
Originally Posted by
glassLaser
Indeed, it is a laser show, quite rich also. I will try with more basic repetative patterns. Thank you.
You're very welcome. I enjoy sharing my experiences and suggestions with others. With your OTC crystal, I would start with a simple circle and play with the vertical and horizontal sizes to enable manual control the lumia shapes, and modulate the colors.
If LaserShowGen is capable of creating square or pulse width waveforms, to mix/sum with the previously mentioned circle, then you can double the lumia effects along either axis and/or quadruple a beam by applying it on both axis. This will also overlay similar lumia clouds.
You can also slow down the square wave's frequency to jump lumia to the beat or strobe the effect.
It is also quite interesting how the colors are mixed. It is a DPSS laser projector with full analog modulation, i think a very good color gamut and it is represented very artisticly through the crystal structure.
Yes, a very slow sinusoidal RGB color modulation signal works great.
If you synchronize color changes with the square wave frequencies, then you can have different colored overlaid lumia.
Now, you're in control to be more creative.
This one crystal is very good for lumia effects, I think.
A motorized base to rotate the crystal would be a great addition to create random flowing motion to your lumia effects.
Doesn't need to be anything elaborate. A small geared 5VDC motor can be powered via a powered USB hub. Doesn't get much less expensive than these on Amazon, plus they're Arduino compatible to make their speeds programmable.
A large RC gear connected to the shaft provides a simple turntable base. The slower the gear ratio, the better for torque and to allow the eyes to savor the lumia effects. A potentiometer can be added for variable speed control. Great to be able to slowly accelerate from a static lumia background to more aggressive movement. The key for good 'shows' is the ability to milk as many variations out of a single effect as possible to keep it interesting, while maintaining continuity for viewers to easily follow the progression from simplicity to a complex climax.
I would expect, the whole assembly, inside a box would cost less than 30 euros. Great bang for the buck!
I suggest mounting the motor as close as possible to one side of the box so that vertical scan through lumia wheels, like the textured shower glass one Greg has pictured can be another option. 2 4 1 doubles the value.
Clickamouse has a great How To thread for making torture tubes, which are commonly used inside lumia projectors. These give you custom control on what the lumia effect will look like and save money on purchasing OTC crystals. Here's another lumia thread with all of the details for sourcing bits.
TBH, while focusing on developing the T4 Laser Synth, I haven't had the time to build my lumia projector, yet. But, I've been considering my numerous options for a few years. For sure, I'll repurpose those 2 original el cheapo Ali Express RGB diode modules, with analogue drivers. Beam quality isn't crucial.
I've already provided 12VDC to power the T4 LS with an external brick, which can be split to power lumia motors and diode drivers inside a lumia projector. A buck convertor inside the lumia projector can provide 5VDC power to solenoid activated mirrors to redirect the beam(s) to the various lumia devices. The T4 LS also provides an I2C bus to control all of their drivers' signals. It also provides -/+ differential aux X/Y galvo outputs; 2 projectors controlled by a single T4 LS.
The previously suggested variable speed turntable/lumia wheel motor would provide you with the ability to test and select your preferred assortment of lumia devices. A second lumia projector frees up your imaging projector to scan dancing imagery on top of the lumia backgrounds, plus allows you to easily redirect beams to different lumia backgrounds.
Then, you'll have yourself a proper laser show system, as Laserist suggested.
Food for thought... a large enough serving to chew on for a while, I reckon.
BR
Roj
Last edited by TheHermit; 09-16-2025 at 09:23.
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