How easy and how costly to add ILDA?

[White-Light]

I've been looking for a laser for some time and I'm not getting anywhere fast, keep getting outbid on ILDA systems.

I was wondering therefore how difficult and how costly is it to buy a cheap Chinese DMX / sound only laser and add ILDA to it?

[stanwax]

Ilda, as you refer to it is nothing more than a 25 way sub d connector wired in a particular way - to match the ilda standard. The lasers and scanners will have the right connections already so its a case of breaking them out to the 25 way on the rear.

Rob

[White-Light]

So I'd just have to parallel the control wires from the DMX port to the and ILDA port in the right order to give ILDA control?

Also, how expensive / inexpensive are new scanners. I'm planning on doing mostly beam shows (although graphics would be nice), but I know the standard scanners are only 5k. So I'd probably need to get some 30k scanners, cheap!

[James Lehman]

Please take a look at this thread. I think we are all on the same page!

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...ead.php?t=5106

James.

[Stuka]

So I'd just have to parallel the control wires from the DMX port to the and ILDA port in the right order to give ILDA control?

Also, how expensive / inexpensive are new scanners. I'm planning on doing mostly beam shows (although graphics would be nice), but I know the standard scanners are only 5k. So I'd probably need to get some 30k scanners, cheap!

RGB -

here's a couple of sites that would give you a LOT of good information about projector wiring & ILDA standards:

http://www.laserfx.com/
http://www.pangolin.com/resguide00.htm

The more common scanner speeds you'll see folks talk about on these forums are 20K, 30K, and 40K. If you're primarily going for beam shows and lower-resolution graphics, the 20K scanners would probably suit you fine.

Several of us have bought scanners from LaserShowParts in Australia.
Here's a link to a review of some 20k scanners that company sells, done by one of our senior forum contributors Buffo (Adam Burns):

http://photonlexicon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4962

These are probably going to be some of the least expensive quality scanners you'll find, and the company that sells them really stands behind their customers!

Of course, like anything else in this hobby, "cheap" is relative, as I'm sure you're finding out!!

Just an observation - sounds like you're already thinking about an upgrade path, even before the first projector is built!
(Been there, still doing that !!)

You might want to give serious consideration into going ahead and building your projector by buying parts that would allow you to expand as you need (and finances allow). For example, a fairly inexpensive controller card like the FB3 (Pangolin FlashBack 3 - www.pangolin.com) can be purchased with a DMX daughterboard attachment that would allow you to control a projector via an external DMX controller, or by computer control through a USB attachment to your computer. This card can control ALL the standard ILDA functions for a standard-wired projector for up to 3 separate lasers, and comes with a FREE suite of programs to cover everything you would need for quite some time!

As far as the projector iteself, you might want to think about what several folks have done here, and start out with a single-color laser. You could add additional lasers as the funds permit, and all you would need to add are the lasers and the optics needed to combine the beams for the number of lasers you'll be using. The controller card (FlashBack 3 or similar) and the scanners can continue to be used regardless of the number of lasers you'll be using!

Just something (else!) to think about before investing the funds!!

[White-Light]

So waht I'm getting from Jame's linked thread is that its going to depend on the scanners used. If there are no ILDA leads from the scanners (most likely at 2-5kps) them I'm stuffed?

[James Lehman]

So waht I'm getting from Jame's linked thread is that its going to depend on the scanners used. If there are no ILDA leads from the scanners (most likely at 2-5kps) them I'm stuffed?

No matter what, if you can get any kind of recognizable image out of the system you have now, you've got some scanning ability. You can setup LaserBoy to control what you have and get the best performance out of it.

LaserBoy shows you the technology in a different way. There is no such thing as points-per-second. That really makes no sense at all. Scanners are purely analog devices and don't know or care anything about points. There is however something real about absolute velocity and radians-per-second. Everything that comes out of LaserBoy is at a constant sample rate, based on the best your sound card can do; most likely 48KHz.

James.

[Stuka]

So waht I'm getting from Jame's linked thread is that its going to depend on the scanners used. If there are no ILDA leads from the scanners (most likely at 2-5kps) them I'm stuffed?

The ILDA wiring standard is generally considered the way to provide the control connection to your projector as a whole. The scanners themselves, as components of a projector, would be provided, from the ILDA connection in the projector, with control signal +- connections for the X axis scanner amplifier, and control signal +- connections for the Y axis scanner amplifier. The required power connections for both amplifiers is usually contained strictly within the projector (Most of the 20K to 40K scanners most of us use on this forum use separate amplifiers for each scanner). A DMX-controlled projector would be providing the same type of control signals, using a DMX signal convertor & connections instead of a computer-controlled DAC and ILDA connections.

The Laserboy "Package" is a very unique way to control laser scanners. Instead of a "conventional" controller card and software, it uses a modified computer sound card to control the scanners, along with James's LaserBoy software package. This could be a VERY inexpensive way to get into the controller & software side of the hobby without having to invest a lot of cash, since the software is free, and the soundcard could be purchased and modified as needed with very little $$ investment!

[loopee]

Hi RGBLaserFan

I've added a drawing in my gallery that may help you understand were the ILDA and DMX interfaces fit in (it is kinda simplified though)

http://www.photonlexicon.com/gallery...anner.jpg.html

(Can you insert images from the gallery in post????)

Hope this helps

Troy

[James Lehman]

Yes... Like this!



James.