Laser Light Show

Blimey! do you need such high powered lasers for a light show??

250 mW sounds an awful powerful laser as far as eye exposure is concerned!!

John.

Hey John,

Yeah, outside night-time shows usually require 1 Watt or more to be nicely seen without fog, but this'll have to do.. (for now)

(No audience scanning of course)

Steve

Oh..... you learn something everyday....

What about aircraft though... I wouldn't like to be a passenger on an aircraft that has a blind pilot at the controls!!!

LOL.... John.

The beams aren't aimed up into the sky, they are about 30 degrees up from audience viewing angle and contained within the mountainous terrain of the area. Other areas would have different considerations. They are also modulated very rapidly so as to avoid disturbing any nocturnal wildlife. There is alot of planning and precautions prior to one of these shows.

Best you check FAA or other aircraft authority as well as Product Safety Commission for the legal restrictions, requirements, and permits, etc.

Hai,

Build your own scanner,which is a good idea!here is some useful resource. http://elm-chan.org/works/vlp/report_e.html

Sure,if you need a scanner with a speed not so high,you also could do some internet search on some low cost scanner as much money and time will be saved. just my tips:-)

Regards

honya

Steve,

Be very, very careful with such strong lasers, especially the green one, but preferably reconsider the plans. You can destroy eyes at very large distances (miles?). Check whether it is even legal to use such lasers for light shows/your intended use.

Mike

There are regulations for laser shows within crowds. Lasers above a certain power level (that can damage the eye, 5mW?) need to be 3 meters above the crowd. See also RC plane servos for the mirror reflector servos (wireless). Also see this month's IEEE Spectrum Magazine for a interesting article -http://spectrum.ieee.org/feb07/4901 --not sure if you can access the article.

Also, use your old camera telephotos for inexpensive decent optics. Enjoy

Guest(s) I think that Steve knows what he is doing and what regulations he has to observe.

At least I hope so :-)

John.

Hi All

Yes, I am aware of the dangers involved, the CDRH regulations/ variances and the FAA. I have been working with lasers and shows since 1989 and I still have full vision in both eyes.as well as my audiences. I am not new to the science and hazards of coherent light. Thank you for the concerns, though. Good tips. Thanks. I am familiar with collimating optics; the divergence ratios are <1mrad, so I'm ok from that respect. I hadn't thought of remote control servos, though. Interesting....

Steve: I am a Security officer in Rochester, New York and I have to attend the laser light shows on a continual basis. These are green lasers that are beamed across a huge gorge on mirrors and I am somewhat concerned about the safety factor, not only for myself but for the parents and the children. Can I call someone after they provide me with the specs on these units to verify if they have been tested as safe?

Thanks for your reply if you see this. Respectfully, Alan Rampe

alan_rampe@yahoo.com

Speaking of hazards and regulations, I wonder if they have a licence for this? http://photonlexicon.com/gallery/Everyone/skycutter40

Now I've seen everything.....

A flying lawn mower....????!!!!!!!

Yeah..

Somebody's got a lot of time on their hands.