Page 4 of 6 FirstFirst 123456 LastLast
Results 31 to 40 of 53

Thread: ILDA specs

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    768

    Default

    Oh, I forgot the most important rule when driving a laser from a soundcard:

    Stay off of Snapface or Instachat or whatever!


  2. #32
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Colorado USA
    Posts
    793

    Default

    What should be stressed in the world or laser entertainment (professional or personal) is safety, safety procedures and best practices. For any given situation there may be appropriate, calculated minor deviations as long as safe practices are observed. It is great to have inherent, automatic, built-in safeguards is any product, but it doesn't amount to anything if the operator is not educated in how to deal with best practices in setting up, starting up and use of laser projectors and equipment.

    This forum to me has shown to be a place where valuable knowledge is shared and exchanged generously, including laser safety. The key is and has always been to seek, learn or develop a safety best practice for your given situation, one that protects you and others. We used to always have a goddamn mechanical, or better still, an electro-mechanical shutter that blocked the output aperture of any and all laser beams to be output by projection devices that defaulted to blocking the aperture whether device power was on or off, regardless whether there was subsequent high-speed blanking devices up or downstream. Only when the shuttered device's electro-mechanical aperture was energized was an output beam allowed to exit. This is old school, yes, but still a best practice.

    In the news last night, a story of a man charged with a DUI who was driving a self-driving Tesla. The only way the police could stop him since he was asleep at the wheel was to pull in front of him and stop, so the self-driving car would stop. Just because safety is built-in doesn't mean it will work as needed for all situations.
    ________________________________
    Everything depends on everything else

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Akron, Ohio USA
    Posts
    2,197

    Default

    You can kick around Microsoft Windows all you want. Although if your choice of DAC only works in Windows, I'm not sure how that bolsters your case. You can pick on an individual sound device if you want. But you can't denounce the general idea of using digital audio hardware to produce laser control signals.

    James.
    Creator of LaserBoy!
    LaserBoy is free and runs in Windows, MacOS and Linux (including Raspberry Pi!).
    Download LaserBoy!
    YouTube Tutorials
    Ask me about my LaserBoy Correction Amp Kit for sale!
    All software has a learning curve usually proportional to its capabilities and unique features. Pointing with a mouse is in no way easier than tapping a key.

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Akron, Ohio USA
    Posts
    2,197

    Default

    Um... Uhhhhh ..... ummm..... where's Bill?

    James.
    Creator of LaserBoy!
    LaserBoy is free and runs in Windows, MacOS and Linux (including Raspberry Pi!).
    Download LaserBoy!
    YouTube Tutorials
    Ask me about my LaserBoy Correction Amp Kit for sale!
    All software has a learning curve usually proportional to its capabilities and unique features. Pointing with a mouse is in no way easier than tapping a key.

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    768

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by james View Post
    Um... Uhhhhh ..... ummm..... where's Bill?

    James.
    Dude, he's getting the Patriots ready for the next game!

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Orlando, FL - USA
    Posts
    1,770

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dchammonds View Post
    If Windows fails, or your computer fails (much more likely), it's game over no matter who's laser controller is connected.
    HEHE, the question is how the game is over. If Windows fails and you have a laser controller made by a responsible company, then the beam is blanked immediately. (FB3 has zero internal memory, and requires a constant stream of data fed to it. If data stops, FB3 blanks the beam immediately. Similar story with FB4, but it does have a tiny amount of memory...) On the other hand, it is easy to imagine a scenario that will allow sound card dacs to remain in a constant state in the event of problems.

    Bill

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Orlando, FL - USA
    Posts
    1,770

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by james View Post
    But you can't denounce the general idea of using digital audio hardware to produce laser control signals.

    James.
    This is like saying "you can't denounce standing on a bunch of boxes to change a light bulb located on a really high ceiling". Well, it might work (and I'm not saying I've never done this), but safety-minded folks would not only denounce this, but would also just bring out a ladder!

    Dude, we have laser control hardware to produce laser control signals! It's not like laser controllers don't exist! Use the right tool for the job!



    Bill

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    768

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Pangolin View Post
    HEHE, the question is how the game is over. If Windows fails and you have a laser controller made by a responsible company, then the beam is blanked immediately. (FB3 has zero internal memory, and requires a constant stream of data fed to it. If data stops, FB3 blanks the beam immediately. Similar story with FB4, but it does have a tiny amount of memory...) On the other hand, it is easy to imagine a scenario that will allow sound card dacs to remain in a constant state in the event of problems.

    Bill
    What does your controller do when the projector goes haywire?

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Akron, Ohio USA
    Posts
    2,197

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Pangolin View Post
    This is like saying "you can't denounce standing on a bunch of boxes to change a light bulb located on a really high ceiling". Well, it might work (and I'm not saying I've never done this), but safety-minded folks would not only denounce this, but would also just bring out a ladder!

    Dude, we have laser control hardware to produce laser control signals! It's not like laser controllers don't exist! Use the right tool for the job!



    Bill
    No it isn't. It's just a matter of using a ladder with a different name brand on it.

    We've been over this before. There is a huge advantage in recognizing that laser control signals are digital audio. There is a whole world of hardware and software dedicated to digital audio. It just takes a bit of imagination to leverage its use for laser projection. And whether you like it or not, it's been going on pretty much ever since laser projection was a thing.

    Quote Originally Posted by Pangolin View Post
    HEHE ..... On the other hand, it is easy to imagine a scenario that will allow sound card dacs to remain in a constant state in the event of problems.


    Oh really? Then go ahead and image that for me. Exactly how would that happen?
    Last edited by james; 12-02-2018 at 10:54.
    Creator of LaserBoy!
    LaserBoy is free and runs in Windows, MacOS and Linux (including Raspberry Pi!).
    Download LaserBoy!
    YouTube Tutorials
    Ask me about my LaserBoy Correction Amp Kit for sale!
    All software has a learning curve usually proportional to its capabilities and unique features. Pointing with a mouse is in no way easier than tapping a key.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Posts
    2,292

    Default

    If soundcard DACs would send 0V to all channels when nothing is sent to them then I think they would be as safe as anything. But, that isn't the case, at least for some of them. It's a shame and something that the soundcard manufacturers could easily fix but I don't think they expect them to be used in this manner.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •