I'd start with the fact that (dpending on the size of the Logo) you need 2-3 watts of green for every streetlight within 500-1000 feet plus two watts more just to get you started, if and only if the building is white or very light tan. If its any color of brick, all bets are off. If any of the street lights are LED or Metal Halide (Bright White) try before you buy.
A Green DPSS laser at 532 is near the peak of the dark adapted eye sensitivity. It is also cheaper per Watt then RGB by a country mile.
More laserists get busted for local sign ordnances then ever get busted by FAA. But you do need the permit, because if a beam is un-terminated and goes off into airspace, the variance and FAA report is a "Get out of jail free card", otherwise your looking at severe fines.
I have a friend that put a logo on a club, the other club owner decided this was unfair, and called the city. Tucson now considers laser display, even artistic laser display, as another type of illegal electronic advertising sign. So even with building owner permission, you can run seriously afoul of sign ordinances. The building owner gets the ticket, not you. You can also, in some towns, hit issues with distracted motorists laws.
Our local amusement park bought several 500 mW RGB waterproof outdoor projectors, and had to darken the flood lights about 700 feet either side of the midway, for a few three foot by three foot abstract images on the side of a brick building. They had to switch to abstracts, ie swirls and stars, because the low cost Galvo scanners could not reproduce the park's simple logo. They also painted the façade white above the street level. It looks really cool from the passing aerial tram, but it was not what they intended to do. In daylight the white paint looks odd on the building.
They have low power laser effects elsewhere in the park, ie Blisslights, but they really had to re-engineer or turn off large parts of the Midway lighting to make the little RGB projectors effective. It looks OK, but they had the advantage of controlling the lighting for the whole four lane pedestrian street.
Consider the alternative, having a projection Gobo made for a moving light fixture plus a dichroic filter, or get a Laserist out there to try before you buy. The Gobo may have "throw" issues, depending on the quality of the moving light or projector used. At least you can rent a moving light. Another option is a roll of holographic film on the glass windows that allows a normal VIDEO projector to be used. I see a lot of that material in Pittsburgh.
When laser shows were at their peak in the 80's and 90s, Metal Halide lighting was scarce and dim mercury vapor lights were the norm. As "white" and Sodium arc lights proliferated, the power required to do a laser show greatly increased.
I believe there are two or three hobby laserists in Kansas City, I'd start there.
At all costs keep the laser light away direct shots into people's eyes, the rule in the US is three meters up from ground level.
Rental is a option for around 2K + shipping if you have a varience. There is the whole "unattended operation" rule to contend with, as well.
Steve
Last edited by mixedgas; 06-21-2014 at 08:47.
Qui habet Christos, habet Vitam!
I should have rented the space under my name for advertising.
When I still could have...