Advice for a newbie please

[laser-guy]

Hi i am new to Lasers and Projectors but want to build my own Projector, then maybe do a RGB one. I have a 100mw Green Laser module. I wonder if anyone here can answer my questions?

First off, can anyone tell me what a good DAC would be? I have seen Easylase USB which looks quite popular.

I want to have Galvos that are tuned to at least 30k, what are the best ones to get?

And i cant understand blanking, does it mean that the Laser module's are wired to the DAC and through the software it will turn it on and off when it needs to switch or mix colours?

And if i wanted to build a RGB Projector, could i have 100mw Green, 100mw Red and 100mw Blue. Or do the colours have to vary in terms or mw?

[allthatwhichis]

Welcome...

I can answer those fairly quickly... For a hobbiest...

DAC - Pangolin LD2000 Intro

Scanners - DT40 Pros

Blanking - Yes, you do understand, TTL is on or off only, Analog is variable 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 volts that gradually increases or decreases the power of the laser

Powers - As your eyes have different sesitivites to different colors, you will want different powers for each color. A generic color balance ratio is 1(green):2(blue):6(red) This "balance", in my opinion, would be for a 532 green:473 blue:660 red. There are many color balance opinions and it is all about what looks best to you. My Kvant is 300mW green (532):500mW blue (445):250mW red (640) and I think I get a real good white; so it is all about what you like.

[Steve Milani]

Hey Aaron...
Tell him how much he have to spend also...
Setup you're suggesting him is not properly for... newbie
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
That poor guy is starting with only 100mw of green...

Something cheaper?
(example: 100mw green, 100mw blue @473, ~300mw red 650, DT25, Pango FB3...)

[edison]

Hi there laser-guy nice to have you here at the forum. It depends al little bit what you want to spend.
But if you start with a 100mw green i think the best dac to start is the FB3 if you look at quality and price. The software that comes with it has a lot a futures but the support from pangolin is less then when you buy Pangolin intro. If you want something users friendly try moncha or fiesta thats my opinion.

Probably the best scannerkit moneywise is the DT-40. If you need parts contact Stanwax her at PL for dichro,s and lasers he can help you a lot with parts etc and has fair prices I think he also sells the DT-40. If you want to buy a color correction board try DZ at PL. The board matches the rise and fall times because when you are blanking the lasers one is faster the another. DZ can explain everything to you.

Tocket here at PL is the colorguy he can tell you everything about matching the lasers to get a nice white light

[Pitts]

Hi welcome aboard,

You have just joined one of the most open forums around and help is available by the bucket load.

Before you get too excited and start ordering things it is a good idea to spend time, a lot of time that is looking at past posts.

I have lost count on how many times your exact question has been asked, I have also lost count of the different answers, all well meaning.
Like any forum some advice is very sound and some, well, not so much.

Use the search feature here on PL and hunt down the details you need to know, its all here for the want of a little looking. This forum goes back some years now.

One of the regular mentors here is Buffo (Adam) and you can pretty well rely on his advice. He is very patient with new guys and puts in heaps of time to help newbies. Do a search on Buffo's posts and many of your questions will be answered already.
There are many others will great experience.
There are also many professionals on here most of whom are only too happy to share with you.

Look at the "seniority" status.. eg junior member, senior member etc. Now this is not a guarantee of knowledge.... you could have posted a thousand questions and still look pretty good on this basis. Also some pro's don't post much so are "junior members" but in real life they are the guns.

So have a search around and if confused just post your questions on here, by the way us laser guys love pictures.... of anything . Cats , dogs, underwear, spandex, oh! and lasers..

Once again welcome and hope you enjoy your time at PL.

Cheers

Ray
New Zealand