Questions, Buying - Outdoor (noob)

[vIQleS]

What's the minimum power for a small outdoor unit? (1-4W?)

Where can I buy a cheapish starter unit (pref in New Zealand)? Good brands? (Good enough?) Second-hand?

A friend of mine is doing some pyro, and they haven't got a big budget, so he's asked me to help out and do some lights and lasers to stretch things out a bit. So there'll be a bit of smoke from the pyro. (I'll also have a couple of smoke machines onhand JIC.)

If things work out there'll be more gigs, so I'd like to start with the basics and, if I start getting regular work, upgrade later.

I'm starting with nothing (I have DMX covered and a couple of laptops), so I'll need:

Laser
DAC
Software (poss use free / Open Source to start)
Safety goggles

What else? (key / emergency cutoff device?)

I've done a bit of reading about safety, and I plan to do more. I've used some lasers in the past, cheap budget stuff, with barebones software. Indoor, fairly low power units.

Any help / suggestions / contacts would be greatly appreciated

[vIQleS]

I'm guessing that this sort of thing is rubbish:

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/37...ser_light.html

Am I just asking for trouble or is this something that would do to start with?

[Jem]

It might be worthwhile dropping 'Pitts' here on PL a private message. He's based in Rotarua and will be able to offer you some good advice, both with lasers and the local laws relating to outdoor use.

You sound to be fairly new to lasers, so may I respectfully suggest that you do a lot of reading first, maybe even consider starting out with a lowish power and working indoors first. Outdoor laser shows are fraught with problems and bring a whole set of technical difficulties that you've probably never even thought of. Then there is the safety aspect. Once you start dealing with multiple watts of coherent light you need to be extremely careful, as it's not just your eyes that are at risk, but those of your audience.

Take care

Jem

[vIQleS]

I have done a shitload of reading and I intend to do a whole lot more. (Until I know everything I need to know about everything. )

I've also had contact with Pitts (prior to joining) and I'm going to ask him some more questions - leaving a bit of a gap so that I'm not too annoying.

I did my first outdoor show last night. Long story: http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...549#post212549

Learnt a lot from that I think. Next time will be better. I'm going to start buying stuff and eventually work up to something really big.

[White-Light]

Just looking at your show, lasers were pointing away from the crowd. Thumbs up for safety.

BUT, lasers look a lot dimmer when they're pointing away from you than when they're pointing at you. To that end you'd have been better off doing a show over the heads of the crowd with a beam stop to ensure no beams went into them. Note here aviation regulations concerning un-terminated beams or you may end up in court! Outdoors you're probably going to have to get permission / file paperwork.

There was no where near enough smoke. What you had were graphics when its clearly intended you had beams. Smoke out doors can be a nightmare. I bought a 20,000 cu min machine and even allowing for the fact it didn't work continuously as advertised, I found the smoke was blowing away very quickly from only a small garden. OK I'm a bit exposed here, but it gives you an idea of just how hard it is to smoke an area. Pyro is good for that but it needs to be upwind of the laser.

This still shot from Ministry SK show just how much smoke they're using (bear in mind the cost), and they have a sheltered court yard hemmed in by their building on all 4 sides with 30-50ft walls!:




It's not impossible to do shows outdoors, many on here do them but just be aware its very difficult to do a good show outdoors and a laser safety course is a must really for commercial events.