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#1
posted to rec.boats
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Far OT for my creative friends.
45 years ago I was in a bar in Chicago and they had a laser deal that
plotted the 2 channels of the sound system as a Lissajous pattern on the back wall. I tried to make one using an old Neon laser and mirrors on speaker drivers about 40 years ago. It was almost working when the free used laser I had crapped out. Now that laser diodes cost less than a stick of gum I wanted to try again. What is the best way to steer the laser? Piezo crystal or some kind of mirror solution |
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#3
posted to rec.boats
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Far OT for my creative friends.
On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 23:37:16 -0500,
wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 22:09:37 -0500, wrote: 45 years ago I was in a bar in Chicago and they had a laser deal that plotted the 2 channels of the sound system as a Lissajous pattern on the back wall. I tried to make one using an old Neon laser and mirrors on speaker drivers about 40 years ago. It was almost working when the free used laser I had crapped out. Now that laser diodes cost less than a stick of gum I wanted to try again. What is the best way to steer the laser? Piezo crystal or some kind of mirror solution === I'm not an expert on piezo crystal optics but I think you'll have more fun engineering an electromechanical linkage to a mirror. It will also be more intuitive and use readily available components. That was my thinking before I started working on laser printers but these days it is a pretty mature science and those parts may be as cheap as lasers. I found out the first time down the rabbit hole, you need a 1st surface mirror. A regular silver on glass mirror creates a ghost image. I ended up with a dental mirror sans handle, epoxied to a coil spring with arms going out to 2 small speaker cones 90 degrees out. The laser I had was a neon, about 1.5" in diameter and a foot long that needed a HV power supply to spark up. These days you can get a diode that runs on 4.5vdc. Just about the time I got the geometry right, my laser broke. I came up with another laser down here but it was pressed into service at the flower store and went with the store. That design was still a little funky and I wanted to try something different. I really don't believe that in the 70s they were using a crystal tho. We did us one in a 3800 but it only deflected in one axis. I may be missing a whole different concept in steering a laser. I thought Richard may have dabbled in this stuff. |
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#4
posted to rec.boats
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Far OT for my creative friends.
On Mon, 15 Jan 2018 02:23:21 -0500, wrote:
On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 23:37:16 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 22:09:37 -0500, wrote: 45 years ago I was in a bar in Chicago and they had a laser deal that plotted the 2 channels of the sound system as a Lissajous pattern on the back wall. I tried to make one using an old Neon laser and mirrors on speaker drivers about 40 years ago. It was almost working when the free used laser I had crapped out. Now that laser diodes cost less than a stick of gum I wanted to try again. What is the best way to steer the laser? Piezo crystal or some kind of mirror solution === I'm not an expert on piezo crystal optics but I think you'll have more fun engineering an electromechanical linkage to a mirror. It will also be more intuitive and use readily available components. That was my thinking before I started working on laser printers but these days it is a pretty mature science and those parts may be as cheap as lasers. I found out the first time down the rabbit hole, you need a 1st surface mirror. A regular silver on glass mirror creates a ghost image. I ended up with a dental mirror sans handle, epoxied to a coil spring with arms going out to 2 small speaker cones 90 degrees out. The laser I had was a neon, about 1.5" in diameter and a foot long that needed a HV power supply to spark up. These days you can get a diode that runs on 4.5vdc. Just about the time I got the geometry right, my laser broke. I came up with another laser down here but it was pressed into service at the flower store and went with the store. That design was still a little funky and I wanted to try something different. I really don't believe that in the 70s they were using a crystal tho. We did us one in a 3800 but it only deflected in one axis. I may be missing a whole different concept in steering a laser. I thought Richard may have dabbled in this stuff. === I'm assuming you'd need two mirrors - one for X axis positioning and a second for the Y axis. There are lots of devices with fairly bright lasers these days. Perhaps you could get one on EBAY or at a garage sale. Of course you'd need to be happy with either red or green. I've got some green gun sight lasers that are fairly bright, and there are lots of laser pointers around that are allegedly bright enough to blind aircraft pilots. --- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. http://www.avg.com |
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#5
posted to rec.boats
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Far OT for my creative friends.
On Mon, 15 Jan 2018 13:47:33 -0500, wrote:
On Mon, 15 Jan 2018 02:23:21 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 23:37:16 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 22:09:37 -0500, wrote: 45 years ago I was in a bar in Chicago and they had a laser deal that plotted the 2 channels of the sound system as a Lissajous pattern on the back wall. I tried to make one using an old Neon laser and mirrors on speaker drivers about 40 years ago. It was almost working when the free used laser I had crapped out. Now that laser diodes cost less than a stick of gum I wanted to try again. What is the best way to steer the laser? Piezo crystal or some kind of mirror solution === I'm not an expert on piezo crystal optics but I think you'll have more fun engineering an electromechanical linkage to a mirror. It will also be more intuitive and use readily available components. That was my thinking before I started working on laser printers but these days it is a pretty mature science and those parts may be as cheap as lasers. I found out the first time down the rabbit hole, you need a 1st surface mirror. A regular silver on glass mirror creates a ghost image. I ended up with a dental mirror sans handle, epoxied to a coil spring with arms going out to 2 small speaker cones 90 degrees out. The laser I had was a neon, about 1.5" in diameter and a foot long that needed a HV power supply to spark up. These days you can get a diode that runs on 4.5vdc. Just about the time I got the geometry right, my laser broke. I came up with another laser down here but it was pressed into service at the flower store and went with the store. That design was still a little funky and I wanted to try something different. I really don't believe that in the 70s they were using a crystal tho. We did us one in a 3800 but it only deflected in one axis. I may be missing a whole different concept in steering a laser. I thought Richard may have dabbled in this stuff. === I'm assuming you'd need two mirrors - one for X axis positioning and a second for the Y axis. There are lots of devices with fairly bright lasers these days. Perhaps you could get one on EBAY or at a garage sale. Of course you'd need to be happy with either red or green. I've got some green gun sight lasers that are fairly bright, and there are lots of laser pointers around that are allegedly bright enough to blind aircraft pilots. --- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. http://www.avg.com Greg could buy this for me. I'd take out the laser and send it to him -- free! http://www.kimberamerica.com/micro-9-cc Such a deal! |
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#6
posted to rec.boats
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Far OT for my creative friends.
On 1/15/2018 1:47 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 15 Jan 2018 02:23:21 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 23:37:16 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 22:09:37 -0500, wrote: 45 years ago I was in a bar in Chicago and they had a laser deal that plotted the 2 channels of the sound system as a Lissajous pattern on the back wall. I tried to make one using an old Neon laser and mirrors on speaker drivers about 40 years ago. It was almost working when the free used laser I had crapped out. Now that laser diodes cost less than a stick of gum I wanted to try again. What is the best way to steer the laser? Piezo crystal or some kind of mirror solution === I'm not an expert on piezo crystal optics but I think you'll have more fun engineering an electromechanical linkage to a mirror. It will also be more intuitive and use readily available components. That was my thinking before I started working on laser printers but these days it is a pretty mature science and those parts may be as cheap as lasers. I found out the first time down the rabbit hole, you need a 1st surface mirror. A regular silver on glass mirror creates a ghost image. I ended up with a dental mirror sans handle, epoxied to a coil spring with arms going out to 2 small speaker cones 90 degrees out. The laser I had was a neon, about 1.5" in diameter and a foot long that needed a HV power supply to spark up. These days you can get a diode that runs on 4.5vdc. Just about the time I got the geometry right, my laser broke. I came up with another laser down here but it was pressed into service at the flower store and went with the store. That design was still a little funky and I wanted to try something different. I really don't believe that in the 70s they were using a crystal tho. We did us one in a 3800 but it only deflected in one axis. I may be missing a whole different concept in steering a laser. I thought Richard may have dabbled in this stuff. === I'm assuming you'd need two mirrors - one for X axis positioning and a second for the Y axis. There are lots of devices with fairly bright lasers these days. Perhaps you could get one on EBAY or at a garage sale. Of course you'd need to be happy with either red or green. I've got some green gun sight lasers that are fairly bright, and there are lots of laser pointers around that are allegedly bright enough to blind aircraft pilots. Greg: Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwawj0A8P6w |
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#7
posted to rec.boats
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Far OT for my creative friends.
On 1/15/2018 3:59 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 1/15/2018 1:47 PM, wrote: On Mon, 15 Jan 2018 02:23:21 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 23:37:16 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 22:09:37 -0500, wrote: 45 years ago I was in a bar in Chicago and they had a laser deal that plotted the 2 channels of the sound system as a Lissajous pattern on the back wall. I tried to make one using an old Neon laser and mirrors on speaker drivers about 40 years ago. It was almost working when the free used laser I had crapped out. Now that laser diodes cost less than a stick of gum I wanted to try again. What is the best way to steer the laser? Piezo crystal or some kind of mirror solution === I'm not an expert on piezo crystal optics but I think you'll have more fun engineering an electromechanical linkage to a mirror.Â* It will also be more intuitive and use readily available components. That was my thinking before I started working on laser printers but these days it is a pretty mature science and those parts may be as cheap as lasers. I found out the first time down the rabbit hole, you need a 1st surface mirror. A regular silver on glass mirror creates a ghost image. I ended up with a dental mirror sans handle, epoxied to a coil spring with arms going out to 2 small speaker cones 90 degrees out. The laser I had was a neon, about 1.5" in diameter and a foot long that needed a HV power supply to spark up. These days you can get a diode that runs on 4.5vdc. Just about the time I got the geometry right, my laser broke. I came up with another laser down here but it was pressed into service at the flower store and went with the store. That design was still a little funky and I wanted to try something different. I really don't believe that in the 70s they were using a crystal tho. We did us one in a 3800 but it only deflected in one axis. I may be missing a whole different concept in steering a laser. I thought Richard may have dabbled in this stuff. === I'm assuming you'd need two mirrors - one for X axis positioning and a second for the Y axis.Â* There are lots of devices with fairly bright lasers these days.Â* Perhaps you could get one on EBAY or at a garage sale.Â* Of course you'd need to be happy with either red or green. I've got some green gun sight lasers that are fairly bright, and there are lots of laser pointers around that are allegedly bright enough to blind aircraft pilots. Greg:Â* Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwawj0A8P6w Or, for a more advance project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xszp5UQLB2g |
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#8
posted to rec.boats
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Far OT for my creative friends.
On Mon, 15 Jan 2018 13:47:33 -0500,
wrote: On Mon, 15 Jan 2018 02:23:21 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 23:37:16 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 22:09:37 -0500, wrote: 45 years ago I was in a bar in Chicago and they had a laser deal that plotted the 2 channels of the sound system as a Lissajous pattern on the back wall. I tried to make one using an old Neon laser and mirrors on speaker drivers about 40 years ago. It was almost working when the free used laser I had crapped out. Now that laser diodes cost less than a stick of gum I wanted to try again. What is the best way to steer the laser? Piezo crystal or some kind of mirror solution === I'm not an expert on piezo crystal optics but I think you'll have more fun engineering an electromechanical linkage to a mirror. It will also be more intuitive and use readily available components. That was my thinking before I started working on laser printers but these days it is a pretty mature science and those parts may be as cheap as lasers. I found out the first time down the rabbit hole, you need a 1st surface mirror. A regular silver on glass mirror creates a ghost image. I ended up with a dental mirror sans handle, epoxied to a coil spring with arms going out to 2 small speaker cones 90 degrees out. The laser I had was a neon, about 1.5" in diameter and a foot long that needed a HV power supply to spark up. These days you can get a diode that runs on 4.5vdc. Just about the time I got the geometry right, my laser broke. I came up with another laser down here but it was pressed into service at the flower store and went with the store. That design was still a little funky and I wanted to try something different. I really don't believe that in the 70s they were using a crystal tho. We did us one in a 3800 but it only deflected in one axis. I may be missing a whole different concept in steering a laser. I thought Richard may have dabbled in this stuff. === I'm assuming you'd need two mirrors - one for X axis positioning and a second for the Y axis. There are lots of devices with fairly bright lasers these days. Perhaps you could get one on EBAY or at a garage sale. Of course you'd need to be happy with either red or green. I've got some green gun sight lasers that are fairly bright, and there are lots of laser pointers around that are allegedly bright enough to blind aircraft pilots. --- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. http://www.avg.com The 2 mirror solution was my first thought and I tried it with regular mirrors but the glazing caused the ghost problem. My second swing at it was a single mirror that I could swing in 2 axis with a spring as a center pivot. That was a 1st surface dental mirror. Just when I was starting to get results the laser quit and I shelved the project. These days the laser is the trivial part. Red and green laser diodes can be salvaged from old pointers or simply ordered as a part, dirt cheap. You can also scavenge some very powerful blue lasers from DVD drives but they are strong enough to be a serious eye hazard. It has been pointed out to me that you can just get a "visualization" file for a MP3 player that does this exact thing on a big screen TV. |
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#9
posted to rec.boats
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Far OT for my creative friends.
On Mon, 15 Jan 2018 15:59:29 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote: On 1/15/2018 1:47 PM, wrote: On Mon, 15 Jan 2018 02:23:21 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 23:37:16 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 22:09:37 -0500, wrote: 45 years ago I was in a bar in Chicago and they had a laser deal that plotted the 2 channels of the sound system as a Lissajous pattern on the back wall. I tried to make one using an old Neon laser and mirrors on speaker drivers about 40 years ago. It was almost working when the free used laser I had crapped out. Now that laser diodes cost less than a stick of gum I wanted to try again. What is the best way to steer the laser? Piezo crystal or some kind of mirror solution === I'm not an expert on piezo crystal optics but I think you'll have more fun engineering an electromechanical linkage to a mirror. It will also be more intuitive and use readily available components. That was my thinking before I started working on laser printers but these days it is a pretty mature science and those parts may be as cheap as lasers. I found out the first time down the rabbit hole, you need a 1st surface mirror. A regular silver on glass mirror creates a ghost image. I ended up with a dental mirror sans handle, epoxied to a coil spring with arms going out to 2 small speaker cones 90 degrees out. The laser I had was a neon, about 1.5" in diameter and a foot long that needed a HV power supply to spark up. These days you can get a diode that runs on 4.5vdc. Just about the time I got the geometry right, my laser broke. I came up with another laser down here but it was pressed into service at the flower store and went with the store. That design was still a little funky and I wanted to try something different. I really don't believe that in the 70s they were using a crystal tho. We did us one in a 3800 but it only deflected in one axis. I may be missing a whole different concept in steering a laser. I thought Richard may have dabbled in this stuff. === I'm assuming you'd need two mirrors - one for X axis positioning and a second for the Y axis. There are lots of devices with fairly bright lasers these days. Perhaps you could get one on EBAY or at a garage sale. Of course you'd need to be happy with either red or green. I've got some green gun sight lasers that are fairly bright, and there are lots of laser pointers around that are allegedly bright enough to blind aircraft pilots. Greg: Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwawj0A8P6w That was where the 2 lasers I scored once I moved here went. We did a similar thing to that with mirrored flower containers on turn tables for the Cooper Group (major Holiday In franchiser) at big 3 day conference they had here in Ft Myers. Judy had the contract for decorating at the conference when we had the flower store. One of the containers was a big hex shaped thing (6 mirrors) and the other was a disco ball sort of thing on a big cylinder. By positioning the lasers right we had beams bouncing around the whole room. A little tobacco smoke really got it going. The staff decided a smoke machine would really be cool and they had one in their disco. What they didn't know is the smoke detectors in the disco were disabled. Imagine a bunch of Cooper Group executives standing in the parking lot in their underwear at 5AM (most with a hangover) waiting for the South Trail Fire Department to tell them it was a false alarm. They kept the lasers, they lost the smoke machine, |
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#10
posted to rec.boats
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Far OT for my creative friends.
On Mon, 15 Jan 2018 16:01:40 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote: On 1/15/2018 3:59 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 1/15/2018 1:47 PM, wrote: On Mon, 15 Jan 2018 02:23:21 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 23:37:16 -0500, wrote: On Sun, 14 Jan 2018 22:09:37 -0500, wrote: 45 years ago I was in a bar in Chicago and they had a laser deal that plotted the 2 channels of the sound system as a Lissajous pattern on the back wall. I tried to make one using an old Neon laser and mirrors on speaker drivers about 40 years ago. It was almost working when the free used laser I had crapped out. Now that laser diodes cost less than a stick of gum I wanted to try again. What is the best way to steer the laser? Piezo crystal or some kind of mirror solution === I'm not an expert on piezo crystal optics but I think you'll have more fun engineering an electromechanical linkage to a mirror.Â* It will also be more intuitive and use readily available components. That was my thinking before I started working on laser printers but these days it is a pretty mature science and those parts may be as cheap as lasers. I found out the first time down the rabbit hole, you need a 1st surface mirror. A regular silver on glass mirror creates a ghost image. I ended up with a dental mirror sans handle, epoxied to a coil spring with arms going out to 2 small speaker cones 90 degrees out. The laser I had was a neon, about 1.5" in diameter and a foot long that needed a HV power supply to spark up. These days you can get a diode that runs on 4.5vdc. Just about the time I got the geometry right, my laser broke. I came up with another laser down here but it was pressed into service at the flower store and went with the store. That design was still a little funky and I wanted to try something different. I really don't believe that in the 70s they were using a crystal tho. We did us one in a 3800 but it only deflected in one axis. I may be missing a whole different concept in steering a laser. I thought Richard may have dabbled in this stuff. === I'm assuming you'd need two mirrors - one for X axis positioning and a second for the Y axis.Â* There are lots of devices with fairly bright lasers these days.Â* Perhaps you could get one on EBAY or at a garage sale.Â* Of course you'd need to be happy with either red or green. I've got some green gun sight lasers that are fairly bright, and there are lots of laser pointers around that are allegedly bright enough to blind aircraft pilots. Greg:Â* Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwawj0A8P6w Or, for a more advance project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xszp5UQLB2g I have a couple of those laser projectors you light up the front of your house with that I got real cheap after christmas 2016. We have one lighting up the trees out back, way cooler than shining one on a flat surface but the other one stopped moving and I am going to take it apart to see how they did it. I assume this is some kind of motorized prism/mirror sort of thing. It splits the beam into about 64 separate sub beams that then get split into 64 more beams that expand and contract around that point. I am sure that once I get inside I will be amazed at how simple that thing really is. |
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