section_path: Uses/Hobbies
section_name: Hobbies
paragraph_text: Hobbies
  
  In recent years, some hobbyists have taken an interest in lasers. Lasers used by hobbyists are generally of class IIIa or IIIb, although some have made their own class IV types. However, compared to other hobbyists, laser hobbyists are far less common, due to the cost and potential dangers involved. Due to the cost of lasers, some hobbyists use inexpensive means to obtain lasers, such as salvaging laser diodes from broken DVD players (red), Blu-ray players (violet), or even higher power laser diodes from CD or DVD burners.
  
  Hobbyists have also used surplus lasers taken from retired military applications and modified them for holography. Pulsed ruby and YAG lasers work well for this application.