Hey everyone, this is my obligatory intro! I hail from Minnesota, land of never ending road construction. I just moved into a new place and have a 'lab' of sorts set up in one of the bedrooms. Now that I have some space I've decided it's time to get into the hobby.
I've always been into tech and I suppose like a lot of you Star Wars started me on that path. (Who didn't want a light saber or blaster?) When I was younger my older brother took me to Chicago for fun and we stopped by the Museum of Holography. (Most of the money I saved paid for a small hologram that I still have.) It blew my little mind and I started reading about lasers. I even have a dog eared copy of the Handbook of Holography! Even though a lot of it was above my head at the time, I read it cover to cover more than once. I was hooked, but for a 13 year old it was all out of reach.
>>> cut to 30 years later <<<
So my boss comes in one day and tells us he bought a handheld laser from Wicked Lasers. (The Arctic.) Naturally I thought it was the coolest thing ever and decided I had to have one. You know, one day. When I made more money. Of course when the money came, they were no longer able to sell them. Ah well, I thought, it just wasn't to be.
About a year ago, just when I was in the middle of selling my house and moving, I saw a video from StyroPyro and hope was rekindled! I didn't have much time to pursue it then, but now that I'm settled into my new house and my new job I want to dive into this!
I went to school for electronics and audio but ended up in IT. (I strayed into home automation for a while, but IT is where I'm happy.) I don't remember much about circuit design but I'm still handy with a soldering iron and feel comfortable tackling a small build. (I kept all my text books and have pulled them out again. They're over 25 years old now, but I don't suppose a resistor has changed TOO much in that time!)
All roads lead to LPF, so here I am. I'm reading all the sticky threads and working on figuring out what I want to do. I apologize in advance for the numerous noob questions I'm sure I'll have. I'll keep my flame suit handy! :)
Thanks,
~Mark
I've always been into tech and I suppose like a lot of you Star Wars started me on that path. (Who didn't want a light saber or blaster?) When I was younger my older brother took me to Chicago for fun and we stopped by the Museum of Holography. (Most of the money I saved paid for a small hologram that I still have.) It blew my little mind and I started reading about lasers. I even have a dog eared copy of the Handbook of Holography! Even though a lot of it was above my head at the time, I read it cover to cover more than once. I was hooked, but for a 13 year old it was all out of reach.
>>> cut to 30 years later <<<
So my boss comes in one day and tells us he bought a handheld laser from Wicked Lasers. (The Arctic.) Naturally I thought it was the coolest thing ever and decided I had to have one. You know, one day. When I made more money. Of course when the money came, they were no longer able to sell them. Ah well, I thought, it just wasn't to be.
About a year ago, just when I was in the middle of selling my house and moving, I saw a video from StyroPyro and hope was rekindled! I didn't have much time to pursue it then, but now that I'm settled into my new house and my new job I want to dive into this!
I went to school for electronics and audio but ended up in IT. (I strayed into home automation for a while, but IT is where I'm happy.) I don't remember much about circuit design but I'm still handy with a soldering iron and feel comfortable tackling a small build. (I kept all my text books and have pulled them out again. They're over 25 years old now, but I don't suppose a resistor has changed TOO much in that time!)
All roads lead to LPF, so here I am. I'm reading all the sticky threads and working on figuring out what I want to do. I apologize in advance for the numerous noob questions I'm sure I'll have. I'll keep my flame suit handy! :)
Thanks,
~Mark