Possible inclusion for 2014 - Laser Projector?

kane

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Does anyone incorporate a laser projector in their display?

Am thinking about the possibility of using one to either light up some bushland dunes across the road from me with various Christmassy shapes etc, or to possibly get a bit more accurate with it, and use it to paint the house (or next door's house) with lots of colour.

Having a bit of a look around, it seems as though you can get units that have an ILDA interface, which allows computer control of the output - and you can get an Ethernet interface to go in the middle. So I'm sure I could work out a way of controlling it via LSP, with something else in the middle perhaps.

I'd have no idea what sort of output would be required - whether 1W would be overkill, or not enough etc.

Anyone got any experiences they can share?

Cheers

Kane
 

David_AVD

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The only controllable laser I've seen close up was one an acquaintance brought into work recently. It had a small interface (ILDA to USB ?) box that plugged into a PC.

You could choose various patterns and maybe custom text that seemed to download into the laser. I only controlled it live for few minutes to make sure it worked for him. I'm not sure if you could trigger scenes via DMX with no PC connected.

I saw it used as part of his Christmas display. It was quite bright on his garage door although he had it only a few metres away.
 

fasteddy

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Im wondering if you will now require an outdoor use permit due to the laws in Australia with regards to using lasers, may be something to check on
 

kane

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Fasteddy said:
Im wondering if you will now require an outdoor use permit due to the laws in Australia with regards to using lasers, may be something to check on

Interesting - have tried to see if I can find anything online, but found nothing locally. Seems there's a lot of control over it in the US, but not here.. (usually we're the nanny state!!)
 

firebug

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I saw lasers being used in a display over in Thornton shining onto the driveway with preset effects. Looks great and thought I could use these to fill space on the roof instead of laying many strands of lights.
However all the units I'm looking at are intended for indoors. Where do we get outdoor units that wont cost you a kidney??
 

AussiePhil

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I've got some of the little firefly lasers that have been a real hit, but the RGB laser with DMX controller has stayed firmly in the shed as i had no way to use it safely this year with people walking around the yard.
Regs or not we should be responsible guided by the rules used for nightclubs with regards to power levels and exposure to patrons walking around and the reading i did before xmas indicated that unless i could project onto a space without people getting direct visibilty then it was not an option for the unit i had.
 

fasteddy

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There is a law in Australia with the use of pointing lasers, basically they are banned. But im not sure how far this could extend, I definitely know its not a matter of just using it anyway you want
 

kane

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AussiePhil said:
I've got some of the little firefly lasers that have been a real hit, but the RGB laser with DMX controller has stayed firmly in the shed as i had no way to use it safely this year with people walking around the yard.
Regs or not we should be responsible guided by the rules used for nightclubs with regards to power levels and exposure to patrons walking around and the reading i did before xmas indicated that unless i could project onto a space without people getting direct visibilty then it was not an option for the unit i had.

Will have to check out the firefly ones as an option. And also I think that out of my two options, projecting on the house would be a bit more problematic (with regards to ensuring no visitors are in the way), but my main idea of projecting on to the bushland dunes across the road should still be possible, as I'll be able to project from my balcony and be at least 7-8 metres above everyone's heads.
 

logandc99

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I used two small laser projectors that I got from Christmas Galore on the Gold Coast. They were about $70 each and projected rotating images of Christmas trees, snow flakes, snowmen and Merry Xmas. I had them running continuously at one end of the house projecting onto the wall and ceiling of our carport. But they were not controlled by computer or LSP. They looked kinda cool though.
( trying to post a photo of it but tapatalk won't let me. Wants me to set a username but then says system error. )

upuquhyp.jpg



Edit : oh works on my phone, not on my iPad...weird.
 

firebug

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logandc99 said:
I used two small laser projectors that I got from Christmas Galore on the Gold Coast. They were about $70 each and projected rotating images of Christmas trees, snow flakes, snowmen and Merry Xmas. I had them running continuously at one end of the house projecting onto the wall and ceiling of our carport. But they were not controlled by computer or LSP. They looked kinda cool though.
( trying to post a photo of it but tapatalk won't let me. Wants me to set a username but then says system error. )

upuquhyp.jpg



Edit : oh works on my phone, not on my iPad...weird.

Looks great... What about outdoorsiness??
 
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