7 Dec
2005
7 Dec
'05
2:14 p.m.
Laser tip: If your laser has a "flare" or two extending out from the dot, when projected on a wall, it is probably due to a speck of dust or tiny fiber on the lens. Try blowing it out with canned air. If you use lung power, you will fog the lens and it will take a few minutes to clear- it may also contribute to eventual mold growth down in there, where it's hard to clean. The flares don't hurt anything, really, but they do take energy away from the collimated beam, reducing brightness ever so slightly. It's the same diffraction effect that secondary mirror vanes cause in some Newtonians. __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL Â Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com