I know this thread is a hundred years old, but OK listen up...
Some know, some don't. A laser diode is a little less easy to modulate than an IR LED. Easy enough, but not a drop-in replacement.
Important to know. ALL laser beams spread. Some more than others. There is a ton of information on this, but a few general rules, most importantly, THE LARGER THE BEAM DIAMETER, THE LESS IT SPREADS. After a few thousand feet, it's not uncommon for a beam to be FEET in diameter. Still a bitch to aim.
Laser diodes have this awful problem too... the beam spreads out at an outrageous angle of around 45 degrees. Yeah. THATS why they have collimator lenses attached, and even on a crappy laser pointer, these are adjustable. Any IR laser that you'd get is obviously going to have an adjustable focus. Easy enough! defocus the unit! Now here's the thing. If you've got a 500mW, or more powerful IR laser, first of all, you've got a serious eye hazard and a fire hazard on your hands. Even a 50mW IR laser is dangerous to the eyes. All the more reason you'll want to defocus it slightly. It would be really mean for you to turn a guys TV off AND blind him permanently.
Either way, I've had this idea for some time now, and as soon as I can justify wasting a day making this rig (I've got the telescope) the entire east side of Manhattan facing Brooklyn will have trouble watching their crappy TVs.
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I know this thread is a hundred years old, but OK listen up...
Some know, some don't. A laser diode is a little less easy to modulate than an IR LED. Easy enough, but not a drop-in replacement.
Important to know. ALL laser beams spread. Some more than others. There is a ton of information on this, but a few general rules, most importantly, THE LARGER THE BEAM DIAMETER, THE LESS IT SPREADS. After a few thousand feet, it's not uncommon for a beam to be FEET in diameter. Still a bitch to aim.
Laser diodes have this awful problem too... the beam spreads out at an outrageous angle of around 45 degrees. Yeah. THATS why they have collimator lenses attached, and even on a crappy laser pointer, these are adjustable. Any IR laser that you'd get is obviously going to have an adjustable focus. Easy enough! defocus the unit! Now here's the thing. If you've got a 500mW, or more powerful IR laser, first of all, you've got a serious eye hazard and a fire hazard on your hands. Even a 50mW IR laser is dangerous to the eyes. All the more reason you'll want to defocus it slightly. It would be really mean for you to turn a guys TV off AND blind him permanently.
Either way, I've had this idea for some time now, and as soon as I can justify wasting a day making this rig (I've got the telescope) the entire east side of Manhattan facing Brooklyn will have trouble watching their crappy TVs.