UFO Invasion at Area 51- 2.0

Step 9 Laser Weapons

One of the stand out elements of the main craft is the laser. The piece of equipment that produces the shooting beams is called a Jet Laser (made by a company called Extreme Lasers). It is a simple sound activated (or DMX controllable) laser with four individual laser heads. Each laser head emits a 4.95mW red beam, similar to a standard laser pointer. They cost $250 new, but I purchased mine used on eBay many years ago for $100. Keep in mind, there are a lot of other options to create this effect for even less money.

I screwed a black aluminum pole to the umbrella framework, cut a portal out of the fabric cover and mounted the laser along with a small computer speaker (running the laser sound effects from the main speakers) next to the laser's audio input. It really provides that professional ingredient to the entire display.