From GoldenStar: The S-W600A Mini review...

[VibrationsOfDoom]

Okay, well, sorry I haven't been around awhile... When three people told me I would like the specs of this model, neither they nor I had NO idea how much I would be enjoying this and blown away. WOW... This laser is so damn bright, it makes the Spencer laser look like the bulbs are half burned out! Anyway, on to a few pics and more chat...



This is the front of the machine... Notice the HUGE "window" area, which is covered by a clear piece of plastic... Lasers are so powerful you could smear fingerprints all over them and the lasers would STILL plow right through it! I've tested the "music mode" on this machine; sadly I don't think you can run music mode off of anything but the images contained within the unit... Still, those images are nice and very numerous! The microphone on the front is pretty sensitive; if you find it's not, there's actually a control knob located right next to the DMX in and out plugs...



Sorry, I didn't want to unscrew this unit just yet! But with the flash, you can kinda see inside this mammoth projector!



This is the back of the unit. Notice the LCD display area: more on that in a minute, but you can tell the LCD area doesn't match the black color of the unit itself... Obviously THIS LCD display unit is NOT standard with this unit; just like Winni told me... ILDA, DMX AND the SD Card.. Oddly, the SD card reader is a little strange. It doesn't click into place like most SD card readers... It will go in all the way, but it won't push in to lock and push in again to unlock, you have to actually pull the card out of the slot; a little tricky to do since it only leaves a tiny bit of the card exposed... Still, so far I have read almost every ILDA format 0 file I have near flawlessly, except for surprisingly the train moving through a fast cityscape and the medusa geometric pattern; in the latter, it shows a single line rotating at higher speed; not the entire circular display that the Spencer shows... I haven't tried ILDA format 5 yet, but as I said, most every ILDA 0 file performs flawlessly (and even improves on some designs that the 'Spence couldn't quite display right... No weird tails on images, no broken or misplaced lines...

One more picture... First up, let me explain: My bedroom is approximately 10.5 ft. by 10.5... Even sitting in the middle of the room with the projector at the back wall, these colors are damn bright... And by the way, this pic is with the lights ON. I don't have to turn off the main light in the room to see these colors CLEARLY...





Granted, these aren't the best pics, but what blows me away is these were taken with the room lights ON (I have two 75-watt spiral bulbs in a light fixture overhead). Purples, light blues and darker blues have never been clearer or more bright... Now onto a few specifics...

The SD card Winni sent me had some cool animal images I had never seen before (don't know if I would be allowed to upload them). There were tons of cool images on the unit itself, like a dude singing into a microphone all in red that was SERIOUSLY bright, and some geometric patterns that were cool... As for the SD card itself, it has 4 different modes, but the weirdest thing was trying to figure out the programming sequence! Unlike most SD card projectors, you cannot program the SD card remotely; the sequence you want is programmed on the LCD display itself and the unit writes certain files for you! A directory on the card says PESLASER, then under that you have a folder called ILD (where the ILD files go) and a folder called PLAYLIST. Apparently, the files IN The playlist file are called EFFEC** (where ** is the number of the file; this thing can support up to 255 files!) and the playlist stores not the actual file names, but the EFFEC file!

Anyway, the most interesting thing about this is the menu ability to change the scanner speed; this one is supposed to be 20k max, but the menu lets you choose all the way up to 40k... Now, I can't tell if I'm able to GET 40k, but just to be safe I put it on about 35... What's REALLY cool is the ability to change not only the size of the display (in those screenshots, I had the size up to 100 out of 125, so the images can get very large!) but also the color scheme! I can do single color, RGY, RGB (default), or even GBP!!! Seeing some of these displays in red green and yellow patterns was very interesting! There's also the ability to invert x AND y if I so desire... There's also something called address which I haven't been able to figure out yet...

All in all, this is a damn amazing machine. I figured I would like this thing but hell I LOVE it... It's like the difference between riding a bike and hauling ass down the autobahn in a ferrari... MEGA thanks to those of you who pointed me in the direction of GoldenStar, this thing is worth to me WAY more than the $315 I paid for it. I would HIGHLY recommend this machine AND this company to anyone looking for a good company. Winni answered ALL my questions, several times, I was a little upset at first that she didn't send me the tracking number; I had to ask for it after she told me she'd send it, but the box got here in about 5 days time...

[colouredmirrorball]

Nice review, thanks for writing this all out.

A few remarks:
-Maybe the address feature is for DMX control?
-If you want to determine scan speed, load in the Ilda test pattern. If the scanners are only 20k and you're using them at 35k, you're asking for trouble. But if the images are nice (sharp corners, straight lines, round circles etc) there shouldn't be a problem. But don't take my advice on scanners :P
-Where did you get the ilda file for the last picture? Is it one you found here or was it by default on the SD card? Original source: http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...846#post145846

[dkumpula]

-If you want to determine scan speed, load in the Ilda test pattern. If the scanners are only 20k and you're using them at 35k, you're asking for trouble. But if the images are nice (sharp corners, straight lines, round circles etc) there shouldn't be a problem. But don't take my advice on scanners :P

Hi VibrationsOfDoom,

Just to echo CMB's advice here, those are 20K scanners according to the description on Goldenstar's website: http://www.goldenstarlaser.com/sw600a-p-462.html

At full scan angle, you probably don't want to run them above 16K.

Cheers!

-David

[m0f]

Awesome! Glad you're happy with it. Definitely a big step up from the spencer's type stuff.

Whereas the spencer's more of a toy and made to be somewhat disposable, the goldenstar's a real lasers and made using all standard parts, and so down the road if you ever decide you want to upgrade to faster scanners, or brighter laser modules, or even ever needs out of warranty repairs, it's all easily doable.

Re the brightness, as they're truthful about their specs, for a laser sold as 680mW, you can be sure it's putting out more than that

Definitely best to use a lower speed on the scanners. As the sd reader / show card sounds like it's capable putting out 40kpps, it has the potential to way overdrive the scanners. As with any laser, the scanners will try to keep up with whatever the input signal, so if the input signal is 35kpps, they're running faster than they're intended to.

Usually a scanner's speed rating is measured at 8 degrees, so if running a larger scan angle than that, best to run them a bit slower even. As a general rule of thumb, it's always a good idea to run scanners as slow as you can get away with, the only possible negative of running them too slow is a bit of flicker with some images, but in general the slower you run them, the longer they will last, the less wear and tear, less heat, etc.

A scanner will attempt to reproduce whatever signal is input, similar to a set of speakers in audio, so just something to be careful of. That sd show card is likely more than capable of overdriving them.

As mentioned, load up an ilda test pattern and by checking at what speed the circle meets the square you can better know what it the optimal speed to run them at.

Edit : Just wanted to add, the address feature would be for dmx. With dmx, you should be able to trigger the cues off the sd, and in general control all the features via it. Sometimes they even have waveform generators and extra stuff to play with built in. I just picked up one of those $16 chamsys dmx controllers myself to play with and learn the magicq software. Something you may want to play with down the road.

And as it has ilda ports, down the road if you ever do want to get into a dac / computer controlled setup, that's an option as well. All in all, a great starter lasers as you're not limited in any direction you may decide to go.

[BazookaBo]

Hi, I am looking for something like this, I have my "toy" laser now but that don't quite fill my laser need! this might be what i want

Can you test a ILDA file for me and photo it? and tell me if it flickers a lot or not...?

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5978927/bazg2.ild

My toy laser can't manage to get it all up

Best regards.

/Bo

[Spotta]

This does look like quite a lot of laser for the money. I'm gonna have to fire off some questions to Winni myself.
For anyone with a lot more knowledge than me (that's all of you) How would the colours in this compare to the DTR diode bundle?

[m0f]

Well its an rgb, save wavelengths as the dtr bundle. However ttl drivers so 7 colour max. When building something with the dtr diodes you can use analog drivers to get a full colour palette. Or technically could install analog drivers into this laser to get more colours. The big advantage of the dtr set is that its all diode, and single mode so very tight beams. But once factoring in the other costs this laser would be cheaper to buy vs build with the dtr parts. But kind of comparing apples and oranges. If looking for ready build this is an option but for a project the dtr setup is a nice start

[SaltyRobot]

Although I find this projector very interesting and the price is right for what you are getting. I doubt you are getting a 520nm green, so it would be different than the DTR bundle. Also the website says its a 532nm green. Since this has TTL driver I also wonder if the green is a pointer core and would not modulate well by changing the driver to analog modulation.

I wonder how much the price would increase if Winni used a 520nm and analog modulation?

The DTR bundle would be really great but the price adds up pretty quick when you think about needing drivers, dichros, mounts, base, and box and that's on top of spending 200-300 for the diodes. Probably looking at 600 before your ready to send the laser into a set of Galvos.

Not choosing either side just point out some of the differences between this and the DTR bundle.

[Spotta]

Thanks for the replies.
I'm the kind of person that normally always likes to do things properly rather than wasting money on rubbish plus I love building things myself but with limited spare time and already one addictive expensive hobby (building analogue modular synths) I'm thinking this might make a good base to get me up and running and then maybe mod in the future.
Although I'd like to learn making my own shows in the future for the time being similar to the OP I would like to playback shows from a SD card, preferably in time with the music being played rather loudly
More research to do!

[m0f]

With regard to timing with the music, don't count on the sound to light function built into any projector to get it perfect. While it can generally detect beats, it can't detect were beat 1 is for example. DMX control can allow you to fine tune a show, but in the end ILDA with a proper dac and either making a timeline show or live control is best way by far. So much more that can be done with it.

Where these projectors are good is for a first laser for someone on a very tight budget and just starting out. They do have ilda in, dmx, and the sd, so that out of the box you can use the built in cues, play with the sd in adding some cues, progress to cheaply controlling it via dmx and then as budget allows buy a proper dac and software combination to really open up the functionality. The problem with that though is once you do get a dac / software, the ttl modulation and scan speed will really be holding you back and so by that time you'll almost certainly be looking to upgrade.

So if you can afford a little bit more, and like to build things, it's really the way to go. Plus you learn a lot in the process and will always be able to fix it down the road if it ever needs repair. For home use you don't need that much power, so something like the all diode kit from DTR, flexmods or a pair of dave's dual drivers, a set of DT30 scanners would be money well spent. And really not that much more in the end.

Or if looking for more laser power, you can get a dpss green, and a 445nm diode and a mitsu p73 w/ corrective optics and end up with a couple of watts or more for not that much more money spent.

Also maybe pick up a goldenstar case (unless you're into metalwork, can save a lot of time in doing so), and those sd / dmx / lcd cards are available for $40-50 or so if you want to play around with sd while saving for a dac / software. In the end you're probably looking at a couple hundred dollars more to spend, but a much better way to go if you intend to purchase a dac / software at some point.

The above lasers on the other hand are a good purchase for someone looking for something ready built and want to avoid the need to connect a computer for ilda control, someone like the op who wanted something that just works out of the box, doesn't want to deal with computer control and just wants to load some frames onto the sd and enjoy the automatic functionality. Much better than the spencer's type laser and not that much more money. But the ttl and scan speed are limiting if the intention is to at some point connect a dac / software.

Edit : One other things I just wanted to add. When buying a ready made laser and intending to mod. Typically you'll find things are glued down, mounts are setup to be permanent (either glued or non adjustable), etc. So while a good choice if you just want something that works out of the box and should never need alignment, not usually the best option if you intend to mod or tweak. When you build it from scratch yourself, you can design it in such a way that it's open ended and adjustable, leave more room for upgrades down the road, etc. Not glue things down, though may once in awhile need alignment, it's an easy process if you have nice adjustable mounts.