have an evening meet with a BBQ and some beers and have some fun with our toys!

[uk-laser]

There is nothing wrong with Manchester (as long as you keep driving) ;-)

I think that a venue has already been arranged - if it is still on ...

Sunday 12th August .
Leicester Square , 170 Belgrave Gate , Leicester LE1 3XL
From 10am to approx 12pm.

If it is on I'll be going.

Also apologies with cluttering this thread with talk of the 12V CO2.
If a moderator wants to tidy this thread with a cut and paste I have started another more suitable one. http://photonlexicon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2670

Regards, Robin