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Thread: What's Next

  1. #1
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    Default What's Next

    I no longer build projectors. The ones I have are fine for messing around with. The purpose for building projectors was to fill the need for high quality that could only be purchased for much greater cost than the components which were needed. There seems to be little interest in construction now that decent Chinese projectors are available. Some of us are pursuing lasers for purposes other than display, but only a few. Meanwhile, there has been some interest in Tesla coils and in drones. So, I came across this, take a look.

    http://www.defenseone.com/technology...e-2017/121583/


    I'm not suggesting a new method for home defense, but building EXTREMELY light and efficient laser modules and even projectors would be an interesting challenge. This is not something that you can buy. Alternatively, building drones with large and slow rotors that lift a lot and stay aloft for log periods (the entire show) rather than zipping around like a hornet would be a new challenge as well.




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    Perhaps a nice stereo is in order?

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    Cool VR might be an option

    Quote Originally Posted by daction View Post
    Perhaps a nice stereo is in order?
    Looking for a new hobby that will be slightly cheaper than ILDA lasers.

    Virtual reality check out oculus or the vive, there is a lot of innovation happening in this space

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    i feel like i've done the right of passage projector build (you've certainly excelled at it) and can concentrate for a while on making beautiful light.

    i still have quite a lot of laser projects to build and the low power single mode diode builds we've been doing are better quality than anything i've seen come out of china. some very high projectors would be fun, but i mostly just program shows in my living room and half a watt is more than sufficient.

    Quote Originally Posted by planters View Post
    I no longer build projectors. The ones I have are fine for messing around with. The purpose for building projectors was to fill the need for high quality that could only be purchased for much greater cost than the components which were needed. There seems to be little interest in construction now that decent Chinese projectors are available. Some of us are pursuing lasers for purposes other than display, but only a few. Meanwhile, there has been some interest in Tesla coils and in drones. So, I came across this, take a look.

    http://www.defenseone.com/technology...e-2017/121583/


    I'm not suggesting a new method for home defense, but building EXTREMELY light and efficient laser modules and even projectors would be an interesting challenge. This is not something that you can buy. Alternatively, building drones with large and slow rotors that lift a lot and stay aloft for log periods (the entire show) rather than zipping around like a hornet would be a new challenge as well.



    suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.

  5. #5
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    Looking for a new hobby that will be slightly cheaper than ILDA lasers.
    There are robots and AI. Very hard, but interesting.

    Virtual reality is more accessible. My son used to sell the Oculus systems and we played around with them. I was more interested in improving the optical performance by adding corrections for the visual limitations of the user. Diving masks have incorporated corrective prescriptions for decades. The eye relief with the first releases of the head set was poor as well. The software component is the bottleneck.
    Until there is as financially viable number of virtual reality installations out there the support will be slow or un-standardized. But, so what. I was impressed with the simple effect generated by placing voice coil shakers on the chair that the gamer sits on. Adding other simple effects without needing to go so far as floating in warm jelly can get you a lot of return.

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    Quote Originally Posted by zerowaitstate View Post
    Looking for a new hobby that will be slightly cheaper than ILDA lasers.

    Virtual reality check out oculus or the vive, there is a lot of innovation happening in this space
    there is but sadly the amount of adopters despite the wide media hype about it is still quite scarce..
    especially since a final product hasn't released yet.

    If you do want to roll with it.. go for Steam VR instead.. their display has a higher resolution then the stated final for the oculus and has a better way of tracking the head with just like the oculus no low framerates or tearing that cause headaches.
    http://store.steampowered.com/universe/vr

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    Restore a car. It's quite rewarding.

  8. #8
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    Restore a car. It's quite rewarding.
    I used to build boats, but the seasonal discomfort of working in the hottest and coldest months is a drag. Hobbies that are indoors lets you fill in the gaps when the weather is too rough outside.

  9. #9
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    Is the question what's next for laser projectors or what is the next big hobby?

    In regards to laser projectors, yes one can just buy one cheaper that building one from scratch. However, what's the fun in that? What is more important for me is the learning experience.

    As for the next big hobby, I have recently been engaged in building quadcopters and finding that it is a very complex "hobby." Frame size, motor, flight controller, battery sizing, autonomous flight, radio control, first person view, data telemetry are all of the parameter involved with this vehicle. However, I think one needs the have a innate desire to fly to spend the time and money building and flying quadcopters.

  10. #10
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    Is the question what's next for laser projectors or what is the next big hobby?
    The answer is as you note it, either or both. The laser projector is a lot like the craze with overclocking comps. When the highest performance systems had to be tricked out, you would source the best components and integrate them. Also, as with hot rodding, the builder sources components and the art and fun is in the integrating. No one fabricates their own CPUs or diode lasers or mills their own turbos. Now, with laptops that are essentially "potted" and projectors that have become a commodity, the work becomes less rewarding, still rewarding, but less so.

    Drones follow the same pattern. Components that are selected and then integrated. They are moving from nerdy, novelty to off the shelf availability. The reason I posted the link is that to remain interesting, the hobby has to move ahead of this wave to do what you can't simply buy. You want what can only be had by understanding the systems and this in turn allows you to modify these systems for unusual applications such as an outdoor display from the sky.

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