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ThinkGeek.com Laser Stars Projector

mfo

mfo

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Well, being the laser fanatic that I am, my GF was thinking of buying me this laser projector from think geek.

ThinkGeek :: Laser Stars Projector

I told her to hold off because it seems kind of expensive. Do you guys think it's worth it? I know sites like this tend to typically over charge with laser stuff...

P.S. I am well aware that the "Blue" they refer to is actually violet/blu-ray.
 





john_lawson

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yea i know it must be a blue light bulb with the green laser making the stars
through a diffraction grating
 
mfo

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john_lawson said:
yea i know it must be a blue light bulb with the green laser making the stars
through a diffraction grating
Click to expand...

Hmm, I thought somehow that the clouds were generated with a blu-ray somehow. Guess I was wrong.
 
Jaseth

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"The Laser Stars Projector utilizes a state of the art Diode Pumped, Solid State (DPSS) green laser combined with custom developed multiphase diffractive holographic optics, super luminous diodes and precision motors to produce the laser stars effect. The coherent light produced by the DPSS laser passes through a passive diffractive holographic optical element, which in turn passes through a circular periodicity electromechanical wheel, which is driven by a precision motor to create the soothing motion of the star field. So there."

Clearly it is nothing but a green laser, a stationary diffraction grating, a rotating diffraction grating and a blue light bulb. They try to make it sound all fancy but you could build a similar one for about $50 at the most.

Heck, you can get the whole "green star" part (manual rotation though, no motor) in a handheld pointer here: DealExtreme: $18.72 Kaleidoscopic 30mW Green Laser (Puts on Laser Shows) for only $18.72.

If you search for "kaleidoscopic" on the website they have some other variants of the machine you linked to. Here are the search results: DealExtreme: Search for kaleidoscopic (4 products in 2 categories)

Seb
 
KGB_Productions

KGB_Productions

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I have this "star projector" and the diffraction grating is completely different than that DX grating. and the blue light is from a blue led. Its a pretty cool effect.
 
mfo

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KGB_Productions said:
I have this "star projector" and the diffraction grating is completely different than that DX grating. and the blue light is from a blue led. Its a pretty cool effect.
Click to expand...

Cool. Do you think it's worth it price wise?
 
D

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no way. 170$?? you can build this for 20 or 30 lol
 
Jaseth

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How is it different? Does it use those ones which create a "+" shape rather than just a dot?
Actually I had not thought of adding a normal LED to my own build.. it does look pretty cool, but I would never buy it for $170 or $120 for that matter.. My 54mW green/166mW red with 3 diffraction gratings cost me about $70 and is way more awesome.. especially if I get a couple of LEDs in there too :)
Of course, $120 for an inferior unit is quite acceptable if you aren't comfortable with a lot of DIY work - but to me making it is almost better than having it.

Seb
 
iskor12

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FYI: For future reference...remember this. Everything on ThinkGeek.com is way overpriced.
 
Jaseth

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Haha Family Guy in the background!
It looks pretty cool! Really slow though, I guess it's mostly for atmosphere and not for parties.

Seb
 
mfo

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Jaseth said:
Haha Family Guy in the background!
It looks pretty cool! Really slow though, I guess it's mostly for atmosphere and not for parties.

Seb
Click to expand...

Yeah, definitely seems like something I can stare at for a few hours after a few beers :)
 
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