Scanner Upgrade

[Pedrolaley13]

Okay so I measured the power input on the laser and its 5V, and the modulation one varied between 2v-4v, what would you suggest to power the laser?

[colouredmirrorball]

Hmm, I guess (read: I hope) that the modulation signal is indeed 5 V so it accepts the ILDA signal from the breakout board...

Good news that the driver needs 5 V for power! You can search e-bay for a 5 V DC power supply, or maybe an old electronic application gathering dust in the attic has one or something... You could even tear apart a 5 V wall adapter though this is not recommended as the output is not very stable, which is of course not healty for the laser. You just have to connect 5 V DC to the power input somehow, I'll leave it to you to decide which solution fits you best.
I'd say go for a stable 5V power supply which is more expensive, but you can also connect more/better lasers to it if you plan to upgrade later on (which you will undoubtly do if you hang out in this place too much! )

If you say that you will probably never upgrade this unit you could just fabricate something from used parts (like an old 5V wall adapter or something).

Good luck!

[Pedrolaley13]

Im hoping for that too lol and i found a AC/DC power supply thats 5v tell me what you think of it....http://cgi.ebay.com/Power-supply-110...#ht_777wt_1139

[colouredmirrorball]

It will probably do the job.

Your main problem is that you are now going to end up with two power plugs instead of just one. Not that big of an issue of course.

Oh and you are going to have to strip off the two crocodile clipses and replace them with the proper socket.

Apart from that, you're set.

edit: it's good to know that the laser needs 5 V, I was never sure about it because I ripped the projector apart as soon as I decided to upgrade everything and as those boards are in no way marked, I couldn't just reconnect everything and measure it. I was a bit reluctant to just attach 5 V to the driver as I didn't knew it was the right power. Now I am thinking of hooking up the old laser to the PSU and see how it is doing.

[Pedrolaley13]

yeah I know I am gonna end up with twoo but its no biggie..

and another question, can i use the two red power cables, that run to the AC adapter, as a power source for the galvos?

[colouredmirrorball]

You mean those that come from the power input on the case and that are now leading to the transformator? I think you can.
Apparently there is a difference between the two wires of the AC main wire but as they are just marked AC1 and AC2 it shouldn't be that big of a deal.
That question is exact the same question borgqueenx is bothering with now and he is letting it done by a technician. I bet the technician will shake his head and just connect the two wires with the main power.

Just hook them up and see if there is any blue smoke.
Oh, and don't forget to connect the ground wire. I don't know if that matters much as the case of the PSU is probably already connected by the case but better connect it anyways. Weird things can happen when the ground isn't properly connected so better do it right. If you ever encounter weird things (like your scanners go mad or something), always check the ground wires first.

[Pedrolaley13]

Is the blue smoke bad??!!? lol

[colouredmirrorball]

The blue smoke is a magic sign that you need to upgrade something... again.

[Pedrolaley13]

oh god. lol hope that doesn't happen! but i'll keep you posted on how its going with the laser, i'll send you a PM if i have any further questions! thanks alot!