The blues from argon lasers are MUCH nicerCan't comment on the 528nm green line, or any krypton lines, since I've not yet seen them ...
Senior Member
The blues from argon lasers are MUCH nicer
Senior Member
Gas is awsome.
It was back in 94 our club acquired an 8W Argon + operators. Having spoken at length with the operators; I could not believe the amount of electrical power needed to run the sucker. That, coupled with the cooling requirements, complexity and cost of the thing made me realise that I could never own my own laser in a million years.
Beautiful though.
So on mass, I've got to be in favour of diodes.
Doc's website
The Health and Safety Act 1971
Recklessly interfering with Darwin’s natural selection process, thereby extending the life cycle of dim-witted ignorami; thus perpetuating and magnifying the danger to us all, by enabling them to breed and walk amongst us, our children and loved ones.
Senior Member
[QUOTE=keeperx;94880]
I think this is a deeper issue. i believe that alot of the people that have been in to lasers for a period of time and have worked with the gas rigs etc, feel very disgruntled (maybe thats not the best word) that some punk ass kid (like myself) can just jump in to the laser display field and build a projector putting out beams that 10 years ago would have cost 10,000$...
QUOTE]
The old school guys have always dreamed of a day that they could hand carry a single projector that could simply plug into the wall (120V) and need no water (Aircooled) and just star lasing....
I do agree that I think some of these old school guys are a little spiteful of how easy it is now... I am a young guy myself.. I can't consider myself old school but I do appreciate where all of this has come from.
But hey! we are all into it for the same reasons
My biggest fear i forgot to mention is that gas lasers may soon not be available anymore..
Slowly they are disapearing like black and white TV's
Senior Member
[QUOTE=LASERGUY;94893]Spiteful is not a good word, however PRIDE is. Are you proud of yourself that you can plug in a black box? There is no style in that IMHO (damn im sounding old)Originally Posted by keeperx
I think this is a deeper issue. i believe that alot of the people that have been in to lasers for a period of time and have worked with the gas rigs etc, feel very disgruntled (maybe thats not the best word) that some punk ass kid (like myself) can just jump in to the laser display field and build a projector putting out beams that 10 years ago would have cost 10,000$...
QUOTE]
The old school guys have always dreamed of a day that they could hand carry a single projector that could simply plug into the wall (120V) and need no water (Aircooled) and just star lasing....
I do agree that I think some of these old school guys are a little spiteful of how easy it is now... I am a young guy myself.. I can't consider myself old school but I do appreciate where all of this has come from.
But hey! we are all into it for the same reasons
My biggest fear i forgot to mention is that gas lasers may soon not be available anymore..
Slowly they are disapearing like black and white TV's
Old school guys made it possible for young guys to walk in and "plug it in". Diode generation will rarely if ever understand the physics or the delicate balance of technologies required to make light.
I designed and built my first helical flashed pumped ruby laser from straight pieces of quartz tube and a ruby rod from a university in 1976. I learned glass blowing, vacuum systems, machining, HV & LV electronics, power & water, and safety I was 20 years old. Very few 20 year old "laser guys" will understand the variety of talents required to produce one of those today. A level of reverence should be reserved for the path makers.
Pat B
laserman532 on ebay
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt & selling it in a garage sale.
Senior Member
more like analog TV...
progress...
-------------------------
i agree that we should respect our elders.. but i do not believe reverence is the proper word.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodies?
Solid State Builders Group
Senior Member
true reverence is / was not a good word - I was using it as in honor & respect for dues paid.
My avitar shows a 20 watt argon producing about 10 different wavelengths and a 8 watt krypton producing probably 6 or 7 different wavelengths. that is 28 watts of of the visible spectrum of light from violet to far red, granted it took 480vac three phase at 120 amps and 10 gallons per minute of water costing well over $140,000.00. There is a certain amount of pride and accomplishment when "plugging it in". I wont say NEVER...but diode lasers will NEVER (probably not in my or your lifetime) achieve that
We had 10 of them running on one stage in Seol Korea for the olympics in 1988, we had a constant routine of fire engine tankers bringing in the water to remove the heat then being dumped in the Hahn River for 12 hour days for over 10 days, that is 800 amps of 480 three phase and 60 gallons per minute of water flow.plug that in...
I may be wrong but that is something you will probably never get to experience...that is old school my friend.
Pat B
laserman532 on ebay
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt & selling it in a garage sale.
Senior Member
yep... thats before my time grandpabut it sounds hella kinda cool..
thats when lasers were rare and only the 'laser elite' got to play.. now its more about getting as many people in as we can so the art remains valid.
when the current set of professional laserists retire, someone will take their place.. and its probable that those someones will be using diode setups.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodies?
Solid State Builders Group
Senior Member
Maybe in 15/20 years, the new kids will laugh at the qaint complexity and sheer ineficieny of pumping crystals with power hungry diodes?
"6 Amps?! How did you cool that beast?"
Doc's website
The Health and Safety Act 1971
Recklessly interfering with Darwin’s natural selection process, thereby extending the life cycle of dim-witted ignorami; thus perpetuating and magnifying the danger to us all, by enabling them to breed and walk amongst us, our children and loved ones.
Senior Member
OPSLs and photonic crystal media are coming down in price; I can only imagine that soon we will get multi-milliwatt RGB single-chip devices.
Senior Member
You little indignant whipper snapper...GET OFF MY LAWN!!!yep... thats before my time grandpa
thats when lasers were rare and only the 'laser elite' got to play.. now its more about getting as many people in as we can so the art remains valid.
when the current set of professional laserists retire, someone will take their place.. and its probable that those someones will be using diode setups.
Pat B
laserman532 on ebay
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt & selling it in a garage sale.
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