New to forum, just bought a scanner

[dkumpula]

I am intrigued by the safety scan lenses, they seem like a great solution. That video that you posted is pretty great, that's quite a big of lighting in one room. How powerful are the laser projectors that you use in that setup? I saw the other thread where you described that they use -6 safety lenses but what's behind the lenses?

Hey Dpetrillo!

My projectors range from as little as 500mW for crowd scanning graphics with low divergence and a -1 safety scan lens (and VERY careful content control) as much as 2.1W with average divergence and a -6 safety scan lens combined with 50% BAM+. As WhiteLight said previously, doing any private laser crowd-scanning involves calculations, metering and safety precautions. Initial power measurements alone can be misleading. For example, my lower left and right satellite projectors have total measured power of under 800mW, but because they are single mode projectors, they are at least as bright and dangerous as the 2.1W lower divergence projectors even with the same safety scan lenses and BAM levels.

Utilization of BAM, projection zones, safety scan lenses, scan-fail systems, emergency-stop buttons, and other safety mechanisms can decrease risks, but without the proper knowledge, a combination of physical masking and crowd control are probably advisable. (e.g. one random and sudden run and dive by a 5 year old off their parent's lap directly toward a laser projector made me realize how much danger your guests can place themselves in. Thankfully, in this example the projector was off and children are permanently banned from my private environment, but I still consider myself very lucky.)

I suspect most people take more risks before learning about the potential consequences and get more safety conscious over time when they should just wait until they know what they are doing and have the advice and support from Laser Safety Officers that have the appropriate knowledge and tools. This is an excellent forum for getting the answers and support you'll need to have an awesome and safe time . . as well as the ability to view the occasional feud over silly stuff.

Enjoy and again, welcome to PL.

-David

[dpetrillo]

Uploading a picture of the laser positioned atop a cabinet, masked as to not go too low. It's temporary but satisfies my immediate need to see the laser in action in the entire room. The room has been hazed a little bit with a makeshift setup of a vicks ultrasonic cool mist humidifier (that I had) filled with haze fluid. I will get to play with a fogger and a real hazer soon I think so I can make comparisons. I left the laser on and turned the humidifier off while writing this, and the room cleared out in about 10-15 minutes.

As everyone indicated, auto mode leaves a lot to be desired. There are a decent number of preloaded files that can be cycled through, but only a few of them look any good.

I've found the interface and the accompanying instructions from Goldenstar to leave a little to be desired, but about what I expected. There are a number of selection menus that refer to different modes: Mode 1, Mode 2, etc. that appear to do different things but it's not obvious what they are, or which sub mode refers to which feature. The menu list on the device does not correspond to the menu list explained in the instruction sheet provided by Goldenstar via email.

Also, I'm only seeing a handful of different discrete colors when playing through these different preloaded files. The unit is supposed to be capable of being analog modulated, but as of right now that's not apparent.

I'm wondering if I uploaded an ILDA file that had many colors, is it possible that the onboard DAC does not do analog, but that the laser is only capable of being analog modulated from the ILDA port?

I think I could get an Ether Dream here by Saturday from illumen, but I doubt I could do a lot better with that little time in terms of finding and buying software, and programming a simple beam show.

[Stuka]

Chances are the frame files that playback automatically are just limited colors so they would be compatible with either TTL or analog projectors.

Just one more "food for thought" concerning a DAC package purchase -
If you were to jump onboard with something like the Pangolin FB3 / Quick Show package, you'll wind up with software that already has MANY pages of laser frame cues, graphics and aerials, ready to go. A synchronized beam show could be as easy as manually clicking on different cues in time with the music, or even letting the software cycle through them, automatically synced to your music. And, all the tools you need to create custom content are built-in to the software.

Additionally, there is a LOT of contributed user content - beam & graphics shows, misc. frame files, etc. - freely available for Pangolin users from the Pangolin Shows web portal. Much of the content currently available was custom-made for the FB3 / Quick Show package.

Pangolin is not going to be the cheapest solution (but still a very good value!), but with such a well-established and world-wide user and support base, you would be hard-pressed to find another laser user community or company that is going to be more supportive of the laser hobbyist. And, while Quick Show is actually VERY powerful software, it's still one of the easiest-to-use laser control software packages currently available.

IMHO...

[Bradfo69]

I'll echo what Randy said although I've already mentioned it above. I know you "think" you may not go that route and want to try some open source stuff and more generic DAC's and, that's fine but, we only make suggestions so you don't fall into the trap of blowing a bunch of money to ultimately discover you should have gone with the original suggestion. 5 weeks til SELEM and you can probably see and try things to your hearts content.

[silentgloves]

Hello! I've been using this forum as a great resource for a little while now and recently decided to take the plunge and bought a DRGB-1500 from Goldenstar

Hey man, would it be an inconvenience to post some close-up pictures of the enclosure, specifically the back panel? I'm thinking about picking one of these up and am curious about the unit. The GSL pictures on the site leave something to be desired.

Cheers!

[dpetrillo]

This is actually from mimi, if you email her she will provide what you need.

[silentgloves]

This is actually from mimi, if you email her she will provide what you need.

It does have an ILDA out. That answers my question. Thanks.

[Excommunication]

Great thread! And nice welcome party. As for some other comments here you really need to know what you want to do with your laser. Me personally took the expensive way of an FB3 DAC including QuickShow and Beyond SLE 2.0 (which just got released into three tiers, Beyond Essentials, Beyond Advanced and Beyond Ultimate, where as Beyond Special Launch Edition 2.0 had all editions features for the price of Essential until the release of 2.1 http://www.pangolin.com/beyond-essen...-and-ultimate/ ).

Thank you for sharing the answer to the question on specular reflexion from painted walls. That has cross my mind many times since I entered into to this time consuming and money eating hobby six months ago. I have´t got a proper answer to that question from either http://www.lasersafetyfacts.com/4/ or from the course I attended held by JStewart http://www.lvrlimited.com/lasertraining.htm. Now I have it all, a Kvant Atom 801, Four way masking plate, vertical beam masking plate, the set of 6 Pangolin Safety Scan lenses, Safety Scan lens holder, FB3QS/Beyond, Coherent Laser Check, fire resistant Polyester Trevira CS curtains to protect my book shelves and a Pass with Distiction Diploma from Laser Safety Training Course for laser light show operators by LVR Ltd, a copy of IEC 60825-1:2014, an audience scanning projector (Emulaser in Beyond) Epson EH-TW9200 (in Europe and 5030UB in the USA). It is assisted with my Martin Jem Compact Hazer Pro, which runs on a special C fluid that does not create sticky surfaces (plus a cheap generic fogger). Oh and the gear hang in a Truss with ehumm, a lot more other lightning gear (36 LED fixtures) in my living room...... The Laser was just the icing on the cake. The holy grail.

Need I say this forum has been a paramount resource for my above made purchases/endevours? Thanks everyone.

Now that I come to think of it, a 3R rated Star Cluster laser would be nice to top it off directed onto the ceiling...

[Bradfo69]

Yeah.... six months?? I'd say you got it bad. But... I'll also say, you did it right!

[absolom7691]

I haven't read through this whole thread so I don't know if this has been said or not and I am probably going to get flamed here. I am not trying to tell you which software/DAC to get but one thing to consider about LSX is lead time. It could be anywhere from a few days to a few months. Quite a few users have been burned a bit by the excessively long lead time which is a shame because LSX is great software. Just something to consider...

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...nolasers-Legit