Hey guys...
Well, as some of you already know, I bought the old optical table from Astroguy's original projector. (The one we saw at FLEM.) I got the three lasers, the two dicro's, and the mounts for everything, all for a great price. (THANKS FRED!!!) I planned to install this table into the projector housing that I bought from Mecheng3 back in December. Then I could install my new DT-40 Pro galvos that I got from Jian back in November, and I'd have a full-analog RGB projector to run on the QM-32... Woot!
Then reality set in... First of all, I must have injured my back while in Florida last weekend. While I was at my Mom's place I cut up a tree that had fallen over during that wind storm they had a while back. Evidently I should have cut the pieces a little smaller! Come Monday morning, I started having trouble with my back. By Tuesday I was really hurting, and Wednesday morning I couldn't walk. I went to the doc, and after a couple X-rays he said I'd be fine - just a back strain (again), and to take it easy for a week or so. (Damn - this is the 3rd time I've done this in as many years!)
So I'm thinking, "Hey, this is great! No work for the rest of the week... I can put my projector together!" Ha! No such luck. I've only been able to sit in a chair for about 20 minutes at a time before I have to lie back down. I've spent probably 95 % of the last 4 days in my bedroom. Ugh. And to top it off there's absolutely *nothing* on TV during the day. (I have gotten a lot of sleep though.)
Well, this afternoon I told myself that I was going to get *something* done, no matter what. So between rounds of pain killers and muscle relaxers (methocarbomol is great stuff!), I managed to rip everything out of the big projector housing I got from Mecheng3. But of course, then I discover that the optical table won't fit on the braces in the new housing unless I install a larger plate beneath the table.
OK - no problem... I've got a sheet of aluminum that will work. I had hoped to save it for another project, but what the hell. So I start laying everything out on the sheet of aluminum. And then I hit a wall... Alignment.
ARGH! I've spent like three hours tinkering with this thing, and it's still off. Damn - I thought having the fancy adjustable mounts would make it easy, but it's actually making it more complicated. At this point I'm wondering if the painkillers are affecting my fine motor skils.
Screw it. It's 11:30 and for the first time since Wednesday, I'm actually looking forward to going to bed. I'll have another go at it tomorrow. But if you're curious as to what this beast will look like when it's finished, here's a picture of the table:
Yeah, yeah, I know... My work table is a mess. So sue me. It's been a long day and my back hurts!
The lasers only have about 3 volts on the blanking leads for the above picture, which is why they look so dim. (You can just see the battery holder at the bottom of the picture that is supplying the +3vdc.)
There are a few more pics in my gallery if you're interested. The color balance looks really goofy, but part of that is likely due to the screwed up alignment. (Then too, my digital camera is a piece of junk, so the colors won't look right in any case.)
I've still got to build cables to connect the amps to the galvos, and I also need to hook up the power supplies to the amps. Maybe tomorrow, if my back isn't bothering me too much. I did get the ILDA connector wired. Ran 10 inch long wires from the connector and labeled each one. Now I just need to solder everything to those wires and I can hook it up. But the alignment needs more work first... Sigh...
Adam