Newbie help on US Cert. RGB analogue laser purchase

[Mattatya]

Hi There,

1st post but have been reading obsessively on the forum the last couple days.

I have always loved laser but DJing has also been a passion that I decided go forward with. I have been DJing in the club scene for 6 years and love me work but I am looking for a little more gain in my work. A lot of DJ'ss are setting themselves apart nowadays by bringing in there own lighting and video projection creations. The last 4 months I have decided that I want to purchase a laser to set myself apart form other resident and mobile DJ's.

I have been reading a ton of information to understand specs and regulations regarding variances for the US market as well as laser show safety. I understand fully what I am getting into.

There are some great websites I have found on this forum that sell lasers and an amazing amount of knowledgeable laser enthusiast. So I thought the best place to awsner question is to ask here

I am wanting to know what you would consider a good price and company for 600mW to 1Watt RGB animation laser with 30K DMX and IDLA support. And a reputable company to purchase from. I understand this is a difficult question to ask due to the components being made cheap to expensive. I'm Just looking for a good reputable company that has a long standing relationship with their lasers and stands by what they purchase to produce their products.

I live in Seattle and recently watched a physical demo of a laser that I am debating on through X-laser. I have been looking at their Nocturne Line but realized that they recently have partnership-ed with Laserworld who seems to have a very poor reputation due to their spec ethics. I am going to call and find out if their Nocturne line is Laserworld product. Knowing that they are on this forum as member they may answer me here

There is no way in hell that I would buy a laser on ebay. I'm in this for the safety and fun of people visual enjoyment not burned retinas.

My original budget for this as a broke DJ is $4500 but realize that I may be underestimating costs. I understand software is going to give me a hit too but I am willing to work with DMX till I get enough to purchase idla software. I have also considered a RGY animation laser if it is more cost effective. That blue diode is just killer $$$$

I appreciate any feedback you have.

Thank you,

Matt

[Jem]

Hi Matt

Welcome to Photonlexicon

I suggest your first call should perhaps be Marc at CT Lasers, just do a search on the forum. Marc is a very well respected member here and is the distributor for Laserwave lasers in the US. He can build you a fully varianced projector

Cheers

Jem

[LEDpaint]

Matt,

I'm about where you are in terms of lasers. I also looked at X-Laser and spoke to one of their reps. They assured me their product is not Laserworld, although I see a lot of the same sort of strange "min power/typical power" "we rate our lasers' power for the real world" wording on their website, which was enough to make me steer clear of them.

I agree with Jem recommending Marc of CT Laser. The guy is incredibly knowledgable and will spend as much time as you need on the phone answering even the most simple questions with plenty of detail. You really will be getting what you pay for. He's benching the components of my first rig as we speak.

[mixedgas]

May I suggest that these days, software and content are just as much as important as RGB? DMX really limits what you can do with the laser. A Pangolin FB3 is cost effective, comes with more then enough stock art and beam effects to allow you to create your own "look" and sets you well above any competitor who pays 500-1000$ for a green only DMX laser to try to level the playing field. Having 30 DMX effects with only 255 speeds as your main control is very depressing with a high power RGB, especially when the effects are coming off a 8 bit microprocessor with overshoot and blanking errors in the image.

Steve

[buffo]

For your stated budget of $4500, you could build your own 600 mw - 1 watt RGB projector from scratch and have something very nice when you're finished. Granted, it's going to take time, and then you'll have to file for a variance, but doing it yourself will save you enough money that you could even afford to buy the controller and a computer to run it on for the amount of money you're looking to spend.

How handy are you with a soldering iron? Have you ever considered assembling your own projector?

Adam

[Mattatya]

Thanks everyone for all your impute,

unfortunetly I am not handy in manufacturing electronics myself but I have spoken with Gene and with Rick at Slick Laser and have decided to have one custom built. Rick with Slick Laser talked with me over the pone and was able to meet my budget needs.

I have decided to have one built to be upgradable. Since I live in Seattle I am able to work with Rick on a local basis vs buying out of state. I am going to have a RGY built with the budget I have and also have it ready to drop a blue in there when I can afford to get it full color 16bit. Knowing that I want a RGB I am hoping to to add the blue asap as I personally find RGY not a favorable.

Thanks again for your thoughts,

Matt

[buffo]

Hi Matt;

Rick will steer you right. I agree that you'll probably want to add blue in short order, but understand that the blue laser will be the most expensive part of the projector. (More than the cost of the red and green lasers combined!)

Adam

[Mattatya]

Thanks Buffo,

From what I have heard on here Rick sounds like a great guy to work with. I am really glad to not be buying off the net and grateful to be able to work locally with someone. Having only a RGY will steer me quick to get on my feet about adding blue. I don't blue will get any cheaper in the next couple months but an RGY will do me good for a great effect till I drop a blue in.

[LaserLover]

Thanks everyone for all your impute,

unfortunetly I am not handy in manufacturing electronics myself but I have spoken with Gene and with Rick at Slick Laser and have decided to have one custom built. Rick with Slick Laser talked with me over the pone and was able to meet my budget needs.

I have decided to have one built to be upgradable. Since I live in Seattle I am able to work with Rick on a local basis vs buying out of state. I am going to have a RGY built with the budget I have and also have it ready to drop a blue in there when I can afford to get it full color 16bit. Knowing that I want a RGB I am hoping to to add the blue asap as I personally find RGY not a favorable.

Thanks again for your thoughts,

Matt

Hi Matt,

One thing to check are the specifications of the mirrors on the galvos you propose to use in your custom laser projector, specially when it comes to the blue laser. Unfortunately I found out the hard way when I bought a pair of DT30 galvos from Dave (Lasershowparts on Ebay) that my blue laser operating at 457 nm was leaking over 10% of the laser power through the mirrors. Considering my Melles Griot laser had an output of 400 mW and cost me 5,000 I didn't want to waste precious blue photons. Dave made it prohibitively expensive no matter what options presented so I shelved the noisy galvos until I can replace the mirrors. I recently tested those same DT30 galvo mirrors with a violet 405 nm laser and a whopping 65% of the laser power was leaking through those crappy mirrors. I understand the Chinese manufacturer cleaned up his act since I complained but I was never compensated nor would I ever deal with Dave again since the incident.
A 405 nm laser diode doing 200 mw or higher can be had much cheaper ( around $65 with glass focus lens on Ebay from seller Geareb) than a 457 nm or 473 nm blue laser that would cost you thousands. The only drawback is the perceived brightness as 405 nm looks less bright than 457 or 473 nm (my favorite). Good luck in any case.

[Mattatya]

I am looking at putting in a Cambridge 6810's running 12K as a possibility for the laser. I have seen the work done through video and all spectrum and it seems bright and equal.