Scannermax 506s

[swamidog]

there are an interesting number of connectors on that board.

The teasing is well deserved Brad!

By the way, the layout of our new amp is almost finished. You can see a 3D view of it here.

It looks big, but remember everything you're seeing there is the size of a credit card.

Notice all of the adjustment pots. NOT!

Bill

[Pangolin]

there are an interesting number of connectors on that board.

You've got a good eye Swami!

Far left is a shutter driver connector. This can be connected directly to one of our VRAD 506 actuators that can be used as a shutter. This is a high-current, PWM output (which is why it is so far from everything else).

Next is a "user connector" This has optically isolated inputs and two open collector outputs which can be used in a variety of ways. For example, the optically-isolated inputs can be used to select which (of four) tunings you want, or could be used to enable and disable the servo. This is mostly used for factories. The open-collector outputs could be used to let you know that the servo is ready (good for factories) and we figured one of these outputs could be used to give an indication of "scanner safety". So with as little as a single transistor and handful of schottky diodes, someone can implement a scan-fail safeguard that completely extinguishes light out of the projector in case the scanners are moving too slowly, or are stopped, or there is a fault on the board. (Yes, we think of all of this...)

Next connector can be attached to a USB port on a computer. (The connector looks non-standard, and we have our reasons for making that way...) This connector can also be attached to a little display inside the laser projector, and the display can be used to adjust the amp, select tuning, etc.

Next connector is a Position Output connector, which can be directed to PASS or another scan-fail safegaurd.

Far-right connector is the input connector.

The only other two are for the scanners themselves. This is the same connector on our Compact 506, and same one Cambridge uses on most of their small scanners as well.

AHA, almost forgot that connector in the middle. That's a "test point" connector and it gives access to Input, Position, Velocity, Error, AGC, Drive, and some other test points. Normally I have to "go fish" for this stuff on other people's amps. This is also used for some factory/industrial applications that do something called "command and control" where they drive the scanner to a certain position, and then want to know when it has absolutely gotten there. (Yes, we think of all of this...)

Bill

[swamidog]

very nice..

these features will simplify projector construction and safety. i assume actual servo position is compared against desired servo position (input signal) and some self tuning magic is taking place via dsp.

color me intrigued.

You've got a good eye Swami!

Far left is a shutter driver connector. This can be connected directly to one of our VRAD 506 actuators that can be used as a shutter. This is a high-current, PWM output (which is why it is so far from everything else).

Next is a "user connector" This has optically isolated inputs and two open collector outputs which can be used in a variety of ways. For example, the optically-isolated inputs can be used to select which (of four) tunings you want, or could be used to enable and disable the servo. This is mostly used for factories. The open-collector outputs could be used to let you know that the servo is ready (good for factories) and we figured one of these outputs could be used to give an indication of "scanner safety". So with as little as a single transistor and handful of schottky diodes, someone can implement a scan-fail safeguard that completely extinguishes light out of the projector in case the scanners are moving too slowly, or are stopped, or there is a fault on the board. (Yes, we think of all of this...)

Next connector can be attached to a USB port on a computer. (The connector looks non-standard, and we have our reasons for making that way...) This connector can also be attached to a little display inside the laser projector, and the display can be used to adjust the amp, select tuning, etc.

Next connector is a Position Output connector, which can be directed to PASS or another scan-fail safegaurd.

Far-right connector is the input connector.

The only other two are for the scanners themselves. This is the same connector on our Compact 506, and same one Cambridge uses on most of their small scanners as well.

AHA, almost forgot that connector in the middle. That's a "test point" connector and it gives access to Input, Position, Velocity, Error, AGC, Drive, and some other test points. Normally I have to "go fish" for this stuff on other people's amps. This is also used for some factory/industrial applications that do something called "command and control" where they drive the scanner to a certain position, and then want to know when it has absolutely gotten there. (Yes, we think of all of this...)

Bill

[mixedgas]

I actually have laser light into the scanners, I had to repair my PCAOM driver so I can shoot the ILDA pattern. But from some of the tone in this thread perhaps I should just open a new one.

I will be doing tests tonight.

Steve

[WookieBoy]

Ok. Now I'm REALLY interested!
I may even forgive the lack of news on the FB3.net
Posting to track!

[White-Light]

Next connector can be attached to a USB port on a computer. (The connector looks non-standard, and we have our reasons for making that way...) This connector can also be attached to a little display inside the laser projector, and the display can be used to adjust the amp, select tuning, etc.

Very nice!

I take it that's the reason for the lack of pots on the board, digital potentiometers with the settings recorded in (presumably non volatile) chip memory.

[Pangolin]

The whole design is digital. It's a physically scaled down version of our Mach DSP. I'm really liking the design.

[White-Light]

Bill, until you pointed it out above, I hadn't realised absolutely everything was digital!

I like the idea of software based adjustment as it's much more precise than twiddling a pot with a small screwdriver. I imagine scanner tuning has just become a whole lot more precise with higher resolution and drift over time eliminated. Is there going to be any software available to assist with the tuning of these for the less capable? I'm presuming that having pc based tuning opens the way for tuning wizards.

Either way, I'm really looking forward to seeing some results on these.

[loopee]

I like the idea of software based adjustment as it's much more precise than twiddling a pot with a small screwdriver. I imagine scanner tuning has just become a whole lot more precise with higher resolution and drift over time eliminated. Is there going to be any software available to assist with the tuning of these for the less capable? I'm presuming that having pc based tuning opens the way for tuning wizards.

It would be cool if they could auto tune themselves as well, and have a one button re-tune option, kinda have a built in frame that it uses to calibrate and adjust itself to

[Pangolin]

I like the idea of software based adjustment as it's much more precise than twiddling a pot with a small screwdriver.

Yes, that's one thing I notice when messing with these amps. Sometimes the mechanics inside the pot simply won't let you get to the value you want. It's like they are rolling over a speed-bump or something. The worst part is "drift". So when you turn on the amp and it's cold and you check the performance, then re-check it later when the amp has warmed up, it looks different. Aside from components like capacitors and resistors changing value, what changes even more are the pots! Even pots for which you pay decent money have a temperature coefficient of 100 parts per million per degree C! Nothing else on the board is that bad, and if you want better than this, the price for the pots grows super dramatically.

Regarding tuning, we have a small program that runs on a PC and gives you access to all of the parameters. We'll get to auto-tuning eventually. I did some work in this area to prove we can do it. But that won't be in there for the initial release.

Bill