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What lasers are allowed in the competition? My team was deciding to use a laser to create an aiming mechanism,

would this laser be too powerful:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A6M ... ge_o04_s00

Please review the official SO Laser policy: https://www.soinc.org/lasers

A caveat: I always hold the opinion that lasers and optical sights, unless mounted on and aligned perfectly, hold little value in helping to aim to the point you're no better off than just using your eyes.

Mounting a laser is very easy. Just use some picatinny rails which can be bought for very cheap. They can also be calibrated very easily with the wind and elevation adjustments provided on most lasers.

The two main advantages of using a laser are consistency and speed. Aiming is as simple as flipping on a switch so you don't have to second guess yourself, or if you are busy during the block, you can have your partner or another teammate run the event without any trouble where aiming "by eye" would vary from person to person or experience with the device. Speed is pretty self explanatory, just flip a switch and line up the dot.

Considering pistol lasers can be bought for 12$ on amazon, I would say they are definitely worth it.

DoctaDave wrote:Mounting a laser is very easy. Just use some picatinny rails which can be bought for very cheap. They can also be calibrated very easily with the wind and elevation adjustments provided on most lasers.

The two main advantages of using a laser are consistency and speed. Aiming is as simple as flipping on a switch so you don't have to second guess yourself, or if you are busy during the block, you can have your partner or another teammate run the event without any trouble where aiming "by eye" would vary from person to person or experience with the device. Speed is pretty self explanatory, just flip a switch and line up the dot.

Considering pistol lasers can be bought for 12$ on amazon, I would say they are definitely worth it.

Great approach to laser mounting. With farther targets, a one degree difference in the laser's positioning can result in a launch far from your intended location (assuming your device is consistent). So a consistently placed laser is wanted. And agree completely about speed and consistency.

I considered using a laser for this event, but there is no target/reference point/line. For example, in electric vehicle you always have an 8.5 meter a .5 meter line and the target point, but in this event you only have tb e target point, which will be surrounded by sand so I doubt the ES will let you place a target on it.

Bazinga+ wrote:I considered using a laser for this event, but there is no target/reference point/line. For example, in electric vehicle you always have an 8.5 meter a .5 meter line and the target point, but in this event you only have tb e target point, which will be surrounded by sand so I doubt the ES will let you place a target on it.

We use our laser more for aiming at the off center target/bucket. We can hit the bucket with the laser to make sure the machine is centered to the bucket. The far target that's off center we use the laser to make sure the machine is aimed at the line of sight of the target. It hits sand, yes, but we know our machine is in line if the laser just the same line as that of the target.

Bazinga+ wrote:I considered using a laser for this event, but there is no target/reference point/line. For example, in electric vehicle you always have an 8.5 meter a .5 meter line and the target point, but in this event you only have tb e target point, which will be surrounded by sand so I doubt the ES will let you place a target on it.

Good point--our tournaments run this event in a gym with a large tarp covering the ground. It shifts around slightly during the day, gets wrinkles, etc. But with a laser it is still workable. You'll orient your device, so the distance is correct. If the left-right angle is off, that's ok since you can rotate the device and align the laser to the target (for the close/far targets this can be done by holding a sheet of paper over the target--but without touching the target since that would violate competition parameters).

With the elevation adjustment, you can change the angle that the laser points to the ground so the laser points exactly on the target even if its on the ground. The elevation adjustment is just turning a small hex screw so its quick to adjust. I have found that the elevation adjustment on my laser is very consistent and does not shift the beam to the left or the right. There is a separate windage adjustment on the laser that allows the beam to be shifted to the right and left.

Has anyone found a laser that complies with soinc laser policy AND has a safety label that designates the class the laser is in? I'm having trouble finding one that meets both requirements, an amazon link or something similar would be appreciated