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Thread: Cambridge scanners

  1. #1
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    Default Cambridge scanners

    Where to get hold on some good Cambridge scanners...
    meaning nice price tho...

  2. #2
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    Default

    Define good price.

    Got a pair of of 6800's, microamps, and matched power supplies here if your interested.

    Guess since I didn't hear from you regarding the Cheap chinese ones you decided to up the ante.

  3. #3
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    Default

    Thats true! hehe
    trow in some more bucks and get desent cti scanners

  4. #4
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    Default

    A tip to all prospective cambridge buyers. Flee from their "easier to tune" versions of their scanamps...
    In the real world, "easier to tune" translates to "remove all the tuning pots to save money"... Spend
    the extra hundred and get all the pots. You will be very happy you did. (Or more accurately, you will
    be very sad every two years when when you have to send the full set back to Cambridge to be retuned
    for more than the price of getting the pots) I am not kidding, they really do remove all the useful ones.


    What's missing? Oh yeah, all the pots!

    Why is it labelled "x" & "y"? Because it's impossible to tune for another scanner (or swap scanners).
    The amp and both scanners come as a matched set, if any one breaks, you have to send all three
    back for servicing!

    It reminds me of the "stupidamouse" gag a while back.
    http://web.mit.edu/redelson/www/media/stupida.pdf

  5. #5
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    Default

    hehe..thats bad!

  6. #6
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    Default

    There is a good thread here on CTI scanners

    http://www.laserist.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14

    I think we will be heading towards CT at the point when we start landing more high profile, corporate gigs, where scanner failure is not a option.
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  7. #7
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    Default

    I'd actually recommend bringing a spare scansystem or two, if you're doing a gig where
    scanner failure is not an option. Merely having CTI scanners won't ensure reliability...
    Also bring plenty of fuses... Doesn't matter what type of scanamp, I've seen them all pop

  8. #8
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    Default

    seems that I need CT6215 with 671xx or 673xx amp's.
    Guess they are really exspensive!

  9. #9
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by cruch
    seems that I need CT6215 with 671xx or 673xx amp's.
    Guess they are really exspensive!
    Over $2000 a set for the "idiot laserist" versions.

    Need is relative to purpose.

    Need extremely wide scan angles for fan effects? Then get widemoves.
    Have a guide arm attached to a precise sub dermal laser tattoo removal system? Then you *need* cambridge galvos.
    Renting out galvos to a laserist who blows way too much coke? Get him anything but cambridge. You dont want to take the financial hit when he inevitably wrecks them.

    There are needs for cambridge galvos, obviously. Precise projection is where they shine. And nothing looks worse than a clients company logo being projected on a wall that jitters. Guaranteed: the client wont be calling for your services again *and* will get a bad idea about laserists in general.

    On an aside, i think that lack of professionalism is whats helping to kill the laserist arena. I remember a story from Bill about a show that went bad in Florida on new years, maybe he will chime in and elaborate on the story.

    Dont fall for the X-thousand-K marketing hype. It's similar to buying a camera based on its megapixel rating. What good is 10MP if it doesnt have any noise reduction or decent lenses?

    Just remember: Your quality as a laserist is is not directly proportional to the quality of the components. Your quality is tied into the quality of work you produce *and* how other laserists are perceived.

    I may be off base here but I get the impression from your post that "the biggest selling point" is raw speed. Thats not the case.

  10. #10
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    Default

    Hi guys,

    I am afraid I must disagree with what is being discussed on this forum, and having been a contributor to that design, and in the loop in the decision making of why those pots were removed, (not to mention purchasing around 100 sets of Cambridge systems last year alone) I can speak with confidence.

    Many of the pots were removed, but this was because most of the time, people couldn't adjust the ones that were there to begin with... The reduction was made to increase usability and ease-of-use -- not to save a few bucks.

    For example, in the past, there was servo gain and two damping controls. Now, there is only one damping control. Despite the 50% reduction in number of damping controls these are a whole lot easier to tune. Also, the position scale and position linearity pots have been removed because, with the new position sensor design, these become far less important. My saying is, by doubling the number of pots, you quadruple (or greater) the confusion.

    Also, I disagree that you must take care to keep the scanners matched. Due to certain changes in the servo and tighter tolerances on the scanners, often times people can merely swap in a new scanner and go.

    This is a major improvement in usability by end users, who are (far more often than not) non-technical. Basically, this is a trouble-free 30K scanning system, that can scan a full twice as wide as an equivalent 6800 or 6210 system with the same imagery.

    I will be happy to demonstrate the effectiveness of this concept at the pre-SELEM meeting...

    Best regards,

    William Benner

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