Lasers, how does that work?

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
12/02/2015 at 10:04 • Filed to: None

So I have this laser distance finder that I am trying to use. Anyone have any experience with these? I am trying to use it outdoors but not having much luck with the sunlight interfering. Works great inside but I would like to create some sort of plate to help the laser show up outside. But I am not too familiar with how lasers work.

DISCUSSION (19)

Brickman > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/02/2015 at 10:22

You need something that surveyors use if you want to laser measure outside. These are probably low power. Maybe try at night?

Wacko > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/02/2015 at 10:22

distance finders are done by echo(sonar) and not by lasers. well all the ones I tried. Does it make a sound when you use it.

Telumektar > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/02/2015 at 10:35

A friend of mine has one of those. It works fine indoors and outdoors.

He uses it under the sun just fine. I don’t know if it works well ALL the time, but it did back then.

Mattbob > Wacko
12/02/2015 at 10:36

no. There are laser ones too. They are more expensive and more precise at longer ranges.

Wacko > Mattbob
12/02/2015 at 10:37

most likely out of my budget too

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Wacko
12/02/2015 at 10:56

its definitely a laser, but not a very bright one.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Brickman
12/02/2015 at 10:58

I definitely would like to use it at night but unfortunately the only time I will have to measure this stuff will be during the day. I will just use a 100' tape measure if I cant get the laser thing to work. Right now I am trying a cardboard box and using a bright laser pointer as an aiming device.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/02/2015 at 10:58

I wonder if putting a tube around the sensor would help block out indirect scatter into the unit from sunlight? You might at least try different combos of target in the shade, unit in the shade, and either in bright light to figure out how much of the problem is at the unit and how much at the target.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Telumektar
12/02/2015 at 10:59

Yeah it works really great indoors and is as accurate as my tape measure. But outside is a crapshoot. I really need to create a reliable aiming plate for it.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
12/02/2015 at 11:06

I think the target is more of the issue. I have tested it 130 ft from the building and it is overcast outside. With the unit in the shade (by the building) and the target out in ambient light (130' away from building) I cannot pickup anything without an error, even if I can manage to find the light. But with the target by the building and the unit 130' out, I can reliably read that distance.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/02/2015 at 11:15

Got it. There are high reflectivity paints out there, kind of like what gets used on highway signs, that have crystals/whatever in them particularly good at reflecting light back to source, but aren’t that bright/diffuse/dazzling otherwise. So, rather than a mirror, which is going to reflect things at a mirror angle, or something bright white, which will reflect everything including sunlight in a diffuse manner. I’m not sure if ordinary hardware stores have those paints, but I think they would work perfectly.

Urambo Tauro > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/02/2015 at 11:32

Try aiming for a shadow so the dot itself is not in direct sunlight. You might have to be creative in making a shadow over your target point.

Sometimes measuring from point B to point A is easier than measuring from point A to point B.

FastIndy > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/02/2015 at 11:54

Use a white piece of paper on a clipboard. I’ve used a Leica distance finder exactly like the shown pretty extensively outdoors, using just a piece of paper. The meter is simply measuring the time of flight of the light, so it has to get a return signal from the laser to work properly.

So the easier it is for you to see the dot, the better the meter will “see” the dot also.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/02/2015 at 12:14

A piece of white retro-reflective tape on the target should do the trick. If you don’t want to stick it to the wall, create your own range pole with a broom stick and a piece of cardboard with the tape on it.

Kinja'd!!!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
12/02/2015 at 12:38

I might be able to "find" as a decent substitute lol

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > FastIndy
12/02/2015 at 12:41

Im using a slightly different one from the picture, but yeah it should function exactly the same. I will definitely keep in mind "if I can see the dot"

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Urambo Tauro
12/02/2015 at 12:43

Creative shadow is my goal. Got plenty of cardboard boxes laying around, so I should be able to make something work.

wkiernan > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
12/02/2015 at 15:00

I buy retro-reflective tape from a boating store and I’ve gotten good shots at 300 feet plus in daylight with my Disto. For that matter, I get 200 foot shots reliably to a white-painted wall with it, even in daylight. Do you have anything to prop it on when you’re taking a shot? That’s the hardest part with long shots for me, holding it steady enough that I don’t get error messages instead of distances.

The other thing that helps in daylight is if I use the orange-colored sunglasses that came with my Disto. They’re tinted so that the red dot becomes a lot brighter relative to the surrounding area, making it easier to pick out.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > wkiernan
12/02/2015 at 20:02

You think a bicycle reflector would work well as a retroreflective surface?