New and Planning my projector

[Apathyiscold]

Hi everyone I've been looking around this forum for a few days now and finally decided to join, there's a lot of helpful information I've found here. So im planning on building my first projector and i think i have already decided on these galvo's
http://lasershowparts.com/store/inde...d&productId=67
but the how you connect them to a computer has been frustrating me, all I want to do is be able to use the Spaghetti software but I dont want to spend a bunch of money on a DAC. Now on the Spaghetti website I saw this listed as compatible:
http://www.circuitgizmos.com/product...1/cgu421.shtml
which seems like it would be a very cheap solution. Now what I dont entirely understand everything that is necessary to hook up the galvos to the computer could someone help me out and explain whats needed and if this usb would work? Im on a tight budget so id be very happy if it did

[LaNeK779]

JohnYayas has a bundle offer for spaghetti and ishow

spaghetti usually goes for 119 as i am told and this bundle costs 159, which is a little more that the fiddly gizmo you posted above

i say go for the 159 bundle and you'll be fine
http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...Spaghetti-deal

[Apathyiscold]

JohnYayas has a bundle offer for spaghetti and ishow

spaghetti usually goes for 119 as i am told and this bundle costs 159, which is a little more that the fiddly gizmo you posted above

i say go for the 159 bundle and you'll be fine
http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...Spaghetti-deal

I have looked at the ishow DAC and from what ive gathered it is not very good with poor edges and such. Is this basically the only cheap solution because I would think a bit more work of figuring out how to hook up the usb thing would be worth it for a better quality image

[LaNeK779]

well, i'll be the first to jump on this usb thingy once you've proved that it is better and cheaper than the ishow (which i have and is not something to write home about anyway)

i'm afraid the next better thing would set you back around 150usd (the riya lite DAC) + 119 for the spaghetti software

and i would advise you to rethink the scanners. many guys here don't like them scanpros so much and they go for the DT30 instead


ps. i was planning to go for the riya dac aswell, but an unplanned visit to the dentist changed all my sort term planning... arghhh...

[Apathyiscold]

well, i'll be the first to jump on this usb thingy once you've proved that it is better and cheaper than the ishow (which i have and is not something to write home about anyway)

i'm afraid the next better thing would set you back around 150usd (the riya lite DAC) + 119 for the spaghetti software

and i would advise you to rethink the scanners. many guys here don't like them scanpros so much and they go for the DT30 instead


ps. i was planning to go for the riya dac aswell, but an unplanned visit to the dentist changed all my sort term planning... arghhh...

Well thats just it i was hoping someone could verify that the usb thing does/would work to connect to the galvo drivers or if more is needed.

And I would definitely go for better scanners except im limited to $200 or less so that takes the dt30's out, and ive seen a lot of recommendations to buy from lasershow parts so they seem to be my best option so far

[Banthai]

Hi buddy and welcome to the forum .....

rather than rushing out and spending your budget ..... it will be better to save for a couple of months and with a bit more and get something that you can live with ..... we have all made the mistake of rushing ..... then having to spend more money later to replace parts to make it work to your satisfaction

Talk to gary ( PM him here ) he will recomend the best and most cost effective DAC .... you can build cheaply using a sound card ... but you will need some electronic skills to make that happen .... gary was advertising an Ishow DAc with Spaggetti for an ultra low price .... which im sure is good as he will make sure that the software works well with this ..... also gary is constantly upgrading the software and works closely with customers here on the formum ... even though i dont have Spaggetii myself .... from what i have seen here ..... i can well reccomend it ..... its worth every penny ... he gives a lot more support than the mamba guys do .... oops should not have said that last bit

all the best .... Karl

[blowfly]

For a cheap DAC solution you can't beat the sound card DACs. You buy the USB sound card and then a buy or build a board to put the sound card's signals into the range expected by the DACs and analog lasers. 300Evil an DrLava both sell these boards. I use DrLava's. Search around the forum for info these, it's worth spending the time researching.

The good thing about that sound card solution is it's compatible with a lot of free/cheap software that is floating around. The downside is it's somewhat fragile. If you're looking for something to use in a club or other professional setting I recommend spending a little more money. I saved up and bought an FB3 am loving it. I still use the sound card DAC for messing around since FB3 isn't supported by any of the cheap software.

Mike

[Apathyiscold]

For a cheap DAC solution you can't beat the sound card DACs. You buy the USB sound card and then a buy or build a board to put the sound card's signals into the range expected by the DACs and analog lasers. 300Evil an DrLava both sell these boards. I use DrLava's. Search around the forum for info these, it's worth spending the time researching.

The good thing about that sound card solution is it's compatible with a lot of free/cheap software that is floating around. The downside is it's somewhat fragile. If you're looking for something to use in a club or other professional setting I recommend spending a little more money. I saved up and bought an FB3 am loving it. I still use the sound card DAC for messing around since FB3 isn't supported by any of the cheap software.

Mike

Im not intending on using this thing professionally i just want to make it quality for as little as i can. Well i guess ill look into these boards, and i think I understand now, so it would go USB to Soundcard w/converter board to Galvo drivers correct?

[LaNeK779]

and a cheap ilda break out board somewhere in between the dac and galvo amp. keeps things tidy and connection in order

[Apathyiscold]

and a cheap ilda break out board somewhere in between the dac and galvo amp. keeps things tidy and connection in order

like this?
http://www.mdfly.com/index.php?main_...products_id=52

and about the scanners are there any better cheap options besides the scan pros because i cant really go much above $200 on galvos