New to forum, just bought a scanner

[Bradfo69]

Talk about money/time pit.

You've learned everything you need to know.

IF you can hold out six weeks and are going to be in the area and able to come to SELEM, that will be an EXCELLENT opportunity to see and get your hands on and try out any of the software and DAC's that have been mentioned. Plus some others that haven't been mentioned. The creators of some of this software in the first place are often there so, it's a great chance to see what they can do and what you feel comfortable with.

Sometimes I think it's just how our brains are wired and what makes "sense" to us. I seem to do well with Moncha and Quickshow. Beyond is somewhat Beyond me because of the sheer amount of features that are overwhelming. LSX just causes my eyes to glaze over but, if your a programmer, it may make perfect sense. Phoenix is good but, lacks a lot of documentation. Showeditor is all in German so, I can't read any of it and it took awhile to learn how to play a show, let along learn how to create one. Fiesta is a step up from Moncha and while easy to use as well, doesn't have the polish of Quickshow. Spaghetti is a decent basic tool for creating frames and shows but, isn't particularly good for playing live.

It also really boils down to what a person wants to DO with their laser. Do you want to play along live with a DJ playing music? Do you want to spend hours creating the perfect show to accompany a particular piece of music? Are you more interested in graphics, abstracts or beams? Do you want to do corporate work with the ability to make clear readable text or, turn a company logo into a laser graphic? Do you want to reinvent the wheel and try to create your own solution with the Arduino or rsapi as mentioned. Some programs just gravitate better to one thing or another.

[swamidog]

LSX just causes my eyes to glaze over but, if your a programmer, it may make perfect sense.

you can make awesome LSX shows without any programming. see 90% of my body of work.

[HankLloydRight]

Where in the NY Area? I was exactly were you were one year ago (well, I hadn't bought a projector yet)... and just posted for the first time on PL. I just wanted to play around and play shows in my living room. Then in a case of pure insanity, I somehow ended up in Newton, NC a month later at this thing called SELEM. I left SELEM with not one, but two projectors, Beyond -- as well as an FB3 as a door prize! Seriously, it's a blast! If you can make it down there, it's well worth it!

Depending on where you are (I'm in lower Fairfield County), I'd be happy to bring over my DAC w/Beyond, and a haze machine to give that thing a good workout. I've got lots of shows thanks to Adam.

Also, in terms of power and the small room -- when I first got my projectors and before I got a projection screen, you'd be amazed at all the shiny things in a room that can reflect beams into the audience area. I ended up buying a powered retractable projection screen and mounting it on the ceiling for graphics shows -- I think it was $100 on craigslist.

[dpetrillo]

Wow I'm definitely going to try to come down to SELEM.

I live in Chinatown in Manhattan near the intersection of Canal and Eldridge. I actually have a big powered shade motor that I could use to set up a screen, but maybe not by next weekend. I do have some white material that could be hung up though that I think would make a great screen.

I don't have a tracking number yet but Mimi assures me that it shipped last night and will produce one for me soon. I would be beyond grateful to test it out with your help any time after it arrives if the trip isn't too far for you. I'll pm you with more details as soon as I get tracking info.

[Bradfo69]

Then in a case of pure insanity, I somehow ended up in Newton, NC a month later at this thing called SELEM. I left SELEM with not one, but two projectors, Beyond -- as well as an FB3 as a door prize! Seriously, it's a blast! If you can make it down there, it's well worth it!

Love it. You really need to trust those moments of pure insanity. Go for it. I did and, will say life has never been the same. As an indirect result of this silly addiction, (and that first trip to SELEM) I've been to Texas once, Florida about 3-4 times, flown a plane, learned to scuba dive in the Caribbean, gotten into RC helicopters and quad copters, am going to Oregon, spent well into 6 figures and have developed some of the closest friends I've ever had.

[buffo]

Love it. You really need to trust those moments of pure insanity. Go for it. I did and, will say life has never been the same.

It's comments like this that motivate me to make SELEM better each year.

As an indirect result of this silly addiction, (and that first trip to SELEM) I've been to Texas once, Florida about 3-4 times, flown a plane, learned to scuba dive in the Caribbean, gotten into RC helicopters and quad copters, am going to Oregon, spent well into 6 figures

Pay attention to Brad's words above! He speaks the truth! This is a money-pit hobby, no doubt about it. And it's not just a hobby; it can quickly become an obsession. That being said, you'll have more fun than you ever dreamed!

and have developed some of the closest friends I've ever had.

Gotta agree with you there, pal. This ^^^^^^^^^^ is really what it's all about. The lasers are secondary.

Adam

[dkumpula]

Just to revisit a prior point, dpetrillo; there are alternative safety mechanisms other than masking that can provide more flexibility with your small home environment once you get control over your laser environment with software and a good DAC. Most of the software packages discussed have beam attenuation masking (BAM) which allows you to decrease power levels in assigned areas (e.g. your audience's field of view). That's just software control and does not provide the safety of masking for hardware and/or software problems, but when combined with tools like diverging lenses (e.g. http://www.pangolin.com/SafetyScanLens/), adequate distance, and such, you should be able to 'crowd-scan' or get quite close to your home audience without damaging anyone's eyesight.

The list of caveats and safety requirements / measurements is long (including 'crowd control' in your home) and not something you'd want to attempt without the appropriate knowledge and assistance, but it is something you can keep in the back of your mind for the possible future.

Here is an example of what I do in a similar space in my house:

(Note that the camera's slow shutter make some of the beams look brighter than they are in person.)

-David

[dpetrillo]

Thanks David. I am intrigued by the safety scan lenses, they seem like a great solution. That video that you posted is pretty great, that's quite a big of lighting in one room. How powerful are the laser projectors that you use in that setup? I saw the other thread where you described that they use -6 safety lenses but what's behind the lenses?

[White-Light]

A million thanks to all of you. I will definitely have a fog machine in the room and look forward to some sweet beam effects.

I've been slowly digesting the options for a DAC and software and can tell this is going to get out of hand quickly. I really appreciate how good of a resource this form has been so far.

Smoke a room and even graphics become beams!

Thanks David. I am intrigued by the safety scan lenses, they seem like a great solution. That video that you posted is pretty great, that's quite a big of lighting in one room. How powerful are the laser projectors that you use in that setup? I saw the other thread where you described that they use -6 safety lenses but what's behind the lenses?

The lens is held in place by a bracket on the front of the projector. Pangolin have some brackets that use industrial strength adhesive so will fit almost any projector out there, and the brackets are cheap. Unfortunately it's not quite as simple as that.

You can't simply pop a lens in front of the laser and render it safe (without pre-determined calculations). It still requires measurements and sometimes BAM's used in combination. That means a laser power meter + lens as a minimum and probably control software as well. David is quite right to suggest this as a future solution. However, it's not an instant solution unless you're prepared to throw a lot of money at it quickly as neither the lenses nor power meters are cheap.

So far as QS is concerned, for home parties, you'll probably find VLJ (Virtual Light Jockey) hard to beat if you want a hands off solution.

I reckon your best bet is to get the laser under ILDA control, project safely overhead, then take it from there.

If you can't manage more than 12" of clearance, then consider either projecting onto the ceiling steeply at an angle that puts it way out of reach of your audience or project graphics onto a wall behind the DJ position PROVIDED no-one can get access.

If you can't manage either of those 2 solutions, then it's probably not safe and you might be better keeping this for your own enjoyment and getting a 5mw laser crab style laser for parties.

[Bradfo69]

I will definitely have a fog machine in the room and look forward to some sweet beam effects.

While we're on the subject of fog.... and money pits.... think seriously about a haze machine rather than a fog machine. In a perfect world, you would use both but, each has certain strengths and weaknesses. And for lasers, in the long run, haze is going to be your better bet. The two big things are cost of operation and hang time. It costs a little more to invest in a hazer from the beginning but, over time, it is MUCH less expensive to operate. You're simply buying a whole heck of a lot less fluid. Haze also has a much longer hang time in the air. Fog disappears within about 15 minutes and you have to run the fog machine again. Haze on the other hand can be run for a couple minutes and hang for as much as 3 hours and not need to be run again. Most haze is created instantaneously. No heat is required, a fogger on the other hand, requires a warm up time of anywhere from 5-12 minutes before you can produce fog.

Not saying you have to go and get a $1000 hazer or anything but, if you're facing say, a $125-150 fogger versus a $300 or $400 haze machine, spend the extra to get the haze machine. It will quickly pay for itself in time, money, cleanliness, etc.