[Laser] New San Diego optical beacon

[Chuck Hast]

On 1/22/07, Kerry Banke <kbanke at qualcomm.com> wrote:
> Paul - The closest I have done to what you are describing with some
> success has been either with clouds or pollution present. In clear
> skies I have not had enough scatter from a vertical beam to be useful
> out more than maybe 1/2 mile. With clouds I have done more than 3
> miles. This was done by using Jason software to modulate the power
> supply frequency for a 150W HPS lamp at  ground level. I have not had
> success luck using our 4" collimated 910 nm laser pointed vertically
> and trying to see it from some distance. I'm looking forward to
> trying to detect our new beacon with clouds, during rain or fog as
> I'm just not quite LOS to the beacon and wasn't able to detect it on
> a clear night.
>   - Kerry N6IZW -

What about using the traffic signal balls (that is what they call the lamps
in them) I would say a red one would get you some pretty good distance,
we have some around town here that are really too bright at night and if
you are stopped waiting for the green, your eye balls are being given the
red over, and when it turns green it is even worse, but at least you do not
set there and have to look at it.

I wonder how far one of these things would be visible on axis, and how
much of a reflection you would get if you had a cloud layer. Should not
be too  much trouble to key them...

-- 
Chuck Hast  -- KP4DJT --
To paraphrase my flight instructor;
"the only dumb question is the one you DID NOT ask resulting in my going
out and having to identify your bits and pieces in the midst of torn
and twisted metal."