Thought I already posted here. Guess not.
I was directed here by two sources. DTR and Survival Laser.
I became interested in lasers, when I got into night vision. I have a long interest in firearms and weapons and recently got into night vision. I have, as part of my night vision, both green laser and IR laser.
I began looking into higher power IR lasers and found a limit on what I could get commercially. I currently have a 0.7mW IR laser. I wanted something much more powerful (Yeah, I know about the danger). I have safety glasses and understand the danger of working with IR. But hey, firearms are dangerous too. "Danger" has never bothered me. I always try to learn as much as I can, before I jump in.
So, I started with visible lasers. I have a blue 2W, and a green 700mW on the way, as well as a 500mW IR laser diode on the way.
After I become familiar with the process of assembling the parts, I will venture into the IR world.
BTW, I don't really have any use for IR other than it's part of Night Vision and I love taking photos and videos using NV. So, I get to blend several of my hobbies (Jeeping, firearms, and photography).
That's about it, other than having a wife of 48 years, who still doesn't understand why I spend $10K on cameras, $6 on Night Vision, $80K on Jeeps and $50K on firearm stuff. But I think most wives are like that.
PS: I have a degree in Electrical Engineering and have been a design engineer for over 40 years. I just find a good first place to start any project is to see what others have done. No use in reinventing the wheel, as it were.
I was directed here by two sources. DTR and Survival Laser.
I became interested in lasers, when I got into night vision. I have a long interest in firearms and weapons and recently got into night vision. I have, as part of my night vision, both green laser and IR laser.
I began looking into higher power IR lasers and found a limit on what I could get commercially. I currently have a 0.7mW IR laser. I wanted something much more powerful (Yeah, I know about the danger). I have safety glasses and understand the danger of working with IR. But hey, firearms are dangerous too. "Danger" has never bothered me. I always try to learn as much as I can, before I jump in.
So, I started with visible lasers. I have a blue 2W, and a green 700mW on the way, as well as a 500mW IR laser diode on the way.
After I become familiar with the process of assembling the parts, I will venture into the IR world.
BTW, I don't really have any use for IR other than it's part of Night Vision and I love taking photos and videos using NV. So, I get to blend several of my hobbies (Jeeping, firearms, and photography).
That's about it, other than having a wife of 48 years, who still doesn't understand why I spend $10K on cameras, $6 on Night Vision, $80K on Jeeps and $50K on firearm stuff. But I think most wives are like that.
PS: I have a degree in Electrical Engineering and have been a design engineer for over 40 years. I just find a good first place to start any project is to see what others have done. No use in reinventing the wheel, as it were.