What are these for?

[laserLips]

Hi, got me scanners which came with bits I understand but two of the bits I have no idea what they are. I think one may be a PSU but I dont have anwhere in teh case where it will be visible to the outside world....

PIC1---------------------------------------




And PIC2-----------------------------------------------------------------

The board in PIC2 has two knobs which I can turn, I guess they might be for X and Y Gain?



The scanners have come in seperate bits so I need to assemble them, when putting them in to the holes, how do I know how to rotate them so that they are at 0 , 0 if you know what I mean?

I wish they came with instructions for projector Virgins...



EDIT:::::::::::::::

The thing in the first pic looks liek it shoudl be visible to the outside fo the projector, but there is nowhere for it to go, does it matter if I cant see it, regarding that it has the switcheable pins and screen output...
Tar

Graham

[andy_con]

its a dmx, preloaded with lots of shows

[laserLips]

Oh right. Thanks, I remember the description saying somthign about that now... Andy do you know how to wires these up....I've been scanning your site for more indepth pictures.

I just recived the FB3 Evaluation kit with a daughter DMX board. Will these things clash? I know the DMX board in the pics (lasershowparts.com) will go inside and the FB3 will stay outside but how do these things work.

I bought some DMX connectors but they are completely solo, just the connecotrs, no wires or even screws...
Graham

[buffo]

The LED board in the upper picture is designed to be connected to the bottom board, which is a mini-controller. The upper board is a numeric display that will show the DMX address of the bottom board. If you want to know the address of the controller, you need to mount the LED board so you can see it. (The switches beneath the LEDs control the addressing of the controller.)

The bottom board (the controller) is a stand-alone controller that comes pre-loaded with a few ILDA frames. You can trigger the frames via DMX. If you already have a laser show controller (Pangolin FB3, EasyLase USB, Moncha DAC, X-29, etc) then you won't use this mini-controller - you'll use the controller that you already have.

But if you *don't* have a controller, then you can wire the output from this DMX mini-controller to your scanner amps and then use the mini-controller to run some very simple laser shows. Of course, you still need a way to send DMX control signals to the board, but any DMX lighting board can do that.

The mini-controller is included with the galvos for those people that might want to build a simple laser show device that can be connected to a lighting panel in a nightclub and controlled remotely via DMX. DMX is very popular in stage and nightclub lighting circles, so it makes sense to support DMX for your laser show projector - especially if you don't plan on doing anything other than beamshows.

But DMX is very limited, and the mini-controller only has a few stock frames built-in. If you want to do choreographed laser shows to music, then you need to forget about the DMX mini-controller and instead connect your scanners to a computer-controlled DAC like the Flachback 3, or the Easylase USB, or one of the other controllers that interface with software on a computer to run a show.

Adam

EDIT: Just noticed your post where you said you have the FB3. OK then - you won't need either one of the two boards in the pictures you posted. You'll be using your FB3 to talk to the scanner amps.

[laserLips]

What do the knobs do on teh DMX board?

EDIT

Ok cool..... less me for to worry about :0)

[buffo]

I believe they control the gain (size) of the X and Y.

Adam

[JimBo]

One of the 'knobs' is for volume sensitivity.
The board will allow the inbuilt shows to run to music.
Jim

[Stuka]

Just to add my 10 cents worth -

If you want to tinker with DMX control of your FB3, as I am, you might want to check around on E-bay for basic stand-alone DMX controllers. You can find some bargains, and could probably get a controller for as little as $100. You'll need at least a 16-channel controller to control all the functions on the FB3. Some of the name brands for DMX gear (controllers, lights, etc.) include American DJ, Chauvet, Elation, etc.

Check out the documentation for using the DMX daughterboard-equipped FB3 - it's very versatile, as long as you're willing to stick with the pre-loaded graphics cues on the FB3 board (as much as 9 pages of up to 48 cues each, so that's probably enough to keep most people busy!) You would use a DMX controller INSTEAD of your computer to control the FB3, and would wind up having the same basic control functions found in the LiveQuick software. This would give you a "stand-alone", no-computer required control setup, with the advantage that the DMX controller you use for the FB3 could also be used to control DMX-equipped lights, fog machines, etc. Another advantage is the FB3 could be controlled by ANY standard DMX controller from ANY company - all you would have to do is flip the DIP switches on either the controller or the FB3 so the starting addresses match. You could potentially "club hop" with your FB3-equipped laser projector, and as long as the venue had a DMX controller you would be in business! (caveat - there are legalities & safety concerns you would have to consider, but from a controller standpoint, it's that easy!)

The big disadvantage to DMX-only control is you would not have any "on screen" preview of the cue you're getting ready to send to the scanners - move the control for the DMX channels that control the page and cue select, and the projected image would instantly change. The same applies to image size, color, intensity, screen position, etc. - it all happens "real time", as soon as you move the related knob or slider on the DMX controller. Most DMX controllers have "scenes" or "programs" where you can store and recall specific preset knob or slider positions at the push of a button, and even link several together for automated "chase" sequences.

DMX is really geared towards the DJ / club scene, but I can see some possibilities for "home entertainment" situations. I've done a lot of DMX Internet research over the last several months, and would be glad to share any info I've found - feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

Randy