OT: Laser Level

How does a laser level work... spinning mirror? ...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson | mens | | Analog Innovations | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | STV, Queen Creek, AZ 85142 Skype: skypeanalog | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at

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Reply to
Jim Thompson
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Den onsdag den 14. september 2016 kl. 00.25.02 UTC+2 skrev Jim Thompson:

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Reply to
Lasse Langwadt Christensen

Some do, yes. Some, like this one, even automatically make sure the axis of the mirror is vertical:

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others you have to adjust by hand. Mostly used in construction.

The cheaper ones just use a laser diode/diffraction grating to produce a line and have one or more bubble levels attached.

AFAICT all use the cheapest possible laser diode, usually 635 nm red, meaning they're next to useless in daylight.

If you just want to level shelves and stuff, buy a cheaper one and eyeball the bubbles VERY carefully first. Go ahead, ask me why I say that. ;>)

I have two cheapos. One of these:

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(The laser also backlights the bubbles via a diffuser. It has a magnet for mounting and a slide-on circular angle-measuring bracket thingy.)

and a torpedo-style with three bubbles (level, vertical and 45 degree) and magnets plus a tripod mounting hole.

I use them a lot when the Wife goes all nesting-instinct on me.

Mark L. Fergerson

Reply to
Alien8752

I think the good ones use a spinning pentaprism not a mirror.

The difference is: if the bearings of the mirror have a bit of play or wobble so that the mirror tilts by an angle of X seconds of arc, the beam after the mirror will tilt by 2X seconds of arc, and your construction project will be wonky.

If you use a penta-prism that is on loose bearings and so gets tilted by angle X, (at least for small X), there is zero change in the angle of the beam after the pentaprism, not 2X. With the penta-prism, the beam always gets bent by 90 degrees, defined by the grinding machines that made the penta-prism, not defined by whatever sub-standard skateboard bearings are used to rotate it. Provided the beam coming from the laser is accurately vertical (which is a separate problem...) after the pentaprism the plane swept by the beam will be flat and horizontal and not depedent on the bearings that carry the pentaprism.

Reply to
Chris Jones

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