Is it really worth it? 445nm diode inside

[sbk]

I was thinking getting rid of DPSS for my blue But finally I'm asking myself if it is really worth it (the high price...).

Actually I have a nice Lasever 100mW unit, which does >200mW. Works really great, linear modulation etc, except that it has some DPSS-related disadvantages, as noisy beam, thermal management, etc.

I had a big upgrade of my projector in my mind, with a 1W 445nm diode and a 800mW 532nm, together with the 1W 660nm I already have (and later a 640nm unit to increase the red). This upgrade teases me because I made a few shows in a pretty big environment, with quite a lot of other lightings, and I'm under the impression that sometimes my laser is just too dim, and so lost a lot of its "wow" effect...

This sunday I saw for the first time, some projectors with 445nm in it, at an open air party. I was amazed by the color, especially the magenta which were just beautiful But the blue itself wasn't very bright, as you know 445nm is about half the brigthness compared to 473nm. I didn't know the power though, but I think it was max 500mW of 445nm. The projectors colors were perfectly balanced, and it was a quite safe audience scanning show as I was never blinded when beams crossed my eyes, so the involded power was quite low.
By the way, the projector's box was really really small, I never saw an RGB in a so small case, I first though it was just the scanning head with a fiber connected laser so it conforts me in the idea of a low power projector. If someone is aware of who made this show, or from which manufacturer (and especially which power was inside) were the projectors at this party (Sea of Love, Germany, a Bigcitybeats event), please tell me, it should give me an idea

But something I'd like to know, is if we can really compensate the lower brightness by adding some green in the mix, to have still powerful beams? By making a custom color palette with a blue close to the 473nm hue when I want power for example, and still the pure blue when I want this. And in this case, what 473nm equivalent power can I obtain with that 1W 445nm boosted with some green?

[allthatwhichis]

Did the projector look like the one here... http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...ead.php?t=7089

[sbk]

No the one installed were about half the height... Really small projectors! I looked around but found no manufacturer which sell things like that. The different sources were *perfectly* aligned and had the exact same divergence, and the images were of very great quality so I think it's a reputable brand, probably a german company.

Aaron, are you the only one on this board to have a 445nm laser? How is your blue brightness compared to your old projector with 473nm for example? Does the addition of a little green really increase the brightness?
Well, if only I could come to a LEM

[Displaser]

Maybe a Compact2 or Compact4 from RGB?

http://www.rgblasersystem.com/index....&id=2&Itemid=5

Greg

[dave]

Aaron, are you the only one on this board to have a 445nm laser?

He isnt the only one

We have a 4w rgb, with 1w of 445 in it, and a couple of projectors in the works with 500mw in each..

445nm rocks. No instability, and modulation issues. Linear modulation, dpss an only dream to obtain, way more reliable than dpss, etc, etc, etc

[dave]

Does the addition of a little green really increase the brightness?

For sure it does.

[Zoof]

Theoretically you get a brighter blue of similar hue with 445nm+523nm than 473nm for the same blue laser power...
There is a thread on this somewhere here on PL. For higher power lasers, blue >= 500mW the 445nm is more cost effective than 473nm based on this. That plus all the advantages said above. Unfortunately I'm not up to that power so still muddling around with 473 (+ 405 in the future)...

[SideFX]

Swisslas maybe..?

http://www.swisslas.ch/he.pl?category=00000294

[sbk]

Maybe a Compact2 or Compact4 from RGB?
http://www.rgblasersystem.com/index....&id=2&Itemid=5
Greg

Seems not, they haven't this shape... I noticed though they are selling great 445nm modules too, for a reasonnable price

He isnt the only one

We have a 4w rgb, with 1w of 445 in it, and a couple of projectors in the works with 500mw in each..

445nm rocks. No instability, and modulation issues. Linear modulation, dpss an only dream to obtain, way more reliable than dpss, etc, etc, etc

For sure it does.

Well, what you said isn't a very good perspective for my wallet

If somebody has some more elements of comparison, like a video at a party or so, I'd be glad to see it

[sbk]

Theoretically you get a brighter blue of similar hue with 445nm+523nm than 473nm for the same blue laser power...
There is a thread on this somewhere here on PL. For higher power lasers, blue >= 500mW the 445nm is more cost effective than 473nm based on this. That plus all the advantages said above. Unfortunately I'm not up to that power so still muddling around with 473 (+ 405 in the future)...

Yes, I read all the thread, but there's no concrete example with the 445, the discussion was more focused with 405nm.
So this would mean that if I have 1W 445nm with some green, it should be brighter than 1W of 473nm?!

Swisslas maybe..?

http://www.swisslas.ch/he.pl?category=00000294

It's the same shape, but the exit window was on the right and there was just a little yellow warning and no Swisslas logo...