How to fix flicker on my laser projector?

[RayTracer]

It is remotely possible to replace the chip if you can figure out what it is. Although glue may have worked with the cable, it is very unlikely you can pull off the same kind of miracle with the chip. Unless the chip is in a socket (few are) you'll have to desolder the old chip and the solder in a new one. This kind of work takes meticulous care to avoid soldering adjacent connectors together. If you make electrical contact between any two connectors on a chip (unless its intended) you will have a problem. Some chips are surface mounted, meaning there are no holes drilled in the circuit board. They're just soldered directly to the board by machine. Such chips are much more difficult to replace by hand. Why do you think you need a new chip? Perhaps do you have another picture?

[borgqueenx]

It is remotely possible to replace the chip if you can figure out what it is. Although glue may have worked with the cable, it is very unlikely you can pull off the same kind of miracle with the chip. Unless the chip is in a socket (few are) you'll have to desolder the old chip and the solder in a new one. This kind of work takes meticulous care to avoid soldering adjacent connectors together. If you make electrical contact between any two connectors on a chip (unless its intended) you will have a problem. Some chips are surface mounted, meaning there are no holes drilled in the circuit board. They're just soldered directly to the board by machine. Such chips are much more difficult to replace by hand. Why do you think you need a new chip? Perhaps do you have another picture?

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1339/glued532nm.jpg
where my thumb is pointing at, is the glued cable. I didnt say i needed a new chip. i ask you if i need to replace that chip for some reason if i want to replace a full complete galvo set. i have no idea if that chip is somehow connected to a galvo system and needs to be replaced. it is impossible to replace that chip, unless i also buy and replace the green laser module. (since the glued cable is connected to the green laser module).

and down on the photo you also see the broken dichro with alot of super glue...I need that glue removed, no matter what. or i cant install new dichro's. any ideas?

EDIT: and the piece of paper for the red laser is so i can turn the projector on without letting the red laser burn something

[RayTracer]

OK, the glued connection looks like it might be workable. Obviously if its working then its probably OK.

Without taking a better look at the whole system its hard to say whether you'll need to replace a particular chip when you change out the galvos. I'm qualfied to answer general electronic repair questions but have limited knowlege in projectors. The galvos I use have a single driver board for each galvo. The boards are about 10 cm X 10 cm. They have lots of components including resistors capacitors potentiometers and integrated circuit chips. These are the amplifiers. They are connected to power supplies that actually supply power to the galvos. The amplifiers have to figure out just how big of a signal to send to the galvo to get it moving quickly and then stop at the right place without overshooting or undershooting the mark. They're pretty sophisticated. My guess is that you will find all the galvo circuitry together in one place. There will be a couple of large heat sinks and they might be labeled X and Y. I would not think that a single chip is all that is involved with driving the galvos. To find the circuitry just trace the wires from the galvos back to the circuit board and then you can even trace the circuits on the board (not easy but possible). As far as replacement galvos go the advice given in this thread has been pretty solid so far. You need to look for some galvos and then compare the specs (before buying) for what you have to those of the galvos you want. If they are the same, then you may be able to replace only the galvos and not the electronics. Otherwise you will need new galvo amps and a new power supply.

Somebody in NL is selling a pair of galvos with amps for an initial offer of something over 100 Euro right now. Take a look in the selling section of PL. (thats lekker for you if I'm not mistaken).

Alignment:

Every galvo is slightly different mechanically from the next. To allow for this, the manufacturers place adjustment potentiometers on the amplifier boards that allow you to ajust the alignment so that when your software orders a certain position, the galvo goes there and does not misbehave by having too much undershoot or overshoot. New galvos come matched to their amplifiers and should be perfectly aligned at the factory. Mixing and matching amps and galvos is going to mean you will have to learn yet another new skill, namely aligning a galvonometer.

Getting the Glue off:

I think I would try one of those ultrasonic saws. Dremel makes one. There are a few other manufacturers. You might be able to rent one. Get a fine tooth blade. You just rest the blade against what you want to cut and apply pressure. There is some vibration but the motion of the blade is so slight you can hardly see it moving. You might be able to just sand it off with a sanding attachment.

Cuting or sanding the glue will create some dust. you'll want to cover everything in the projector with something first and vacuum or blow out the dust when you're done. Don't clean any of the optics until you have a little lesson on the subject. I've personnally ruined the mirrors on my galvos and had to learn the hard way how delicate they are.

The glue might be heat sensitive. it might be possible to scrape it off if you heat it slightly.

Good Luck.