NELEM III --September 11-13, 2015

[Bradfo69]

So... just so I'm clear... over 100 people attended last time so, is this some sort of public show along with a pig dinner of sorts? I'm certain it wasn't 100 laser enthusiasts. Is it a dance type thing or, a stand(sit) around and watch beams type thing or, do you envision a graphic/planetarium style thing? A Mixture? What content or software packages? Your vision would be good information to know in order to establish a packing list.

[HankLloydRight]

Great questions Brad, I was wondering the exact same things. A full pig roast seems excessive for a half dozen LEs.

Also, will there be anything other than pig available?

[planters]

A full pig roast seems excessive for a half dozen LEs.

You should see Rick eat.

The bulk of the visitors were employees and friends from Rick's biotech company. There were about 15 LEs with about 1/2 from Dynamic. The gathering was heavy on food and party and a little light on laser geekyness. The indoor arena is HUGE. My guess is 20,000 ft^2 with 25 foot ceilings.

The previous year's get together was at MIT and was seriously geeky with post docs running our little projectors and tours of the ultra fast labs and the nuclear reactor building...

With Peter indicating that he plans to participate this year, then MIT is back in the mix. And, with more Le's, then Saturday will be expanded to be more than just a set up of lasers for the night's shows. My guess is that the "set up time" will include a lot of open ups and demos. The high windows that surround the arena prevent really good darkness during the day, but it is pretty dim and alignment is easy. With so much room and a lot of equipment a basic single wall of lasers vs a large projection screen would be a bit of a waste. There is enough room that you could literally set up stations or mini theaters.

Rick should post some high res images from inside to allow the participants to begin to think about what might be done.

[Fearless]

Ok to Hank's question: I have on the property 6, 240 volt outlets they are Nema 6-50 straight plug--if you need another style, let me know, and i can wire it in.
Planter's-- I PM'd gabe some time ago and got no response. Andrew split with his partner back in the spring--so I do not know what the situation with gabe is. I need to PM krazer to see if he is still up to hosting us on Sunday--but there WILL be sailing on Sunday at the MIT pavilion.
Bradfo69: Yes, it is a public show (people from work and friends in town) and enthusiasts meeting. Last year we had an outdoor show with Planter's rigs projecting on a large outdoor screen and Andrew's rigs pointing towards the crowd. This year I'm hoping to haze the indoor arena and put on a beam show spectacular. The audience last year sat for most of the show. So the idea is to cordon off an area for the audience and put the rigs around the arena for max effect. Eric and I are running Beyond. As to content, I have 30 minutes of beam shows.
As to the pig roast--might as well. It is a big horse farm that takes up all my time (except for lasers). And yes, there will be plenty of other food other than pig. Here is the sign I made on my home CNC--it is at the top of a very long driveway:
It 3 miles off I95 exit 57 on the north side of Main Street.

[Fearless]

Eric--darkening the arena during the day for demos would be no problem. A little butcher's paper and tape will do the trick. I'll take some high res pics of the indoor tonight and post them tomorrow.

[Fearless]

And it is closer to 30,000 sq feet.

[HankLloydRight]

Ok to Hank's question: I have on the property 6, 240 volt outlets they are Nema 6-50 straight plug--if you need another style, let me know, and i can wire it in.

Wow, that's great. I can easily make a 6-50 to 14-50 adapter so I can plug into any 6-50 outlet as long as they can take this 6-50 plug: http://www.amazon.com/Cooper-Wiring-.../dp/B000VL6X22 (I'm not sure what "straight plug" means in this context). Are they all 50-amps? That would make driving up there totally "range anxiety" free since I wouldn't have to worry about tracking down local charging options. Thanks.

And yes, there will be plenty of other food other than pig.

This year I'm hoping to haze the indoor arena and put on a beam show spectacular.

Great. This shindig is sounding better and better!!

[Fearless]

Yep, they will take that plug. What are you driving? I have a buddy coming to the show and he drives a Tesla.

[HankLloydRight]

Yeah, it's also a Tesla.



So unless something unexpected happens, I'm planning on attending this thing.

[HankLloydRight]

BTW, what kinds of boats are we sailing on Sunday?

When I lived on Boston, I was a member of Community Boating for a few years -- that was a lot of fun, I miss it