noob: diy vs cheap rgb module

[robinlawrie]

Hi all, first post on this very interesting forum.

Im a general purpose nerd and dabble in various fields, soundsystems/amplifiers/ 3d printing/cnc and various types of lighting. ive dabbled in laser stuff several times through the years, and always wanted to play with some rgb stuff... it was always too expensive to justify.

recently ive become aware of just how cheap the "cheap" rgb modules from china have got. im aware that quality is minimal and variable, but the prices are quite accessible for having a play.

however i have also seen that basically every module at a reasonable price is shipped directly from china, and i have a real "thing" about the italian customs office, who seem to arbitrarily add nearly 50% to the price of whatever i receive from outside europe, and theres nothing you can do. this puts me off.

this got me thinking...

if these modules are so cheap, and if i have fairly decent skills in fabricating and soldering. would it be cheaper to buy individual diodes (or modules with lenses) and heatsinks/ dichroic mirrors, knock up some basic drivers (lm317 or something) and model/ 3d print a housing with mounts / screw adjusters for the diodes/dichros?

or is it the case that these modules cost much less than the parts you need to recreate them?

im working on the assumption that the individual parts might be available in europe....

im not after massive output... 4-500mw would probably be fine... maybe a little more if i can dim them down with the regulators for alignment etc.

some of these cheap modules claim several watts, which frankly , scares me a bit!

until now my most powerful laser was a nice laserworld dpss green module at 250mw.

any opinions/tips most appreciated.

obviously the usual safety boilerplate applies, although im slightly at a loss as to safety glasses when dealing with rgb..

 

[Encap]

"or is it the case that these modules cost much less than the parts you need to recreate them?"--yes more expensive even assuming your time and effort is worth $0 if you can find the parts and have the machine , technical skills and knowledge to rexreate one .

Check eBay for mass produced RGB Modules, $50 and up

If you want an excellent quality excellent alignment RCG module see OPT Laser mini module here< https://optlasers.com/free-space-multiwavelength/300mw-micro-rgb-laser-module

 

[robinlawrie]

Yeah I suspected that might be the case.. To be honest I take tons of pleasure from making stuff so I consider my time a bonus, not a cost, however if the difference is great obviously I'd be better off getting one of these cheapies and fiddling with it.

I did check out the opt lasers stuff after reading a few posts, but, for me, the price is way out of "buy it to have a play" range.

Out of interest, does anyone have an idea of how much a set of reasonable but cheap rgb single mode diodes and a set of mirrors would cost in that power range? Not knowing what I'm looking for I've seen diodes from a few dollars up to hundreds..

 

[Encap]

Consider making a laser pointer given apparent lack of knowledge and experience --- Complete kits with instructions for same are available here: https://www.survivallaser.com/

For diodes, modules and drivers this is best source: https://sites.google.com/site/dtrlpf/

 

[robinlawrie]

well i dont have a huge amount of interest in building a laser pointer, i already have a 50mw green which i have modified with a 2 mirror lissajous scanner for parties, but i wanted to create something a little more impressive. The physical structure of the laser head and beam alignment dont concern me at all. im sure it is time consuming to get everything lined up, but having built a large cnc machine ive got some experience with fabrication and precise alignment.

ill admit ive never built a laser "diode-up" but apart from tripling everything i dont see what is inherently more difficult in building a set of r,g,b lasers than a single colour laser pointer. drivers etc dont worry me much either.. i have enough electronics experience to follow a circuit diagram and solder something up and test it. theres tons of info available and if need be i can buy something ready made.

where my knowledge is completely lacking is in component selection; finding a complementary set of diodes, available in Europe, which will work well together and not cost the earth. it may be that this is impossible and id need to spend hudreds just on diodes, in which case ill deal with customs charges and get a cheap rgb module... however if there is the possibility that for under 150 or so euros, i could get 3 nice diodes, lenses, and a set of dichroic mirrors, id probably prefer to have fun building someting./


on a related note, while cheap rgb modules are not available directly in the EU, there are many very cheap (150-250 euro) ready built rgb "party" lasers, including either steppers or (i assume absolutely crap) galvos... these come with some kind of dmx support, case etc etc.

im assuming the rgb module in these would be the same/similar to the cheap chinese ones we are discussing, with the bonus of having some other fun components included.

however, buying something ready made bores me... and given i want something to use a parties, the idea of buying a party laser, tearing it apart, and using the bits to build a (probably) less effective party laser, seems a bit... silly.

 

[robinlawrie]

Just an update, I found a ready made rgb "party laser" online, in Europe, for a great price.. Its obviously crap but contains not only a 500mw rgb laser setup, but also a set of cheap galvos. It only cost about 40 euros more than a basic 500mw rgb module from China, and I'd probably spend more than that in customs fees.

Its a "lypeak ly-rgbw-01"

The ad states 500mw, but I've also seen that model referred to as a 1 watt model.

It appears completely un-discussed online so a jump in the dark.

I shall be cracking it open to have a look inside as soon as I get it. Fun

 

[atomd]

I was thinking about buying such module from china for a long time but then I searched local 2nd hand market and found entire laser projector for around 30e with shipping. Laser alignment is total crap, you can see individual color beams at the output but not sure if cheap china module deliver better

 

[robinlawrie]

Yeah I expect this will be similar, but I can always use the parts to make something interesting.

 

[Encap]

Lypeak, low cost Chinese stage lighting maker https://www.lypeak.com/
Guangzhou Lypeak Stage Lighting Equipment Co. Ltd

Good luck

 

[robinlawrie]

Where're you from? If Europe I can sell you used laser projector for ~50$ you'll have both RGB laser and galvos

I'm in Italy. However if you say the beam alignment is terrible, maybe I'll take my chances on the one I ordered! Having said that 50 dollars would save me a chunk of cash. Got any more info on the projector you want to shift? I expect I have a short window left till they ship mine..

 

[robinlawrie]

Lypeak, low cost Chinese stage lighting maker

Guangzhou Lypeak Stage Lighting Equipment Co. Ltd

Good luck

Thanks

Its very odd, the ebay listing has the model as a 500mw total.. Including the specs. As do several other ads. But the model number and foto corresponds to a 1 watt model on their website. It'll be a good deal if its actually 1 watt.

However this kind of confusion seems par for the course at "this end" of any market.

 

[Encap]

There is little if any interest on LPF in stage lighting and projectors, generally.
The Photolexicon forum is very much about stage lighting. projector.s, RGB modules, galvos, and light show device enthusiasts.
See: https://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/forum.php

 

[robinlawrie]

There is little if any interest on LPF in stage lighting and projectors, generally.
The Photolexicon forum is very much about stage lighting. projector. and light show device enthusiasts.

Ah ok . From my brief initial research, this place seemed to be the "go to" for DIY laser stuff in general, and since I'm not specifically into stage lighting and wanted info on components, I ended up here.. I occasionally dj at parties so I'd certainly use an rgb laser in that context if I had one, but it's not the primary aim. The primary aim is to have fun playing with beautiful beams. And fiddling with electricity.. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

 

[atomd]

I'm in Italy. However if you say the beam alignment is terrible, maybe I'll take my chances on the one I ordered! Having said that 50 dollars would save me a chunk of cash. Got any more info on the projector you want to shift? I expect I have a short window left till they ship mine..

Sure.

Misalignment - you can see distinct beams at wall 1-2m away so I'd say spots are 1-2mm apart in RGB order (probably knife edge array instead of dichroics or poorly aligned dichroics, haven't looked inside)
It supports ILDA (that I used), but only in on/off mode, no dimming. It also support some audio effects/DMX but I never tried it.
I'm at least second owner so you can see signs of use and mods on the outside but inside everything's working.

 

[robinlawrie]

Well the laser module looks like a carbon copy of the cheap Chinese ones so probably the same... In any case my projector shipped this morning, so unless it's doa or really terrible I'll stick with that.. However if I decide to return it I'll ping you and we can discuss