SELEM 6: Aug 16 - 19 Sign up now!

[hakzaw1]

Might as well forget a public laser show in Newton. Who would go?

You are prolly right about that...maybe if it was at 6PM and a show for kids..Justin Bieber songs maybe.

[ImageLight]

You are prolly right about that...maybe if it was at 6PM and a show for kids..Justin Bieber songs maybe.

Lol... Ear plugs anybody?

[Shadow]

Sign me up Buffo

[telmnstr]

Put me (TeleMonster aka Ethan) down! I'll paypal money as soon as my now late paycheck (one of many) comes from employer or junk sells on feebay!

I enjoyed my first LEM last year, had a blast.

Just got my LSX / RIYA Dac combo running on blue/green diode projector. Still some slight alignment issues, and looking at red solutions. So excited.

Also, My good ol' 60x argon and MWK power supply isn't firing, so if someone has one of those oudin coils ... ? I'm thinking it's just high pressure from not being run enough.

It sounds like you all have it covered pretty well, but in case you do not and need anything here is a list off the the top of my head of stuff I have that *may* have a use:

DBX Driverack PA (don't scream)
QSC DCA amps
QSC CX amp
12 x twistlock 20a to 10 x edison monitored/managed/metered power outlet strips
Mackie 32 channel line mixer
Denon dual CD decks / Numark D2 director media player
Extron 8x4 VGA matrix w/ 50' VGA cables
Chauvet HZ-1000 fake-hazer

I have a Black Magic ATEM HDMI/HD-SDI production video switcher that allows you to run up to 6 cameras and two graphics overlays for recording (in full 1920x1080) audio/video and what not. It craps out h264 files. Right now I have a single 1080 capable camera that isn't super in low light (Canon HF20) but am looking to get more, as well as HDMI to HD-SDI converters that allow the use of 75 ohm coax for hauling the digital video into the switcher (better for running across the floor versus HDMI, etc.) My use is recording presentations and events with our hackerspace but if there is a desire to record classes or events I can bring it.

I look forward to another fun weekend!

[buffo]

Brad: I'll chat with you about your venue later, and if the price is right, we may work something out for next year - depending on how things shake out in Newton this year with the new manager.

Ethan: I'll defer your questions on sound gear to Mario (Ragdoll), since 1), I don't know dick about sound and 2) Mario has already volunteered to handle that aspect of the event this year. Please send him a PM and see what he can use.

Also, regarding the video gear you have, I'm pretty sure we can put it all to good use, but once again, I don't know dick about video. Please get in touch with Frank (Flecom) and discuss it with him. Frank hasn't officially been tasked with video yet, but he expressed an interest in it, and that's enough for me! I know we want as many cameras as we can get, and right now we have a grand total of zero... Maybe you and Frank can figure out the video side of things!

Regarding a commercial show the day after SELEM - hmmm... That could definitely be done, but I don't know if I can pull that together in the short time we have left. (9 weeks and counting people) The big problem is that Reggie won't be there to help promote it. If he were still the executive director, I could count on him making sure we had at least enough people to make it cost-effective. But he won't be there by the time SELEM kicks off, and I can't promote the event when I'm 240 miles away...

The one thing we did talk about is doing a sort of "show and tell" for the school. Basically we'd stay over a day and do 3 or 4 "presentations" in the auditorium for the student body. Something like a 45 minute lecture on the history of the laser and general operation theory, followed by 30 minutes of graphics and beam shows. But even that would require us to leave at least part of the sound system set up and at least some of the laser gear as well.

I *could* pull it off with the stuff I have in the garage (I've done this for local schools here in Charleston before), but I'm not sure I want to haul all my gear up there again this year if it's only going to be used on Monday. Especially since it's unlikely that we'd get much cash (if any) out of the school for all that effort. But if there is genuine interest in this idea (In theory we could all be spectators for free), I'll research it further and report back.

Adam

[allthatwhichis]

I *could* pull it off with the stuff I have in the garage (I've done this for local schools here in Charleston before), but I'm not sure I want to haul all my gear up there again this year if it's only going to be used on Monday...

Adam

I... and several others, will BEAT you if you bring so much shit you hurt your back... agian.

[JohnYayas]

If you could do something for the school I think the kids would really enjoy it and it would be a nice gesture. I am not sure what grades they have there but a 45 minute lecture on history and how they operate might be a bit much for them. But, maybe some basics like "this is a laser beam" and "this is how combining colors can make other colors" and "don't shoot this thing in someone's eye or at airplanes" would be good things. But, it's a long way from home and a bit early in the school year so I can see how that might be far fetched. But, now that you have a variance it would be something nice and probably fun for you to do as volunteer work at schools near you if you had the desire. I think the excitement from the kids would be very rewarding. It would be to me, at least.

[Lazerjock]

Gary is right. Keep it short & simple if you decide to do it.

I've actually done this before and it is very rewarding. I started off with a show and incorporated the school logo. They love that. Then I did a short presentation about what a laser is, the different types of lasers, how they are used, laser safety, how we combine the colors, how we draw the images, how we get the signal from the computer to the scanners and persistence of vision. I also explained how to make their own simple projector out of a laser pointer, speaker and mirror. Then I did Q & A, which took the most time. Finally I asked if they would like to see one more show and pretend like it wasn't planned. I did this for elementary, middle and high schoolers. I really miss it.

Chris

[buffo]

I've done several presentations for schools, back when my own kids were still in school. This was before I had a scanning projector. I've still got my lecture notes though, plus a few video recordings of those early presentations, so it would be easy to put something else together from that. Back then it was pretty simple stuff (due to the short class periods), like "what does laser stand for", what does it look like, and why is it so special. First-year science stuff, basically. Then 15 minutes of eye-candy and the bell would ring for the next group...

And yeah, it's very rewarding. Though I was only working with middle-school kids, they still "got it". Since the school in Newton is a science magnet high school, I could probably go a little further into the details without losing them. (Probably still have to leave quantum mechanics out of it though - damn.)

Eh - we'll see I guess. Got a lot of other things to nail down first! But I'll keep it in mind.

Adam

PS: Aaron, I promise not to hurt myself again! (Two back surgeries should be enough for anybody...)

[masterpj]

If bussiness go's really really well the next upcoming weeks I "Might" go.
Though for now consider it a no (not saying that bussiness is going bad right now though)