back stage man Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I am a small dj company that also does light design does anyone know of any cheep but powerful lazers and whear to buy them?mike ps. a web sight please and I googled it and it came up nothing that fit this dicription! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I am a small dj company that also does light design does anyone know of any cheep but powerful lazers and whear to buy them?mike ps.in the u.s or a web sight please!There aren't many US based members here, so your appeal may fall on many deaf ears.However, if Googling you might want to use the right name - which is LASER not LAZER Oh - and be aware that there are safety rules governing the use of lasers over a certain power - I'm sure the US won't be any different (I hope, anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossmck Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Laser not laser and also cheap, where and site. SPaG will get you a long way here ... as will a google search. However cheap rarely equals powerful and still safe in the laser world. If it's cheap and powerful it's likely to be questionable on the safety front. If it's powerful and still safe and well built it's unlikely to be cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norty303 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 In the US, you may not use a laser unless you have a variance for both the hardware, and the show you wish to produce with it. Equally, you may not crowd scan if it is over 5mW. Bottom line, if you buy a cheap laser in the US, it WILL be illegal, both for the person selling it to you, and you as the operator on a gig. Ynot - If you think Europe has it bad on the legal front, you ain't seen nothing yet! :) Join up to Photonlexicon.com/forums and ask questions there - there are a lot of US laserists there who can point you in the direction of a legal projector, but I fear its not going to be what you want to hear. Check out a company called X-laser who produce about the most cost effective varianced lasers in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 From what I have heard, it is almost impossible to get Lasers cheap and powerful in the US. Because of the laws limiting the power of the diode, and your Variance licence (or something to that effect). Cheap Lasers are available on eBay, but they will be illegal, and if the package is stopped by customs, you will lose the item and there is a high change of a large fine. (I bring in a lot of equipment from China, and almost all of it has evidence of opening.) Also would it hurt for you to use a spell checker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Moderation: Topic title fixed to enable searches to find it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seedage Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Just on a general note regarding 'cheap' laser systems available on Ebay (as I think it would help people searching this topic in general) Working with higher powered lasers, I had a little idea to buy a cheap (£300) laser system off Ebay from a reputable dealer, with a brand name, with the sole intention of ripping out the diode and mounting for setting up beam tables back in the warehouse (where water is an issue!) Just as a measure of safety, I measured the output of the beam, compared to the specs, and whacked them through the calculator to figure out the safe distances of the unit. What I found shocked me. On a 300mW system, the beam measured at 600mW. That in itself can be considered a bonus, but considering that the majority of people who purchase these systems use them in mobile discos with no real knowledge of laser safety, double the output has massive implications (particularly crowd scanning wise). Taking the rest of the parameters of the system, and assuming a worst case scenario, I got a safe distance to scan at over 60m from source to target. Whilst the unit I had has a rudimentary scan fail detection (which I tested based on purposely overdriving the scanners) at £300 purchase price, I wouldnt trust it, and considering most of the target market would be using DMX desks to control rather than a proper laser controller with inbuilt safety parameters, there is no guarentee that the presence of the SFD device onboard would stop an unsafe situation occurring. Considering most mobile DJ's would be working in rooms less than 20m x 20m, there is obviously a massive issue with safety. Even at the rated 300mW the figures dont work. I guess what I'm saying is that cheap lasers may look a good idea, and in the hands of fully informed operators who understand the dangers are perfectly safe to use, but if you aren't aware of what damage they can do, and just assume that at £300-500 a piece of kit is low power enough to not pose a danger, they really shouldnt be used. Play safely please!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenalien Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 On a 300mW system, the beam measured at 600mW. This in itself must sound a warning - the equipment should be labelled with its maximum output, if that is exceeded then it's illegal, full stop. IIRC, anything over 500mW is Class 4, rather than class 3B, and should carry appropriate labelling. Then there's the question of what, exactly, constitutes that extra power - some cheap lasers put out a lot of IR laser radiation as well as visible - particularly a problem with DPSS green units where the IR pump diode isn't properly filtered out - such lasers are particularly hazerdous, as half the light is invisible, but still damaging, and wearing laser safety glasses that would protect against 532nm green offer little protection to 1064nm IR. Alternatively, the laser could simply being overdriven, in which case it's probably not going to last long... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seedage Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 On a 300mW system, the beam measured at 600mW. Alternatively, the laser could simply being overdriven, in which case it's probably not going to last long... The unit was indeed overdriven.Simple for me to correct with the right tools and meter, but for the normal buyer, what is says on the box is what they ordered, and what they have in their hands (whether it is or not!) What my point is, is that people not in the know are buying equipment that isnt legal, and dont know about it, and that the assumption is that it is cheap therefore safe. (system looks great tho!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norty303 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Out of interest, did you measure the laser pre or post galvo mirrors? If it was pre, it could be it was producing a lot of IR which was filtered out by the mirrors (e.g. poor broadband coating, or narrowband for 532) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seedage Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Out of interest, did you measure the laser pre or post galvo mirrors? If it was pre, it could be it was producing a lot of IR which was filtered out by the mirrors (e.g. poor broadband coating, or narrowband for 532) Pre galvos, but tuned power meter, so the 600mW was green. Had the laser for around 2 years now, and now meters at the stated rating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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