24seven Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 I am currently working on a project where we would like to use some lasers with a band but I am having some trouble with relating the M/W power of the lasers to how powerful that is . Is is proposed that the lasers will be used in medium to large venues for example the Carling academy sized venue mixed in with some moving lights. . . . . . .I have a feeling the lasers will be used on there own in reality Before I get lots of messages I am aware of the dangers etc the whole project is going to be risk assessed this is why I am asking this question Mark W-E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james jag Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 depending on the room size eg how wide and long, but I would say that you should be looking for 1watt to 3watts green laser, or if you want a colour laser then from 1.5watts to 5 watts, if you would like more help my bussiness partner runs a laser hire company, im shure he would be more than happy to help you out, pm me if you need anything further :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamtastic3 Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Most of the time you can tell how powerful a laser is by it's class. The class also acts as good guideline for how to use the laser in the situation. So you might need this to help you: http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/laser_classification.html I'd say a laser which is around 5mW is your cheap 'laser crab' kind of laser - mostly class 1 and does no expure damage. A laser in the region of around 40mW is fairly powerful but exposure is not serious - usually class 3R lasers. Anything after 70mW can be a danger, especially when the eyes are exposed to the laser for more than a couple of seconds. Classed lasers of 3B and 4 are used in a way that they don't usually point into crowds or peoples eyes... correct me if I'm wrong ppl! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 Heard one rule of thumb being 1mW per punter, so for for 1000+ room would really want at least a watt+. Guess it also depends if your wanting mainly beam show or projected animations, animation looks better in more than one colour but beam shows just want to be bright. Have a read at: http://www.laserfx.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave singleton Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 I'm sooo not convinced by this 1mw per person thing. Its like the genious who invented 1w per person for sound! :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 I'm sooo not convinced by this 1mw per person thing. Its like the genious who invented 1w per person for sound! :unsure: Its a very, very, rough illustration and would agree that its liable to some misinterpretation.... Dosen`t take into account a variety of factors but does help draw a line between a vague washing line of light flailing around and a spectacular solid beam cutting the air. DPSS green at 532nM is the visibly brightest laser available, peak of eyes sensitivity is at 555nM so DPSS/Solid State/Diode green is brightest apparent colour for watts in. Argon ion`s brightest line is at 514nM which is green but dosen`t appear as bright to human eye, so watt for watt a DPSS will appear brighter. Beam quality is also a factor , a well collimated beam will appear brighter than one with higher divergence even if the power is the same. Total power of laser can be added up more than one way, a 1W whitelight may be 300mW odd of each of RGB where a 1W DPSS green will be 1W of green but with what beam quality...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDODD Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I'd start with 1.5W DPSS green (as these are the easiest to get hold of) and move upwards from there... Size of venue? (and ceiling height if you know...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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