Originally Posted by
buffo
Pat;
I agree, but for a hobbyist, a 480V laser PSU is totally impractical. The transformer needed to step up enough 208 to 480 so that we could fire that monster coherent that George has would probably weigh 500 pounds. That's not something that I'd want to have to load in and out for SELEM...
Ditto on the water boost pump. If we can't make do with cooling water flowing from the tap, then the laser is too big to screw with. After all, we're not doing lasers for the Rolling Stones or anything. Truthfully, I think even 208 V 3 phase systems are a pain in the ass, and I'm actually one of the lucky ones in that I've got limited access to a 208 system that is less than a mile from the house. (But getting into the panel is a bitch, and it's a long run from there to the shop floor.)
George bought that laser for a song, and I think he hoped to one day use it for commercial shows. But it's *so* big and *so* heavy that it's really impractical, especially when it's 10 times easier to just set up a couple Lexel 95's or a pair of Coherent I-90's instead. (And both will be bright enough for an indoor show with up to 5000 people, so why go any bigger?)
Adam
everything you just mentioned is why I slowly dumped large frames and developed the yag
Pat B
laserman532 on ebay
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt & selling it in a garage sale.