My so called DAC

Hi, don't laugh but this is my attempt at making housing for my FB3. It's not pritty but I think it's gonna be ok, it's dark at parties anyway.

I didnt know how to secure the board inside to the box so I left it flaoting in the polystrien that came with it. Is that gonna cause major heat up?

http://cylo.co.uk/dac/1.jpg
http://cylo.co.uk/dac/2.jpg
http://cylo.co.uk/dac/3.jpg
http://cylo.co.uk/dac/4.jpg
http://cylo.co.uk/dac/5.jpghttp://cylo.co.uk/dac/6.jpghttp://cylo.co.uk/dac/7.jpghttp://cylo.co.uk/dac/8.jpghttp://cylo.co.uk/dac/9.jpg


The ILDA cable just fixes to the male connection on the insdie whch holds it in place meaning that the cable will always have to be connected and hanging out otherwise the femail end will disappear inside hte box. The USB cable is super glued onto one of the wall so that it doesnt come out. SO that cable also is always going to be connected.

I'm fairly happy with it even though it looks like hell. I havent done wood word or soldering since school.

The soldering was actually realy hard. I couldnt get the ball of solder to stay on the tiny peice of metal and wire. I'm not looking forward to sodlering the 25 pin out ILDA connector inside the projector.

Anyway hope this has been amusing :D
Graham

get a small metal box

http://www.laser-man.co.uk/2006/inde...id=45&Itemid=6

Hey, looks better than what I could put together. I find it is much harder to construct something than it is to destruct it. :D

The question is, does it work? ;)

I know you have put a lot into this but thats a lot of housing for a very small unit. You can buy really cheap plastic housings from electronics supply companies such as Maplin or Rapidelectronics. They are made of ABS plastic so are easy - if a bit messy - to work with and will keep it neat and tidy.

take a look for yourself here...
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?...id=-2&doy=2m12

they do mail order or you can find where your local shop is and go in and look before you buy to se if it will be ok.

Rob

and those polystyrene chips are great for storing static electricity in an insulated container ( wood ) and semiconductors dont like static

you could put your hand to pick up the PCB to find that the static discharges to you ... via the pcb ... thats why when most PCBs are sent in post in these chips they are in antistatic bags


( god that was hard to type with a hangover , sory for typos etc... )


back to bed

Karl

That is a bit large. I ordered a Protocase for my FB3. They did a great job and was well worth the $89 to keep the board safe! I'll take a pic when I get a chance.

Is it April 1st?

Ok I know its a little large, and didnt think about the static issue. WIll remove them when I get home.

Did I say mention that when I made that box I was hurrendously drunk, had a blind fold on and had hands tied behind my back?

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Originally Posted by laserLips

Did I say mention that when I made that box I was hurrendously drunk, had a blind fold on and had hands tied behind my back?

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Hmmm, didn't see that part. You suck then. You should stick to playing with lasers. Much safer than woodworking. ;)

Hi Graham, four things to watch out for with that set up, static and heat which has been mentioned also termites and if you get a flood its going to float off unless the termites have got to it then its going to sink, joking aside at least you are having ago at trying to get it setup and that’s what it is all about but I would do what stanwax (Rob) suggested and get something from maplins the boxes are cheap and durable, small and it will look the part when done, good luck with your project buddy.

^ LOL LOL You're killing me!

It never hurts to have a bit of humour, but I do feel for Graham and I know how frustrating it can be, having a hundred bits in front of you and you have a rough idea about how to put it together but your scared your going to make a mistake a costly one at that I have been following Grahams posts for a few days now and the guys with the knowledge have been helping him out as they did me when I got stuck, I could not offer him any advice on his setup its out of my league I only mess around with the laser part of things not the display so the only thing I could offer was the humour well at least it made you laugh Carmangary so it seems to be working lol :)

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if you get a flood its going to float off unless the termites have got to it then its going to sink

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LOL

I have followed Dave's advice and ordered a small plastic box with some other bits like a swicth and LED. I looked at Andy_cons one on his website and thought 'I can't do that' so thast why I whent and built Noah's Ark.

Anyway I'll keep you posted, cheers.
Graham
( :rolleyes: am I ever gonna live this down )

Nice one Graham, take your time and if your not sure ask here on PL someones bound to know the answer. good luck mate

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Originally Posted by kaz

...I would do what stanwax (Rob) suggested and get something from maplins the boxes are cheap and durable, small and it will look the part when done...

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The hammerite-finished grey diecast aluminium boxes are really nice for quick work without spending lots. For best effect, place them lid-downwards, and fit rubber feet to them. They are fairly forgiving of small scratches during marking out and such, they can take plenty of that before they really look bad. Also, measure five times if need be, and cut once. It's always easier to spend time on getting the marking out as exact as you can, than fixing it if you don't, and the holes slip out of position. It's easy to make those boxes offer full protection against static, mains voltage, and impact and crush damage. The main difficulty is accurately drilling through the sides because they have furrowed walls to make PCB guides, so you have tio think a bit about those when planning. The results almost always look great though, those boxes have been Maplin's best value and consistent high quality for a very long time, which is why you can always get them, no matter what else they (in their infinitely declining wisdom) decide to cease stocking.

Does the FB3 come in bits then?
I was thinking about purchasing one in Feb (when all the Krimbo bills are sorted) but as my soldering skills are zilch, I won't even contemplate a kit.

I was under the impression it was a complete unit that you just plug in and play ......
:(

It is fully assembled. You will have to connect some wires but for the most part it is ready to go. It is just a card it doesn't come with an enclosure, it is meant to be used in a oem projector.

chad

To expand on what Chad posted;

If you can't solder, you're going to have trouble when you build your projector, as you'll need to solder wires to the ILDA connector that will run to your scanner amps and to the blanking lines for your lasers. We're not talking about soldering resistors and diodes to a circuit board here, but you *will* need to do some soldering.

As for the FB3, there isn't any soldering involved with that. All you need to to is connect a ribbon cable, a power cable, and a USB cable to it and you're ready to go.

Adam

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Originally Posted by Buffo

...All you need to to is connect a ribbon cable, a power cable, and a USB cable to it and you're ready to go.

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That sounds doable even for a fat fingered doofus like me. :D

I don't think I'll ever go down the route of building my own projectors as I don't have the technical wherewithal to do so.
Instead I just buy ready made items and hope to exercise a bit more control over the output than rather having just sound to light or running the preset patterns.
I've explored the DMX route and have a couple of small desks but it still didn't allow me to vent my creative juices.
As I said, I'm looking at an FB3 in Feb but after reading up some more, would a noob like me be better off going straight for the LD200, especially as there seems to be so many more shows available with that product?

So many questions.....
I'll just have to keep reading whilst I save my pennies.

I just know that the UK Laser meet may well induce me to raid the piggy bank......

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Originally Posted by soforene

I just know that the UK Laser meet may well induce me to raid the piggy bank......

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Ya damn right there mate!

If at the meet you have any bits and bobs and are not happy soldering them - I will have my soldering gear with me as I did last time. I dont mind doing some stuff for you or anyone else for that matter as long as my beast is up and running and I dont spend all day soldering ;)

Rob

great ill being my RGB lasers, scanners, PSU, fans and ill leave it with you mate ;)

Ya will will ya.
betcha a tenner you will have it all set up way before then - :)

Rob

i bet you 20 i do to ;)

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Originally Posted by soforene

I'm looking at an FB3 in Feb but after reading up some more, would a noob like me be better off going straight for the LD200, especially as there seems to be so many more shows available with that product?

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My personal opinion is that the LD-2000 system (even the intro package) is the cat's meow. It's the cream of the crop. And especially for someone that doesn't want to spend a lot of time learning an interface, it's really ideal because it comes with so many great things right out of the box. Nearly 100 full-length shows. 3 CD's worth of frames and animations. The Winamp Laser visualizer plug-in. Asteroids. The abstract generator. I could go on and on, but I suppose I don't need to at this point; you already know what I'm going on about. You are ready to rock 5 min after you un-box the thing.

The only caveat is the cost. It's nearly 3 times the price of the LA Freak kit. Now, that's still going to be a small amount of money compared to what a pre-assembled RGB projector is going to cost you at retail, so perhaps in your position the cost of the software and the controller isn't as big of an issue. But for most hobbyists, every penny has to be accounted for, and for those people the FB3 is a more affordable option, even if it does offer less.

If you did go with the FB3, however, you'd soon need to start creating your own content to display on it. I don't think it comes with any shows at all.

Bottom line - If you've got the cash to spare, go with the LD-2000 package. You won't be sorry. (Quite the opposite... I promise you'll be blown away when you start playing with it and see all the cool stuff it comes with.)

And if you ever decide that you've over-spent yourself and need to cut back, I promise you that the LD-2000 system will be easier to sell and will hold it's value better than any other controller. (But once you get your LD-2000, selling it will be the last thing on your mind!);)

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I just know that the UK Laser meet may well induce me to raid the piggy bank......

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We should have a banner at the top of PhotonLexicon that reads:

"Abandon all hope of solvency, all ye who enter here."

But no matter how much I spend, when I see that beautiful coherent light, I know it was worth it...

Adam

Hi guys,

Thanks for the kudos. Just a few minor points.

With the fall of the value of the US dollar against other major currencies, all of our systems are getting less and less expensive for people outside the US. In fact, if you compare the price of LD2000 Intro with other platforms, you often find that it is less expensive!! And despite the word "Intro" in the product name, it is really quite powerful (as others will attest)!

Best regards,

William Benner

I also have LD2000 intro since last week, but only received QM2000-card and .NET OEM-card. So, no CD's with the nearly 100 free shows, etc. I already had the LD2000 software on my laptop because I've done some shows with a friends QM2000.NET-set, but I'm a bit disappointed not having the free shows, frames, tutorials, etc.

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Originally Posted by JeroenVDV

I also have LD2000 intro since last week, but only received QM2000-card and .NET OEM-card. So, no CD's with the nearly 100 free shows, etc. I already had the LD2000 software on my laptop because I've done some shows with a friends QM2000.NET-set, but I'm a bit disappointed not having the free shows, frames, tutorials, etc.

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I would like to learn exactly how it was that you came into having the LD2000 system, and then the QM2000.NET, and the sequence of events surrounding all of this, whereby you do not have the frames, shows, and Tutorial DVD.

We have been shipping the Tutorial DVD for probably the better part of 3 years, and shipping the over 100 shows and over 300,000 frames for more than one year. So it tells me that your LD2000 system is not really new -- maybe acquired from someone other than Pangolin?

And when you buy only the QM2000.NET OEM module, that's all you get. If you wanted an updated CD/DVD set, that has to be specified at time of purchase...

Please contact me by private email to discuss these things.

Best regards,

William Benner

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Originally Posted by Pangolin

I would like to learn exactly how it was that you came into having the LD2000 system, and then the QM2000.NET, and the sequence of events surrounding all of this, whereby you do not have the frames, shows, and Tutorial DVD.

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Hi Bill,

I'm not making a big problem of it (don't worry:D) - I ordered the QM2000 + .NET OEM from Hugo. I think he always orders the QM's without CD and other accessoires for himself?

back to the point that is styrofoam the worst thing for a static sensative board to be in!?
unless its that antistatic conductive stuff

Maybe not THE worst but you just have to see how styrofoam picks up bits of just about everything to see how good it is at static charge creation. Its less of an issue when components are all soldered together on a board but this does not imunise against a zap - it just helps to prevent one. A bare LD & styrofoam would not be a good thing.

Rob

Don't worry... Laserlips has removed the styrofoam from his enclosure. He's actually got his projector working now. He posted some pictures and a video or two in another thread. So although the packing peanuts weren't the best idea, they didn't cause any harm to his FB3.

Adam