alphalite dac problem

[Laserlee]

Hi Guys

can anyone help me with this, i have an alphalite dac and software but cant seem the get it all working. i have tried numourous combinations of the wiring into my scanner amp.

this is my 1st attempt at an ilda compatable unit
my unit is only basic but cant get any joy
i have laserpic 10k scanners and an laserworld 250mw grn laser
i can get it to work from the dmx player board but when i disconect that i cant get the thing to work.

can anyonw help me with the wiing from the dac
the instructions say pins are the following
1 x+
2 y+
3 intensity (help!! what is this? do i ned to connect it anywhere)
4 connects to pin 17 (is this on the db25)
5 red
6 grn
7 blu
13 shutter (again what is this?)
14 x-
15 y-
17 as above connected to pin 4
18 red -
19 grn -
20 blu -
25 ground

on the scanner i have only x & y and ground inputs

i have connected the x&y+ to the input on the scanner amp and the 25 to the ground on the scanner amp i have tried connecting the ttl of the laser to pins 6 and 19 as im only using 1 grn laser.

any advise would be great as im about to thro the whole thing outta the window !!!!

[badger1666]

are the galvos working but not the laser with the way you have it wired?
connect you laser ttl to pin 6 and pin 25 or pin 3 and pin 25 they are both good for blanking, dont use pin 19 i take it the software is running ok and you have to make sure your printer port is running in the right mode or nothing works i think it ecp mode but try the other modes
depending on your pc you might have to go into the bios to change it
give rick at laser illusions a shout he will let you know he helped me loads
dont connect pin 4 to pin 17
regards
chris

[Laserlee]

Hi
Thanks for your quick response, every thing is turned on but cant get the test software to display anything.

1 thing you have said is "is the printer port setup right" how would i do this, as all i did was plug the lead into the port and dac connected the scanner and all is projected is a dot on the wall

so how do i check the printer port is configured properly.

i have been talking to rick over the last couple of weeks but we never said abount the port.

Lee

[DZ]

Lee, does the alphalite you have plug into the printer port on your pc or is it a PCI card?

[Laserlee]

Hi DZ

It plugs into the printerport

[DZ]

Ok, hrm. So you currently have the X amp hooked up to pin 1 and 25, the Y amp hooked up to pin 2 and 25, and the laser hooked up to 3 and 25? And all you get is a green dot? How about when you are not trying to display anything with the software, do you still get a green dot (in other words, is it ever blanked)?

Double check the cables going to the amps, if they are correct, then it sounds like a config issue on the pc. The parallel port can be configured in bios, either F1 or delete key on the keyboard just after you power it on. Also, I think there is a setting in the software, I think you might want to make sure its set to LPT1. I haven't messed with Alphalite in years so I don't remember for sure.

[Laserlee]

Right guys

Connected pins 1 & 2 to x & y + and pins 6 to the + on the ttl and pin 25 to - on ttl and ground on the x y input
is this correct ?
run the tester program and i get a dim dot on the wall so it looks like nothing is getting outputted.

im totally lost

[DZ]

Well, if your laser is going from no output to outputting a dim green dot on the wall when you run the test program, that means it seems to be communicating to the DAC to some degree. Also, if your running just a single color, green, then you would want to use the intensity line, pin 3. That way when displaying something in any color other than green in the software, you will still have output from the scan head. You might want to double check you don't have pin 25 attached to the + input on both amp and pins 1 and 2 attached to ground on both amps. Its a simple mistake that I've made before. Can you post upclose pics of the setup? Where are you located?

[stanwax]

Lee the other thing to check on alphalite is the output levels. There is a menu item that lets you change the levels and I know there was at least 1 version in the past that if you ran the scanner speed calibration doofa when it finished it left the scanner outputs at zero - which is a problem. i remember thinking id killed mine!

Hope it helps but as badger says Rick is normally very helpful

Rob

[Laserlee]

hi DZ

i have changed the printer port to ecp or somthing like that now i seem when running the prog i get sqiggle and movement as it playing an animation.

by the way im in london