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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Disco laser for school

Joined
Jul 2, 2014
Messages
1
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Hi, I am a newbie ... So I apologise for my novice questions below :).

For the last couple of years I have assisted the local primary school to hold a disco every 3-4 months. We are located in a country town and activities are limited - thus the young kids aged 5-13 really love the disco when it comes around.

I use a number of effects and led lights including Yamaha mix board mg82cx, chauvet radius 2.0, chauvet cubix,optima ex556(co1) projector, RAVE af1214 smoke machine, cheapie $20 wall laser and a cheap Chinese unbranded moonflower light. We run 2 x 515xt JBL 500 series from a latop. School Hall is approximately 50m @ 30m.

Each disco we raise between $700-1000 which all goes back to the kids end of year school camp. No profit is made by me or anyone else, it is all done by a few local parents/volunteers for the kids benefit :)

Through the school we recently have received a grant for $1000 and I would like to invest that money into some form of the following. Coloured laser perhaps RGB that can be controlled both DMX and from a laptop. Not sure which is better for our purpose. Currently we run music from the laptop via windows media player to all the above lights and effects using auto sound activation where they sort of all flash to the beat. To elaborate, I have no DMX experience or laptop software experience/knowledge and we would like to incorporate one or both of these formats with a half decent laser into our school disco.

Thus we have around $1000 - $1200 and we are sort of flying blind. I have looked at the shinp al-980rgb and shinp al-460rgb. These May or May not be the right brand of lasers to go with ... There may be better value out there or better quality. I do not know if it is possible, but to create a system that allows our own artwork for the disco or other laser show application including school concert would be an added bonus. I have the adobe premiere pro suite ... It's a fairly old CS3 type - but if that's is applicable and usable. Then I have it ;)

I appreciate any suggestions of what I need to get this disco happening a little better for the kids with a reasonable laser suggestion and other necessary software/hardware suggestion from the learned laser peoples who visit this site.

I appreciate that These questions may have been asked in the past however the cause that this information will assist is worthy. With the right information it might take a few extra purchases that I am unaware of and a bit of reading up, practice and training to get everything working properly. But this is our chance to get it happening for the school.

Thank You Pete
 





Joined
Feb 24, 2014
Messages
1,425
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I am not the best to anwser this question but I am going to give it a go.. Any system you have is going to have to be eye safe for the kids first and foremost. we have members that do projectors and they would be the ones to answer your question.. I will send a pm to a friend for him to way in on this

Vortish
 
Joined
May 9, 2008
Messages
321
Points
18
Sounds likes you need to talk to hakzaw1, he is the man on RGB PJ's (laser projector).
A Laser King RGB 850mw projector and Pangolin QuickShow with FB3 will run roughly
$1000. Talk to "hakzaw1" he can fix you right up.
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
10,662
Points
113
I cannot give good advice until the OP adds his(or hers) location in thier profile page.
(also this thread has been placed in the wrong section)

The OP's very first post belongs in the Welcome section--(as an intro)

IF you are located in the USA... sorry... any and all public display of lasers >5mW are, technically, illegal- A much better (& safer) option would be a mirror ball and bright LED lights.


The 20$ 'twinkle' lasers are safe(IMHO)-- so you can get more of those --

Right now an Ebay seller has a 'lot' buy of these w/ free ship and you can get them for ~$14-- ( it was 5 pcs IIRC) -- Getting 'singles' at that price would take LOTS of bids winning & , at best one at a time..

These look nice coming down on the (dance) floor.
Or against the wall pointing up at the ceiling and the walls(nice in corners)
You can hang white bed sheets and project on them from the front OR the back
They all have sound response modes so they do move a little w/ the beat of the music.

The ones i have metered have had ~30 mW 532 green and 60 to 80 mW of 650nm red- BUT as they are 'sealed up' and at no time do any beams NOT go thru two diffraction gratings no single beam would be near 5 mW- and they are pretty much always moving- People are hardly ever static - and the average opening of the human eye is !7 mm. So add that to the natural involentary reflex to close your eyes(blink response) look away or cover your eyes with your hands-- takes ~.25 seconds--

So taking all these into consideration you have pretty much a safe laser.

AixiZ Lasers.com (ebay aixiz_lasers) has a new version I really like ---many more patterns
(& they have two versions to choose from) It comes with a tiny tripod- a wallwart...AND has an internal rerchargeable battery- so its also a handheld laser projector .
I have one here I am testing and a review will go up soon(IIRC these are ~$35)
It has very good sound response-- and does a LOT more than the one you have-faster- more patterns- moves at times very fast.

FYI almost NONE of the DJs who use lasers are doing it legally-

their PJs are NOT cmpliant- the operator does NOT hold a variance- most installed lasers in clubs are the same deal--

While NO laser police will show up ,,, IF someone makes a complaint the FDA MAY send an agent to see what is being done. This happens a LOT with a 'legal' operator WITH compliant PJs loses his gig to another with no compliant PJs and NO operators variance--

or the club owners see he can get PJs at Ebay ETC and stops paying for a legal display--

- also if a patron thinks he has been ahrmed by these PJs a lawsuit could happen AND unlike criminal cases there does NOT need to be evidence showing guilt 'beyond any reasonable doubt' the case can be won with simply a 'perponderence of the evidence'-

- I have seen many youtube videos --some taken on cell phones-ETC and in some cases, these name the club or event AND the name of the DJ-these vids often show audience scanning with high power PJs-- about all the evidence needed-- -- add children to the mix and you can see how badly thngs can become.

Stick with the 'twinkle' laser PJs and some nice moving head LED lights and leave it at that.

hope this has been helpful

Len
 




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