I believe NELEM II is/was next weekend. Send a PM to "Planters", He is the head honcho for that one.Originally Posted by HankLloydRight
Steve
Creaky Old Award Winning Bastard Technologist
I believe NELEM II is/was next weekend. Send a PM to "Planters", He is the head honcho for that one.
Steve
Qui habet Christos, habet Vitam!
I should have rented the space under my name for advertising.
When I still could have...
Most of these are somewhat annual events. There are smaller ones around the country but SELEM is the grand daddy of them all. Yes, the attendee list will fill up closer to the event. There are a lot of people verbally and mentally committed that aren't on there yet.
The 17th appears to be fine. I have a bridal shower from 12:30-4:30 for about 45-50 people so it would only be in 1/2 of the ballroom but, I beleive you said evening so, that's fine. As you'll discover, I have a 7,000 square foot "playground" and in excess of 24-25 laser projectors, many of the major control software packages out there (Quickshow, LD2000, Beyond, Live Pro, Fiesta, Moncha, Showeditor, Alphalight, Phoenix, LSX...) old school analog controller (the Z-5 - search for it) and days upon days worth of show content. (Oh and the Entec, an APC40, a Novation Remote Zero etc.)
As far as the Mobile Beat - keep in mind that's retail. There are sales, deals, second hand finds, and perhaps even talking with X-Laser directly even though they primarily use their existing dealer network. They might have an previously rented unit or older model collecting dust they may work with you on a deal for - especially with the Quickshow bundled. Just a thought.
Senior Member
I see -- looks like next weekend. I'm booked that weekend for the Delorean Car Show in Dayton, OH (another one of my hobbies).
Looks like SELEM is in my future.
Jr. Woodchuckington Janitor III, Esq.
delorean.... problematic as they are, i have wanted one of those cars for decades.
come to SELEM if you can, it's like a year's worth of photonlexicon crammed into four days. legendary and brilliant laserists. lots of hands on time and breakout sessions for interesting things . smart people having fun and sharing ideas and being proud what they're doing. it's a sort of joyful chaos full of beautiful light and high voltage.
no idea why they let me in
suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.
I'd say your Geronimo show qualifies you for lifetime admittance!no idea why they let me in
Seriously though, your comments about SELEM are spot-on. "a year's worth of photonlexicon crammed into four days" is as good an analogy as I've ever heard.
Adam
Senior Member
X-Laser makes some VERY nice projectors (I have one of their Skywriter series), and make it very easy to get a variance if you decide to do some stuff commercially.
Just make sure you're aware of the specs ~
The advertised Mobile Beat specs say that projector uses 20k scanners, and is TTL modulation.
Translation -
You might have some complicated graphics that won't scan "quite right" or experience heavy flickering, but should be great for simple graphics & most beam effects.
TTL modulation means you get a maximum of 7 colors, instead of the basically unlimited color pallet of analog modulation, so the QuickShow screen colors may not always match what the projector is capable of producing.
Still, quite a nice projector, from a very good US company!!
RR
Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
1979.
Sweet.....
I know in the span of about 15 hours, we've gone from talking about a $400-$500 projector to $1300 to $1700 projectors. PLEASE understand that part of that stems from the fact that we hate to see people waste the kind of money many of us have by starting off with something we know will very quickly become less than satisfying. The LKPD-3 is a cool little projector, don't get me wrong. You can see my review of the LKPD-1 starting here: http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...p/19222-LK-PD1
But in the grand scheme of things, I've only ever turned it on about 6 or 7 times. Honestly, I've laid in bed with it sitting on my chest and watched it "do it's thang" in auto mode on the ceiling and been mesmerized and that's about as far as it's gotten. I've hooked an ILDA cable up and run a few things through it and it doesn't even hold a candle to what a good entry level projector can do. Many of us bought them to dissect how they achieved some of the effects with the thought of using the idea in bigger projectors or, rip out the effects assembly and build it into something else. The laser sources aren't bad but the quality of the scanners is probably the biggest detraction.
Lasers have come down dramatically in price over the last few years. Technology has made them cheaper, smaller, easier but nonetheless a decent entry level box is still going to put you in that $1300-$1700 range. I mention $1700 because another one you should investigate is the thread on the Pluto II. As Stuka mentioned, the Mobile Beat is TTL and has 20k scanners. TTL does limit you as far as colors versus analog but, it will be generally brighter than something analog of the same power. While the scanners are 20k, I will say that they may still be satisfactory because they're from X-Laser versus some of the scanners in the Asian boxes. It still would serve you well. In a perfect world though, analog modulation and 30k or better scanners is what you ultimately want.
You're a car guy. If I was a newbie to a car forum and said I was excited to get into cars and had my eye on a Daiwoo or a Yugo. Wouldn't you at least urge me to put my money towards at least a Ford Escort instead? Or, maybe just a bit more for a Hyundai Elantra? You don't need a Lexus or a Cadillac although many people here have those but, I'd really hate to see you buy that Daiwoo and three months later say, "I wish I had listened and bought the Elantra." Truthfully, I'd suggest going ahead and buying Quickshow and begin playing with it and learn the software (it has a preview window) and hold off until after seeing things at SELEM before making decisons about a projector. You'll be able to be a much more informed consumer at that point. And if you decide Quickshow is not for you, you can sell it here for damn near what you paid for it in a matter of 24 hours. Now... I also know how hard waiting is to do!! I ain't good at it which may be why I have the pile 'o stuff I have!
Senior Member
I feel like I'm at the used car dealer lot "how much is this?"... "Well, how much do you have to spend?"
$600... to $1300.. to $1700.. what the hell? What do you have in the $2k range?
Seriously, you're spot on about the car analogy... I've owned a bunch of cars since I started driving... and I learned the same lesson of which you speak when I bought a '92 VW Corrado G60 in 95 or so. Good fun little car. 4-banger with a supercharger. But on the lot there was also a VW Corrado VR6 -- a souped up V6 in the same body, just a different color. Not wanting to spend the extra few $k on the VR6 (I didn't think I could afford it), I opted for the G60 (in a better color, BTW). Well, I kind wished I had gone for the VR6.. The G60 was good, but not great. And resale value was WAY below VR6 values which held pretty well. So to make the jump from a $600 asian RGB unit to the Mobile Beat at $1300 won't take a lot of convincing me. I do wonder about adding a Lumina effect though which is built in to the LK-PD2/3.
And I know you guys are all steeped in lasers, but 20k scanners and TTL (7 colors) is really OK with me for now. For now.
So the bottom line is that I had already come to the same conclusion which you just recommended.. wait until I get immersed into the hobby and people at SELEM, and then look to buy a unit more like the X-Laser Mobile Beat or whatever else people may recommend or may even be selling at the show.
Heck, I might buy the Reke 500 unit just to get started between now and then. Or maybe someone can recommend a sub-$200 RGB unit just to have something to play with between now and SELEM. Playing with the QS Demo only goes so far.
Senior Member
Ha ha... I watched your video about a week ago when I decided to go for the LK-PD3. I guess a lot can happen in a week.
The Troll formerly known as Herbert Von Poople-Futtocks
I think I'm gonna bookmark this statement and revisit it in 6 months.
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