FB3 and Bundled Software

[Mr.Coffee]

has anyone had issues with the fb3 dropping out randomly? I've noticed this more in show rider, but that is only because I've started to use it more and live quick less. At first I thought it was voltage related (The fb3 was only getting 4.6 volts because I had some huge-ass polarity protection diodes across the psu). but I took that out and have not seen an improvement.
also, sometimes it takes a minute or two to un-mount when I unplug the device, though it usually mounts up very quickly upon connection/power on.

I've also noticed (While running the fb3 as a dongle, ie: not connected to my scanner), that the red led that flashes to indicate laser emission stops after a couple minutes of run time in show rider. the software does not seem to notice this, but the frame rate does rise from around 50fps to 80 fps. I have not connected my scanner up to verify if this also correlates with a dropout in laser emission,but I feel that it most likely does.

I would also like to note that I am *so* not a senior member, I've barely scratched the surface of this hobby!

[Pangolin]

Hi Coffee,

4.6 volts is a bit low. But what we don't know, is "the rest of the story". For example, if you see 4.6 volts with a volt meter, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is a constant 4.6 volts -- just that this is the average voltage. There could be spikes down to a much lower voltage, and the FB3 does have a "brown-out" detector.

How about if you see if you can get a better power supply on this. It will run all the way up to 6V with no problem. You could, for example, put four AA batteries in series and run the FB3 with no problem, since it only consumes 100 to 300mA.

Bill

[Mr.Coffee]

yeah, the supply in question is a little wall wart from a cell phone, so I have no idea how regulated it is. one thing of note, with the diodes removed, it kicks out 5.1 volts at no load. I didn't meter it with the fb3 connected, so I'll try that. though I like the bus powered option, I've got too much stuff running from this lap top already (usb hard drive and a hub hard wired into the computer).

one thing of note, I plugged the fb3 into a different port on my laptop, and it went through the install process again. Since then it has been more stable, but still drops every once in awhile. The system is stable enough for now, but when I get back stateside I plan to tackle the issue with renewed vigor (now I just have to figure out how to get my projector back into the states).

Edit:

So I threw together a battery pack, and the fb3 still drops. unloaded pack voltage is 6.2v, loaded is 5.3v. I'm going to try a new usb cable, perhaps it has a short. I may also take out the usb hub that I hard-wired into my computer (im coming out of a separate native port, not the hub). As a side note, my laser looks brighter. this was sort of a Eureka! moment for me, as i guess it means that the blanking voltage is higher, but It seems to be kicking out more light.

Edit, the second:

After a few minutes of running the show on the battery pack, the image got shakey. at first I thought "That's a damn cool-looking effect", but when I checked the preview, I saw that the laser wasn't supposed to be doing that. I checked the test pattern, and sure enough, it was waving diagionally from top left to bottom right. I switched back to the wall wart and the problem is fixed, so I'm guessing that perhaps the voltage was too high? it sounds like the flashback is fairly picky about the voltage it wants, ie: fairly clean 5-6vdc with fairly low tolerance. I think when I get back to the states I'll throw a regulator in the box, hopefully that will smooth out the kinks.

Edit the billionth:

one of the fortunate things about being a mic tech is that you have a ton of batteries of varying voltages, so I split the difference of the above voltages and built a pack that kicked in at 5.6v unloaded. this seems to be working much better, the fb3 hasn't dropped yet, and the image is not shaky. I'm going to run a test and see what happens, ie: if the fb3 drops again and for what reason. I *Really* don't want to pull out the hub I soldered to my motherboard, but that is an option. I figure it this way: $5 usb hub vs $2k laser projector.

Edit: the last (I hope)

So I ran the set up on batteries for quite awhile, and it seemed to be doing much better. I ran shows on the SR Player back to back to get a constant output. when the system crashed (I am assuming to low voltage), I got the following error (the second error I got after restarting show rider and trying to play a show again):

Unknown internal error: access violation at address 00402ae9 in module 'shrider.exe'. write of address 0bb0f02c Please contact LAStudio
.

Unknown Internal error: Invalid pointer operation. Please contact LAStudio

Voltage on the pack at time of drop was 4.5-4.6 volts (powering fb3, but not lasing, possibly not enumerated by bus). I replaced batteries in the pack until I had a voltage of 5.6v (4.9v lasing)

So it would appear that you are correct, BB, I need to get a sturdy supply for this thing. I do have one question: will it hurt for the fb3 to drop due to it's "Brown out" detector? I have enough batteries that I can use this as is, and just pick up the supply I need when I get stateside. I'm thinking of putting a lm7805 in the case with some current-protection diodes and feeding that 12v.

this thing cost enough that I don't want to risk loosing it on a crappy wall wart. Honestly I figured it was like some of the older electronics that I've had, where they'll basically play nice on anything from 3 to 12v dc.


on a side note, since I'm running single-color, I wired my blanking connector to the intensity signals (+ and - to be exact, not to plus and ground). the laser blanks quite well, but I have no control over brightness from the sliders in the programs, If I were to set the projector settings to "single color" and come out of the green blanking, would I get control over brightness?

[Pitopito]

....As a side note, my laser looks brighter. this was sort of a Eureka! moment for me, as i guess it means that the blanking voltage is higher, but It seems to be kicking out more light....

Have you tried to isolate (electrically) the body of your laser from the rest of the chassis? It remindes me some problems I got with a cheap green I used to play with. As soon as the head was not in touch with anything else, all blanking and galvo driving got perfect.

[Mr.Coffee]

I'm running a laserwave 100mw blue, and while I don't think this has been a reported issue with laserwave, I could give it a shot. my only thing is this: while haven't tested it, I would assume the laser head to be grounded to the driver and psu of the laser. my plate is also grounded, via the two psu's (which are mounted to said plate). if I were to isolate the "laser body" from the ground, I would have to isolate the head, driver and psu, is that correct? or does the laser head not share a ground with its driver and psu? I'm out of the theatre tommorrow, but when I return on tuesday I'll throw a meter across the various components to see what's what.

[Pitopito]

I'm running a laserwave 100mw blue, and while I don't think this has been a reported issue with laserwave, I could give it a shot. my only thing is this: while haven't tested it, I would assume the laser head to be grounded to the driver and psu of the laser. my plate is also grounded, via the two psu's (which are mounted to said plate). if I were to isolate the "laser body" from the ground, I would have to isolate the head, driver and psu, is that correct? or does the laser head not share a ground with its driver and psu? I'm out of the theatre tommorrow, but when I return on tuesday I'll throw a meter across the various components to see what's what.

Well, in my case, only the head was the problem. To my surprise, it was not the ground of the laser, but "something" near the + .
Psu and driver, instead, must be grounded.