New to lasers

[Dave512]

Hello all
New to this forum.
I don’t know a lot about Lasers.
I currently have a basic 40mw green DJ Laser.
http://www.djsuperstore.co.uk/=froogle/item/laser-systems/200100-intimidation-r2dj-laser
I have a small lighting hire business which I would like to offer lasers for hire.
Thinking of buying some green lasers like the Kam range of DJ lasers for hire.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KAM-DMX-LASER-...item588acc2a47
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kam-DMX-Laser-...item2c588b1f9d
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KAM-DMX-LASER-...item4aa5af44ef
Is there any safety rules i need to follow when hiring out lasers to DJs etc...?

I would love to own my very first RGB laser system around 400mw as it going to be my first High powered laser system.
Liking the look of the NRG Lasers on ebay.
Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated
Cheers Dave

[Steve Milani]

Hi Dave
Welcome aboard on PL Forum

Looking at links you posted, you seem to live in UK.
If this is correct, then nobody can help you better than Rob *Stanwax* here on PL.
Hurry! Contact him!

Greetings and welcome once more.

[smokeAndMirrors]

Hello all
New to this forum.
I don’t know a lot about Lasers.
I currently have a basic 40mw green DJ Laser.
http://www.djsuperstore.co.uk/=froogle/item/laser-systems/200100-intimidation-r2dj-laser
I have a small lighting hire business which I would like to offer lasers for hire.
Thinking of buying some green lasers like the Kam range of DJ lasers for hire.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KAM-DMX-LASER-...item588acc2a47
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kam-DMX-Laser-...item2c588b1f9d
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KAM-DMX-LASER-...item4aa5af44ef
Is there any safety rules i need to follow when hiring out lasers to DJs etc...?

I would love to own my very first RGB laser system around 400mw as it going to be my first High powered laser system.
Liking the look of the NRG Lasers on ebay.
Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated
Cheers Dave

Hi Dave!

First things first: safety. You may get a few lectures around here, and rightly so, because as you climb the power ladder the risks increase, and so consequently you need to take more care. But be aware that even 5mW of laser energy concentrated in a tight beam for long enough can cause skin and eye damage. If your beams are to go anywhere near your audience, you need to understand the risks, mitigate them, and perform empirical measurements and calculations to ensure audience (and staff) safety. Failure to do so can result in lawsuits. A good place to start reading about these things is here.

In my experience, KAM are dubious. It's not clear whether these lasers have safety keys for example. If not, it's not legal to use them in the UK. NRG lasers, however, are quite good. They are made in the far east, but Gary tests and sets them up. He can be a bit uncommunicative at times but is usually helpful when you get hold of him. Whilst I said that 5mW can be a lot, I will also say that 400mW is not so much, depending on what you want to do. For some animated graphics in a small venue it may suffice. For beam shows it's not really enough - green is most visible and a decent beam is probably 200mW and above with some good haze. My lowest power projector is 600mW, that has a 220mW green in it. Recent "breakthroughs" in technology have led to much cheaper blue diodes on the market (there's a 445nm subforum here on PL!) so the cost of a more powerful RGB has dropped. It's definitely true in this business that you get what you pay for, so you would do well to work out your needs beforehand and then save up for what meets them. Most projectors you can buy on eBay are made in China. Cheap and cheerful, but sending faulty goods back there can be an expensive pain. The good thing about NRG is the after-sales support, you return the goods to the UK so no-one incurs issues with couriers and customs. Alternatively, as has already been suggested, there are people here who can build a projector to your specs. One guy here built me a lovely little housing for my laser controller for a very modest fee. So ask around!

[Dave512]

Thanks guys for the welcome and the helpful info so far.

Yes i'm from the uk.

The Kam lasers have a safety keys.

Is safety like MPE calculations if doing audience scanning, making sure the laser system has a key switch and emergency stop button.
Making sure the laser system is 3m above the audience.

How sort of price would i be looking at for a beginner RGB or RGBV laser system with fluid animation with either analogue colour modulation or TTL which is limited to 7 colours.

To get fluid animation animation need you something around 30 kpps if that right.

This RGB Laser system could be part of my xmas present.

[smokeAndMirrors]

The Kam lasers have a safety keys.

Good. But they are still at the low end of the quality scale.

Is safety like MPE calculations if doing audience scanning, making sure the laser system has a key switch and emergency stop button.
Making sure the laser system is 3m above the audience.

Those sort of things. But you don't need to just do these things, you need to be accountable for them. This means submitting H&S documents to venues prior to shows. You will also need to understand your liability should gear that you have hired out cause problems if you are not the operator.

How sort of price would i be looking at for a beginner RGB or RGBV laser system with fluid animation with either analogue colour modulation or TTL which is limited to 7 colours.

RGBV is a bit pointless with the new 445s being so affordable. You can barely see the BV beams even at high power.

I would look at spending around £500-750 on an analogue laser (it's not that much more expensive now than TTL). Then you need to think about controlling your laser; DMX is limited, and not necessarily safe. Most folk here swear by Pangolin, whose entry-level Flashback 3 with Quickshow is about £400. There are alternatives, some cheaper, but none quite as comprehensive.

To get fluid animation animation need you something around 30 kpps if that right.

That ought to do. Though it will depend upon where you are projecting and how big the graphics need to appear.

ETA: if you see the word "Laserworld" on a laser, run away. Search the forum for why!

[Dave512]

Ok thanks for that smoke and mirrors.

Really helpful info again.
Thanks

[Dave512]

I would like to built me own laser system sometime in the near future.
How and where would I go about doing this??

[Doc]

Start by spending a few weeks trawling through this forum, there is NO better place to find all the info you'll need.

Look for threads titled 'new build' etc, take your time and read about other peoples mistakes and the pros and cons for various setups and configurations; you'll soon start to build a mental picture of what's required and what you want.

Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions.

[Dave512]

Start by spending a few weeks trawling through this forum, there is NO better place to find all the info you'll need.

Look for threads titled 'new build' etc, take your time and read about other peoples mistakes and the pros and cons for various setups and configurations; you'll soon start to build a mental picture of what's required and what you want.

Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions.

This forum is great and so helpful.

Really happy I found such a forum.

Will do.
Going to do lots of research and trawling through this forum.

[MechEng3]

Quickly !! Run at full tilt !!! Don't even think of looking back !!!


Just kidding.....welcome to the asylum...ahem.....I mean forum. You will know what I mean all too soon......enjoy the ride.