Yep, that ELO tour sucked me in! Right after that, I used my connections as a lab assistant with my high school chemistry department and acquired a Metrologic 3.3mW HeNe. Later that year (much to the chagrin of my girlfriend and physics teacher - "OMG - you'll blind somebody with that thing!!"), I worked a deal with the DJ at our Senior Prom, hung a mirror in front of a speaker, and bounced the massive 3.3mW off of that and onto a screen above the stage - my first laser show!!
Various laser shows over the years kept my interest peaked, but I didn't get directly involved with anything other that military lasers (infrared, weapons sighting versions) until this past summer - and now, thanks in large part to this forum and the connections I've made here, I'm pretty well in deep!! The RGB projector isn't built yet (holiday project, hopefully), but I'm now the proud owner of a couple of 100mW red diode kits, a 405 mw violet diode kit, 4 Melles Griot 5mW HeNe's, a CNI 100 mw 473 nm, a CNI 400 mW 532 nm, a Maxyz dual 400 mW 660 nm, 30K scanners, Pangolin FB3, LA Studio, LivePro, and a Poly-20 kit. Pretty happy with the collection, and anxious to get building over Christmas
, except....
I saw Trans Siberian Orchestra in November, so now I need MORE, BIGGER lasers, and a DMX-controlled mult-color flame thrower!!
RR
Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
1979.
Sweet.....