Homebuild project work available $$$

[HankLloydRight]

Hi everyone!

I've been trying to finish a homebuild projector project I started last year, but work and life has gotten in the way, and I really don't think I'll have time to finish before SELEM. I'm looking to find someone who is interested and capable in finishing the project for me (by SELEM) in exchange for some cash.

So I bought a Laserworld RGB-700 at FLEM in 2016. I pulled out the TTL drivers and diodes and got new red, green, and blue diodes. I put in three flexmod drivers. I'm going for about 1.5w total output in the same box. I think the blue is 800mw, and the red and green about half that (I've already forgotten what I bought ).

Instead of fixed mirrors and dichros, I put in the brass adjustable ones, and a secondary bounce mirror for the red.

I was going to stop there, but then last year Zak (Lazerman121) won the Compact 506 scanners and the X-laser driver which I bought from him, so I want to put those in as well to replace the crappy scanners in there now.

The one 12v power supply in there now seems to run all three diodes pretty well (yes, I was running the red at 12v for testing, it works), but I don't think it will run the x-laser driver and scanners, so another power supply will be needed for that to replace the 24v one (I assume) in there now (or stepped down).

So if you think you can complete this mess I started (and bring it to SELEM), and want to earn a few bucks, let me know, and I can pack it all up and ship it to you. I don't know how much work is involved in terms of hours and parts, but my budget is about $200 on top of what I already spent on this project (which I don't even want to add up!), plus maybe $50 more for parts if needed (mounts, screws, spacers, power supply, etc). If that doesn't seem like a fair amount, let me know what would be fair.

Anyone interested?

Here are some current photos:

[Bradfo69]

Maybe.... since you're willing to wait until SELEM... this might be somehow integrated "into" SELEM as a demonstration/seminar project of some sort. Maybe like a Wednesday afternoon, classroom style, thing when nothing else is going on. As long as we had the basic tools and parts which shouldn't be hard to ensure we have.
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Or.... maybe I'm off my rocker and somebody needs some cash.

[HankLloydRight]

I think it's a little to involved for that. I haven't pulled it apart enough to know what can or can't be done to install the Compact 506's and maybe a new power supply. It's the kind of thing that would sit on a bench while someone is finds creative solutions to the little problems that still need to be solved. I just don't have the time and the proper tools/extra parts bin/supply to make it work, without ordering them one at a time as I come across the need.

If nothing happens between now and then, I'll still bring it to SELEM as an "open project!" for anyone to dig into if they want to, and if they have nothing better to do (unlikely).

[SaltyRobot]

I may be interested in helping you out. This seems like it would take me a weekend or two to get everything you described done. A few questions though.

1. It seems easy enough to just get all the diodes running and aligned but how fat are each of the beams? Will they align nicely? Is that a concern? I wouldn't want to go through the trouble of doing the work only to find out that the red is a flashlight and you are not happy with my work. If there is a need for corrective optics I don't have much experience with that. All 5 of my projectors are single mode setup in a similar configuration to what you have.
2. You would like to put 506s with X-Laser Amp? Is this going to be a beams only projector? 506s with that amp are not recommended for graphics. YMMV.
3. Seems like to color balance will be off if you run everything at full power. Are you planning to dial back the blue to make a better white balance. We could do that on the driver or you can do it in software your choice.

Anyway here is the thread from my last build so you can see my work.
http://photonlexicon.com/forums/show...ighlight=Build

[HankLloydRight]

Your thread is one of the things that got me thinking that someone could help me out! A lot of similarities.

To answer your questions:

1. The beams are pretty good. Here are some pics (below). I'm pretty sure the last pic is earlier but with these same three diodes but with the original fixed dichros and mirrors.. I couldn't get the near field and far field alignment right, which is why I wanted to switch to a better dichro mounts and a bounce mirror for the red (thank Buffo for that suggestion). Also that red is crappy after the bounce mirror because it's right on the edge of the mirror.

2. I know, several people told me that!! I wanted this to be a good small general purpose projector.. the scanners in there now are OK up to about 15k, but choppy after that. Are the x-lasers even worse? What would you suggest as an alternative that would also fit inside the box? If it's just a good beam projector and a not-so-great graphics, I'm ok with that too. I have two other projectors which are good at graphics.

3. I figured I'd cross that bridge once the hardware is put together if that's either dialing down the flexmods or in Beyond. But IIRC, the output of each RGB is "just about right". I'm not a perfectionist by far, I just want to finish this box and play with it. Take it to friends' houses since it's a pretty compact form factor. That kind of thing.

[HankLloydRight]

I should add that I don't have a bounce mirror for the blue because (a) I couldn't figure out how to make one fit, and (2) it's on a up/down and left/right swivel mount (it's not fixed like the red and greens are)... so I figured that would help along with the dichro adjustments to get it aligned better assuming the beam height is correct.

Here's a terrible cell-phone vertical video I took last year (looks more color balanced in person):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0ZOx6V8wzg

[SaltyRobot]

I can help you out. PM in coming.

The X-laser scanner should be better at graphics than 15K scanners so you should see an improvement there. But PT40s, DT40s, Saturns, CTs would all provide even further improvements. I think we should stick with the parts you currently have and see what you get. You can always buy another projector down the road. I am using my X-Laser 506s for beams only but that is just how my environment is setup.

Your thread is one of the things that got me thinking that someone could help me out! A lot of similarities.

To answer your questions:

1. The beams are pretty good. Here are some pics (below). I'm pretty sure the last pic is earlier but with these same three diodes but with the original fixed dichros and mirrors.. I couldn't get the near field and far field alignment right, which is why I wanted to switch to a better dichro mounts and a bounce mirror for the red (thank Buffo for that suggestion). Also that red is crappy after the bounce mirror because it's right on the edge of the mirror.

2. I know, several people told me that!! I wanted this to be a good small general purpose projector.. the scanners in there now are OK up to about 15k, but choppy after that. Are the x-lasers even worse? What would you suggest as an alternative that would also fit inside the box? If it's just a good beam projector and a not-so-great graphics, I'm ok with that too. I have two other projectors which are good at graphics.

3. I figured I'd cross that bridge once the hardware is put together if that's either dialing down the flexmods or in Beyond. But IIRC, the output of each RGB is "just about right". I'm not a perfectionist by far, I just want to finish this box and play with it. Take it to friends' houses since it's a pretty compact form factor. That kind of thing.

[HankLloydRight]

Great, thanks Jason!