DT40 vs PT40 scanners?

[johnjack]

is one better than the other? is the difference big enough?
I like how the Eightonlight laser projectors look, but they only come with PT scanners. People here say DT40 is good...

[Bradfo69]

I think most people here are going to steer you in the direction of Dragon Tiger (DT) versus Phenix Technologies (PT). (yes, spelled correctly)

Both are good for what they are but, I'm guessing more people will give the edge to DT's as there is simply more familiarity with them. PT's aren't particularly bad either and are at a lower cost. I have several sets of each running in various projectors and considering they're about $125-$150 less per set, it's worth it to give PT's a look.

[Bradfo69]

DT40wides are still probably my favorite of the Chinese variety scanners. Never had an issue with them. I think I have about 6 sets. (I've pushed a set to the point of collapsing and going haywire a few times but, back off the image size and restart the projector and they go back to running fine.) I have a couple DT40 pros - one of which is in a projector and again, no issues. There is probably some 30's in a box somewhere too but I haven't used them for anything. There are perhaps 7 sets of PT40's all working fine in projectors.

I am by no means a purist or as knowledgeable as many here on scanners. I just use them... they work... I'm happy. I have Eye Magics. I have Cambridge 6215's. I've run projectors side by side displaying the same show with different scanners and don't usually see much of a difference. Then again, I don't always know the tiny nuances to look for. Once you drop below the level of PT's though, most everything else is crap. A few of my early projectors - a Laserworld, a couple CR Tec's, and a couple REKE's leave a lot to be desired. Mainly 10k, 20k and 25k junk.

[Pitts]

Hi
I have these in two new eightonlight projectors.

So far they look good. I also have DT40 pros which are also very good.

Both of course are a product for a price and cannot be fairly compared to the multi thousand dollar jobs.

My DTs have stood the test of time my two new PTs have yet to prove themselves over time. At an electronic level the build quality is similar.

I am having a few modulation issues with eightonlight green which is a CNI OEM green.
They add a little board in the front end and then claim its a 40 k where as the CNI raw rate is 10 k..
I have found it nearly impossible to set up the green in LD palette which is most unusual as LD handles most things very well.
I plotted the green curve in 50mv steps and its turn on is harsh. It goes from off to on around 250mw start, real sudden and then its a very shallow curve to full power. Its almost like a " soft " TTL function.
The board they add in is at the front end only it does not form part of the CNI driver circuit.
I have bypassed this and the green returns to a " normal" curve.. LD palette easily handles it.

I am talking to them but getting a bit of a run around and the usual BS answers. I dont think they know what to do to fix it. I have been asked to take a movie of the palette setup now.

I will post a full review in due course on these units.

Their red by the way is superb.. Better than my kvant by miles. Real tight nice shape so they have that bit right.
Units are well built .... No glue in sight.
Only issue is the green which of course is now only 10 k for the meantime.

Cheers

Ray

[buffo]

I haven't run the PT-40 scanners for long, but my initial tests lead me to believe that they are at least on-par with the DT-40 wides, and definitely better than the original DT-40 pros. Add to this the fact that they sell for only $250 per set, and I think they're probably a better bet, even if they don't last as long. (Like Brad said above, I haven't run them long enough to see how they will hold up under continuous use.)

Adam

[dkumpula]

I haven't run the PT-40 scanners for long, but my initial tests lead me to believe that they are at least on-par with the DT-40 wides, and definitely better than the original DT-40 pros. Add to this the fact that they sell for only $250 per set, and I think they're probably a better bet, even if they don't last as long. (Like Brad said above, I haven't run them long enough to see how they will hold up under continuous use.)

Adam

I have used and abused several of the older Phenix PT-40s and they didn't hold up long as the bearings tend to die. The fault may well be mine for pushing them hard, but I'd be lucky to get 500 hours use from them before seeing a degradation in performance or having the galvos begin to feel a bit stiff.

The new PT-40s appear to have redesigned galvos, but the drivers look the same. As Adam says, they appear to be good bang for the buck, but we need to see how they'll hold up in the long term.

-David

[johnjack]

Interesting, thank you. Anybody familiar with these? http://www.goldenstarlaser.com/al40k...f7g36hjfptpn74


I dont understand. The DT40s runat 40KPPS at 8 degrees while these run at 25??

[dkumpula]

Interesting, thank you. Anybody familiar with these? http://www.goldenstarlaser.com/al40k...f7g36hjfptpn74


I dont understand. The DT40s runat 40KPPS at 8 degrees while these run at 25??

Hey Johnjack,

I think you can file that description under "don't believe everything you read".

I don't have a set of the al-40ks, but as they are the same price as the pt-40s and the pt-40s appear to be performing quite well (at least so far), I think I would stick with a 'known quantity'.

-David

[johnjack]

Hey David. You are right, have to be skeptical.
But then again, i read the pt40 specs again and it says 20 degrees?? Or do i not understand what the "+/-" before 20 and 25 means? hm.

[buffo]

I'm not familiar with those scanners on the Goldenstar website. They may be something new.

The amps resemble some of the later Scan-Pro amps I've seen (which were made by Sonima, if I remember correctly). If they are indeed Sonima amps, they should perform quite well.

As for the quoted scan angle, I find it very hard to believe that a $250 scanner can correctly display the ILDA test pattern at 40Kpps at 25 degrees. The PT-40 scanners can't even do that at 30Kpps. (Neither can my Scan-Pro 50's, for that matter.)

To be fair though, Lightspace also inflates the capabilities of the PT-40 scanners on their website, so it's really hard to make a judgement based on that information. (They claim 20 degrees at 40Kpps, when the truth is that they can do around 15-17 degrees at 30Kpps.) Don't get me wrong; 17 degrees at 30K is great performance, especially for a $250 scanner. But it's a far cry from 20 degrees at 40K... (To say nothing of the 25 degrees at 40K that is claimed by the DT40's!)

Adam