Has anybody purchased laser products from DestructiveGear.com, either directly or through Google? Ever had customs intercept your merchandise?
I ordered the 75mW "Sirius" laser ($180 with Jasper discount code) from DestructiveGear.com yesterday. They say it'll be here in less than a week. The first thing I plan to do with it once it gets here is see how it stacks up against the handful of 5mW green lasers I already own and then compare it to the 100 mW ($800!) green laser a college professor friend of mine has. If anyone's interested, I'll post my impressions of the comparison tests. Seth -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2008 2:33 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com Has anybody purchased laser products from DestructiveGear.com, either directly or through Google? Ever had customs intercept your merchandise? _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Here's where Patrick can finally be of some help. Have him fly over your position and tell you which laser does what to his eye's. ;) Just kidding! He's pretty good at spotting Space Sations and Iridium Flares. Quoting Seth Jarvis <SJarvis@slco.org>:
I ordered the 75mW "Sirius" laser ($180 with Jasper discount code) from DestructiveGear.com yesterday. They say it'll be here in less than a week.
The first thing I plan to do with it once it gets here is see how it stacks up against the handful of 5mW green lasers I already own and then compare it to the 100 mW ($800!) green laser a college professor friend of mine has.
If anyone's interested, I'll post my impressions of the comparison tests.
Seth
-----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2008 2:33 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com
Has anybody purchased laser products from DestructiveGear.com, either directly or through Google? Ever had customs intercept your merchandise? _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Thanks for the "suggestion", Guy... Seriously, the day is probably not far-off when pilots are issued laser safety glasses, or windshield/canopy material has a blocking layer manufactured into it. On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 2:46 PM, <diveboss@xmission.com> wrote:
Here's where Patrick can finally be of some help. Have him fly over your position and tell you which laser does what to his eye's. ;) Just kidding! He's pretty good at spotting Space Sations and Iridium Flares.
Thanks, Seth, I'm just about to order a "Pyro". BTW, I have a Beta 20mw laser, and it is only marginally dimmer than Bob's 50mw "potato masher" laser. By all means, let us know how the subjective testing goes. I compared a bunch of 3-20mw lasers with a digital light meter a year or so ago and found that not all 5mw lasers are created equal. It was those tests that convinced me to order a 10mw for the 32" Grim scope pointer at SPOC. On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 2:38 PM, Seth Jarvis <SJarvis@slco.org> wrote:
I ordered the 75mW "Sirius" laser ($180 with Jasper discount code) from DestructiveGear.com yesterday. They say it'll be here in less than a week.
The first thing I plan to do with it once it gets here is see how it stacks up against the handful of 5mW green lasers I already own and then compare it to the 100 mW ($800!) green laser a college professor friend of mine has.
If anyone's interested, I'll post my impressions of the comparison tests.
God help me. I just ordered the 100mw laser. You can count me in on the test, Seth, if interested. Maybe we'll get adjacent cells when homeland security finally bans them outright. Wouldn't it be ironic if, when the aliens came and wiped us out, it was because of astronomer's green laser pointers calling attention to ourselves?
And here's the place if 100mw isn't enough for you: http://www.dragonlasers.com/index.html?gclid=COD-8q-d3pMCFSEbagodYwcuZg
That's really cool, Chuck. I'm sure you know that lasers also can be used to create holograms, because they project pure light of only one wavelength. The web site you told us about has an ad for defraction gratings, for experiments with lasers. I'm wondering if the right combination of these gratings could in effect filter out all light that penetrates except for one wavelength. If so, could that produce some kind of hologram-like effect? Just thinking out loud -- Best wishes, Joe Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote: And here's the place if 100mw isn't enough for you: http://www.dragonlasers.com/index.html?gclid=COD-8q-d3pMCFSEbagodYwcuZg _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Joe, I did a lot of experimenting in high school with holograms and home-made lasers. You don't need high-power to create conventional holograms. My biggest problem back then was isolation from vibration during the exposures. Interference filters like the ones we use at the telescope (O3, etc.) essentially filter out all wavelengths except a specific one (or at least a very narrow bandpass), but I'm not exactly following your thinking on the grating idea as far as holograms. The laser is already a single wavelength. Can you expand your idea, it sounds intriguing. On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 3:25 PM, Joe Bauman <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> wrote:
That's really cool, Chuck. I'm sure you know that lasers also can be used to create holograms, because they project pure light of only one wavelength. The web site you told us about has an ad for defraction gratings, for experiments with lasers. I'm wondering if the right combination of these gratings could in effect filter out all light that penetrates except for one wavelength. If so, could that produce some kind of hologram-like effect? Just thinking out loud -- Best wishes, Joe
I got a tracking update that my 100mw has cleared Customs. Should be here in a few days. Seth has reported terrific incendiary news on his 75mw. (Did you report to the group while I was off-line?)
I want a demo!! --- On Fri, 6/13/08, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Friday, June 13, 2008, 12:54 PM I got a tracking update that my 100mw has cleared Customs. Should be here in a few days. Seth has reported terrific incendiary news on his 75mw. (Did you report to the group while I was off-line?) _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Nope, this will be my first report to the group. My 75mW green laser from DestructiveGear.com arrived yesterday (Thursday), less than a week after I ordered it. Considering it came in an envelope with a Taiwanese postmark, that's pretty impressive. The laser seems to be very well made and came with a bench test report indicating that over its 20 second quality control test it had a mean output of a skosh over 80 mW. This little bugger is _bright_. If you want to do the electrical tape cutting and match lighting, this laser is just _barely_ able to do that. I'd say go for the 100 mW if you're dreaming of a death ray. As a night sky pointer, it's simply incredible. As I told Chuck off-line, a person with a P.A. system and one of these lasers could do a star & constellation ID session for a very large audience. I had my son stand over a hundred feet from my last night in city lighting conditions and the beam still looked like a bright pole of light going right to the star he was pointing at. I wish I'd bought the 100 mW laser, but this little bugger for $180 is still sweet - my favorite new toy. BTW, it uses fairly expensive 123 Lithium camera batteries. The best deal I've found for them is a box of 12 from surefire.com. Delivered they'll run you about $26 for the dozen, compared to about $8-$10 each if bought singly from the local supermarket. It's a blast! Seth Jarvis, Director Clark Planetarium -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 12:54 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com I got a tracking update that my 100mw has cleared Customs. Should be here in a few days. Seth has reported terrific incendiary news on his 75mw. (Did you report to the group while I was off-line?) _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
OK, I've completely lost my mind. I just ordered the 100 mW version of the laser. That means my one-day-old-perfect-condition 75 mW (actually specs at 80) is up for sale for the $180 it cost me, but I'll throw in the $10 battery I put in it yesterday. Seth -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Seth Jarvis Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 1:11 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com Nope, this will be my first report to the group. My 75mW green laser from DestructiveGear.com arrived yesterday (Thursday), less than a week after I ordered it. Considering it came in an envelope with a Taiwanese postmark, that's pretty impressive. The laser seems to be very well made and came with a bench test report indicating that over its 20 second quality control test it had a mean output of a skosh over 80 mW. This little bugger is _bright_. If you want to do the electrical tape cutting and match lighting, this laser is just _barely_ able to do that. I'd say go for the 100 mW if you're dreaming of a death ray. As a night sky pointer, it's simply incredible. As I told Chuck off-line, a person with a P.A. system and one of these lasers could do a star & constellation ID session for a very large audience. I had my son stand over a hundred feet from my last night in city lighting conditions and the beam still looked like a bright pole of light going right to the star he was pointing at. I wish I'd bought the 100 mW laser, but this little bugger for $180 is still sweet - my favorite new toy. BTW, it uses fairly expensive 123 Lithium camera batteries. The best deal I've found for them is a box of 12 from surefire.com. Delivered they'll run you about $26 for the dozen, compared to about $8-$10 each if bought singly from the local supermarket. It's a blast! Seth Jarvis, Director Clark Planetarium -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 12:54 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com I got a tracking update that my 100mw has cleared Customs. Should be here in a few days. Seth has reported terrific incendiary news on his 75mw. (Did you report to the group while I was off-line?) _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
It's definitely a mental sickness. Speaking from experience. Bob is officially deposed as the Laser King. BTW, these Destructive Gear lasers are considerably smaller than the "potato masher". About the size of a good-sized frankfurter, wouldn't you say, Seth? On Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 1:22 PM, Seth Jarvis <SJarvis@slco.org> wrote:
OK, I've completely lost my mind.
I just ordered the 100 mW version of the laser.
Yes, size-wise, my laser is a skosh smaller than a hot dog. Seth -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 2:45 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com It's definitely a mental sickness. Speaking from experience. Bob is officially deposed as the Laser King. BTW, these Destructive Gear lasers are considerably smaller than the "potato masher". About the size of a good-sized frankfurter, wouldn't you say, Seth? On Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 1:22 PM, Seth Jarvis <SJarvis@slco.org> wrote:
OK, I've completely lost my mind.
I just ordered the 100 mW version of the laser.
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Seth, Chuck: How do these fire starters perform in cold temps? -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Seth Jarvis Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 1:22 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com OK, I've completely lost my mind. I just ordered the 100 mW version of the laser. That means my one-day-old-perfect-condition 75 mW (actually specs at 80) is up for sale for the $180 it cost me, but I'll throw in the $10 battery I put in it yesterday. Seth -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Seth Jarvis Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 1:11 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com Nope, this will be my first report to the group. My 75mW green laser from DestructiveGear.com arrived yesterday (Thursday), less than a week after I ordered it. Considering it came in an envelope with a Taiwanese postmark, that's pretty impressive. The laser seems to be very well made and came with a bench test report indicating that over its 20 second quality control test it had a mean output of a skosh over 80 mW. This little bugger is _bright_. If you want to do the electrical tape cutting and match lighting, this laser is just _barely_ able to do that. I'd say go for the 100 mW if you're dreaming of a death ray. As a night sky pointer, it's simply incredible. As I told Chuck off-line, a person with a P.A. system and one of these lasers could do a star & constellation ID session for a very large audience. I had my son stand over a hundred feet from my last night in city lighting conditions and the beam still looked like a bright pole of light going right to the star he was pointing at. I wish I'd bought the 100 mW laser, but this little bugger for $180 is still sweet - my favorite new toy. BTW, it uses fairly expensive 123 Lithium camera batteries. The best deal I've found for them is a box of 12 from surefire.com. Delivered they'll run you about $26 for the dozen, compared to about $8-$10 each if bought singly from the local supermarket. It's a blast! Seth Jarvis, Director Clark Planetarium -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 12:54 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com I got a tracking update that my 100mw has cleared Customs. Should be here in a few days. Seth has reported terrific incendiary news on his 75mw. (Did you report to the group while I was off-line?) _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.3.0/1499 - Release Date: 6/12/2008 7:13 AM No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.3.0/1499 - Release Date: 6/12/2008 7:13 AM
On Sat, Jun 14, 2008 at 11:41 AM, Kim <kimharch@cut.net> wrote:
Seth, Chuck: How do these fire starters perform in cold temps?
Kim, I'll let you know- in about 5 or 6 months! There is a photo on the Destructive Gear Website that shows someone standing in the middle of a snow-covered street in a Chinese city at night, demonstrating the visible green beam. The laser seems to be working fine in that photo. My 100mW "Pyro" arrived this morning and the first thing I did was go in search of a battery. On Seth's suggestion, I went to Albertson's. I found a 2-pack of Energizer #123 for $14.99, with a $2-off coupon attached. This made it 12.99 for 2, or about $6.50 each + sales tax. The coupons expire at the end of this month. The second thing I did was ignite a match head. I didn't time it, but it did take several seconds. My daughter took a cell-phone video of it, and I'll post it to my Photobucket account soon and give out the URL. Too cool. They send a little print-out of the test results for each laser; mine showed a minimum output of 110mW, A mean of 112mW, and a max of 114mW, for the 20-second test duration. The charted output showed a remarkably flat line as one would expect from these numbers. The duty cycle is 120 seconds, with a 30-second cool-down time before using it again. Two full minutes "on" is plenty for star-party use. In practice I don't think I've ever had a laser pointer in continuous use for more than 20 or 30 seconds at the very most. I've put it away until nightfall. I'm willing to shine it in someone's direction at a pre-determined time tonight to test for long-range visibility if anyone's interested, although we'll have some stiff lunar competition. Maybe in SPOC's general direction at eleven PM? I'll let you know how it stacks-up against my 20mw Beta pointer after dark.
Here is the short video of a match head being ignited by my laser. My daughter can be heard making a comment near the end: http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/?action=view¤t=...
Probably everyone who has purchased a Lucky Duck laser on-line got the promotional email with the discount codes for the high-powered DestructiveGear.com lasers, but if you didn't, here they are: *100mw Pyro*: $270. *Discount code 1ORYP2* *75mw Sirius:* $180. *Discount code 1IRIS2* *55mw Extreme:* $155. *Discount code 1EMET2* *40mw Advanced*: $130. *Discount code 1ADVA2* That's up to $100 off the regular price of a Pyro, and on down.
Good question. I've just sold my 80 mW laser to Wayne, but when my 100 mW arrives I'll try putting it in the fridge for a while and then see how it performs and then report. Seth -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com on behalf of Kim Sent: Sat 6/14/2008 11:41 AM To: 'Utah Astronomy' Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com Seth, Chuck: How do these fire starters perform in cold temps? -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Seth Jarvis Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 1:22 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com OK, I've completely lost my mind. I just ordered the 100 mW version of the laser. That means my one-day-old-perfect-condition 75 mW (actually specs at 80) is up for sale for the $180 it cost me, but I'll throw in the $10 battery I put in it yesterday. Seth -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Seth Jarvis Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 1:11 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com Nope, this will be my first report to the group. My 75mW green laser from DestructiveGear.com arrived yesterday (Thursday), less than a week after I ordered it. Considering it came in an envelope with a Taiwanese postmark, that's pretty impressive. The laser seems to be very well made and came with a bench test report indicating that over its 20 second quality control test it had a mean output of a skosh over 80 mW. This little bugger is _bright_. If you want to do the electrical tape cutting and match lighting, this laser is just _barely_ able to do that. I'd say go for the 100 mW if you're dreaming of a death ray. As a night sky pointer, it's simply incredible. As I told Chuck off-line, a person with a P.A. system and one of these lasers could do a star & constellation ID session for a very large audience. I had my son stand over a hundred feet from my last night in city lighting conditions and the beam still looked like a bright pole of light going right to the star he was pointing at. I wish I'd bought the 100 mW laser, but this little bugger for $180 is still sweet - my favorite new toy. BTW, it uses fairly expensive 123 Lithium camera batteries. The best deal I've found for them is a box of 12 from surefire.com. Delivered they'll run you about $26 for the dozen, compared to about $8-$10 each if bought singly from the local supermarket. It's a blast! Seth Jarvis, Director Clark Planetarium -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 12:54 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] DesctructiveGear.com I got a tracking update that my 100mw has cleared Customs. Should be here in a few days. Seth has reported terrific incendiary news on his 75mw. (Did you report to the group while I was off-line?) _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.3.0/1499 - Release Date: 6/12/2008 7:13 AM No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.3.0/1499 - Release Date: 6/12/2008 7:13 AM _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
participants (7)
-
Chuck Hards -
diveboss＠xmission.com -
Joe Bauman -
Kim -
Patrick Wiggins -
Richard Tenney -
Seth Jarvis