Just built a projector, need help picking a DAC

So I was thinking to myself and thought that I really d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶e̶y̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶w̶a̶l̶l̶e̶t̶ like cool flashing colors. I bought some stuff that looks like it works together on eBay and threw it all into an old cordless drill box.

http://i.imgur.com/QLfMT81.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3sVEgVg.jpg
Such control, many ILDA.

http://i.imgur.com/0yurTd9.jpg

So I still need to add the 12v PSU and green laser when they arrive but testing it with a a laser pointer, it works pretty well, gotta love dem connecting lines.

So now that I made a thing and I want to throw all my money at the laser gods, which DAC should I get, my primary choice right now is the EtherDream and second is the Riya Lite. Are there any other choices in the $150-$200 range? Also the DB25's only have 7 wires that lead to the main board, anyone know which ones they are and how this will affect DAC choice or should I break out the multimeter again.

Sometimes the simplest things are still a beauty to behold. :)


People on here have been asking for build threads and, in all honesty, this is a great one.

In answer to your question, both are fine choices. Some of the other things you hear about are soundcard DAC's and another one I like that you can find from time to time for under $200 are the Moncha 2.1 DAC. You can use Showtacle's own Moncha software or, I know it works with LSX, Spaghetti and perhaps others. But for a fast, "buy and receive" solution, many speak very, very highly of the Etherdream.

Hi Tomtortoise,

Well I own both a Riya Lite USB DAC and an Etherdream also. I think the biggest advantage of the etherdream is being able to run a long ethernet cable from your PC to the projector. If that is not important I would push you towards the Riya Lite, it works very well and is a bit less expensive. Just this week I got Zoof's Laseroids and his other tools running on the Riya. I started with a soundcard DAC, which did the job.... But having a commercial DAC is much more portable and reliable.

... And I second Bradfo's comment ---- thanks for sharing your build. Looks like you took your time doing a good job mounting your dip switches and DB-25s, I see you are no stranger to using a file...

Welcome to PL! Have you invested in any software yet ?

-Jason

I think I will stick with the EtherDream then as I would rather have something that won't break from a cold solder joint, it has all the features I want and works with LSX when I decide to buy that and LFI so I can play around with it for the time being. (anyone have a used EtherDream for sale)

So I just figured out which pins I have X+, Y+, Interlock A, R+, G+, B+, Ground (TTL only). Is it even required to have the - sides for XY and RGB or is that only needed for fancy schmancy projectors.

@Jason, I downloaded the HE Laserscan trial, LaserBoy, OpenLaser, LFI, Spaghetti trial but LFI and LaserBoy are the only ones I have able to run, not to figure out how to use them (Especially LaserBoy, so confusing but it looks so powerful). I plan on switching over to LSX Lite in the future.