Nice idea but I think you will kill it. They tend not to like lasers and whenever I set up my lasers, projectors, video cameras and mirrors are on my list of things to to make sure I don't hit! The issue as I understand it is that they suffer from thermal shock. There are video/graphics projectors out there that use lasers as their light source but I believe that the light is diffused to make it incoherent, so is not a typical laser beam when it hits the cell.
Why not build a laser projector? If you are worried about the complexity, don't be. My first laser experiment was a mirror mounted on a PC fan and a mirror mounted on a hard drive galvonometer. It used an mono audio amp circuit for sound to light. I wasn't very satisfied with that, so built a proper single colour projector. I managed to do this pretty cheap - ~£800 including a new laptop and Quickshow (with FB3 DAC). I built this laser on my garage floor with limited tools and it worked well for about 2 years before an issue developed with the green laser.
Be aware that if you build a DAC, you won't be able to drive stepper motors with the output and will need to invest in some galvos. There are some pretty cheap and reasonable galvos about.
Laser Lumia are great fun and easy to build too. I built this one in an afternoon (I was in a rush to get it built for a friend's 'Quizcotheque' birthday party)!
The general advice here seems to be to avoid sound card DACs unless you have a specific need for one. The FB3 is very expensive for what you get and ties you in to using Pangolin products, however Quickshow is really good for beginners - if you can afford something that you may wish to replace in the future. I am still using it today, although have advanced on to LSX (Laser Show Xpress) which gives far superior results and will be investing in some Etherdream DACs which are highly functional and a more astute choice financially.
Keith
Keith
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Originally Posted by Pugdaddy
