milo@ndmath.UUCP (06/19/87)
Would anyone out there happen to know of someplace where I could get some relatively inexpensive laser beam deflection hardware of the type used to create laser light shows? I don't need anything amazingly fast, just something that can be interfaced to a computer which can sweep the beam through about 30 degrees in the X and Y directions. I'm also looking for some kind of electronic shutter device that could be used to turn the beam on and off. The application is a simple laser light-show device for experimental purposes The equipment will probably be used with a low power helium neon laser. The beam doesn't have to move super-fast...but it needs to move at least fast enough to draw several words and retrace them frequently enough to avoid major flicker. Greg Corson 19141 Summers Drive South Bend, IN 46637 (219) 277-5306 (weekdays till 6 Central time)
billc@prism.UUCP (06/22/87)
/* Written 5:39 pm Jun 18, 1987 by milo@ndmath.UUCP in prism:sci.electronics */
/* ---------- "Laser Deflection & Modulation" ---------- */
Would anyone out there happen to know of someplace where I could get
some relatively inexpensive laser beam deflection hardware of the type used
to create laser light shows?
/*---------------------------------------------------------------- */
Please relay any information on this to me as well. It just so happens
I have a similar need.
Bill C. billc@mirror.TMC.COM
{mit-eddie, ihnp4, wjh12, cca, cbosgd, seismo}!mirror!billcjaf1@bunny.UUCP (Jeff Fried) (07/06/87)
In article <204600002@prism>, billc@prism.UUCP writes: > /* ---------- "Laser Deflection & Modulation" ---------- */ > Would anyone out there happen to know of someplace where I could get > some relatively inexpensive laser beam deflection hardware of the type used > to create laser light shows? > /*---------------------------------------------------------------- */ (somebody else asked for the same info, so I thought I'd post it) about 5 years ago, a group of 3 of us built a pair of laser light show setups: one was a single laser, the other a 3-color show built with two lasers. We used two galvonometers per beam (one x, one y) to deflect the light. They came from General Scanning, Inc. of Waltham, MA, and I think they cost about $300 each at the time. The drive electronics were pretty simple, but had to be very precise to keep registration between colors. We modified the electronics that were developed by a group under Paul Earles at the Center for Visual Studies at MIT; each x-y pair took a small (about 4x6") board which mostly did A-D, limiting, amplification, and a little preprocessing. At the time, there were no applicable electronics available commercially. Special jigs were needed to mount mirrors on the shaft of the galvos, but that was pretty simple; We just used a microscope slide mount and glued a flange onto it. Have fun and good luck. Jeff Fried (jaf1@get-labs.csnet or harvard!bunny!jaf1 or jeff@theory.mit.edu)