China laser show suppliers ???

[Soulstorm]

Hi,

Have been an occasional (sometimes regular:shhh reader of this forum, since the days when 100mw 532nm WL Nexus was considered a lightsaber! Also a lurker at PL.


Was in a similar position to you around 4-5 years ago, after extensive research and time, a manufacturer was located which cost more than the usual Chinese lasers, for a reason. They exceed output power and quality with over spec, tailor made CNI lasers; a single, high specification laser head per colour. One 5W RGB laser configuration is rated 5.2-5.5W, the other 5.2-5.6W. They have DT40pro scanners, quality, adjustable dichros and 97-99% mirrors (depending on laser colour). Featuring 2-4mm >1.2mrad beams depending on laser head options, 30khz analogue standard. Tough 4mm aluminium casing with handle for rigging, with a sealed optical train, mounted on a super thick beam table/base plate. Connectors are fully locking, including neutrik power connector, locking in/out RJ45 and DB25 for ilda, DB9 for remote safety switch, safety key, x/y toggles. Plus Pangolin QS and a solid road case. In addition they are authentically FDA varianced projectors, which is uncommon for China.


The leader in lasershow hardware/software control used the same projectors for their show at Palm Beijing this year. For me this confirmed the choice in distribution I made many years ago.

1% of retail price will be donated to LPF if you purchase a projector.
Price wise it will be 20-30% less than laserworld retail, shipped, including pangolin+flightcase+cables, with the most expensive laser heads installed, or over 50% less, with more cost effective laser head configuration. One year warranty or two for 10% more.
If you are interested in obtaining one and safely operating it, I'd be glad to assist.

Warning: laser porn ahead :drool:. At the bottom of the post are some shots of a 2W 532nm unit that landed recently, slightly smaller case than the 5w RGB but very similar layout. Variance and serial number have been intentionally blanked for display purposes. Variance issued in early 2010 without issue since. I will be installing my own shutter system on this particular case. 4W+ case comes with a shutter (white background photos). Enjoy



As for other manufacturers,

You mentioned a 5w TTL starray laser on another thread, almost everything pro level nowadays is analogue - more colours, graphics, more control and safer.

Very cheap starlaser/falling stars/big dipper clones in R,G,RGY, RGV etc, you get what you pay for. Parkinsons scanners and bic lighter runtime usually. Don't seem very reliable, many dead ones in club scrapheaps alongside cheap antari foggers..

Laserworld, subject to many disastrous reviews in the past, some poor service and build quality for the sub 4w range that is most commonly seen. That said, there have been one or two reviews recently with positive power output measurements and good to acceptable quality from trusted members. Also ensure that the 5w they sell isn't 'peak 5W nominal 3.1W' that they often do.

Reke: one owner I know has complained of higher diode failure rates. Again, you get what you pay for. Try to get an ilda compatible model, some of their larger models seem to have acceptable scanners, just most have been TTL that I've seen. Good build for price paid if an ilda compatible model.

AT laser seems to have better case build quality than Reke, I have not seen much of the insides of these lasers. Seem more pro level.

Seen plenty of smaller units, nothing of note though really. My choice if I wanted a cheap RGB for private use: reke. Bang for buck and reasonably well built for the price.

Morale of the story is this: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Professional grade lasers are not cheap and never have been.

 

[Grix]

From what I've heard NRG is best for high/mid end lasers: Home page | laser light show projector | Laser Know How
Never underspec, great build quality.

I've had good experiences with Meierlight and Laserking for lower-end lasers.
Especially Meierlight has good power ratings, usually on-spec IME.

 

[Thorny88]

This is my first post ever . Not allowed to start a new thread, but this is the closest related thread I could find.

I am looking to buy an entry level RGB laser scanner with an auto-mode sound-active function. I've started looking on ebay which brought me to a few "cheap china" companies and ultimately to the Casa CTL-BM: dj laser,stage equipment,disco light

This would be used in medium to small sized club venues with a fog machine (I am a DJ :>). I'm by no means a "laserphile" and probably can't appreciate subtle benefits of high quality parts, but I don't want to have to frequently replace or service any laser-scanner I might buy.

I doubt I would ever use any DMX or ILDA programs, and probably would just stick with the auto-mode, but if its inexpensive to include then why not.

Anyone have any advice? Or can point me in the direction of a good company or someone who would be willing to custom build?

Note: I live in the UNITED STATES, 14580.

Thanks in advance

 

[vk2fro]

<snip>

Note: I live in the UNITED STATES, 14580.

Thanks in advance

Then that CASA is not for you as it would be illegal to operate in the US as it does not have an Accession number. You need both this and a variance to operate a laser display at any public event. Sure its fine if your just doing it at a friends party, but if you are making a profit using it, and the FDA drops by to check you out, you could get into very hot water.

People get non-compliant lasers into the states all the time. Thats fine - using them at home with a cheap fogger to spice up a house party or to enjoy on your own is also fun. Using them in a club environment, where they arent sporting all the saftey bits, is a big no no.

My suggestion is the NRG series of projectors. They're cleared by the FDA and then all you'll need is a variance.

Also the sound active junk will get really boring, really quickly. Its amazing how quickly you can go "oh theres that yellow spinning triangle again, ooohhh and the silly elephant... wheres my DAC!"

 

[Thorny88]

Aaah, Well I guess my case is a little complicated. I don't actually own my own club (yet) but I usually bring my own sound and lights to parties/bars. I've only recently started actually getting paid gigs, but I haven't gone official or declared a business yet. I guess that means I'd get into even bigger trouble sporting an uncertified laser to gigs in an unofficial capacity.

But still, it would be fun to have for parties where I am not getting paid or anything, or safely under the table.

Also, I definitely don't want cartoon animations of any kind, like I would pay to NOT have them. I think they are kindof cheesy haha. But general 3D shapes and effects, scan patterns and the "clouding" are all really cool.

If not having the auto-mode requires any moderate amount of attention then that would be troublesome for me, as I would already be spinning music and controlling 4 RGB DMX wash/strobe lights.

The question of reliably acquiring a laser or a builder still stands.

 

[vk2fro]

yep but still illegal - the premises is still accepting payment for something (door charge, drinks), and that music and lights is included. You would still be in violation of the FDA rules. The US has some really strange (and strict) rules when it comes to laser projectors in a commercial environment. So the club gets fined, and guess who they'll look to to recoup the fine.

As for cheesy elephants, santa's and dancing people, MOST projectors can be set to "auto graphic", "auto beam" and "auto mix". Its the auto beam mode you'd want, selected by setting the dip switches on the back. Another sets "cycle" or "sound".

Cheers
Ben

 

[Thorny88]

Yea I figured, thanks for the heads up I will definitely get a variance before bringing the laser to any paid gigs.

I am seeing about $650-$1200 for boxes here: RGB laser lighting | NRG laser | laser know how

I understand the 20k-40k is a measure of scanning rate, which appears as how "smooth" the lasers seem to scan correct?

TTL implies 7 colors rather than full analog spectrum, but its supposedly not that much more $ to upgrade..?

I'm not sure what the DT stands for in "DT40k"

Still taking recommendations! haha

 

[marcelf]

Hi all

I have been started this thread and now I can give a feedback. I bought laser show from Lanling, Staray and Reke. All companies shipps the goods and the laser beam is strong. I bought the 1W and 5W RGB and I have nice results. The scanner isnt so good, but you can put a better scanner if you pay more $200. About GoldenStar has the best price and features. The 5W RGB laser has a DT40k scanner and is ANG (analog system). It will be my next try. Also I recommend the 2W Green laser (2*1W) that is a special price.

My opinion is the chinese laser show is enough to enjoy pleople that dont know about laser show, it will produce the efects and animations in the parties. With a clinical eye you will see graphics and messages are with a litle (or much) distorted or pulsing (lower scan rate the image is better but fps is lower), but in a electronic party for example, everyone are a litle "crazy", so it isnt problem, perhaps the people will like the distortion and pulsing. For Marketing Laser for Enterprise is different. Anyway for me its a way to turn laser show green and RGB more popular in my country. I live in a city with 2 million people in the middle of Brazil and never have seen colorfull laser effects. For US marketing, you can buy about 10 laser shows with price one laserworld equipament. Quantity and diversity will be more impressive than 1 (for example 6W RGB from laserword is 15.000 euros against $2000 of goldenstar). I recommend buy 2W green ($1200), 4W blue ($1000) and 5W RGB ($2000). You can produce mensagens or animations with one and effects with other. This is a trick to provide a good fps, because divides the work with two scanners, and you will full better the ambient.

My actual project is buy about 50 dpss 200mw Green ($60) and combine in a single beam with 10W power. The reason for that is high end lasers, when the power double the price is 4 times higher, so the dpss 200w has the better cost/power relation. A 10W Green is about $20.000 even in China, but join the 200w dpss will cost about $3000 plus scanner. The problem here is how combine the beam, I research spliters, mirrors, etc but I couldnt find a thing to combine so many beams. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

Thanks, Marcel

PS: I wouldn't want be in the skin of US laser shows manufacturers right now. Its impossible compete with China.

 

[tsteele93]

Yea I figured, thanks for the heads up I will definitely get a variance before bringing the laser to any paid gigs.

I am seeing about $650-$1200 for boxes here: RGB laser lighting | NRG laser | laser know how

I understand the 20k-40k is a measure of scanning rate, which appears as how "smooth" the lasers seem to scan correct?

TTL implies 7 colors rather than full analog spectrum, but its supposedly not that much more $ to upgrade..?

I'm not sure what the DT stands for in "DT40k"

Still taking recommendations! haha

I believe DT is Dragon Tiger brand name. I just got an H-RGB1200-DT30 from Winni @ Goldenstarlaser.com - I am pretty happy with it so far.

I am very new to this side of the hobby so I am not a very experienced judge, but I am pretty amazed with Winni and Goldenstar so far... The only thing I would suggest is that you push Winni for options and ask lots of questions here and on other, more projector oriented, forums.

If I had it to do again, I would have invested in adjustable dichro mounts for instance, but when I ordered my unit I wasn't aware that it might be a VERY good idea and probably wouldn't have cost much to add.

Also, don't forget to order an ILDA cable. I don't think they charge much at all if you order it with the laser. If you don't, it doesn't cost much ($10-$20) to get a DB25 cable from cables 2 go off of amazon.

Hak is a very good resource, and there are lots of others here as well. If you want a great deal on Pangolin's Quick Show and FB3 DAC, Hak can do that for you and trust me, QS is worth every last penny! It is amazing and easy to use.

It is fairly confusing when getting started, and you can definitely waste money on the wrong things, but I have been pretty pleased with my combo. It is a pretty nice setup right out of the box! I'm already scanning logos and editing them in QS and projecting them spinning around on all axes!

 

[Bionic-Badger]

Their premade projectors are pretty decently priced as well. I'd go with them before a Reke.

 

[marcelf]

Looking this:
2012/8/16 Olivia <export@staraylaser.com>
Laser color :RGB full color;
Laser power:Red 5W, Green 3W, Blue 4W ;
Wave length: Red 650nm, Green 532nm, Blue 450nm ;
Play mode:Sound active, Auto, DMX 512 , Master Slave,ILDA PC;
Laser patterns:More than 128 patterns and effects ;
Scanner:High -speed optical scanner 40 K;
Power:100-250V , 50/60HZ, 150 W
Applicable for DJ,Club,Concert,Party,Theatre stage laser light
EXW unit price:8250.00USD/PC

Who one of this thread already "play" with a RGB laser higher than 10W ???

Thanks
Marcel

 

[tsteele93]

Looking this:
2012/8/16 Olivia <export@staraylaser.com>
Laser color :RGB full color;
Laser power:Red 5W, Green 3W, Blue 4W ;
Wave length: Red 650nm, Green 532nm, Blue 450nm ;
Play mode:Sound active, Auto, DMX 512 , Master Slave,ILDA PC;
Laser patterns:More than 128 patterns and effects ;
Scanner:High -speed optical scanner 40 K;
Power:100-250V , 50/60HZ, 150 W
Applicable for DJ,Club,Concert,Party,Theatre stage laser light
EXW unit price:8250.00USD/PC

Who one of this thread already "play" with a RGB laser higher than 10W ???

Thanks
Marcel

Wow, I have 10W of pointers, but not in a projector!

You should definitely check with Winni at Goldenstarlaser before buying. If nothing else it cannot hurt to comparison shop and she is VERY knowledgable and very willing to help. I'm extremely impressed with her and growing more so the more I learn about the projector I have!

It is nothing compared to what you are looking at (which kind scares me, I'm afraid a 10W laser might burn the house down!) but Goldenstarlaser.com makes big hosses like you are wanting too.

Winni took pictures while mine was being built and stayed in touch every step of the way.