Laserharps Pre-order!

[Carl B]

@Carl B

I can set the note banks for you if you want.

IIRC, the channel is just 1 and the note velocity is 45. Not exactly sure on that yet, but it sounds right.

That would be great Dan. I will PM you the note bank details if that is OK, also if possible can you set the velocity to MAX (127 is max according to my Technics manual) as the harp track voice will not be loud enough to hear over the rest of the sounds within the song sequences on my keyboard. The MIDI transmiter I have in my framed harp has the velocity set to MAX and my song tracks are set up for that velocity.

I am correct in thinking this is a 10 beam harp.

Carl

[Stoney3K]

It sounds like you may be overdriving the galvo slightly. It's making a lot of noise and scanning at a very wide angle... you may want to look at that.

Any chance you can get spare boards out which only have the light sensors and amplifiers? Getting a scanning beam pattern out of an AVR/Arduino is the easy part, but making a good optical front-end, there's the challenge. If we have a 'standardized' detection front end, there's lots of cool stuff you can do expanding on the laser harp concept.

Minimum laser power required? Something tells me 30mW is not going to cut it.

[mccarrot]

Minimum laser power required? Something tells me 30mW is not going to cut it.

I heared jean michel jarre is using 20W green, he needs to wear white gloves to prevent burning his fingers.

[Stoney3K]

I heared jean michel jarre is using 20W green, he needs to wear white gloves to prevent burning his fingers.

That has been a complete fable from the beginning. In the 80's, he was using multi-watt rigs for outdoor concerts (among others, La Defense) and he had to use asbestos gloves to prevent his hands from burning. This was more to be safe than sorry, however.

Today he uses DPSS and I've seen the system up close in the Heineken Hall. It looked to be some standard 500mW or 1W green DPSS, and if you look at more recent concert footage, for example, this year's Monaco concert, you will see that the harp is completely swamped out by stage lighting, that's why they have to dim nearly all te effects just to make the damn thing visible in the first place.

The white gloves are just a good trick to improve the scatter off his hands, which means more light from the laser harp reaches the sensors underneath. Plus, they add a touch of showmanship for the audience, since they will also be able to see Jarre's hands more clearly.

[mccarrot]

I might be interested, but i would like to know how thr design quality is. Can you post pictures of the sensors and the pcb?

[Stoney3K]

I might be interested, but i would like to know how thr design quality is. Can you post pictures of the sensors and the pcb?

Same here.

Hint: You may be able to find a decent set of 'suitable' galvos for these and an O-like 445nm for a fair price, so you could sell complete packages for something like $350-400.

[Bradfo69]

Wanted..... one set of galvos where someone blew up the x or y. Cheap.

[allthatwhichis]

Wanted..... one set of galvos where someone blew up the x or y. Cheap.

I got a few spares lying around; at least 2 if not 3. Older PT20Ks and a PT30K I think. Depending on how SELEM goes I might try to grab one of these also.

[Bradfo69]

Cool. (PM replied to. ) The rest I can get this weekend I think. I host a computer show and sale about four times a year and often the vendors have other misc electronics stuff so ribbon cable, a case of some sort and the switched may be easy to score.

[Things]

Like the thread says, this is a pre-order, so I do not have all the components with me just yet. The components (or majority of them) should show up this week (The light sensors are already in, but waiting on a bulk lot with the rest), and hopefully the PCB's too. Then I will get pictures of the kits, as well as create an instructional video as I assemble one and do testing etc.

@Stoney3K, yeah, I think it may be a possibility. However, scan speed can be adjusted in the code, you'd just have to play around and find the best point for your galvos without it being too flickery.


@Carl B

You could probably do more, however 10 notes is just spaced far enough to fit your hand between if the harp is at your feet. I believe Jarre puts his harp beneath the stage to allow the beams to diverge more first.