Inetresting idea maybe

[keeperx]

ok here is as far as i have gotten..
This
http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-CLD-V240...|39:1|240:1318

has this in it...
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/geog/gess...xy-pioneer.jpg

[mixedgas]

More importantly it has a waveplate in it and a combining cube, if its like very other laser disk player I've seen

Steve Roberts

[Laser Ben]

Steve is correct, there is a goldmine of parts in these if you get a HeNe one. Those electromagnet mirrors have been used by people before. If I recall, you can hook they directly up to a audio output and get cool patterns.

[Banthai]

but word of warning the mirrors are coated to reflect 632nm only so wont work with other wavelengths

all the best ... Karl

[James Lehman]

I guess it's good to know that some parts of those things won't all make it to the land fill!

We paid $600 for a Laser Disk player and then about 6 months later DVD came out!

Oh well. It's still a really neat technology and the 12" Laser Disks look really pretty!

James.

[keeperx]

i was thinking of scanning with them.. its an xy scanner but im looking for more info in them..
new mirrors could be added.. what kind of speed are we talking here?

[mixedgas]

Ok when I was a kid, I used them, they have no feedback, no linearity and are a toy to hook to your stereo.

Ok for static beams, a few small moving effects, but not for logos etc

The feedback for them was the CD optical systems tracking loop, and they max out at about 120 hz.

if you unglue the mirror, you destroy the scanner........

Steve

[buffo]

I bought a set of those galvos off e-bay about 10 years ago for something like $50. (ouch!) They're OK for lissajous patterns, but that's about it. Standard open-loop galvos, nothing more. And yeah, they're rather slow - at least compared to what most of us are running these days. Figure around 4Kpps equivalent.

I never did very much with mine, but the plan was always to build a variable frequency signal generator and play around with abstracts. Steve is right, you can drive them with any standard audio amp. I've done it.

I've seen a few pictures of them in action from other folks that bought them, and the pics didn't look all that bad. You really don't need fast scanners to do basic lissajous patterns, and open loop scanners can sometimes give superior results...

Adam

[keeperx]

yeah.. i was thinking of the same thing.. just an extra set of scanners connected to a a analog abstract box

[buffo]

Well, if you've got the urge to tinker with electronics, an adjustable frequency function generator is fairly easy to put together. Add an adjustable phase delay and an audio amp and you've got yourself a basic lissajous box. Mix in the output from a second (or third!) function generator and you'll get much more complex patterns out of it.

I actually bought two of the old MWK lissajous units back in the day, and spent untold hours experimenting with it. I still have one (it's out on loan right now). A good lissajous box is a time-sink, that's for sure!

Adam