Man Toys. You know the sort

[julian64]

Mojocvh said:

chimera40 said:

Mojocvh said:

julian64 said:

chimera40 said:

julian64 said:

lawrence567 said:

chimera40 said:

BonzoGuinness said:

V8mate said:

Good warning. Police helicopters are still fair game though, right?

I know that's tongue-in-cheek, but seriously - most helicopters have a lot of glasswork up front, often in big continuous mouldings with a couple of layers for good measure. Laser light bounced into that at night can be scattered by scratches and bubbles in the glass, making the entire thing appear to glow. Not good. Not good at all!

Not worth even joking about this guys. These things are getting stronger, if you even contemplate an act of madness like this you should be locked up.

I had one of those little lazer pens you could buy from France when you went on a school trip ( along with all the firweorks etc).
It used to be great fun shining it in the tiny break in the neghbours curtains, used to drive them bonkers!

I would repectfully suggest you are all going a bit overboard here. I suggest that aiming a laser pen at an airliner would do nothing, at a police helicopter, do nothing but possibly give a bright spot to an infrared camera. As for making their bubble glow to interfere with their site or operation, I would doubt anything like that. Possibly less annoying to them than someone pointing a £10 spot lantern of the type thats readily available in B&Q at them.

Imm, don,t think so. The beam from 200-500nw lasers is very intense, the further the distance the beam travels the greater the spread of light becomes. It does not disperse though and remains concentrated even at great distance. As the pilot that was flying into Heathrow has already stated the effects of one of these in the cabin can be very extreme. You have to remember that a lot of these are class 3b lasers. These things WILL blind you if you look into the beam, at 3B your sight will not even be saved by your blink reaction as the beam in so intense that retina damage is instant.

B&Q flashlight, world away from these things.

I think you are wrong.

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/349414-l-sers-a...

NOTE their deliberate use of the terminology "ATTACK". That's a hint BTW.

Case closed I believe. 6 months in jail would seem to indicate that it is taken a little more seriously than a childish prank.

Don't get me wrong here, I am, being an astronomer who finds the use of a properly aligned laser an immensely useful tool, totally against any type of "licence" arrangement, but deplore the moronic and childish postings here about "playing" with lasers and aircraft.

MoJo.

You quote a aircraft website and say case closed. Isn't that rather like posting a quote from 'brake' regarding speeding. The police are obviously going to want to come down hard on people interfering with their duties, and rightly so. The comments about it being dangerous are typical of exaggerations designed to get the judge to do just that. Bit like when you caught on an empty motorway doing 90, and the police officer would stand up in court to say you were risky everyones life.

I'm sorry but my reasons for continuing to post on a subject which is obviously causing constenation is that all this second hand exaggeration, and hand wringing by a friend of a friend is what will eventually cause some government to ban the sale of these things. Just like speed limits, just like guns, just like smoking, just like a whole bunch of rubbish which usually starts with some idiot, follwed by collective hand wringing championed by the media.

I am not advocating shining the laser at any airplane, helicopter, or at anyones eyes. Hopefully I've said that enough times in my posts. But neither do I think there is any danger attached. I just can't go through the explanation again as if it ain't self evident then it would be like me trying to explain to a 'brake' mother who has just lost her child why speeding isn't dangerous. Logic just doesn't come into it.

[chimera40]

julian64 said:

Mojocvh said:

chimera40 said:

Mojocvh said:

julian64 said:

chimera40 said:

julian64 said:

lawrence567 said:

chimera40 said:

BonzoGuinness said:

V8mate said:

Good warning. Police helicopters are still fair game though, right?

I know that's tongue-in-cheek, but seriously - most helicopters have a lot of glasswork up front, often in big continuous mouldings with a couple of layers for good measure. Laser light bounced into that at night can be scattered by scratches and bubbles in the glass, making the entire thing appear to glow. Not good. Not good at all!

Not worth even joking about this guys. These things are getting stronger, if you even contemplate an act of madness like this you should be locked up.

I had one of those little lazer pens you could buy from France when you went on a school trip ( along with all the firweorks etc).
It used to be great fun shining it in the tiny break in the neghbours curtains, used to drive them bonkers!

I would repectfully suggest you are all going a bit overboard here. I suggest that aiming a laser pen at an airliner would do nothing, at a police helicopter, do nothing but possibly give a bright spot to an infrared camera. As for making their bubble glow to interfere with their site or operation, I would doubt anything like that. Possibly less annoying to them than someone pointing a £10 spot lantern of the type thats readily available in B&Q at them.

Imm, don,t think so. The beam from 200-500nw lasers is very intense, the further the distance the beam travels the greater the spread of light becomes. It does not disperse though and remains concentrated even at great distance. As the pilot that was flying into Heathrow has already stated the effects of one of these in the cabin can be very extreme. You have to remember that a lot of these are class 3b lasers. These things WILL blind you if you look into the beam, at 3B your sight will not even be saved by your blink reaction as the beam in so intense that retina damage is instant.

B&Q flashlight, world away from these things.

I think you are wrong.

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/349414-l-sers-a...

NOTE their deliberate use of the terminology "ATTACK". That's a hint BTW.

Case closed I believe. 6 months in jail would seem to indicate that it is taken a little more seriously than a childish prank.

Don't get me wrong here, I am, being an astronomer who finds the use of a properly aligned laser an immensely useful tool, totally against any type of "licence" arrangement, but deplore the moronic and childish postings here about "playing" with lasers and aircraft.

MoJo.

You quote a aircraft website and say case closed. Isn't that rather like posting a quote from 'brake' regarding speeding. The police are obviously going to want to come down hard on people interfering with their duties, and rightly so. The comments about it being dangerous are typical of exaggerations designed to get the judge to do just that. Bit like when you caught on an empty motorway doing 90, and the police officer would stand up in court to say you were risky everyones life.

I'm sorry but my reasons for continuing to post on a subject which is obviously causing constenation is that all this second hand exaggeration, and hand wringing by a friend of a friend is what will eventually cause some government to ban the sale of these things. Just like speed limits, just like guns, just like smoking, just like a whole bunch of rubbish which usually starts with some idiot, follwed by collective hand wringing championed by the media.

I am not advocating shining the laser at any airplane, helicopter, or at anyones eyes. Hopefully I've said that enough times in my posts. But neither do I think there is any danger attached. I just can't go through the explanation again as if it ain't self evident then it would be like me trying to explain to a 'brake' mother who has just lost her child why speeding isn't dangerous. Logic just doesn't come into it.

I hate the nanny state, there are many areas in which the interference is unjustified and over the top. To come out with a blanket statement saying that you would love to explain why speeding is not dangerous though is just plain nuts. There are of course instances when traveling at 90 on a motor-way is relatively safe, there are though many many occasions when excess speed does cause accidents and there would be complete carnage on the roads if speed restrictions where not applied and enforced.

As for the laser pens, I have one, if you read back you will note that I was one of the first posters to sign up and rush out to buy one. Having now got it though I can very clearly see the danger in these items and am amazed that there is not regulation on the sale of them yet. You can actually purchase lasers that are capable of ripping through metal (imagine this thing in the wrong hands). They ARE dangerous items, the reason these type of items require regulation are obvious, this country is full of brainless little idiots that will use them in a highly dangerous manner without thought to the consequences of there actions. I purchased the 500mw laser, this thing is extremely powerful and if used against a helicopter or aircraft it could have horrific consequences.

As I said, nanny state, hate it. As for banning the sale of Guns, yes of course I agree with this. You are coming across as a person that thinks that regulation is wrong full stop. I would suggest that you go live in Nigeria for a year and you will find out the consequences of such attitudes.

[julian64]

chimera40 said:

julian64 said:

Mojocvh said:

chimera40 said:

Mojocvh said:

julian64 said:

chimera40 said:

julian64 said:

lawrence567 said:

chimera40 said:

BonzoGuinness said:

V8mate said:

Good warning. Police helicopters are still fair game though, right?

I know that's tongue-in-cheek, but seriously - most helicopters have a lot of glasswork up front, often in big continuous mouldings with a couple of layers for good measure. Laser light bounced into that at night can be scattered by scratches and bubbles in the glass, making the entire thing appear to glow. Not good. Not good at all!

Not worth even joking about this guys. These things are getting stronger, if you even contemplate an act of madness like this you should be locked up.

I had one of those little lazer pens you could buy from France when you went on a school trip ( along with all the firweorks etc).
It used to be great fun shining it in the tiny break in the neghbours curtains, used to drive them bonkers!

I would repectfully suggest you are all going a bit overboard here. I suggest that aiming a laser pen at an airliner would do nothing, at a police helicopter, do nothing but possibly give a bright spot to an infrared camera. As for making their bubble glow to interfere with their site or operation, I would doubt anything like that. Possibly less annoying to them than someone pointing a £10 spot lantern of the type thats readily available in B&Q at them.

Imm, don,t think so. The beam from 200-500nw lasers is very intense, the further the distance the beam travels the greater the spread of light becomes. It does not disperse though and remains concentrated even at great distance. As the pilot that was flying into Heathrow has already stated the effects of one of these in the cabin can be very extreme. You have to remember that a lot of these are class 3b lasers. These things WILL blind you if you look into the beam, at 3B your sight will not even be saved by your blink reaction as the beam in so intense that retina damage is instant.

B&Q flashlight, world away from these things.

I think you are wrong.

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/349414-l-sers-a...

NOTE their deliberate use of the terminology "ATTACK". That's a hint BTW.

Case closed I believe. 6 months in jail would seem to indicate that it is taken a little more seriously than a childish prank.

Don't get me wrong here, I am, being an astronomer who finds the use of a properly aligned laser an immensely useful tool, totally against any type of "licence" arrangement, but deplore the moronic and childish postings here about "playing" with lasers and aircraft.

MoJo.

You quote a aircraft website and say case closed. Isn't that rather like posting a quote from 'brake' regarding speeding. The police are obviously going to want to come down hard on people interfering with their duties, and rightly so. The comments about it being dangerous are typical of exaggerations designed to get the judge to do just that. Bit like when you caught on an empty motorway doing 90, and the police officer would stand up in court to say you were risky everyones life.

I'm sorry but my reasons for continuing to post on a subject which is obviously causing constenation is that all this second hand exaggeration, and hand wringing by a friend of a friend is what will eventually cause some government to ban the sale of these things. Just like speed limits, just like guns, just like smoking, just like a whole bunch of rubbish which usually starts with some idiot, follwed by collective hand wringing championed by the media.

I am not advocating shining the laser at any airplane, helicopter, or at anyones eyes. Hopefully I've said that enough times in my posts. But neither do I think there is any danger attached. I just can't go through the explanation again as if it ain't self evident then it would be like me trying to explain to a 'brake' mother who has just lost her child why speeding isn't dangerous. Logic just doesn't come into it.

I hate the nanny state, there are many areas in which the interference is unjustified and over the top. To come out with a blanket statement saying that you would love to explain why speeding is not dangerous though is just plain nuts. There are of course instances when traveling at 90 on a motor-way is relatively safe, there are though many many occasions when excess speed does cause accidents and there would be complete carnage on the roads if speed restrictions where not applied and enforced.

As for the laser pens, I have one, if you read back you will note that I was one of the first posters to sign up and rush out to buy one. Having now got it though I can very clearly see the danger in these items and am amazed that there is not regulation on the sale of them yet. You can actually purchase lasers that are capable of ripping through metal (imagine this thing in the wrong hands). They ARE dangerous items, the reason these type of items require regulation are obvious, this country is full of brainless little idiots that will use them in a highly dangerous manner without thought to the consequences of there actions. I purchased the 500mw laser, this thing is extremely powerful and if used against a helicopter or aircraft it could have horrific consequences.

As I said, nanny state, hate it. As for banning the sale of Guns, yes of course I agree with this. You are coming across as a person that thinks that regulation is wrong full stop. I would suggest that you go live in Nigeria for a year and you will find out the consequences of such attitudes.

GB was not Nigeria prior to the ban on Guns, or indeed any other of the meaningless laws made by this government over the last ten years, so I fail to see any point you are trying to make.

As for 500mw Laser, could you please write your name on the moon so we can see how powerful it is.

I'm afraid I just have to leave this thread now as bitting my tongue is hurting.

[BonzoGuinness]

julian64 said:

I just can't go through the explanation again as if it ain't self evident then it would be like me trying to explain to a 'brake' mother who has just lost her child why speeding isn't dangerous. Logic just doesn't come into it.

I've already tried to explain on various levels why it can be a problem, both with referenced literature and my own observation of certain experiments - yet we keep going back to the old "No way could it burn a hole in the pilots retina at that distance" argument. No, of course it bloody couldn't, but that's not the problem. Scratch up a sandwich of Lexan/Perspex/your favourite transparent acrylic/polycarbonate, then point a laser at it in a dark lab. Maybe you'll change your opinion then.

[hairykrishna]

julian64 said:

I am not advocating shining the laser at any airplane, helicopter, or at anyones eyes. Hopefully I've said that enough times in my posts. But neither do I think there is any danger attached. I just can't go through the explanation again as if it ain't self evident then it would be like me trying to explain to a 'brake' mother who has just lost her child why speeding isn't dangerous. Logic just doesn't come into it.

Don't be a dick. There are plenty of statements from pilots saying that they found having a laser shone on them on takeoff/landing distracting. Distracting someone when they're trying to fly a plane is dangerous. It won't blind them and it probably won't cause a crash but it increases the risks. Hence there's a danger.

[Ahhh Moneypenny]

man's toys.. vibrating foo foo?

[mcdjl]

If you don't think a 200mW laser could blind some one i suggest you havea look at what the government believes wikipedia. Thats esentially taken from the British standard (60825) and basically says that lasers in the range of 5-500mW can blind people if entering the eye driectly. Passing through even a scratched perspex shield won't attenuate much power from the central beam. The fact that no one has been blinded rather than just dazzled/temporarily blinded is more due to luck that people have difficultly holding the lasers steady enough and most of the beams diverge enough that the power density is sufficiently low. The quality control is random enough that some beams are more powerful than others and the divergence also varies, so some will be more dangerous than others.

The problem with baning them is that there a large number of valid commercial and research applications for the lasers. However as they are getting more powerful for their size these lasers are getting more dangerous. For quite some time 3B laers have been meant to be sold with key switches, which probably makes these illegal in this country anyway. At some point legislation has also said that people buying them should have a legitimate reason for buying them, eg business or research. The challenge is finding one of the government agencies to prosecute someone over it.....

[julian64]

hairykrishna said:

julian64 said:

I am not advocating shining the laser at any airplane, helicopter, or at anyones eyes. Hopefully I've said that enough times in my posts. But neither do I think there is any danger attached. I just can't go through the explanation again as if it ain't self evident then it would be like me trying to explain to a 'brake' mother who has just lost her child why speeding isn't dangerous. Logic just doesn't come into it.

Don't be a dick. There are plenty of statements from pilots saying that they found having a laser shone on them on takeoff/landing distracting. Distracting someone when they're trying to fly a plane is dangerous. It won't blind them and it probably won't cause a crash but it increases the risks. Hence there's a danger.

Don't be dickless. There are plenty of reports that say if you speed, you will kill someone.

It seems the thread has regressed from all activity pointing into the night sky is dangerous and babys within a fifty foot radius will die, to, if you happen to be standing on the rightway to get line of sight to a cockpit, and if the plane is one of the very few who is actually not using the automated landing system for a international runway, and if the cockpit screen, or the pilots glasses has a scratch to diffract the light then its dangerous.

Well, yes you got me there. Its dangerous, ban them.

Happy now? Attempted voice of reason well and truly silenced by the handwringers.

.
.
.
..
.
I posted once on this forum when Flemke had been arguing a point for mile after mile on a thread, and said that only your first or second post to counter an argument would ever have an effect, and after that the argument becomes polar with no chance of movement on either side. Further conversation becomes a futile exercise in posting.
You either look at the posts here an decide they are all hand wringing, or you think I'm a dangerous libertarian who doesn't know what he's taking about.

P.S. I really don't need to know the answer to that question .

[BonzoGuinness]

julian64 said:

If you happen to be standing on the rightway to get line of sight to a cockpit

Helicopters have a lot of glasswork up front, it's not hard to get "line of sight". You don't have a radome blocking the way like you would with an airliner!

julian64 said:

and if the plane is one of the very few who is actually not using the automated landing system for a international runway

A helicopter usually won't be using any form of automation, and unlike a plane, loss of your visual reference and subsequently silly control inputs will screw you up pretty quickly - helicopters are at best neutrally dynamically stable, and will happily head off any which way if prompted!

julian64 said:

and if the cockpit screen, or the pilots glasses has a scratch to diffract the light then its dangerous.

Cockpit on a helicopter will doubtless have hundreds of tiny scratches, normally barely visible (though you can see some in the picture). Comes with the territory - flying low level or landing on unprepared sites, with a handy big fan above your head to blast dust and grit into the window. Not to add the material is imperfect from the factory.

julian64 said:

Well, yes you got me there. Its dangerous, ban them.

No need to ban anything, just don't be silly with them.

Edited by BonzoGuinness on Friday 18th September 16:45

[hairykrishna]

julian64 said:

Don't be dickless. There are plenty of reports that say if you speed, you will kill someone.

Ok. Find me a statement from a pilot saying it's ok. There's plenty of opposition to 'Speed kills' from knowledgable people; show the same here.

I'm not arguing that lasers should be banned. Nobody is. That's a strawman of your own construction.

[300bhp/ton]

The Nur said:

I saw this... http://www.megalaseruk.com/laser02.htm#808nm2 the other day and it immediately struck me that it is one of those things that I have no need for, but my life feels empty without.

Click the link, have a look and tell me what you think, is it worth the money? Anyone got more powerful alternatives etc etc?


ETA: C'mon guys, its a frickin laser!






ETA: sorry, should be in computers gadgets and stuff

Edited by The Nur on Saturday 22 August 11:28

That is so cool - want!

[Hedders]

My green 50mw arrived today!

Daylight test show that I can easily hit something a about 150 yards away..Looking forward to night time

I noticed this on their site.

A 5mw basic red pointer for $2.72 with free shipping from honk kong! Not sure how they can afford to do that and make a profit..
http://dealextreme.com/feedbacks/BrowseReviews.dx/...

[Teppic]

My 50mW turned up today (ordered on 9th september).

Bloody hell it's bright! The way the beam cuts through the night sky looks amazing.

Not bad for $20

[sidekickdmr]

still waiting for mine, ordered on 17th sep

[crackthatoff]

uhhhmm !!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ia4Z1WuuTw&fea...

[_Dan_]

Sorry to bring up an old topic, but it is a good one (as long as we don't live in Luton!)

Just had mine delivered a few days ago, a 200mW red laser. This thing is amazing and scary. I'm worried to point it in any direction in case it blinds or burns someone/thing! It's visible miles (many miles) away. Think I may just burn things in my own home with it instead of other people's retinas! I can point it at my keyboard at work and etch my name into the space bar, that's about as adventurous I've got so far.

Oh to be back in the countryside!!

Boys toys, brilliant!

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25493

Edited by _Dan_ on Friday 13th November 03:58

[Digger]

Slightly more sensible me . . I'm on the lookout for a nice bright gadgety led widgety torch*. In fact I am oing to start a thread about it. . .

• something along the lines of a 4sevens quark AA or maybe a nitecore D10!

Edited by Digger on Friday 13th November 21:33

[J-c]

Be careful with these bad boys if you live in a city

I live on the coast and my 250mW was spotted 48 miles away on my mates boat in very bad fog Can reach 100 miles so it says on the web site.