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Thread: Time to build a old school laser system

  1. #1
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    Default Time to build a old school laser system

    Hi everybody.
    It’s been quite a few years since I have been here.
    ok so why am I here again.
    Well I have ended up playing with lasers again.
    A quick a little about me.
    ok I’m old school. Very old school now being 82 years old. Back in the 90s I owned a laser hire company here in the UK.
    we had various lasers back then to include 5 watt argon, white lights, smaller air cooled argon lasers etc.
    we used very early computers running windows 3.11. To control them Remember those? And also pm19 controllers etc etc.
    we were very popular in the old rave scene and was working every weekend. Lighting up events etc.
    anyway enough of me rambling on.
    I’ve come back because I am going to build a proper old school laser system again.
    what started this off?
    I was given a old maplin red 2mw laser from a junk box I had years ago. So I started playing with it.
    ohhhh! Those were the days. A little hene red laser with 2 motors with mirrors attached.
    Got me looking on eBay to see what lasers are about.
    Oh my. There’s so much Chinese rubbish on there. Anything with a scanning system now uses little diode lasers. what has happened?
    The same as the music industry I guess. Vinyl records were best and still are but now we got rubbish mp3s
    There not lasers.
    Alittle like the movie crocodile Dundee. ((That’s not a knife)). Pulls it a machete. ((Now that’s a knife)).
    For those who haven’t seen it.

    https://youtu.be/POJtaO2xB_o

    A real laser is 6ft long. Takes massive amounts of power and cooling to run it.
    makes me laugh. The poor younger generation have no idea what they have missed.
    Anyway.
    So I feel like building something real.
    I am going to build a proper laser system from scratch. Like we used to.
    I will take advantage of modern computers and software as they now have got a lot better since windows 3.11.
    I will keep the lasers to a sensible size so I can run them at home from 13 amp sockets.
    i want 7 colours so that will include argon and hene red lasers.
    a proper beam table to bounce the beams to different heads and effects.
    galvos and motor mirrors for effects.
    for in here I will include a full build progress, photos and videos.
    So? Are you all up to watching me build a real proper laser system?
    time to scope ebay for parts. eBays good for buying people’s unwanted junk.
    So please keep watching this space
    Last edited by apdevelopments; 02-22-2018 at 11:37.

  2. #2
    Bradfo69's Avatar
    Bradfo69 is offline Pending BST Forum Purchases: $47,127,283.53
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    If you're in the UK, you should make an effort at the beginning of April to go to the UKLEM in Surfleet. Trust me, there are plenty that still have deep admiration for gas. That's not to say they go around sniffing each other although, to read their threads... they might. But I fully expect there will be some ions and such there and I'm sure there are people that will enjoy meeting you. And yes... we LOVE seeing builds and pictures! Good to have you back.

    Oh, and here's a link: https://www.photonlexicon.com/forums...-April-2018-UK
    PM Sent...

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by apdevelopments View Post
    Hi everybody.
    It’s been quite a few years since I have been here.
    ok so why am I here again.
    Well I have ended up playing with lasers again.
    A quick a little about me.
    ok I’m old school. Very old school now being 82 years old.
    Bravo! I agree with Brad if you are willing to travel to the UKLEM. There are probably several people near you that may be able to lend assistance and/or advise as needed.

    I hope to hear more about your progress in the near future.

    -David
    "Help, help, I'm being repressed!"

  4. #4
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    I'll certainly be watching!

  5. #5
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    This is a (bowie) knife...

    I've a bunch of stuff I accumulated prior to my run at Laserium a couple of years ago if there's any old school components you don't want to pay list for give me a shout...
    "There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun." Pablo Picasso

  6. #6
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    Pcaom and crystal. Ugc are a bit rare these days.

    For home there are 60x Argons for couple hundred. Someone had one for sale here recently. Your real challenge is finding a 35 mw hene. Those are really rare.

    For control there are lots of options and again few hundred will do it. You should be able for 1-2k get 100mw white light or so with control.

    I know you won’t like this but you can pair the argon with a red diode single mode. It works pretty well but timing them for on off with no tails can be a bit tough. Still you can get 250 mw 660nm for 9.00.

    for scanners, just about anything out now equals or beats 6800hp scanners you may have known.

  7. #7
    swamidog's Avatar
    swamidog is online now Jr. Woodchuckington Janitor III, Esq.
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    what about modulating a diode or dpss red with an aom / pcaom. that should give you the same timing characteristics of your argon.

    also, most laser control software allows you to set timing on the individual color channels.


    Quote Originally Posted by kecked View Post
    Pcaom and crystal. Ugc are a bit rare these days.

    For home there are 60x Argons for couple hundred. Someone had one for sale here recently. Your real challenge is finding a 35 mw hene. Those are really rare.

    For control there are lots of options and again few hundred will do it. You should be able for 1-2k get 100mw white light or so with control.

    I know you won’t like this but you can pair the argon with a red diode single mode. It works pretty well but timing them for on off with no tails can be a bit tough. Still you can get 250 mw 660nm for 9.00.

    for scanners, just about anything out now equals or beats 6800hp scanners you may have known.
    suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.

  8. #8
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    I'd contact Brian Bohan at Cambridge Lasers about a 35+mW He-Ne. He services the Spectra-Physics lines, including the 107, 907, and 127 lasers.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eidetic View Post
    I'd contact Brian Bohan at Cambridge Lasers about a 35+mW He-Ne. He services the Spectra-Physics lines, including the 107, 907, and 127 lasers.
    I didn’t know Brian was still around. Had not thought of him in many moons. Yea I like the aom route. Speaking of which I owe you a package. Got strep at the moment.

  10. #10
    swamidog's Avatar
    swamidog is online now Jr. Woodchuckington Janitor III, Esq.
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    Quote Originally Posted by kecked View Post
    I didn’t know Brian was still around. Had not thought of him in many moons. Yea I like the aom route. Speaking of which I owe you a package. Got strep at the moment.
    no worries! my life has been a whirlwind of crazy. something very exciting looks to be happening, but i think i'll be under NDA about it for two years...
    suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.

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