December lab update

It’s been a busy year in a number of way which is why I haven’t been posting too many lab updates and tutorials.

I’ve got a number of tutorials in the pipeline and pictures that need taking but the next two weeks promise to be just as full so I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to get to while I’ve got the time off my "day job." We’ll see though.

Click through for some pictures and descriptions of what I’ve been up to.

I’ve been working on various holograms such as:

The snowflake. This is a transmission that might not make a good reflection copies but is interesting because of the sparkly nature. I just got a wild hair and decided to make a quick hologram of a sparkly ornament.

Facia, with a metal frame

Friends, which I entered in the 2006 Holography Forum contest.

I’ve also been updating the controller software and hardware and now have the hardware creating a spiders nest underneath the table.

I’ve added a 16 relay board (on the left) that allows me to switch on both lasers and will soon allow me to control the lab lights and HEPA fan so that I can turn various things on/off during exposures. I’ve also added an annoying buzzer that gives me some audible warning when an exposure is immenent. The board on the right serves as a wiring junction between the table, shutter and laser switches and the controller boards.

I’ve also added several software modifications to HoloController and updated the sourceforge repository.

Published by

Michael Harrison

Husband, Programmer, Irish dancer, tinkerer, astronomer, layabout (as much as possible)

One thought on “December lab update”

  1. It’s been a busy weekend so far.With Susan away, I’ve been in bachelor mode (no, no strippers) working in the lab.
    I’ve:
    Modified a surplus shutter with a new mirror and welding-glass backstop to serve as a shutter/beam dump for the new green laser.

Leave a Reply