New and want to learn

[Doc]

Hello and welcome, you are in the right place to learn, there are many knowledgeable folks here, also many suppliers of parts and equipment.

Basically a laser projector consists of:

The laser or lasers if you need more than one colour.
Special dichroic mirrors to mix the different coloured beams in to one beam (in the case of multi colour systems).
A pair of moving mirrors called galvonometers (also known as galvos or scanners) which steer the beam through the air.
A means of controlling the light output from the laser or lasers (this is known as blanking).*
A means of controlling the movement of the galvo mirrors.*

*this control is taken care of by a piece of hardware called a DAC.

The DAC takes the patterns generated by your computer and software and translates it in to analogue electric signals which move the galvo mirrors, whilst turning the lasers on and off at the right time, which is what produces the laser show.

Don't jump in too quick, read a lot, ask a lot of questions, take your time, enjoy

[Dr Laser]

The cheapest way for a stadium is to get a few gas lasers. Couple of 20W Argons and 1 big 20W Argon-KR.
It's not that hard to do a stadium outdoor show. Just put a side about 90.000$ and you will be fine. Trust me it's very very easy to do outdoor stadium show. Trust me it's much much easier then doing it in your living room.

[soforene]

Perhaps it's just me but you seem to have said "Trust me" too many times.
Just like that man in the drty mac outside the childrens playground with a bag of sweeties .....



<note to self> Put girlie or girl in my forum name of next forum joined to ensure hundreds of slobbering fawning replies.</note to self>

[Dr Laser]

I'm just being sarcastic.

[Doc]

<note to self> Put girlie or girl in my forum name of next forum joined to ensure hundreds of slobbering fawning replies.</note to self>

I did notice that everybody seemed keen to help.

You are definately on to something, maybe I'll change my user name to Nurse.

[andyf97]

Lasergirl,

Help us to help you, do you have a specific project in mind?

On here there are experienced people at many different levels just as there are many different ways to accomplish a show in a stadium.

Our company has done a few shows in stadiums, some small and some very large. what is important is not what equipment and software is needed, its important first to realize what is the show and what effects are required, how large the audience will be and what time of day the show will be, then what is required can be more clear.

If you have a specific show in mind, please tell us so we can help you better.

Of course it’s great to have a girl on here and great that you have an interest in this subject, we need some girls so if you have any other friends wishing to learn about Lasers I am sure you will have many offers here for tuition. .

[soforene]

...if you have any other friends wishing to learn about Lasers I am sure you will have many offers here ......

Ahhhh.. Spring is in the air and the sap is rising ............

[White-Light]

I think one thing that hasn't been mentioned so far is the dangers of audience scanning ie directing the beams into your watching audience. I believe the rules in Greece may be quite lax on this from some previous posts.

This is extremely dangerous with all lasers but especially high power lasers of the type you'd probably be talking about unless you know what you're doing and are qualified to make a whole host of extremely complex safety calculations.

Pulsed lasers especially should never be directed towards anyone as their pulses are many hundreds of times their stated power.

If you direct high power lasers towards a crowd without making calculations then you risk retinal burning of the eyes, possibly burning holes into or through the back of the eyes causing permanent blind spots and if you scan anyone's optic nerve directly, total blindness......and of course law suits for all of these things!!!

Provided you are happy to keep the beams well over the heads of the crowd, and blank them off with steel plating, then this shouldn't be a problem.

This is also one aspect of software control thats valuable, whilst you should never rely on software control alone to keep the beams above the crowd, you should use metal blanking pates in front of the lasers to ensure if the beams do drop too low they are interrupted and don't go into the crowd, software nevertheless gives you the ability to control exactly where the beams project - height, width, speed, pattern etc. and to set up exclusion zones where the beams don't project.

Without software control you either have just a static pencil beam or with projectors with sound to light controllers built in, random patterns produced in accordance with the response to the sound that can literally project anywhere within the full extent of the scanner range - extremely dangerous with high power lasers.

The other problem you have with outdoor shows is haze. Laser beams are visible as a result of the light being reflected off particles in the atmosphere, usually moisture droplets. Although sheer power helps, for the best results you want some haze in the stadium. This means a lot of expensive hazers and fluid. I think you're probably going to struggle a little as in Greece I imagine the skies are very clear and the air very dry. I'm quite sure people do use lasers after dark straight up in the skies but probably they're relying on extreme powers to get something visible.

I noticed at Tiesto's set at Dance Valley in Holland, the entire hillside was hazed (you can see the smoke in the normal lights and some huge smoke machines on stage working almost continually - most cheap machines take several minutes to recycle even from the best makers such as Martin) and even then the lasers still looked a little weak at times:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxuW7GUgXP8&fmt=18


Note here they are audience scanning but remember they're probably using professional companies who can make the necessary safety calculations. As I said above, don't audience scan unless you can as that = potentially damaged eye sights / blinded people and law suits.

If you want something to scan above the heads in Greece then I think your talking some serious laser wattage for outdoor stadiums and some serious budget for both lasers and hazers. If you're talking indoor then haze is easier manage so no different to anywhere else as its contained by the roof so can't drift away, but you're still going to need some serious haze to fill a large venue. In fact your hazer budget might exceed your laser one!

[heroic]

Of course it’s great to have a girl on here and great that you have an interest in this subject, we need some girls

*ahem*

[stanwax]

*ahem*

Perhaps he should have said 'we need more girls.....'

Rob