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Thread: Time to build a old school laser system

  1. #11
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    Hi apdevelopments
    Just saw your thread very cool that you are getting back into this in your later years. I came back around 2006 I had a laser show company in the 90s and we did quite well doing corporate and Rave parties. I still remember hauling those large frame lasers around tying into power and running water hoses hoping the flow switch would not fail or some other of the many parts that make up one of those ION systems. It was fun and challenging, you really needed to know your stuff back then.
    I still admire the old stuff but due to space constraints I have embraced the new and now I try to make Laser Light Show stuff as small as possible. I still have beamtables something that the youngsters doing this stuff do not seem to want or understand, well at least very few of them. Its all about diode projectors and beams these days for most.

    We still have a lot of folks on this site that are into the old school stuff though so welcome back.

    M
    Dreamcaster Multimedia
    Visit our website:
    https://dreamcasterlasershows.com/

  2. #12
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    I just thought about aom diode. No go. Polarization issues. Diodes are pretty random. You might get 25mw out of 150mw input if you are lucky if the beam fits the crystal. Might work but not well. Focus the beam on the crystal with lens and put spatial right after it and it might fit crystal and be a useful step. It sure a non parallel beam would even work. Get hene.

  3. #13
    mixedgas's Avatar
    mixedgas is offline Creaky Old Award Winning Bastard Technologist
    Infinitus Excellentia Ion Laser Dominatus
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    Go hybrid, an aircooled Argon for the BGV, and a red single mode diode for the red. You'll be quite happy with 175 mw of 635 nm red. I still have plenty of "old school" parts like actuators, UGCs, Scanners, if you need anything. Dichros these days are amazingly efficient, compared to the old days, but can be difficult to find. The Germans still have piles of ion lasers laying around, due to a obsession with gas for audience scanning. Laserfreak.de is probably the best place to look for Ion on that side of the pond. I can still get new old stock Lexel 85s, but the price of shipping across the Atlantic is mindblowing.

    Steve
    Qui habet Christos, habet Vitam!
    I should have rented the space under my name for advertising.
    When I still could have...

  4. #14
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    Ive been using argon / He-Ne setups for 8~9 years now at home.Ive got a couple SP-107 HeNes and an ILT Multiline argon that makes an Ok whitelight.
    The beam combiner is from a coherent Novus Omni argon medical system I took apart. best dichro Ive ever had for that.
    Heres a video clip of it on youtube.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOKghMZzhkA
    Will there be three phase!!!!

  5. #15
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    You reminded me of why I left ion. Sure the beams great but oh man the fan...like going from cd to dirty vinyl. At one point I though about shooting the beam up a cloth chute from the basement to hide the sound but the beam was too big by the time it hit the scanners.

  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by kecked View Post
    Your real challenge is finding a 35 mw hene. Those are really rare.
    I have a few kicking around here, mainly heads though

    The heads seem to outlast the PSU's on the 928's
    Quote: "There is a theory which states that if ever, for any reason, anyone discovers what exactly the Universe is for and why it is here it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another that states that this has already happened.”... Douglas Adams 1952 - 2001

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