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Thread: The RGB project officially begins...

  1. #11
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    Cool

    Quote Originally Posted by Stuka View Post
    FLEM 1.5 includes beer too, doesn't it?
    Is the pope catholic?

    Adam

  2. #12
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    Last I heard!!

    Any tentative "schedule of events" available for the FLEM 1.5 weekend?
    I think I have the missus interested in a vacation trip in that direction if I get back in time!
    RR

    Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
    1979.
    Sweet.....

  3. #13
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    Cool

    Tentative schedule is to start at 10:00 AM on Saturday, October 20th, and run until midnight, or later... Whenever we get tired and decide to pack everything up.

    I'll have some home-brewed beer to share again. We'll have 3 or 4 RGB projectors, and if Hayden can attend I'm going to force him to do a Live Pro tutorial. Might have a mini-discussion about CDRH variances too, if I can get that variance application software that Bill was talking about.

    Will have an 8-port N-way fast ethernet switch set up for file sharing (pics, videos, that sort of thing). I'll bring my Antari Z1200 fogger, which will take care of the whole room quite nicely. I'll also bring a load center so we'll have extra outlets. Might even bring the HGM 5 argon if I get everything hooked up by then. (No promises.)

    All this hinges on the availability of the room in Orlando. Will know for certain by Thursday, if not sooner.

    Adam

  4. #14
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    Awesome -

    I'm in the process of working accommodations now, so it looks like there's a strong possibility we'll be there if the travel from THIS side of the world works out!

    So, which of the theme parks in the area has the "must-see" laser show?
    RR

    Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
    1979.
    Sweet.....

  5. #15
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    Cool

    None of them, really. Epcot has one that they do at night when the place closes, but it's not that great. They do shoot fireworks though.

    As far as the best bang for your buck theme-park-wise, I'd say that Universal Studios and Universal Islands of Adventure are the two best. (Get a two day pass and jump between the two; they're adjacent.) Islands of adventure has 3 great coasters (Dueling dragons, which is a dual-track inverted coaster, and the Hulk) plus several other cool rides. The Studio side has several interesting (and fun) motion simulator rides, plus some other theater / display attractions that are great fun. If you get seasick or car sick, be sure to take dramamine before you go. Motion simulators will make you barf!

    Seaworld is also a surprisingly fun place, and they do have one really decent coaster. (The Kraken) The Atlantis ride is also cool, but tame by comparison... But where else can you feed dolphins, watch killer whales jump in the air, see sharks, and tone of other cool shit.

    MGM has one great coaster and one great thrill ride, but beyond that the rest of the attractions are like watching shows. Still a good buy though.

    Epcot is not nearly as impressive as it used to be. Still fun for the kids though. Wives also like it because of the tons of shopping available around the lake. (All the international exhibits...) I found it booring though.

    Magic kingdom is great for kids. Skip it if it's just you and your wife though.

    Wet and Wild is a decent water park, and there are tons of other mini-parks that you can stop at for things like go-carts, bungee jumping, free-fall simulators, and sky coasters.

    Adam

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Central Florida
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    Lightbulb

    I thought we had a city wide Orlando Tourist theme... Come to Orlando, try not to get robbed and killed... and hopfully make it home alive. A true survival ride...

  7. #17
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    Default

    Well, things change quickly in my business - it's looking like I'll probably be cutting the return trip just a little too close for comfort to make it to FLEM 1.5 - Bummer ! But, I'm sure I'll be able to arrange some laser-related road trips later in the fall!

    In the mean time, in addition to Pangolin, MaxyzModules and LaserVisuals, it looks like I'm getting ready to become a customer of Lasershow Parts, One Stop Laser, Edmund Optical, Newport Optical, Digikey, and Allied Electronics! Oh, and Radio Shack, for the aggravating odd component I forgot to order! Ka-ching $$$ !! I sure hope the missus doesn't figure out how much this hobby REALLY costs!

    Back on the original "project" topic -
    I've seen a couple of brief references to near and far-field alignment. Would anyone be willing to post 101-level information concerning galvo and optical component alignment tips for us newbies?

    Thanks, as always!
    Last edited by Stuka; 09-05-2007 at 06:21.
    RR

    Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
    1979.
    Sweet.....

  8. #18
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    Native Floridian
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    3,127

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stuka View Post
    Back on the original "project" topic -
    I've seen a couple of brief references to near and far-field alignment. Would anyone be willing to post 101-level information concerning galvo and optical component alignment tips for us newbies?
    I threw together a quick layout in MSPaint to show the difference between near-field and far-field alignment. Obviously, you want both to be in alignment so the images below are how you don't want it setup.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails align1.JPG  

    align2.JPG  


  9. #19
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    northern maine.
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Stuka View Post
    In the mean time, in addition to Pangolin, MaxyzModules and LaserVisuals, it looks like I'm getting ready to become a customer of Lasershow Parts, One Stop Laser, Edmund Optical, Newport Optical, Digikey, and Allied Electronics! Oh, and Radio Shack, for the aggravating odd component I forgot to order! Ka-ching $$$ !! I sure hope the missus doesn't figure out how much this hobby REALLY costs!

    i heartily endorse this use of defense dept.funds!

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stuka View Post
    I've seen a couple of brief references to near and far-field alignment. Would anyone be willing to post 101-level information concerning galvo and optical component alignment tips for us newbies?
    Briefly, near field alignment is where the beams meet on the dichros, while far field alignment is where the beams meet on the wall.

    EDIT: DZ's post shows this quite clearly! Thanks for the pics, David!

    Let's assume that your projector has the green laser furthest from the galvos (passing through 2 dichros), and the red is in the middle (bouncing off one dichro and passing through another), with the blue laser closest to the galvos and only bouncing off one dichro.

    The first step would be to mount the green laser so that the beam passes through both dichros and strikes the center of the first galvo mirror. Once you get the green laser positioned so that it's hitting the galvos square, you won't need to mess with it any more.

    Now move to the red laser. The beam from the red laser needs to intersect the beam from the green laser. It would be great if the red beam is in the same plane as the green beam, but chances are really good that it won't be. No matter though. So long as they intersect, you're OK. This means that at a minimum you will need to be able to raise and/or lower the height of the red laser. You really only need to be able to raise or lower the front though, because all you need to do is make sure they cross. (The red beam can be angled up or down relative to the green beam, so long as they intersect.)

    Now position the pass-green, reflect-red dichro at the exact position where the two beams intersect. Make sure the adjustments on the mount are more or less centered. Adjust the position of the mount until you can see the two beams intersecting at the face of the dichro, then secure the mount to the table.

    Now play with the adjustment screws on the mount for the reflect-red dichro until you get the red beam to overlap and merge with the green beam. They should both be hitting the galvos dead center.

    Finally, move to the blue laser. Once again, you need the blue beam to intersect the red and green beams (which should appear yellow now). Again, it would be great if all the beams were in the same plane, but it's not required. Just lift or lower the front of the blue laser until the blue intersects the red and green. Then position the reflect-blue dichro right at the point where the beams intersect. Look on the face of the dichro and make sure all three beams are hitting the same spot, then secure the mount.

    Now adjust the screws on the mount for the reflect-blue dichro until you get the blue beam to merge with the red and green beams.
    Ok - at this point if you were really careful with the placement of your dichro mounts you should be "close". Allow the beam to travel a long way away from the projector (40-50 feet is good, 100 feet is optimal) and look at the spot. What you want to see is a pure white spot with no fringes of color off to one side. (Fringes that run all the way around the spot, a halo if you will, are OK, since that just means one of your lasers has greater divergence.) If you see color off to one side of the spot, adjust the mount for that dichro until the fringe disappears and you have just the white spot.

    Once you get it perfect, check it again at shorter distances to be sure it's consistent. You should have the same white spot at a foot away from the galvos as you do at 100 ft. (Of course, the spot will be larger when it's 100 ft away.) If you see that up close, you have fringes showing, then it's time to tweak the position of the dichros again and/or adjust the height of the lasers to make certain the beams are crossing. But remember that every time you adjust the lasers or the position of the dichro mounts, you have to go back and tweak the far field alignment again.

    If you're lucky, you'll only have to go through the entire process once or twice in order to get it right. After that, you just need to tweak the far field alignment once in a while to compensate for things getting knocked around while transporting your projector.

    Adam

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