I've had a laserscope ktp/532 800 series sitting in storage since I bought it some time ago, and I've recently decided its time to modify the beast for show applications. Doing shows was a hobby of mine over 10 years ago but I've been out of the game for some time and I've only worked with med-large argons (2w - 16w), so this will be my first foray into the land of laserscopes.
In all the research I've been doing online and in these forums, it seems like detailed descriptions of how to modify these things are closely kept secrets. I can only imagine this is to keep the price of used systems down and to protect people from playing with extremely powerful lasers so that they do not hurt themselves, or worse, others. As much as I like to see information shared freely, I can understand and respect this.
That said, I could really use some information and pointers to help me with this project. My end goal is to remove unnecessary optics and interlocks, get it setup with a pair of galvos, and probably a third for blanking (It sounds like using the qswitch for blanking is a recipe for disaster), and also remove the onboard computer and replace it with my own computer/software that I am capable of creating. Additionally, if it is practical to feed a a remote scan head via fiber, I may add the necessary optics for this. However, between the power levels and divergence, I'm not sure if this practicable.
So would anyone be willing to share some information on procedures to go about the following:
1. Good way to test the system before doing any modifications.
2. Alignment / Optics cleaning
3. Removing / replacing computer control system
4. Removing unnecessary optics
5. Managing interlocks (how many are there, which can be defeated, which should remain)
6. Isolation transformer: Keep it or toss it?
7. Collimator setup - getting a tight beam
Any other tips, feedback, suggestions etc would be much appreciated.
Thank You!
