Sea laser powered from car?

Hi,

I am looking into the possibility of projecting a 3w RGB laser out to sea. This is only a thought at the moment, but aside from the obvious safety issues (an assessment will be done at the site), I was wondering if the projector could be powered from a 230v inverter powered from a 12v car battery?

Has anyone tried to power one like this before, or is it too risky with unreliable surges? I've not used a 12v inverter before!

-The stated power consumption is 120w but it will be tested prior to using.

-It will only be projected to a viewing distance of up to 100m or so, using the water as a screen perhaps, so not right out to sea..

Hi,

After seeing the lasers across Weymouth bay a few weeks ago, I would think you would need a bit more that 3W to see anything. Each laser in Weymouth is an 8W OPSL and they are shining out to sea in much the same way as you want to. From the beach with the lasers behind you shining out, you can`t see much. They only show up in poor weather or if you are looking towards the projectors from the pier.

As for power, I am sure I have spoken to people on here before and they suggested a good quality generator.

Hope the info helps a bit.

Thanks for that, and yes I appreciate the low power for outdoors, hence the small distance I was thinking about, but it may be ambitious eh!

Perhaps a generator but was looking for a quieter alternative?

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Originally Posted by haymaker

Hi,

After seeing the lasers across Weymouth bay a few weeks ago, I would think you would need a bit more that 3W to see anything. Each laser in Weymouth is an 8W OPSL and they are shining out to sea in much the same way as you want to. From the beach with the lasers behind you shining out, you can`t see much. They only show up in poor weather or if you are looking towards the projectors from the pier.

As for power, I am sure I have spoken to people on here before and they suggested a good quality generator.

Hope the info helps a bit.

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The Honda little suitcase generators are pretty quiet.. i've got a couple I use for similar things...

However an inverter will work fine as long as your engine is running... otherwise your bettery will probably be flat very quickly!
Get a bigger inverter than you think you'll need as the cheaper ones struggle when they get close to their power rating. And don't forget you'll need to power your controller as well as the laser... ;)

I've got a little 2.2kva Briggs engined genny for such occassions, not exactly quiet though.

Not done anything like this but I would have thought the shallow angle of incidence with the water would cause problems with its visibility from the beach (maybe ok if your viewers are looking down eg from a high promenade or pier). Also any waves will disrupt the projection. I'd think you'd really need a screen if projecting graphics to ensure they were properly visible and clear.

In the past I've projected ~10W of 511nm + 577nm onto a lake in pitch black.
Results were poor; wouldn't recommend it.

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Originally Posted by White-Light

Not done anything like this but I would have thought the shallow angle of incidence with the water would cause problems with its visibility from the beach (maybe ok if your viewers are looking down eg from a high promenade or pier). Also any waves will disrupt the projection. I'd think you'd really need a screen if projecting graphics to ensure they were properly visible and clear.

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Mmmm, was wondering about that too.:thinking:

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Originally Posted by norty303

I've got a little 2.2kva Briggs engined genny for such occassions, not exactly quiet though.

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You should hear the car I was gonna use!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danielbriggs

In the past I've projected ~10W of 511nm + 577nm onto a lake in pitch black.
Results were poor; wouldn't recommend it.

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Fair enough, like I say just a thought?