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Thread: Laser noobie looking for help

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    North West England
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    Popelscan can be downloaded from www.mylaserpage.de.
    The schematic for the DAC can be found here.

    Jim

  2. #22
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    Jan 2007
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    CA
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    Is there a good entry-level DAC/software combo that i can buy for under $500? Can I use that KVANT fiesta program and just buy a DAC? Are DAC's program specific or can you use pretty much any DAC with any software? Because then i could spend money on a "good" DAC and just use the fiesta freeware which seems okay.
    Thanks,
    Joey

  3. #23
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    Apr 2006
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    Caracas, Venezuela
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    DACs and programs pretty much run hand in hand, although you can have several program options for a given DAC.

    There's just no way every program can work with every DAC, as each DAC has different components. Unless manu's got together and put forth a standard for DACs and programs, but i wouldn't count on that happening any time soon
    Remember the future?, That'd today, as you imagined it yesterday.

  4. #24
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    Jan 2007
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    CA
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    I was looking at the "Mamba 2004" with the easylase DAC how does this compare with the Alphalite XC Pro. I've been trying to find a place to purchase the mamba and easylase online but i can't, Anyone know where I can find it? How do these two setups compare? I want a DAC that I can run from my laptop, I don't know if the XC pro can be hooked up to it. That probably means that i want a usb DAC. I would also like to be able to click on the screen and choose frames/animation and have it change what the laser change as I click so i can control it in real time. I don't know if this is possible. Please inform!

    Thanks,
    Joey

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    SoCal
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    To put it simply: Easylase > Alphalite

    I'm not a huge fan of either product, but they're both definitely better in many regards than a many homebrew solutions.

    The main "plus" of alphalite would be that their sinusoidal beamshows are actually quite beautiful and unique and definitely excels in low ceiling clearance venues. The ILDA playback is not very well written, but more significantly the main problem with alphalite is that the technology used doesn't work well on the modern preemptive versions of windows. This is noticable as hotspots and flashes during playback. Last, alphalite relies on the parallel port which can cause compatibility problems with modern PC's.

    The main "plus" of easylase is the buffered USB transport which allows non-glitchy output of shows. Mamba is also much better at playing laser shows (ilda files and the like). Easylase has some internal speed issues, but shouldn't pose any
    problem on the 15k scanners in the F2000.

  6. #26
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    Jan 2006
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    Charleston, SC
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    Outstanding reply, Yadda!

    I completely agree. The Alphalite is a bare-bones, basic system. There are some serious flaws (as Yadda pointed out), but it will get you up and running.

    The Easylase USB/Mamba Black combination is a very nice "Beginner" system that will do just about everything you want. However, it is a bit on the pricey side (nearly $800 for the whole setup when you include shipping and the fact that the Euro is strong compared to the dollar right now).

    I should point out that the cat's meow is, of course, a Pangolin system. It will allow you do to everything you want, and several things that you probably never even thought about. (Like the plug-in for the popular WinAmp MP3 player that I saw for the first time this past weekend... It allows you to use AVS presets to create abstract designs that are synchonized to the music in real-time. Then you can display them, not just on your computer monitor, but through your laser projector as well! *Very* cool!)

    Pangolin systems start at around $1400, but there is a *confirmed* rumor that Pangolin is about to release a new system that is aimed squarely at the hobbyist market. Rumors also state that the price point will be *between* the Alphalite system and the Mamba Black/Easylase combination.

    If you can afford to wait a few months, that might be something you want to look into. (I know several people here will be looking into it! ) Otherwise, the Mamba Black/Easylase system will work well for your application.

    Adam

  7. #27
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    Pangolin definitely seems like the shit. as i've said before i'm in no rush, and after reconsidering i am going to wait on buying the f2000+. I'm going to see my first pro laser show tomorrow! (very excited). Hopefully I'll be able to talk to the guy about his laser setup and just get some generally guru-ing. I think this guy has a 10W white laser that I would love to see but I'm not sure if he's gonna bring it. Its an outdoor show so whatever it is is gonna be bright! Is there any schedueled drop date for the new pangolin system?

    Joey

  8. #28
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    Bill said they were looking for a Spring, 2007 release for the new hobbyist product.

    Sounds like the outdoor show will be a lot of fun. (Take pictures!) If you know the guy that is doing the show, maybe he'll have time to talk to you for a few min about what he's using. (Then again, maybe not... He might have to pack up and hit the road for the next gig...)

    Adam

  9. #29
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    I have just returned from my first professional laser show. I must say I was disappointed in this laser company's performance. They were using three lasers. One 10 Watt white light laser and 2 3-4 Watt green YAGs. The white light laser was used solely for graphics. The graphics that they did were not changed in time with the music, which was a let down. The graphics that they chose to show were for the most part boring with a couple of good ones here and there. They did barely any beam effects, and the only beam effect they did was green static beams. I feel like they could have done an amazing beam show but the show was almost 100% graphics with no liquid skies no tunnels no fans no nothin. All in all it was still cool to see the 10 watt white light laser being run from the back of a truck. In defense of the light show company they said that everything in this show was requested by the people booking it and that they wanted all of those graphics that they had. Also the booker chose the worst piece of music to put it to.

    I got to talk to the guy after the show and the advice he gave me was funny. I asked him how hard it was to get his variance for the projectors(which he custom built) as well as the variance for the shows. I told him i was thinking about getting a chinese unit and adding a shutter/ir filters/ all else i need to make it legal and getting it an accession number. He told me not to bother because i am in california and that I would be just fine without. I am not gonna follow his advice but I found it funny. He was also encouraging and said that getting the variances is all paperwork and that it was not that hard. He also said no one has ever inspected his laser which i found interesting.

    Sorry, i forgot my camera! It was not the best, but it was still fun.

    Joey

  10. #30
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    Jan 2007
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    CA
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    Good day Photon Lexicon,
    I have recently had an increase in my available funds for my laser project!
    I have decided that what I would ideally want would be a turn-key system that comes CDRH
    certified. I have about 3500 and maybe up to 4000 to spend on a projector, and I was looking
    at the laser world pro 300 rgb.

    http://www.laserworld.tv/en/laser-sh...r-systeme.html

    Its got 30k closed loop scanners and analog modulation! Which is sweet. My only worry is that the
    color balance looks really shitty. I think the green is looks more powerful than everything else. (There is a video link on the page above)
    What's perplexing to me though is that the pro 500 rgb from these guys looks like it has decent color balance, but by the
    numbers, the green should be more disproportionate.....
    Does this look like a good laser for the price? (A turn-key solution with valid accession number is of value to me)

    I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this company or if they could suggest another
    product in this price range.

    Thanks guys,
    Joey

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