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Thread: newbie w/question(s)pcaom

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    northern maine.
    Posts
    329

    Default newbie w/question(s)pcaom

    firstly,i am wondering in which forum to post my question regarding a pcaom issue i am facing.
    this forum seemed safest.
    the help forum seems to be for board related bugs and the advanced tech forum is labeled"not the my laser is broken forum".
    i will repost to the proper forum if you all direct me there.

    here is my situation/question.
    we are running a three watt copper vapor show laser and are experiencing extra light around selected beams.
    i don't know if this is what is called ghosting or incomplete blanking(is that possible?)
    for example,with the orange beam selected,there is a shadow of green light.
    this shadow appears as a larger circle of weak light with the selected beam appearing in the lower left of this circle(looking from behind the projector.)
    a working example of this problem is that if we hit a bounce mirror(4"x4")with the selected beam,the shadow extends beyond the mirror.
    messy.

    we have been told by neos to take the pcaom and controller out and send it to them for evaluation.
    my concern is that when we put it back in the projector we may not be able to align it properly.

    i wonder if this problem could be fixed using the blanking input adjusters on the pcaom.
    i am inclined to live with this problem rather than risk not being able to properly reinstall the pcaom and controller.

    so i seek two answers.
    1.is it possible to reinstall the pcaom controller without special tools?
    can we just move it around until we get the correct beam coming out of it?

    2.will adjusting the blanking inputs help clean up the extra light?

    ok,make it three answers i seek.

    3.is this phenomena i describe what is called "ghosting"

    thanks in advance for any help you can render.
    wes

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Charleston, SC
    Posts
    2,147,489,446

    Smile

    Hi Wes! Welcome to PhotonLexicon!

    Where are you located? If you are close to one of our members here, someone may offer to give you a hand in person. (You may want to consider filling out your profile information...)

    I haven't personally worked with a PCAOM, although I've assisted with a few shows that had projectors with PCAOM color selection. While I understand that the alignment is a bit of a pain, it certainly is something that can be done by hand. In fact, I watched one laserist remove and re-install a PCAOM in a projector several times (each time re-aligning it) just hours before the show was due to start. (He was troubleshooting; the problem ended up being a bad cable.) So I don't really understand why you are so concerned that you will be unable to re-align everything if you remove the PCAOM from your projector.

    Maybe you could post some pictures to give us an idea of the layout...

    As for the exact cause of your problem - I honestly don't know. Hopefully MixedGas or Clandestiny (or one of the other experienced laserists here) will chime in with some advice.

    Adam

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    northern maine.
    Posts
    329

    Default

    thanks adam.
    i am in portland oregon.
    it is reassuring to know that the pcaom can be realigned by hand.
    my concern is generic as i am just cautious when i know so little.
    i could tell by looking at the controller that it could probably be hand aligned.

    i'm still curious if anyone is familiar with the "shadowing"or "fringe"problem i am experiencing.


    thanks,
    wes
    Last edited by wes; 06-12-2007 at 18:21.

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