LASER Scanner stopped

[area51t]

Hello I have recently purchased a Laser device that supports ILDA and tried to make the show, I connected it to Helios DAC With the use of Modulaser I wanted to check If they are compatible.
it worked fine for like 2 minutes but It suddenly made high frequency humming noise and with continuous clicking noise and also blanketing was occurring with the frequency of 0.5sec
( it made the projection to appear like 0.2s and then It was blanketed )
then I switched to the factory animation. In order to see If the device is damaged.
it was still intact, then I left the laser on to the ILDA again. while it is still making the clicking noise I try to eliminate it with software procedural. and then the scanner stopped as I assume with the projection didn't appear

I already kind of ditched the dream that repairing it from the manufacture as
I was in very loose transaction that warranty means nothing and
anyways The Chinese factory is going to blame me 'not using the FB3' (while I think that is total nonsense)

they did plenty of meaningless after service with telling me to open the device and take photo of inside if the cable is loosen
but I assumed and insisted from the very beginning that issue would be a motor itself
as I open it and run the device I found mirrors are Completely stopped.


so here are the things That I would like to know :

if this kind of happening is common?
is it normal that Inappropriate software setting damaging the laser?
and if that Laser Can Be sensitive to It's source device as the claim to be?
and what experts would assume the problem?
and more over if they are somewhat self repairable or replaceable?

Thank you

The Laser device is poor imitation of The Lasercube (only the shape)
I didn't care much as I was about to Use ILDA anyways in order to do what I'm planning

[buffo]

It sounds like you may have over-driven the scanners in the projector. This can happen when you try to scan a complex pattern at a very wide scan angle. The high frequency whining noise you heard is a clear warning that you were pushing the scanners very hard.

I'm not positive as to what the clicking sound was, but it sounds like it may have been caused by an over-current protection circuit kicking in on the scanner amplifier. Usually this is done with a thermal poly switch (this is like a fuse that can be reset). If your scanners are drawing too much current, the poly switch on the scanner amplifier board will open, which shuts off the scanners. When the poly switch resets, the scanners will snap back into motion, and this can sometimes create an audible "click".

How large was the projected image when you had the projector connected to the Helios DAC and were running Modulaser? Was the pattern much larger than the image that was displayed when you switched the projector to the factory animations? If this is the case, then you probably damaged your scanners by over-driving them, and this means you will need to replace them.

It's worth pointing out that you can over-drive your scanners no matter what controller you use. So even if you had purchased the Pangolin FB3 controller and were using the Quickshow software, if you had the scan angle set too wide, you could still damage your scanners. Always start with your scan angle set to a small value, and then slowly increase the size while you watch the image. If you start to see distortion in the image, or if you start to here a high frequency whine or squeal, reduce the size immediately.

Image distortion is easy to spot if you look for sharp corners. When the sharp corners start to look rounded, you are reaching the limit of your scanners. Do not keep increasing the size, or you will damage your scanners. If you are displaying complex, curved shapes, the distortion may be harder to spot, but it should still be apparent. Also keep in mind that the abstract patterns you can create with Modulaser can easily become very complex, and a complex abstract pattern will stress your scanners a lot more than a simple circle will. Again, always start out with the size set very small, and then slowly work your way up.

Before you start shopping for replacement scanners, it would be a good idea to test the projector one more time using the factory animations, just to see if the projector still has any functionality. If it is still completely dead, then one last thing you can do is to look for a standard fuse (not a poly switch) that may have blown. It's also a good idea to double-check the power supply to the scanners to be sure it is still providing the proper voltage to the scanner amps.

But if the power supply is OK, and you can't find any blown fuses, you probably need to buy and install a new set of scanners.

Adam

[area51t]

thank you for your insight. That was very helpful

I have tried many run with the every cable connections and settings checked so I can confirm That scanner is no longer working. (Laser Diodes are working Intact)
scanner seems to be quite cheaper than I thought and replacement procedure seems to be easy too, that is good.
but I am worried if That is still not going to work after I replace the scanner , or make the same problem and damage the scanner again.

as I didn't show the circuit board or anything, I am aware that I would not get a accurate information over the issue.

but there are some thoughts that I want to get checked about.

1. is there any other possibility that the Scanner was not the main problem? the strange thing is that as scanner is consist of 2 motors, how can they be stopped simultaneously?
or maybe I am just thinking this way as I don't know about it's nature. and what other way there could be, in order to confirm that the Motors are surely dead?

2. as I remember, I could hear a small buzzing sound When I connected the cable and change the setting to ILDA even without any of projection,
I assume that sound was made by the scanner motors. simply as I cannot hear from it anymore. the sound kind of reminded me of AIM-9 Sidewinder missile RRRRR... sound if I exaggerate enough. does it making sound normal?
and maybe The some part of ILDA card could be a problem and responsible of all these issues?

3. this one is some quirky one Could I change the Scanner into the Higher level one, if only the Size fits? current one is 25kbps but I wanna go higher maybe I can consider this as an opportunity.

Thank you!!

[I have got the reply back from Chinese manufacture and they say there is a fuse, But It is still unclear if that means a polyfuse or even a fuse for the power. as the assistant seems to be she doesn't (want to) know about it...]

[buffo]

1. is there any other possibility that the Scanner was not the main problem? the strange thing is that as scanner is consist of 2 motors, how can they be stopped simultaneously?

It could be a blown fuse somewhere in the power supply to the scanners, or in the line from the power supply to the scanner amps. The best way to troubleshoot this would be to check voltages at the scanner amp with the top off and the projector switched on. If you have power all the way to the scanner amp board, then it's not a fuse.

I suppose it's also possible that the poly switch on the scanner amp has failed. If you can locate the poly switch on the board, you can check voltage across it (should be no voltage drop across the poly switch with the power on).

2. as I remember, I could hear a small buzzing sound When I connected the cable and change the setting to ILDA even without any of projection,
I assume that sound was made by the scanner motors. simply as I cannot hear from it anymore.

That's odd. If you weren't sending an image to the projector, the scanners should not have been moving. But the sound you are describing is similar to what you might hear from the scanners when they are drawing an image.

Was this sound continuous? Or did it only start when you plugged the ILDA cable in? Did the sound ever change? For example, if the projector was displaying images from the built-in library, when the images changed, did the sound also change?

If the sound never changed, it could just be from a fan that is rubbing on something. But if the sound changed every time the image changed, then that means the sound was definitely from the scanners.

3. this one is some quirky one Could I change the Scanner into the Higher level one, if only the Size fits? current one is 25kbps but I wanna go higher maybe I can consider this as an opportunity.

I would actually recommend that you install higher quality scanners if you decide to replace them. Keep in mind that scanners come as a matched set, so you'll need to replace the actual galvos (the motors) as well as the scanner amplifier boards. You may also need to replace the scanner amp power supply, as better scanners often draw more current. Finally, you may even need to replace the mounting block that holds the galvos. Fortunately, when you buy a set of scanners, you get everything: the mounting block, the amps, the galvos, the power supply, and all the cables to connect everything. As long as everything will fit inside the case, you should be OK.

I have got the reply back from Chinese manufacture and they say there is a fuse, But It is still unclear if that means a polyfuse or even a fuse for the power. as the assistant seems to be she doesn't (want to) know about it...]

Sounds like you will need to poke around inside your projector with a volt meter to see if you can find the fuse they are talking about. That's where I would start...

Adam

[area51t]

Sounds like you will need to poke around inside your projector with a volt meter to see if you can find the fuse they are talking about. That's where I would start...

thank you for all of that,

I have tried a Tester on the circuit from power strip to the motor connection point and that lead to a very strange result.

one motor is connected all the way to the power strip very well, but I found another motor's ONE pin (1st pin) has a circuit failure,
if that is only one pin, and if that is major problem, I don't know how that is somehow dealing with the other motor and decided both of them to be completely stopped.

I still get a feeling of that circuit failure is a collateral damage and that Motor could still be a problem yet. I think I will need to look at the circuit board and find out the specific problem.