Seeking some advice...

[ithalua]

I'm hoping to purchase another laser sometime in the future however i'm a bit stuck on where I should go..

After reading around I'd like to aim for RGY with ILDA and 30k scanners, something to introduce me to colours and animation software such as pangolin without jumping into the expensive world of RGB.
The only problem is I have no idea where to look, my first laser was from Laserworld and lets just say I've learnt from my mistakes.

Now my knowledge of the inner workings of lasers is between a level of nothing and limited so construction and the buying of parts is not exactly applicable.
On power I personally believe 100mw 532nm and 400mw (a bit lost on what spectrum of red I should be aiming for) for a combined 500mw is ideal for what it would be used for (small to medium halls, over head scanning, animations and low power crowd scanning) and would provide a sizeable upgrade over my falsely advertised Laserworld 100mw 532nm DMX laser (the module used inside is specced to be 20mw)

Now here is the problem.. I have no idea where to look? With no equipment to test levels for myself I'd prefer someone trusted and reliable, I'd MUCH rather wait and save for quality than try my luck on one of the seemingly endless list Chinese lighting companies or buy from ebay.
It shall be noted that I'm in Australia so the power has to be 220-240V AC, 50 Hz and replacements / warranty could be rather tricky.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and the reason why this isn't in buy/sell/trade is i'm rather seeking advice now and buying later in the future.

[taggalucci]

Hi there

Where in Aus are you?

[ithalua]

Launceston, Tasmania and I'll be honest it's not the best of places in Australia :P

[edison]

are you kidding? We have been to Tasmania and the scenery is absolute fantastic!! Made some nice pictures

[ithalua]

Oh the scenery here can be great but living here, or at least in Launceston, can feel somewhat isolated at times.

[taggalucci]

My recommendations, based on what you've written would be:

a. Get someone here on PL to build for you. Then you can have complete faith/control over parts used and power specs.
b. Buy from a respectable Aussie company like StoreDJ. You'll have consumer protection laws on your side and a real warranty.
c. Buy from one of the better Chinese manufacturers (I can't recommend any, though others here may have a view)

The order of preference for me would be top to bottom. The pricing is likely to also be in this order with highest price top, through lowest price at the bottom (with increasing trade offs of course).

[dave]

Or a good European manufacturer such as Kvant Their eLite unit is great value for money..

[White-Light]

Yeah blue isn't expensive any more. 500mw blue will cost around Euro 500. The biggest expense is green and red.

If its just for home use and you won't be moving it around a lot then a Kvant Elite as Dave suggested might be suitable. The main difference between the Elite and the mainstream Kvants is that it has a plastic rather than Alu case so it keeps the cost down. The downside is more flex if you move it so its more likely to become misaligned if moved around a lot. That's why they recommend it for more static installations.

This is the Elite:

http://www.synchrovision.co.uk/produ...canners-25kpps

You could also order from Kvant direct, not sure which would be the best option for you in Aus. All the Kvant guys are very helpful.

Its is blue heavy but will still give you a good laser for the price. There's 300mw green and 340mw 637 red in there as well so it should be pretty bright.

I presume Dave doesn't make lasers otherwise he would have said. You other choice for something pre-made would be for Rob (stanwax Laser UK) or Marc (CT Lasers USA) to custom build you something.

As you've probably already gathered though, this is an expensive hobby if you want quality.

BTW, love that surf beach Edison! I could seriously drown myself out there.

[ithalua]

I'm loving these suggestions and as much as I would give anything to jump into a Kvant I'd prefer to take some more baby steps especially considering all I have right now is a 20mw green with 4-5k steppers :P
I was browsing that Australian store that taggalucci mentioned and a 600mw rgb did catch my eye, although it did only have 15k scanners specified.
Needless to say I looked up the brand they stocked which is called Dune and was browsing their website which just happened to be completely french (the english button didn't work but luckily google translate did) and found a neat 360mw RGY with ILDA and 30k scanners.
website here: http://www.dune-sono.com/produit.asp...=007&cp=1&cs=9
Problem is the Australian store does not stock this item which means I would not have consumer protection laws and warranty etc.. And I don't know anything about the company, for all I know it could be another like Laserworld?!
Has anyone had experience with their products before or perhaps know anything about them?

[taggalucci]

I'd prefer to take some more baby steps

...a 600mw rgb did catch my eye, although it did only have 15k scanners specified.

...found a neat 360mw RGY with ILDA and 30k scanners.

Hmmm, I think 15k scanners would be fine for "baby steps" for beamshows. IMHO graphics (animations) are not worth it unless you use faster scanners and tighter beams (neither of which are "baby step" features). You can always upgrade scanners at a later point.

Has anyone had experience with their products before or perhaps know anything about them?

If you want to buy a branded product that people have had experience with and can recommend, you are significantly reducing your options (especially if budget is an issue). Kvant (as mentioned above) or the better Chinese makes (if anyone is willing to recommend one).

Both Dave and I can build projectors, but we are busy people (tho of course Dave can of course speak for himself ). I can build you one, though it would be at cost of materials + labour. In my opinion, a custom build would be better as you would get the right compromise on a part by part basis for your needs and budget (though it will not be cheap), and you can have an extensible platform that would allow you to upgrade individual components as money permits.

Also, why RGY? Red 660nm and Blue 445nm are the cheapest laser sources currently available (mW per $). You could have a nice Red, Blue, Magenta and all the shades in between for a lot less cost than a single green laser (assuming a custom build).