New School VS. Old School

[Laserman532]

Mmm, herniatastic.

I like the old stuff too, but I have to say, I need me some portable.

We didnt call them portable...we called them LUGABALE

[keeperx]

Excellent craftsmanship...(just kidding of course)

style is not the way you pick your nose...its where you put the buggar!

LOL yeah that was in its infancy.

that is really my point though.. look at how small and how few parts are involved, yet the lasers are still lasers..

[Laserman532]

um...
nanny nanny boo boo...
(Marks basement, My laser [thanks mark ])



it aint much to look at in those pics, but you gotta admit.. its all about the light...

Holy CRAP guys...We use to SCRAP more light than you USE!!! That is also the difference between old school and new school!!! LOLOLOL

How come you didnt fit that whole setup in an altoids can!!!

I could park my Buick in the space between your mixer and scanners

[keeperx]

that space is for blue, and an effect wheel.

[Laserman532]

that space is for blue, and an effect wheel.

and my buick

[keeperx]

you can park your buick on my laser any time

[buffo]

Really, the one reason large ion lasers are going to be with us for the foreseeable future is that it is damn hard to get more than a few watts of blue or red from a solid state laser.

Oh sure, there are 10 watt single-emitter red units out there (Jenoptic, I'm looking at you), but they cost as much as a house. Why bother, when you can get 20 watts of red for half the money in a large krypton tube.

Same thing goes double for blue. Show me a 20 watt solid state blue that costs less than 6 figures... But a decent argon will get you there with room to spare.

Also, the color issue is important. The 514nm green is much prettier than the 532 nm green, at least in my mind. And a multi-line gas unit with an 8-channel PCAOM can *really* make some stunning colors that you won't see from a solid state rig.

Don't get me wrong. Solid state is lightweight, portable, reliable, and convenient. It's also cheap if you only need a watt or two of total power. So for smaller gigs, solid state is absolutely the way to go. It's also perfect for hobbyists. No need to worry about 3 phase power, water cooling, or walking mirrors. (And no fragile tube to damage either.) Just plug and play... I am very happy that solid state has become so affordable, at least on the low end. I wouldn't have as many lasers as I do now if it weren't for this fact.

But once you get up above a couple watts (into the true "professional" territory), then you've just about got to go back to gas. And those lasers are going to be around for a very long time.

Personally, I think Pat is right. I don't think we'll see 20 watts of solid state red *or* blue that can compete with an ion laser (price-wise) in my lifetime. Reason? There's no real market for such a laser apart from laser shows, and that one market alone just isn't enough.

Adam

[keeperx]

im not sure about that Adam..
There are plenty of new technologies in the world of lasers popping up all the time.
and Kvant has 20w rgb rigs http://www.lasershow.sk/products/39-...color-spectrum
the price of DPSS will continue to go down, diodes will get more powerful and large frames will eventually become extinct just like mainframe computers in business did.

[LASERGUY]

Adam,

You just made me feel a heck of a whole lot better

[QUAZAR]

Neener neener boo boo!!!

That certainly puts our old twin 2011 system to shame. Being another person brought up on gas rigs, I still think there's nothing to touch them for beam quality and colours. Sure DPSS is nice and easy and retiring my ALC68 for a 1W solid state system sure made life easier. But I so missed the colurs the argon rig generated.

Another point to make, is that the availability of low cost DPSS lasers has had a huge negative effect on the work vailable for professional laserists. Club owners dont want to pay good money for a professional show, when they can buy something cheap off ebay.