Buying or Building?

[Xer0]

If i want a RGB (445nm) Projector, lats say 1W + analog + 30kbps...

How much cheapter will it be to build than to buy from the chinese?
And how long you think i would need to invest time for building?

Dafore i bought an 300mW RGBr one from China, it was not bad, but not that what i desire, so i sold it.

[LaNeK779]

will this be 1w total power or 1w 445 power and matching other colours? (around 3w in total if you choose 642 or over 5w if you choose 660 for red)

[Xer0]

Total but i would be happy even with o,5W total

must say, im on college and dont have much time for big projects. so for me its mostly easier to buy something and work more for the money. thats why i ask if i can save really much when building?

[LaNeK779]

you can get a 1w projector around the 1000usd mark off fleabay. personal opinion is that you might regret it though (quality and abilities wise).

i had the same dilema some time ago, but building it myself was the way i chose (and i still have a looooooong way to go). i can give you a rough estimate of costs below (at least that's the way i see it)

- a 445nm module single diode, prism corrected, tec coolled, analog modulated should cost around 230-250 usd
- a quad 660nm should cost around 300 usd
- 200-250mw 532nm analog modulated dpss should cost around 250 usd
- you should need another 100-150 for a case (nothing top league though) and some switching PSUs
- you should also need another 150 for dichros, mounts and other misc stuff

and then it all depends on how much you want to spend on galvos (prices from 100 to 2.500 usd and more)

so, even with the cheapest galvos take you to around 1200 usd of cost (not including your labour, but as you are a hobbist working for yourself, this should not be accounted for)

and then you will need a DAC and software... (options from 100 usd to as much as you want)

i still say go ahead and build it.

the numbers say, go buy the chinese one

your call

[Jolie]

you can get a 1w projector around the 1000usd mark off fleabay. personal opinion is that you might regret it though (quality and abilities wise).

i had the same dilema some time ago, but building it myself was the way i chose (and i still have a looooooong way to go). i can give you a rough estimate of costs below (at least that's the way i see it)

- a 445nm module single diode, prism corrected, tec coolled, analog modulated should cost around 230-250 usd
- a quad 660nm should cost around 300 usd
- 200-250mw 532nm analog modulated dpss should cost around 250 usd
- you should need another 100-150 for a case (nothing top league though) and some switching PSUs
- you should also need another 150 for dichros, mounts and other misc stuff

and then it all depends on how much you want to spend on galvos (prices from 100 to 2.500 usd and more)

so, even with the cheapest galvos take you to around 1200 usd of cost (not including your labour, but as you are a hobbist working for yourself, this should not be accounted for)

and then you will need a DAC and software... (options from 100 usd to as much as you want)

i still say go ahead and build it.

the numbers say, go buy the chinese one

your call

Very specific and practical, if you just need more, buy it is a good idea. The number tell us, it will cost much to build one for yourself.

[Xer0]

The cheapest i could go is 800$ with shipping for the PF-115

I always tought building self i cheaper, when you save on the parts

eg no OEM 445nm module but c4s1o diode + prism on diy mount - 100$?
simple lpc815 and olike green pointer module... again 100$
100 extra bucks for cheap Spacelas galvos, then adding case and mounts

could i get away with <500$ with that plan?

[LaNeK779]

looks feasible. i always add 5-10% to what i have calculated, because i always need more bolts, wires, misc stuff that i have forgotten.

then you have to add the ammount you want to spent on a dac and software

my only concern is your choice of red. lpc 815, or 826 is fine, but i'm afraid that you might need at least a 2x combiner to get some sort of white balance.

i've made a funny looking test rig here ( http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...991#post189991 ) using 100mw of green, 100mw of 445 and 300mw of red and it still does not yield a balanced white. so you can opt for a 50mw green, 50mw blue and add as much red as possible (still need two lpc diodes to my opinion, so add a bit more for a mirror holder to knife edge or pbs + mount)

my advice: if you don't have solid (really solid) metalworking skills and equipment, don't go for the diy mounts. buy the ready made ones (i.e. dave's mounts or equivalent) they will save you all sorts of frustration

[taggalucci]

Hi

Just my 2 cents...

my only concern is your choice of red. lpc 815, or 826 is fine, but i'm afraid that you might need at least a 2x combiner to get some sort of white balance.

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...fore-and-After

I agree that I could do with another LPC-815 (so that I don't have to have my blue and green set to run at about 75% to 80% to get a balanced white).

But... I've been enjoying this little projector, as it is, for a few months now and it is way more than enough lasery goodness

using 100mw of green, 100mw of 445 and 300mw of red and it still does not yield a balanced white.

I'm not sure I completely agree. Here are a couple more photos of this projector showing some of the colour variations possible with this sort of combo...

IMG_0779.jpg . IMG_0736.jpg

[LaNeK779]

I'm not sure I completely agree. Here are a couple more photos of this projector showing some of the colour variations possible with this sort of combo...

very nice post mr taggalucci!!

i wrote the above under the assumption that no software tweeks have been made, so we could end up to agree after all (i guess i should have stated this assumption of mine)

[taggalucci]

very nice post mr taggalucci!!

Thanks mate!

i wrote the above under the assumption that no software tweeks have been made, so we could end up to agree after all

Yes, very good point I have another small projector here I'm planning on revealing soon that I've not needed to adjust much in software to get a good white balance. It does have two LPC-815s though!

IMG_0130.jpg