Afternoon all,
I've been around a while as a long time lurker - now I've got a few questions.
I like the idea of building myself a scanner, perhaps over the next 6 months. (It's all your fault Stanwax! I was more of a 'pointer' person before, but after popping round to Rob's place to pick a PBS up, I'm now hooked on the idea of making one after seeing all that kit!) - Don't get me started on that awesome Ar/Kr beast.
Anyway,
Unfortunately my budget will be poor, at best. (and as much as I'd like to, I can't blow that student budget on anything laser) However I'd like to build a quality system which I can upgrade along the way without replacing too much kit.
I'm thinking of an RGV, realistically speaking, as a 473nm unit is way out of my price bracket. (for now!)
I'd like to build everything I can to bring down the cost, and for the building fun! So I'll be making my own blu-ray and red modules, and the case etc.
I'd be looking at 2x 200mW 405nm diodes PBS'd together with a Flexdrive1 for analogue modulation. (Would I need one driver for each 200mW unit, or could I combine them somehow?)
More or less the same again with the Red 650's, I'll be rigging up 2x 250mW through another PBS. Both the blu-rays and the red diodes will be sat in separate heatsinks (so 4 in total), which I plan to custom build a nice copper and aluminium hybrid heatsink which I'll make on my CNC miller and my lathe.
I'm not 100% sure what to do with the green. I think I'm going to lean towards a 100mW or 200mW module - cheap and decent, if those two words go together. Looking around, the modules from lasershowparts.com seem a good choice, but I'm open for any other suggestions. Analogue modulation is a must, price is a huge factor.
What is the best advice for RGV colour balance? I know 473 is better than 405, but I hope to swap out the 405's a lot later down the line.
If really really needed to, I could throw in my 20mW SL 488nm argon, but I'm reluctant to, as due to it's size, low power, and logistically mounting it may increase the case size somewhat. And It has no modulation, just full on.
The lasers themselves aren't the biggest problem, it's the galvo's, DAC and software which I really need help on.
I'd rather not go for some audio card setup, but get a decent DAC I can plug into my PC and control from there. As it would cost more in the long run to keep upgrading.
Is the FB3 my best choice? If not, what others are good contenders?
What sort of price is the FB3 (UK £) and does it come with all the software I'll need to get going. Animations and Beamshows
Basically, could someone point me in the right direction for a piece of kit which can adequately handle the 2x 405's, 2x 650's and the 1x532 with a bit of head room for things in future. (Also I'd need to alter the colour balance of all the lasers in the software)
I think, from what I've read, the ScanPro20 Glavo's should do me for now. They should be capable of good beamshows and basic graphics right?
Any suggestions?
Apart from the lasers, mirrors, dichros, and PBS optics, galvo's and the DAC (e.g. FB3) is there anything critical missing? Besides power and a large case?
And am I right in thinking that the FB3 DAC rig works like this:
PC -> USB -> FB3 : To(Galvo,Red,Violet,Green drivers)
So I don't need to worry about the 25 pin ILDA connectors?
Sorry for all the questions, I'm sure you get it all the time, but if someone could let me know if I'm on the right track, and how to improve the plan before I go a spending.
Cheers,
Dan