Need some help planning/building RGB scanner

[allthatwhichis]

heh, yeah losses would suck, and to control the beam divergence as much as possible you would probably have to put the 635nm laser as close to the mirrors as possible. Which would mean the 408nm, 457, and 473 would all be behind optics... **shudder**

You could work it so they weren't couln't you? Maybe focus the 635 down with a lense or two right out of it's aperature... Can't you play with the beam size before it hits the first optic?

[buffo]

Hey Aaron;

You might be able to trade higher divergence for a smaller beam diameter so you can get the beam through the galvos, but the resulting "spotlight" beam would be highly divergent. That might not matter for close-in beam shows, but it would suck if you had any appreciable throw - especially for graphics.

Then again, if you put the red up close to the galvos in the light path, then you've got extra losses to contend with on the blue, as Max pointed out.

I think I'd probably go that second route, and just eat the optical losses; assuming I had the coin to undertake the project in the first place that is! I'm not sure how much better the colors would look though. I've never seen the output from a Kr/Ar laser that was equiped with an 8 channel PCAOM. (I have seen the 4 channel output from a whitelight, however.) But the 8 channel whitelight setup would be the gold standard to check against. (Maybe at SELEM this summer we'll get lucky and someone will bring a mixed-gas rig that we can put up against a solid state projector and do a color comparison...)

Adam

[mliptack]

So I have the breadboard and a 10-32 tap, but it seems like the hole is almost drilled too big for the 10-32, have you guys experienced this too? The breadboard was from the eBay seller.

Also, the 1/4" tap that I have is 1/4" with 28 threads/inch and I figure that would be adequate, however, it seems that the 1/4" tap is too big for the hole, and would lead to me breaking my tap off in the breadboard. What do you guys think I should do.

Thanks,
Max

[marconi]

Hi Max
I have noticed the same on the several boards I bought from him as well.
The 10-32 tap does work but not a tight fit.
I use rack screws and find they hold pretty-well tho.
Results per user may very depending on vintage of the board ..J/k
Sorry couldnt resist.
Id try it and see. If it dont work out for you , then 1/4-20 it.

Or use metric.. That works the best for me, altho I cant remember off-hand the size I used on the last one that left here.

Whatever metric tap fits a 4.67mm hole
Regards

[mliptack]

Ok thanks Marconi, I was planning on using a few rack screws from work to check to see how snug the fit would be. I'll try to remember to take a few home tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow night (if not thursday at the latest) I'll be making some cool designs with my monochrome laser projector... I'm excited!

[steve-o]

Originally Posted by Buffo
...(I'm thinking of a 4 or 5 laser setup here, with 457 nm, 473nm, 532 nm, 635 nm, and possibly 660 nm.) ...
Adam
Don't forget 405nm... 3, 4, 5... that makes 6.
__________________


Why not add a 150 mW 622nM orange-yellow while your at it? The diode is only $900. And the TEC has to keep it at 5 degrees C.

...(that makes 7)

[mliptack]

Ok, so I got my FB3 controller today! I'm excited. however, I have a few questions. First of all i have a power adapter that is rated at 4.5 volts, however, when I meter it I get just under 5volts (what the FB3 needs) so I figure the FB3 controller will be fine if the voltage is slightly under 5v?

Second, my power adapter has no markings specifying which line is neutral and which is the hot. And I dont know how to figure this out. If someone could tell me this ASAP it would be appreciated!

I am only a few connections away from using my monochrome green scanner! and I am only waiting on that voltage info!

Thanks again,
Max

[mliptack]

Also there are two fuses that come along with the DT-40pro scan set, where do I solder these in?

heh, I just realized the three lead connector from the pot was still disconnected and I've been trying to figure out where it plugs in... any help?

Thanks,
Max

[mliptack]

well I figured out which side of the power supply was positive (+), I did so by hooking it up to an LED that had the anode and cathode marked, and I put it on one way it worked, the other way it didn't. So I figured out which side was the positive lead and which was negative... One less thing to worry about!

[marconi]

What...You got fuses
I didnt get any fuses...hehe.
What value are they ,..1amp?
My servo amps have a fuse on-board buts only for the output IC
It would not be a bad idea to place one fuse on each output of the supply.
One for positive and one for negative before the wires go to the amps.