Please help with your expertise

[ijojo]

Hello... I need your help purchasing a projector... It's the first time I deal with laser...

I already purchased pangolin quickshow, but having a hard time with the projector. My budget after the software is low... and from all I heard software was the first thing to find out... and I did...

I am trying not to buy a projector from overseas:

I am a volunteer at a small, really small church, and I am buying the system to use in our 4 or 5 annual events. ANIMATION is also a must. For what I figure myself, I need at least a 20 or 25kpps scanner in it. I also want it to be RGB or RGV.

Honestly I don't know anything about the laser power and stuff... since I never saw anything to compare... do you think this will be enough, or is even worth?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIGH-POWER-N...51219276339%26

I really can't spend more than $500 on a projector, and this was the only one I found in the USA. The event is in the beginning of February... so I am rushing here! But don't want to make something that will not do the animations somehow decently, as well as the beans, and something that will not be strong enough for people to see.

Would you please help me?

Thanks!



I

[slicklasers]

If you are in the USA, that laser is ILLEGAL. You can not use a laser in PUBLIC that is over 5mW without the projector being varianced and then you also must get an operators variance. Any laser that is LEGAL for here will be a lot more expensive than any chinese laser that you can find. There are several options to buying a laser, but for the budget you have, I would suggest hiring a company to do the laser show for you. Where are you located?

[ijojo]

Funny! They are in the USA!!! Their warehouse is in Los Angeles, where I am located.
Sorry, I don't know what varianced means...

Well... hiring for show is unfortunately not an option... we have like 30-45 members only and the laser is mostly for wall projection... like countdowns, etc.

Wow... does that mean that this laser is too strong and can damage people's eyes?

I am so frustrated... I should not have purchased the software then... wow... there goes $600 for nothing... just because I was trying to entertain people...

Can you suggest anything else?

Is this also illegal, even though it's in the USA?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-500mW-R...item3a7c45d450

Well. Can I at least have these at home for personal use, meaning, at least I can learn to make laser shows since I already purchased the software... If so, which one would be more adequate for the animations? Or any other one?

Thank you and sorry for bugging you all, but I am a total noobie as you may have noticed!!!

[Displaser]

Hi Ijojo,

Welcome to PL!

You're not bugging - the forum is a great resource for info and there are many members here that are glad to help out!

Most of these projectors are illegal. Unless you go to Guitar Center, Sam Ash, Spencers, Blisslight, etc., you will not find a legal laser projector for $500 (and these will either be diffraction grating or lumia effects). You're not going to find a US legal laser projector that will do graphics/animation for $500.

As mentioned, YOU (as an operator) have to have a variance from the CDRH (part of the FDA) and the projector has to have a variance in order to do shows legally in the US over 5mW. There may additional requirements depending on which state you live in. Anything outside of this is not legit. There are many resources for legal projectors here on the foum - CT Lasers, X-Lasers, are great guys to deal with for this.

I'd recommend spending some time reading through the posts on the forum and ask questions. Good luck!

Greg

[swamidog]

yes. a non varianced laser projector can be used for personal use at home.

Well. Can I at least have these at home for personal use, meaning, at least I can learn to make laser shows since I already purchased the software... If so, which one would be more adequate for the animations? Or any other one?

Thank you and sorry for bugging you all, but I am a total noobie as you may have noticed!!!

[ijojo]

I really thank you for the information. I will read more... thanks!

Hi Ijojo,

Welcome to PL!

You're not bugging - the forum is a great resource for info and there are many members here that are glad to help out!

Most of these projectors are illegal. Unless you go to Guitar Center, Sam Ash, Spencers, Blisslight, etc., you will not find a legal laser projector for $500 (and these will either be diffraction grating or lumia effects). You're not going to find a US legal laser projector that will do graphics/animation for $500.

As mentioned, YOU (as an operator) have to have a variance from the CDRH (part of the FDA) and the projector has to have a variance in order to do shows legally in the US over 5mW. There may additional requirements depending on which state you live in. Anything outside of this is not legit. There are many resources for legal projectors here on the foum - CT Lasers, X-Lasers, are great guys to deal with for this.

I'd recommend spending some time reading through the posts on the forum and ask questions. Good luck!

Greg

[ijojo]

Thank you for clarifying! At least I didn't spend the money on the software for nothing... I can have some fun at home with animations!

Since you know about these laser projectors WAY more than I do, which one you think would be a better investment?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=251193054288

or

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIGH-POWER-N...51219276339%26

Would you say the cheaper one? lol

It seems like the first one is smaller, but it says it has Scan Angle max:50° optical while the other is 20, and uses a DPSS Diode Laser..

Thank you kindly everyone!

yes. a non varianced laser projector can be used for personal use at home.

[Bradfo69]

What has been mentioned above is certainly true but, the one thing I will say is that you are to be commended for buying the software first and you made a very good choice - better than some other people new to lasers make. Don't regret the purchase of Quickshow - it just may be a little longer before you can afford a good, legal projector to go with it. It should also serve you well as you learn. You mentioned 4-5 shows per year so, perhaps February won't work out in time but, if you start soon, you could have your variance within a couple months and perhaps saving up a little more, a projector in the not too distant future too. X-Laser would be a very good source to investigate as they can help with both the laser and the variance.

[Bradfo69]

Oh and without question... if you had to choose between the two, the first one is probably the MUCH better projector. I don't have time to give this a full, proper reply - right now but, if I get a chance, I'll elaborate on why. I have an event for about 200 people getting ready to start and unfortunately, work calls!

[swamidog]

i would go with the first one over the second one.

i would also take all those specifications with a grain of salt..

notice how these lasers claim to be both TE cooled, and air cooled:

"Lasers:
aircooled DPSS Diode Laser > 300 mW @ 650nm wavelength red laser, TE-cooled
aircooled DPSS Diode Laser > 50 mW @ 532nm wavelength green laser, TE-cooled
aircooled DPSS Diode Laser > 150 mW @ 445nm wavelength blue laser, TE-cooled"

also, the red and the blue lasers are not dpss. they're direct injection diode.

"Scanner system: fast galvo system with excellent projection qualit,X/Y Scan Angle max:50° optical
Scanspeed: High-speed optical scanner 20KPPS, big angle scanning"

20kpps scanners really shouldn't be considered "high-speed". 30kpps is the industry standard. if they do manage to hit 20k, it's probably at around 8 degrees optical and certainly not the 50 degrees mentioned above.

"beam specifications: 4*6mm(red) / 2.5mrad"

mrad defines the divergence of the laser beam. 2.5mrad (the beam expands 2.5mm for every meter it travels). that's a little high, but is not *too* terrible. note, they're not listing divergence of the individual lasers. ideally, you want the divergence for the three lasers to be reasonably matched so the color mixing is better and you don't have weird color halos around your projections.

also, projectors of this type tend to use ttl (on/off) drivers for the lasers so you're restricted to 7 colors instead of the millions that analog drivers can generate.

Thank you for clarifying! At least I didn't spend the money on the software for nothing... I can have some fun at home with animations!

Since you know about these laser projectors WAY more than I do, which one you think would be a better investment?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=251193054288

or

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIGH-POWER-N...51219276339%26

Would you say the cheaper one? lol

It seems like the first one is smaller, but it says it has Scan Angle max:50° optical while the other is 20, and uses a DPSS Diode Laser..

Thank you kindly everyone!