A geek and his toys...

why_ask_why said:
how does one get so accurate with a laser as to be able to hit a pilot in a moving plane in the eyes?? mount an optical laser scope to your laser?? :fly:
I'd actually like to know this as well. Plus, it's just more fun to shine it on random objects a long way away. I dunno.
 
why_ask_why said:
how does one get so accurate with a laser as to be able to hit a pilot in a moving plane in the eyes?? mount an optical laser scope to your laser?? :fly:
The guy in question was close to the airstrip and was painting them while they were landing. I'd google for the story, but I'm lazy. I don't think it was so much the pilots were bothered by lasers in their eyes as didn't know if it was a joke or a SAM.
 
DirkPhoenix said:
The latest SAM batteries still use radar domes to "paint" aircraft. They may use laser range finders, but the tracking system is still your standard X-Band phased array radar.
Even the shoulder fired ones? Either way, I'm not saying the pilots are right or wrong for thinking that they could be in danger, just that some jackass ended up with the FBI at his door for shining lasers at planes.
 
theacoustician said:
The guy in question was close to the airstrip and was painting them while they were landing. I'd google for the story, but I'm lazy. I don't think it was so much the pilots were bothered by lasers in their eyes as didn't know if it was a joke or a SAM.
ALways wanted to buy a targeting system and paint the civil air patrol as they come over. Just to give the pilots a wakeup. Of course with 9/11 we cant do that now :/
 
So I missed the part about the point to getting it. Trick photography? Do a lot of presentations? Obviously the weapon thing has already been asked and shot down.
 
theacoustician said:
Even the shoulder fired ones? Either way, I'm not saying the pilots are right or wrong for thinking that they could be in danger, just that some jackass ended up with the FBI at his door for shining lasers at planes.


Shoulder-fired missiles are all infra-red, some are heat-seeking. So they are more afriad that it's a shoulder-fired MANPAD than a traditional SAM site. Part of the concern relates to a Kosovo incident when a Russian cargo ship apparently shined a laser into the cockpit of a helicopter, causing temporary blindness for the pilots. All in all, it's just more fear-mongering and knee-jerk reactions to validate someone's job.
 
KNYTE said:
Nah, I learned all that stuff in the Southern California public school system. :fly:


LIES! The only thing you learn in the Southern California public school system is how to speak spanish so you can communicate with the people sleeping on your lawn.
 
djdouchebag said:
I wanted to drop the extra 60 bucks and get a 30 mW laser from over seas but I figured I can't help myself from pointing it outside on random objects to see how far it can go and I figured such a bright and obviously illegal pointer wouldn't be a good idea, so I went with this one instead. :fly:

Oh, yeah.... I'm sure your neighbors would've immediately been on the phone with the police:

"Hello, police? Yes, there's a guy here with a laser pointer. Yes. Yes. I dunno, maybe four inches? Yes. Well, I have reason to believe that it's output exceeds the legal limit of 4.9 milliwatts. Hello? Hello? Did you just hang up? Sonofabitch!"
 
itburnswhenipee said:
Oh, yeah.... I'm sure your neighbors would've immediately been on the phone with the police:

"Hello, police? Yes, there's a guy here with a laser pointer. Yes. Yes. I dunno, maybe four inches? Yes. Well, I have reason to believe that it's output exceeds the legal limit of 4.9 milliwatts. Hello? Hello? Did you just hang up? Sonofabitch!"
The beam in broad daylight is so visible there is no question of where the light came from. Kind of just makes it look like your either giving a presentation with a long light saber or giving away your location while messing with some neighbors.
 
itburnswhenipee said:
ITB:"Hello, police? Yes, there's a guy here with a laser pointer.
Police: Y halo there, are you single? Do u have teh wang? ifyes, how big is teh wang?
ITB: Yes. Yes. I dunno, maybe four inches?
Police: OIC, you will need to bring your A game, meet me in the park in a hour. *click
Yes. Well, I have reason to believe that it's output exceeds the legal limit of 4.9 milliwatts. Hello? Hello? Did you just hang up? Sonofabitch!"

fixt