Laser Communications

Laser Classes
   

Class I Sealed systems Class II Output <1mW Class IIIa Output 1mW - 5mW Class IIIb Output 5mW 500mW


Harmful to eyes, diffuse viewing OK Harmful to skin and eyes, diffuse viewing hazardous

Class IV Output >500mW



Diode Lasers


Laser diodes emit an elliptical beam with astigmatism Better units will include corrective lenses for astigmatism and to make the dot appear round Neither of these problems are inherently bad for DX purposes but correcting them also improves divergence, a big win (more gain).

Human Spectral Response

Perceived Intensities
Wavelength 532 nm 635 nm 640 nm 650 nm 660 nm 670 nm Multiplier 28 7 5 3 2 1 Color Green Red-Orange RedRed-Orange RedRed Red Red

Laser Diode
Laser Diodes include Photodiodes for feedback to insure consistent output

Pointer Design

Pointer Innards

Modulation


AM


Easy with gas lasers, hard with diodes Used by Ramsey in their kit Potentially the highest bandwidth (>100kHz)

PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)



PFM (Pulsed FM)



Gain Systems


Transmitter
 

Maximum output power Minimum divergence Maximum lens area Clarity Tight focus on detector

Receiver
  

Filters
   

Sun shade over detector Shade in front of lens Detector spectral response Colored filters
Absorb ~50% of available light  Difficult to find exact frequency


Mounting Systems


 

Mounts and stands need only be as accurate as beam divergence Good laser diodes will be 1-2mR (milliRadian) 1A 32 pitch screw at the end of a 2' mount will yield 1mR per revolution. Since quarter turns (even eighth turns) are possible, this is more than accurate enough Higher thread pitches allow shorter mounts which may be more stable (against wind, vibration, wires) 1mR is 1.5' of divergence every 1000', 3' at 2000 ', etc.

Pointing
   

GPS and Compass Scopes and Binoculars Strobe lights, large handheld floods, headlights HTs to yell when laser light is seen at remote location

Weak Signal Modes

Laser DX


1991 - June 08 - WA7LYI and KY7B - 153.97 miles ! Equipment used: 18 inch fresnel lens into Photomultiplier tube Transmitter: 15 mw helium cadmium laser (442 nm)

Applications
    

Transmit voice for miles line-of-sight line-ofUse weak signal modes for cloud scatter Transmit video with cheap pens Transmit high speed data without WEP Blind flies for easy extermination