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Thread: Lightspace Pluto II - Red laser module partial failure (637nm, quad module)

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    Default Lightspace Pluto II - Red laser module partial failure (637nm, quad module)

    Hello everyone,

    Noticed the red was really weak on one of my Pluto II projectors. When I originally got the projectors they had very good output, pretty nice coverage over the output spot. Now I could tell the red output was just a fraction of the overall beam spot, so I guessed that it uses knife edged diodes and some were missing and it seems like only one laser was left.

    I finally got around to popping the top and sure enough it looks like 3 of the 4 red diodes are not emitting.

    I haven't checked power output from driver or anything yet. I seem to remember some talk that there are possible failures with some of the red diode drivers in some lightspace projectors? Anyone know the details on this? One of the components on the driver may have a higher failure rate?
    Modern and Retro laser show hobbyist
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    The drivers in that series kills eventually the diodes because of the bad design of the driver. Not sure if the new series have the same drivers though.Like all companies lightspace constant improving their products . Green and blue have the same driver but they are more rugged. However i,m pretty sure they will go dead in the near future. The solution is to replace the drivers and replace all red diodes also the one that aren,t dead yet. I refurbishes a few lightspace projectors as many customers had the same problems.


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    Quote Originally Posted by edison View Post
    The drivers in that series kills eventually the diodes because of the bad design of the driver. Not sure if the new series have the same drivers though.Like all companies lightspace constant improving their products . Green and blue have the same driver but they are more rugged. However i,m pretty sure they will go dead in the near future. The solution is to replace the drivers and replace all red diodes also the one that aren,t dead yet. I refurbishes a few lightspace projectors as many customers had the same problems.
    So what drivers do you move to? I notice the lightspace has 4 channels, so it drives all the diodes independently instead of in series which is kind of nice I would think.

    Pinged Walt guy but haven't heard back yet.

    Hoping to check for power output from the driver channels soon.
    Modern and Retro laser show hobbyist
    Pangolin QM16, QM32, Beyond Adv, LSX, ADAT, FB3, FB4
    LS Pluto II x 2, custom build x 1
    http://lasershowwiki.757.org for my all encompassing laser show wiki.

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    There aren,t many good drivers for sale as the DIY market is pretty much dead as people buy complete units from china mostly. Your unit uses single modes for red wich are probably driven in series on 1 or 2 channels. It depends on the total power of the module. For example a 6W rgb has usually 2 greens, 6 single mode reds and 2 blue,s. But it can be a different configuration. Most of the time there is less red then green in it and blue is a bit more for a 6W RGB. As for drivers i know live lasersystems has a good driver that is commercially for sale. I know buying a projector from china is tempting as the price is low but usually later in time when things need to be repaired it cost allot unless they provide good service. If you want to have the machine repaired i can replace the diodes and install a new driver but its not cheap as its labour intensive. The whole module needs to be taken out of the machine and taken apart to install new diodes. We live in a trow away society so its not designed to be repaired. What also is an option is to install a new module and upgrade to more power. If its a 3W machine it can be a 9W RGB for example. Then you also will never have this issue again as the source and driver is replaced.
    Last edited by edison; 10-03-2021 at 05:13.


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    Default Bbe driver for the win?

    You might want to reach out to Vladimir (Bbe here on the forum) at wossee@gmail.com. His SimpleDrive drivers have always gotten favorable reviews. (I just ordered a bunch of them myself, in fact.)

    There are 3 current ranges: 0-500 mA, 0-2.5 A, 0-4.5 A.

    Adam

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    Thanks for the info Edison! My first diode projectors were wood boxes made of China parts like many others, then when the Lightspace units came out they had really good beam properties. This was better than a lot of the others on the market at the time. They really kicked ass, and to be honest my Pluto IIs have done pretty good.

    I think I heard a friend say that the red drivers had a part that was bad in them and that they were likely to fail, but no details. But there is a video on youtube of someone tearing down one that has a complete RGB block to replace the 4 reds (Sharp 180mw 638nm diodes he says.) In his case his is just 4 knife edged, where mine has 2 on one side, 2 on the other and a PBS cube. I guess there is a waveplate lens as well. The replacement of the diodes isn't beyond my ability, it just seems like a pain in the ass to get the array realigned, and will it look as good as it did originally? Changing out the drivers would be a pain in the ass.

    I am wondering if Lightspace exited the market? I hit up the Walt guy and Tina and haven't heard anything back. Just tried facebook. I am just a hobbyist and don't have any events coming up. Was just going to see what they had to offer in terms of a drop in replacement.

    Opt laser has really high powered modules crazy cheap but I don't think the beam profiles are the same as my Plutos from factory.

    I have never been personally impressed with anything from Goldenstar, but I've mostly looked on from afar..... how bad are their fiber coupled modules? Do they have awesome beam profiles? Is the sharp beam modules... too sharp for graphics? Great for beams or? Anyone have experience with these things?

    - Ethan
    Modern and Retro laser show hobbyist
    Pangolin QM16, QM32, Beyond Adv, LSX, ADAT, FB3, FB4
    LS Pluto II x 2, custom build x 1
    http://lasershowwiki.757.org for my all encompassing laser show wiki.

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    I am so not a fan of the low end modulation on lightspace projectors..

    If I were you, I’d buy an RGB module from OPT lasers and drop in the box.



    Quote Originally Posted by telmnstr View Post
    Thanks for the info Edison! My first diode projectors were wood boxes made of China parts like many others, then when the Lightspace units came out they had really good beam properties. This was better than a lot of the others on the market at the time. They really kicked ass, and to be honest my Pluto IIs have done pretty good.

    I think I heard a friend say that the red drivers had a part that was bad in them and that they were likely to fail, but no details. But there is a video on youtube of someone tearing down one that has a complete RGB block to replace the 4 reds (Sharp 180mw 638nm diodes he says.) In his case his is just 4 knife edged, where mine has 2 on one side, 2 on the other and a PBS cube. I guess there is a waveplate lens as well. The replacement of the diodes isn't beyond my ability, it just seems like a pain in the ass to get the array realigned, and will it look as good as it did originally? Changing out the drivers would be a pain in the ass.

    I am wondering if Lightspace exited the market? I hit up the Walt guy and Tina and haven't heard anything back. Just tried facebook. I am just a hobbyist and don't have any events coming up. Was just going to see what they had to offer in terms of a drop in replacement.

    Opt laser has really high powered modules crazy cheap but I don't think the beam profiles are the same as my Plutos from factory.

    I have never been personally impressed with anything from Goldenstar, but I've mostly looked on from afar..... how bad are their fiber coupled modules? Do they have awesome beam profiles? Is the sharp beam modules... too sharp for graphics? Great for beams or? Anyone have experience with these things?

    - Ethan
    suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.

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    Quote Originally Posted by swamidog View Post
    I am so not a fan of the low end modulation on lightspace projectors..

    If I were you, I’d buy an RGB module from OPT lasers and drop in the box.
    Sup homey,

    I know that when I was playing ADAT content a few years ago, when the red was on the very low side it would do this dotted pattern thing. I never noticed that with computer software so thought it might have something to do with those specific shows but always wondered if it had problems running really low outputs. Or maybe just a driver setup issue.

    Will see what Opt has for low divergence! Thanks for the tip on that!
    Modern and Retro laser show hobbyist
    Pangolin QM16, QM32, Beyond Adv, LSX, ADAT, FB3, FB4
    LS Pluto II x 2, custom build x 1
    http://lasershowwiki.757.org for my all encompassing laser show wiki.

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    Quote Originally Posted by telmnstr View Post
    I know that when I was playing ADAT content a few years ago, when the red was on the very low side it would do this dotted pattern thing.
    Hmmm. That sounds like a driver issue, not a problem with the diode. It's possible that you just need a new driver. Although if you did replace the driver, you'd have to guess at the current setting. Well, unless you have a power meter, that is. If you do have a meter, then you could hook up your driver and set the current very low to start. Then feed it a full 5 volts on the modulation input and measure where your power is. Keep upping the current until you get to around 600 mw of red. That should be about right for a Pluto II.

    The modules from OptLaser are quite affordable, but you are correct: they don't have the tight beam divergence that the Lightspace modules have. Although I have only played with their higher-power modules; I can't really speak to the divergence on their 2-4 watt units.

    I remember that Mike Muhler bought a few of the 4 watt all-in-one RGB modules from Goldenstar a few years ago and installed them in some home-built projectors he had. I thought the output looked pretty good when he brought one to SELEM in 2019, especially considering that he only paid like $500 (including shipping) for those modules back then. So that might be another option...

    Adam

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    Every lightspace projector I’ve ever used does the same thing… dots instead of a smooth fade to black. It’s pretty OK for beams, but it drives me nuts with graphics / abstracts.

    Quote Originally Posted by buffo View Post
    Hmmm. That sounds like a driver issue, not a problem with the diode. It's possible that you just need a new driver. Although if you did replace the driver, you'd have to guess at the current setting. Well, unless you have a power meter, that is. If you do have a meter, then you could hook up your driver and set the current very low to start. Then feed it a full 5 volts on the modulation input and measure where your power is. Keep upping the current until you get to around 600 mw of red. That should be about right for a Pluto II.

    The modules from OptLaser are quite affordable, but you are correct: they don't have the tight beam divergence that the Lightspace modules have. Although I have only played with their higher-power modules; I can't really speak to the divergence on their 2-4 watt units.

    I remember that Mike Muhler bought a few of the 4 watt all-in-one RGB modules from Goldenstar a few years ago and installed them in some home-built projectors he had. I thought the output looked pretty good when he brought one to SELEM in 2019, especially considering that he only paid like $500 (including shipping) for those modules back then. So that might be another option...

    Adam
    suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.

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