Aligning The Laser Beam - A Nub's Question

[greenalien]

Is laser TTL or Analogue control?

[gilv_58]

green

Sorry I don't know it is a GLMC-100 DPSS 532nm Green laser from Extreme Lasers at

http://www.extremelasers.com/GLMC2.htm

Sorry if I sound dumb, just getting my feet wet.

Gil V.

[greenalien]

OK, it's TTL, so it can either be on or off, nothing in between. On the other hand, at that power,although it can still cause eye damage, it's not as dangerous as a 1W, for example, so aligning it shouldn't present too many problems. All you can do is switch it on or off with the blanking signal from your DAC. The control signal inputs on the scanner board are to give you X and Y axis control, they have nothing to do with the blanking.

[gilv_58]

ok Green

That is the way I understood things to work, I knew that if I sent a 5v signal to the laser power unit it would turn blank on; 0v = blank off = laser on. But I appreciate your confirmation. With respect to eye protection I have a set of laser safety glasses (for 532mn wavelength) that I ALWAYS wear when the laser is powered. I also post signs so no one comes in the garage when I am playing with lasers.

I'll be stopping by to pick up a .50" aluminum plate that I will use for optics bed on my way home this afternoon. I have ordered an adjustable mirror mount from laserman532 because the laser beam comes out 2 mm under the center axis for the "x" mirror. So I am hoping to mount and align my laser and scanner mirror block this weekend. I am buying an FB3 to control the scanners. I have a 30Kpps set of scanners.

I still need a case, I have a case that will work but after seeing the awesome cases in this board I think I want one that is better than what I have.

[Doc]

Good to see that you are having fun with your adventure

[Doc]

green

Sorry I don't know it is a GLMC-100 DPSS 532nm Green laser from Extreme Lasers at

http://www.extremelasers.com/GLMC2.htm

Sorry if I sound dumb, just getting my feet wet.

Gil V.

I've just taken a look at this laser That is really expensive for a 100mW TTL laser!!

You really need to speak to Mark (gottaluvlasers) when you are ready to upgrade to analogue modulation.

Ian

[ElektroFreak]

I was going to say the same thing.. You should be able to procure a VERY nice 300mW green unit from ctlasers.com for that price range which will outlive and outperform your current system. There are similar systems at other suppliers in that same price range as well. File this away for future use..

[gilv_58]

I paid $149 for it on ebay.

I bought it following Steve's advice to learn with a 100mw Green laser then move up. My next purchase will be from Mark. Thanks for your advice.

[ElektroFreak]

That's very good to hear that you got it for a reasonable price.. I get tired of seeing new people to the hobby get ripped off because they haven't learned enough yet. Happens VERY often. It's fortunate that it didn't happen to you.

Also, Marc (gottaluvlasers) = ctlasers.com.. He's the owner.

[XysteR]

When i built my first projector (few months back) i came to the decision not to touch TTL and go with analog from the off. I couldn't get my head around buying something that i would pretty much instantly want to replace, personally i feel its just a waste of time and money to buy TTL for a projector. Analog does cost more but its the best way to go from the off.

I took advice from people, everything logically said to go for analog from the off. If you add more colours later (and you will as your already showing the early signs of laser fever) you'll be miffed that you can only get 7 colours from RGB TTL driven lasers. You can have them converted to analog i suppose but again, i find that if i'm gonna do something i'll take the shortest, trouble free and financially best route i can.

Thinking my build through and taking brilliant advice from Rob at Laserwave made my build a breeze with no sticking points, regrets or problems. I knew nothing of how laser projectors worked a few months ago, now i have built a RGY projector in a self made wooden case. I started out only wanting to build an analog green, next thing i knew i was ordering a 640 red! Now i'm close to ringing Rob regarding a blue.

Even when i only had the green i already knew the rough prices i'd be paying for the other colours if i needed them. It'd be daft to buy a really powerful green only to find the red and blue to match will force you to consider selling children. Fair enough you could turn down the power of the green to match in to the other colours but what a waste

Things are looking good upto now, liking your build.