Writing Logos

[fincaman]

Hello All, this is my first post so don't be too hard on me. I don't even own a Laser yet but I fancy one of the Chinese RGB 550mw units with IDLA input as a starting point. I know that files (Frames) can be downloaded at reasonable prices and even free but I would very much like to write some of my own so that I could personalize my shows I.E. "Happy 50th Fred" What do I need to achieve this ?

[Galvonaut]

Hi fincaman!

Welcome to PL! Where on the planet are you? It's worth filling out your profile so you can find local members or attend a LEM (Laser Enthusiasts Meeting).

A great place to start with lasers is with safety. 550mW is more than enough to cause permanent eye damage from a considerable distance and with no pain sensation!
The PL Wiki has lots of links to safety stuff here and you can get more advice by asking. There are lots of LSOs (Laser Safety Officers) here.

Buying a laser is tricky. This is an expensive hobby, so if you are doing it on the cheap you will eventually be disappointed, either with graphics quality, rated power (lots lie) or how long the components last in your projector (sometimes they are even shipped broken)!
There are a few good Chinese manufacturers that are recommended here but I've not purchased from them. It might be wise to explain more about what you want to do, like size of room, do you want to do more graphics, abstracts or beam shows and how big a projection surface do you want to fill?

Another consideration is, how much time and money do you want to throw at this as software and DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) choices are another aspect.

When I started at this crazy, expensive but oh-so-fun hobby/profession, I went with Quickshow (free but only works with FB3 DAC) and FB3 DAC (very expensive). I managed to build a single colour 500mW laser, buy a laptop, DAC and software for £800. I could have done it cheaper but didn't really know what I was doing.

The great thing about QS and FB3 DAC is that anyone can use it. It is really very simple software but does seem to lack when it comes to creating custom cues. It has a groovy thing called QuickText, where you can type in what you want and display it with different effects and save as a cue for incorporation in a show.

If you are more creative, have the time to learn or have to save money, LSX (Laser Show Xpress) is an awesome choice. This software works with a variety of DACs, most a lot cheaper than and FB3. I am currently learning LSX and tonight am doing some lasers at a friends party using both QS and FB3 and LSX and an Easylase DAC. I'll be upgrading to an Etherdream DAC at some point, so that I can use ethernet to communicate from my laptop to laser (both etherdream and LSX are VERY flexible)!

In short - Easy, the same as others and expensive = Quickshow with FB3
Harder, individual and cheaper = LSX with Etherdream, Easylase or other DAC.

Lasers - I would recommend building your own, it's fun, you learn lots and it's easier than you may think.

Hope this is helpful. Others, I am sure will have their own advice, so worth waiting for their input

Keith

[fincaman]

Firstly Thanks for taking so much trouble to help me, I am in Spain and my work (Mostly unpaid) is in small bars and people's gardens in the summer. I am a retired electronics engineer and still have a fully equipped workshop but I'm not sure I want to build anything as I built my first transistor radio at 12 and I am 65 so that's a life time of soldering. I saw adding a laser as just an add on to my LED lighting and didn't want to dedicate a computer to it as I already run one for sound and one for lights. I mistakenly ? thought I could create a my "happy birthday Fred" transfer it to the laser's memory (description says it has lots) with some sort of USB to IDLA device and then recall it by DMX, please don't all laugh at once if I got it wrong

[Galvonaut]

Don't worry, I was where you were a couple of years ago. There are FAR more knowledgeable people here than me!

There isn't that much soldering involved in building a laser projector, there are some great builds like this one by absolum or another by Swamidog (can't find the posts at the moment). It's mainly drilling holes, tapping them and aligning things!

I don't know a great deal about the LED side of things. LSX I do know, has DMX and TTL triggering, so a show could be put on using one piece of software. You can also get a Riya DAC. These have SD card slots - there are lots of threads on PL regarding this subject, so worth trawling through.
If you are into LEDs, you might be interested in this amazing bit of kit created by Heroic..... I want one!

Got to fly, lasering tonight!

Happy New Year!

Keith

[fincaman]

Thanks again, I think I will sort something out mid Jan as I have a lot on at the moment. I am minded to buy the laser I mentioned (£250) and an interface with software (£39 e-bay) I can play about with them for a while whilst at the same time learning all I can especially about the safety aspect. I can remember some years ago buying my first computer, I put help after the blinking curser and it said "bad command or filename" I was bewildered but now I build myself "Monsters" and it seems easy.

[Galvonaut]

Good luck with a cheap laser, it may struggle with text, which has quite a lot of points. Software costing £39 sounds like iShow. Do a search for it here before you potentially flush £39 down the toilet

Keith

Thanks again, I think I will sort something out mid Jan as I have a lot on at the moment. I am minded to buy the laser I mentioned (£250) and an interface with software (£39 e-bay) I can play about with them for a while whilst at the same time learning all I can especially about the safety aspect. I can remember some years ago buying my first computer, I put help after the blinking curser and it said "bad command or filename" I was bewildered but now I build myself "Monsters" and it seems easy.

[fincaman]

Thanks again for your interest, the software is Ishow II but it includes a USB to ILDA converter