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Thread: The history of Laser show controllers and software, post your contributions here.

  1. #51
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    Wow... Talk about a treasure trove of old-school laser history!

    Hi Motoguzzler - Welcome to PhotonLexicon! Where are you located? (You forgot to fill out your profile information.)

    If there's any chance of you attending SELEM next week, I'm sure there would be lots of laserists who would be interested to meet you and listen to some of your stories from the early days...

    Got plans for next weekend yet? If not, seriously consider coming to SELEM! (Have a look at this thread for more information about the event.)

    Adam

  2. #52
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    Actually on holiday in Gulf Shores this week but I do live in South Alabama anyway about 40 miles North of here in Fairhope. SELEM sounds interesting but I will be fishing on the beach!

  3. #53
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    Default Destination Docklands

    http://shelf3d.com/Videos/Nq1rmOx_fLI
    Jean Michel Jarre Destination Docklands concert was one of ours. The laserharp used three SP 161 lasers mounted in a steel frame under the stage with beam splitting mirrors, photodiodes in the bottom of metal tubes, and a switch to midi interface. Worked ok but the improved version used the same arrangement but with a scanning a/d converter arrangements comparing light intensities and deciding which note had been pressed - retroreflectivity from JMJ's gloves. My overall design with JM den Hartog developing the hardware and software with a lot of mirror juggling to try and get equal intensities for each beam.
    One amusing incident which is used dramatically in the official video - During start of concert a single beam stabs out in the darkness from one of our effects heads.....accidental opening of shutter by Dave "Sniper" Simpson.... Aries effects system with channels connected by standard telephone cables, RS488, strung under steel wire cables between building rooftops as the internal communications of the Aries controller used an RS232 "party line" arrangement which I discovered was using RS488 drivers - a big problem solved for the concert to split the Aries into four with a common keyboard.
    Another "special" for this concert was the ability to cover a range of movement exceeding the GM120 scanners. We used a pan and tilt arrangement with front surface high quality mirrors driven by anti backlash gearboxes and high res stepper motors. Difficult with images this way as they rotate with the pan / tilt movement but good for spacial effects.

  4. #54
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    gashead is offline Admin Verified: Best Accent Ever(Tm)
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    Click image for larger version. 

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    My wasted youth, 2x Magnums.

    Photo credit Pete
    Both controllers belonged to Flying Pictures miss those days!
    "The horizon leans forward offering you space, to place New steps of change"

  5. #55
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    Gashead, back about 2000 years ago though possibly 1987 I went to Kirkcaldy to fix the laser in a (although I suspect "the") nightclub there. It was an SP 161 laser with an Aries effects system. Daylight visits to nightclubs always sucked as the floor was sticky with spilled drinks and everything coated with a "residue".

  6. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by Motoguzzler View Post
    Gashead, back about 2000 years ago though possibly 1987 I went to Kirkcaldy to fix the laser in a (although I suspect "the") nightclub there. It was an SP 161 laser with an Aries effects system. Daylight visits to nightclubs always sucked as the floor was sticky with spilled drinks and everything coated with a "residue".
    Haha! Small world.

    Sounds like your typical Scottish "Drinking" club, no one cares about the music, effects, lasers, etc. It's the price of the drinks that counts.. (i.e.: £1 vodka red bulls) Always smells like stale beer from the sloshing on the carpet, etc.

    Last one (in Scotland) I was asked to take a look at Installing a system into is notorious for violence outside the club.

    They wanted a pretty big system and the thing that mattered most to them was Audience scanning, so I would have needed to be present when it was operating. DJ / Lighting booth right in the middle of the club with a mezzanine level all the way around. Needless to say - the money they were offering didn't make it worth it! (Plus the music is shocking)

    Anyway, to get back to the thread the pic I posted was taken in my homeland of New Zealand at a very special event called Mumuland. Legendary amongst the NZ Tech scene.
    "The horizon leans forward offering you space, to place New steps of change"

  7. #57
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    I got a lasermedia developement system (in the manual they call it JONOS)
    but iam missing some 8" Floppy for the Level 3 programming and the other programm which are need
    I also got 1 complete ZAP systems and 2 nearly complete zap systems.
    i also got the esprit terminal

    is there anybody out who can give me the origanl master floppy disk data ????

  8. #58
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    "Originally posted by Photonlexicon"
    Next was Apple IIe (1979) with homemade wirewrapped dac card, Apple tablet. We used this for a long time, even on tours.
    This seems familiar.

    I missed out on the good stuff that followed.
    Last edited by lasermaster1977; 02-26-2015 at 19:05.
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  9. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by simonb View Post
    Hi,
    .....It used those little clicky keyboard switches with built-in LEDs that are so retro they are cool again!
    I still have quite of few of those white, clicky, surface mount, kbd switches with built-in diodes that I used on some of my consoles.
    ________________________________
    Everything depends on everything else

  10. #60
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    Here is a dual SP171 Ar/Ky system being prepped to go out on a KISS tour - early '80's. The touch panel console controlled the actuators on the beam table and the Apple IIe with floppy drive (using Lasermaster1977's excellent software and DAC card) controlled the G120PD scanners.
    Click image for larger version. 

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