Calling all seniors. Need help guys.

[ssc0530]

Ok first of, Im a complete newbie never touched a laser, so i will not be building one I'm afraid. However, I expect you guys to help sensibly due to the level of experience of this site's members--I have been researching pretty hardcore on the rip offs (power output), what mW output I actually need, etc.

Here is the problem, I have an art project I am working on it needs to be complete by may. The project is an ode to N'ashjeii the grandmother spider as my show is all about spiders. ANyways ill cut the crap. I made a giant web and it take up a pretty medium sized venue. I want a laser projector that is 400mW roughly and that has ILDA control compatibility. What i would like to do with the laser is cast a very wide angle liquid sky horizontally well above head level--thus it will cover the sky above my web and with the help of fog make clouds through the sky. Now im not too smart with any sort of terminology here so bare with me. The liquid sky i am looking for is very similar to the kind used in my icon pic (fever ray's concert i attended). The sky is not just the two beams on the ends of the angle with transparent green film in the middle-- it is made of spokes:


...not my pic...

The show i would like to program with the ILDA is one where the show starts with a single beam straight and centered, that then fans out slowly and gets as wide as possible. It will stay this way with no movement just a sky cast (any crazy stuff would take from the piece) at the end it should go back into itself and form the beam as it started.


I have tried looking around on sleezebay and the like. I just dont know who to trust--i dont have a lot of money and if i bought something i would cry if i lost it all that im saving to get the piece with, lol, no really i would. At first i was looking at a laserworld cs-400G and then I found out 9 out of 10 buys from them is whack so im not thinking they will get my hard-earned money. Theres NRG (laserknowhow) but they carry 300mW i think or 200mW but whats cool is it comes with ILDA. so i dont know, also if DMX controls would work easier than the software let me know.


anyways do you guys recommend a person/company to buy it from. or anything will help. I am sorry it has been a long post, but im worried and I want it right you know.

[swamidog]

if you're just doing liquid sky, you might be able to use a rotating faceted mirror. that would be a ton cheaper/easier than computer/dac/galvos.

maybe something like this: http://www.mi-lasers.com/cgi-bin/sho...n&key=OPT-PS-2

Ok first of, Im a complete newbie never touched a laser, so i will not be building one I'm afraid. However, I expect you guys to help sensibly due to the level of experience of this site's members--I have been researching pretty hardcore on the rip offs (power output), what mW output I actually need, etc.

Here is the problem, I have an art project I am working on it needs to be complete by may. The project is an ode to N'ashjeii the grandmother spider as my show is all about spiders. ANyways ill cut the crap. I made a giant web and it take up a pretty medium sized venue. I want a laser projector that is 400mW roughly and that has ILDA control compatibility. What i would like to do with the laser is cast a very wide angle liquid sky horizontally well above head level--thus it will cover the sky above my web and with the help of fog make clouds through the sky. Now im not too smart with any sort of terminology here so bare with me. The liquid sky i am looking for is very similar to the kind used in my icon pic (fever ray's concert i attended). The sky is not just the two beams on the ends of the angle with transparent green film in the middle-- it is made of spokes:


...not my pic...

The show i would like to program with the ILDA is one where the show starts with a single beam straight and centered, that then fans out slowly and gets as wide as possible. It will stay this way with no movement just a sky cast (any crazy stuff would take from the piece) at the end it should go back into itself and form the beam as it started.


I have tried looking around on sleezebay and the like. I just dont know who to trust--i dont have a lot of money and if i bought something i would cry if i lost it all that im saving to get the piece with, lol, no really i would. At first i was looking at a laserworld cs-400G and then I found out 9 out of 10 buys from them is whack so im not thinking they will get my hard-earned money. Theres NRG (laserknowhow) but they carry 300mW i think or 200mW but whats cool is it comes with ILDA. so i dont know, also if DMX controls would work easier than the software let me know.


anyways do you guys recommend a person/company to buy it from. or anything will help. I am sorry it has been a long post, but im worried and I want it right you know.

[ssc0530]

forgot to mention i need a green diode color.

on in response to the last reply: i appreciate the advice, but it will be ok since me and my girlfriend will love to have the projector for our like two person parties hahah. but yeah no building (no skill) plus i want professional control all smooth and clean display (even if it will be dark and fog ridden)

[Diachi]

forgot to mention i need a green diode color.

on in response to the last reply: i appreciate the advice, but it will be ok since me and my girlfriend will love to have the projector for our like two person parties hahah. but yeah no building (no skill) plus i want professional control all smooth and clean display (even if it will be dark and fog ridden)

Since you are in the US you could contact Marc ( Gottaluvlasers ) , he should be able to set you up with a really nice green projector for a very fair price. I'm not sure on all the legalities over in the US though, you'll need to check that with someone else.

[ssc0530]

i understand the legal crap, but know one here in my small po-dunk town will know whats going on. lol but no, i understand it is a risk, but i would never allow the scanner go below 5 ft above head level. all ppl expect is me doing some sort of performance art. it will be a surprise and last 8 -10 mins then it will probably just be for home use until i get license.

thanks tho, is marc on here?

[gottaluvlasers]

yes, marc is on here


ok, first off-

legalities: yes, unfortunately here in the U.S. any laser that is projected to an audience needs to be "Compliant." it is a pain in the ass, but it is a requirement. Now, for you to spend the money and buy a system is, to be quite honest, silly. It seems to me, that this is going to just be used once? am i correct on this?

If that is the case, i would suggest you to just contact a laser light show company (George, dream beamz on here is located in N.C. and he does excellent dsiplays) i am quite sure he can set up a cost efficient alternative to you buying a complete, certified projector for you to only use once.

even a small, relatively "lower power" (~500mW) green projector is going to cost you a few thousand dollars here in the states.

actually, for your description of what you want to do, you wouldnt even really need a "laser light show projector." you could get away with a green module shooting into a diffraction grating. (see quick video here)

a diffraction grating takes a single laser beam and splits it into multiple beams. a "linear" grating does EXACTLY what you are describing what you want. and like the picture in your post.

but again, the problem is "legally" being able to project a laser beam in public. in order for you do that, the laser system (laser source) needs to be fda/cdrh certified (varianced).

feel free to contact me via PM if you have further questions or simply respond here.

-Marc

[drlava]

with what you want to do with the spokes, a simple spinning polygon mirror is out. however you COULD get away with only one galvo on the x axis to create this effect. Green will get you the best visibility to the buck.

Beyond the galvo and laser, this could be done cheaply with a $50 sound card DAC and free LFI Player software. Alternatively you could use a RIYA Micro with an SD slot for stand-alone computerless playback for $200. Or you could go full blown Pangolin FB3 for $500+. It all depends on your budget and what you see in this projector's future.

[buffo]

Welcome to PhotonLexicon, ssc0530.

Where in NC are you? We have several members located in that state who might be able to assist you with this project. (Worst case, I'm 3 hrs south of Charlotte, in Charleston, SC.)

The spinning mirror idea that swamidog mentioned will give you a flat sheet of light. If you could control the speed of the mirror motor very accurately, you could even modulate the laser in sync with the mirror motor to create stable "spokes" as shown in your pictures. However, if it is crucial that they be completely motionless in the air, then you would probably be better off buying (or building) a projector based around a set of scanners. (This will also give you greater flexibility once the art performance is done and you sit there wondering what you're going to do with your laser now...)

Note that lasers are not a cheap hobby! Even if you do everything yourself, you're going to spend some serious money in this hobby. The laser you're talking about (400 mw green) is probably going to cost upwards of $800 just for the laser. Then you'll need a set of scanners ($200), a case to mount everything in ($100), and a controller & software to run everything. Commercial controller / software packages start at around $300, and for $600 you could get something really nice (Pangolin's FB3), but if money is really tight you may want to try using a modified USB sound card and some free software just for this one effect. (You can always upgrade later.)

Now, this artistic performance... Is it for the general public, and more importantly, will you be charging admission? If so, then the CDRH rules governing laser shows will apply. And in that case, you're probably better off hiring a company to do the effect for your performance rather than building anything yourself. (Especially if we're only talking about 8-10 minutes!) It will be cheaper for you, more impressive for the audience, and safer for everyone. More importantly, it will be legal. A professional laser show company will have all the required variances (and insurance) for the show, and will probably show up with a lot more power than you could afford to buy yourself.

Adam

[slicklasers]

PM me or call me @ (206)200-2202 to work out the details....

Rick Hale
www.SLICKLASERS.com

[dream beamz]

i was going to suggest the diffraction grating as well. maybe one layed over the other to get the beams closer together.

shoot me a PM with your number and I will see if I can find some time to meet with you free of charge to show you all of your options.

At the worst I can program something similar to a flashback 2 with a horizontal beam pattern and you could get one galvo. Dont let me confuse you, just shoot me your number and we can go over some things.