Quote Originally Posted by bradstockdale View Post
What goes on at SELEM?
Hi Brad;

*Lots* of cool things go on at SELEM! We have laser shows playing in the auditorium, we have "show and tell" where people have their equipment on display (hooked up and running or just displayed in pieces if it's not complete) so folks can ask questions about it, and this year we will have several technical presentations put on by industry leaders on such topics as scanner tuning, laser safety, the history of ILDA, optics cleaning and alignment, and many more. We might also have a "smoke ring fight" with the air cannons like we did last year.

Oh, and don't forget the door prizes! A set of Scanpro 40 scanners, and a set of Scanpro 20 scanners, courtesy of LaserShowParts.com... A pair of high-power green laser pointers and two sets of dichros, courtesy of LaserWave... A set of optical mounts, courtesy of One-Stop-Laser-Shop... And some other assorted goodies (including more green laser pointers) courtesy of ME! And there's also the raffle for the 200 mw CNI DPSS blue laser...

Basically it's a 2-day event where a bunch of folks from PL get together and geek out. Trust me when I say that it's a *lot* of fun. (And that includes the pre-SELEM dinner party on Friday night... Be sure you don't miss that!)
Do most people bring part of their projects, equipment, etc?
Absolutely! Last year we had a home-made arc lamp, a home-made argon laser PSU (driving an old-school, all-glass single-line argon head), 5 home-made all-solid-state RGB projectors, a three-watt DPSS green laser, a 3 watt multiline Argon laser, a mirrored ball, and a handfull of smaller red and green lasers all in attendance. Plus about 8 computers (mostly for control of the projectors, but a couple others were there just for the hell of it). So yeah, bring whatever you have. We'll have a small LAN set up so you can trade pics and video.
Do most people stay at a hotel for the weekend?
Yes. There is a very nice bed and breakfast that is only a couple blocks from the venue, but I think it's already booked. There are several hotels within a few miles driving distance from the venue though, so it's easy enough to find lodging. Check the official SELEM 2008 thread for details.

Most people arrive in the afternoon on Friday, and if they have lots of gear to unload, they head straight for the venue to set up. (It's open from noon 'til 5 PM for setup.) Then they check into their hotel, get cleaned up, and head back out for the pre-SELEM dinner party at The Artist's Cafe, which starts at 6PM. Dinner usually runs 'til around 7:30 or so, after which we retire to the upstairs lounge for drinks, cigars, and laser talk. Last year the party didn't break up until midnight, and the bar tab topped 4 figures. (Yeah, seriously!)

We don't start SELEM until 10 AM Saturday morning, so everyone has time to shake off the fog that always accompanies the morning after the night before. We normally run until between 10 and midnight that first day. Then everyone heads back to the hotel to crash for the night... We start up again Sunday morning at 10 AM again, and run until around 6 PM. But really, after 4 PM we're usually packing up and cleaning up. Some people stay in town Sunday evening as well, and then drive or fly home on Monday, while others (including me) will be leaving Sunday evening and driving straight home.
It would be awesome to meet people from the forum... I've never really been into meeting up with members from any other forums, but lasers are such a rare common hobby that there is a little voice in the back of my head telling me that it'd be quite interesting to meet people and make some new friends.
It is first and foremost a *social* event. Sure, we learn about lasers, and yeah, we have tons of fun watching laser shows, but it's *very* cool to meet up with other laser enthusiasts and share experiences. That's one of the reasons why the pre-SELEM dinner party is such a hit! So yeah, you'll make some new friends for sure.
I do have some experience, yes... Not the most in the world, but enough to get ion lasers up and running. I've always been into high voltage electronics, which got me prepared for some of the aspects of laser related electronics.
Then you'll probably have people asking you questions too! And that's cool... Part of the great thing about these meetings is that it gives everyone a chance to share their experience. Also, if you have any high-voltage toys that you'd like to display (Jacob's Ladder, anyone?) then by all means, bring 'em!
I'm excited about getting back into my laser and electronics hobbies...
Well, then I probably should warn you that attending SELEM (or any Laser Enthusiast Meeting for that matter) is likely to motivate you to take your hobby to the next level, and that can get expensive!

Prior to my first meet (the original FLEM in Orlando back in January of 2007), all I had was a 100 mw green projector running on an Alphalite XC. Within 3 months I had a 400 mw RGB projector and a Pangolin QM-32 controller, and just a few months after that I upgraded to a Pangolin QM-2000 controller and a 600 mw RGB projector! (Now I'm working on a 1.5 watt multi-line argon projector...)

In fact, of the 5 people at that first meet that were running controllers other than Pangolin, 3 of them upgraded to Pangolin within the next 60 days! So attending a Laser Enthusiast Meeting can certainly convince you to upgrade your equipment! (Trust me though, you won't be sorry!)
There have been some extenuating circumstances over the past couple years that have caused me to lose sight of my hobbies and, well, most forms of enjoyment in my life. heh... I'm trying to pull my self and my life back together, and part of that is getting back involved with said hobbies...
You're among like-minded folks, Brad. We've all been there. One of the great things about these meets is that it gives you the confidence to try those projects that you've always thought about but never bothered to try. You go there and see something truely amazing that someone has put together in their garage, and all of the sudden you realize that, "Hey! I can do that too!".

As an example, this year James Lehman will be on hand to demonstrate his "Laserboy" software that allows you to use a sound card to control your projector. He wrote the software himself, and modified the sound card himself. It's about as much of a do-it-yourself projector as you can get!

We'll also have several folks present that are running various flavors of the Pangolin QM-2000 system, and several of them will have custom shows to share that they've created themselves. We'll also have a few members present that are running other software and controller combinations, so you can see them in action as well. This ability to compare systems side-by-side is *great* if you're thinking about buying new hardware.

And like I mentioned before, we'll also have several mini-seminars (usually about an hour long or less for each one) going on if you're interested in learning more about some of the technical aspects of the hobby. Bill Benner (president of Pangolin) will be doing several technical presentations, and Steve Roberts has an interesting optics primer planned. Hayden Hale (chief technician at Pangolin) and Patrick Murphy (Current president of ILDA and former executive at Pangolin) will be on hand as well, and we're hoping for a few more last-minute additions to the guest speaker list...

But if you're not into the techical side of things, you can always hang out in the auditorium and just watch lasers! You'll have a great time either way...

Hope to see you there!

Adam