Hong Kong! (Bet you haven't heard that before)

[silentgloves]

As a side note for you, red can be tricky. Don't let big power fool you with red. 1000mW of 650nm red may sound impressive but several things diminish that power. 650nm is longer in the spectrum and further away from the peak of what your eye can detect. Also, 650nm diodes throw off some fat beams (not to be confused with phat!). The tighter a beam is of a given power, the brighter it is perceived and the more "pop" is has. So, that 1000mW starts getting watered down. I am not telling you to stay away from 650, but if you can get yourself a projector with a 638nm~642nm red with even 1/3 the power, you will only see a difference in quality (for the better) and not a difference in brightness, eh maybe a slight difference in color. I know it is a lot to take in but it is just something to think about if you are basing your purchase off of the numbers alone.

Interesting. They do offer a 635 Red on several units. I'm wondering if perhaps I should be looking at a single color unit. Wont have nearly the "cool" factor, but I can get better scanners, analog modulation and a higher quality beam for less money. Hmmm. Can you outline what the "good wavelengths" are so that I can make a better informed decision?

Also, keep in mind here my goal isn't power per dollar, my goal is more performance / dollar. This unit will be in a space about 45' long by about 16' wide that will be quite dark and filled with fog.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

[planters]

Its interesting you mention this as I have always gone for the multicolor projector even beyond RGB because the rich shades seem more "improbable", less scientific and more "arty". I think the value of a single color, powerful projector or satelite is to ADD punch and fill the air with more beams at a lower cost. I think you will get tired of the monochromatic projection pretty quickly.

[ragerlazer]

I sent you a PM - I have an X-Laser MobileBeat RGB mk4 that I bought new, and used about 4 times, for roughly 10 hours in total (was a backup projector). Check your inbox if you haven't made a laser purchase yet!

[silentgloves]

Hey Rager, thanks... I've already ordered something.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but the last time I was looking into lasers... people were telling me "Spend the extra money... get 20K galvos" Is this showing my age?

[ragerlazer]

No prob! I prefer 30k or higher galvos, but that's just me.

[absolom7691]

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but the last time I was looking into lasers... people were telling me "Spend the extra money... get 20K galvos" Is this showing my age?

Sounds highly likely. My first set of closed loop galvos were Laserworks SS2000. Big heavy things. If cherry tuned, they could knock out 10kpps. I paid $500 for a used set and was stoked to hook those up to my Laser Illusions PC Lite. I was running an ALC 60X argon with no color modulation. All of my equipment back then couldn't even compete with what you probably just bought and I probably paid the same amount back then for what you just bought! Laser have indeed changed.

I was able to find one of my old galvos

[silentgloves]

Sounds highly likely. My first set of closed loop galvos were Laserworks SS2000. Big heavy things. If cherry tuned, they could knock out 10kpps. I paid $500 for a used set and was stoked to hook those up to my Laser Illusions PC Lite. I was running an ALC 60X argon with no color modulation. All of my equipment back then couldn't even compete with what you probably just bought and I probably paid the same amount back then for what you just bought! Laser have indeed changed.

I was able to find one of my old galvos

Haha, cool! I bought a 680mW. 300mw/638nm, 80mw/532nm, 300mw/445nm. 20k TTL. I know you all said "get analog modulation, get at least 30k galvos, spend the money" etc., etc., but for the money I spent, it's basically a disposable item. If I decide lasers are cool and something I want to play with, I'll pull out the wallet and spend proper money on a 2-3W 40k Analog, or build one.

[silentgloves]

680mw is a shocking amount of laser power. You guys weren't joking. I'm going to come up with a contraption to ensure that no one gets scanned. Probably some time of wooded plank hung from the ceiling that extends out a foot or two past the aperture, then shrink the y axis way down so it's mostly going straight out.

[sugeek]

680mw is a shocking amount of laser power. You guys weren't joking. I'm going to come up with a contraption to ensure that no one gets scanned. Probably some time of wooded plank hung from the ceiling that extends out a foot or two past the aperture, then shrink the y axis way down so it's mostly going straight out.

You can set up scanned zones in most software but a physical beam block is better (Edit: both are actually better). That being said wood can catch fire.... A piece of aluminum tape or black aluminum would be a better choice.

two cents,
Adam

[silentgloves]

Aaaaannnd the red diode lasted about 20 minutes of use. Opened it up, made sure no connection had jarred loose. Nope, diode is fried. You guys warned me. Eh, oh well... we'll see if amy @ goldenstar gets back to me.

Fun fact, the Red, Green and Blue are all housed in a single unit.