Welcome to Laser Pointer Forums - discuss green laser pointers, blue laser pointers, and all types of lasers

Buy Site Supporter Role (remove some ads) | LPF Donations

Links below open in new window

ArcticMyst Security by Avery | Browser Hide by Avery

First laser scanner

Hey guys,

I finished my box today. Pics will come saturday. Should i start my build thread now or saturday?

I cant wait to build this. its going to be awesome
 





Ordered most of the parts. Now all that is left on the list is:

Aluminum plate
Galvos
FOG MACHINE
Flexmod/correction amp(can i just set the current on this like i would on a flexdrive? It takes 5-12V so if i gave it a 9v battery and adjusted the current like a flexdrive? test load and all?)

^ if its as easy as that i will order soon...

Thanks again for all the help
 
The_Muffin_Man said:
Ordered most of the parts. Now all that is left on the list is:

Aluminum plate
Galvos
FOG MACHINE
Flexmod/correction amp(can i just set the current on this like i would on a flexdrive? It takes 5-12V so if i gave it a 9v battery and adjusted the current like a flexdrive? test load and all?)

^ if its as easy as that i will order soon...

Thanks again for all the help
Click to expand...

The flexmod has two potentiometers on it, one for setting the idle current and the second for setting the modulation current. You'll need a 5v power supply along with a source to run the actual driver. 9v batteries have very low capacity and I'd recommend against using them as the voltage can drop extremely rapidly, leading to a setting on the driver that could blow up your laser when you connect it to a normal power supply.

With the modulation input grounded, set the idle pot to just below the lasing threshold - then apply 5v to the modulation lead and set your full running current.


The correction amp needs to be tuned to provide +/- 5v on the X/Y channels and 0-5v on the modulation channels. The best way to do this is with an oscilloscope, but it can be done other ways.
 
MarioMaster said:
The flexmod has two potentiometers on it, one for setting the idle current and the second for setting the modulation current. You'll need a 5v power supply along with a source to run the actual driver. 9v batteries have very low capacity and I'd recommend against using them as the voltage can drop extremely rapidly, leading to a setting on the driver that could blow up your laser when you connect it to a normal power supply.

With the modulation input grounded, set the idle pot to just below the lasing threshold - then apply 5v to the modulation lead and set your full running current.


The correction amp needs to be tuned to provide +/- 5v on the X/Y channels and 0-5v on the modulation channels. The best way to do this is with an oscilloscope, but it can be done other ways.
Click to expand...

Ok so basically I hook up 12V to the power input part of the driver and set the current to below the lasing threshold (what is that for a loc by the way?). Then i take the modulation leads and apply 5V (could i do this with my 12V 5A psu and a 7805 regulator? ) and set the current to my desired current? (400 should last pretty long i think...)

Is that right? I dont understand the +/- 5V part...Do i just tune the gain to 5V and the offset to 0V. Is it the same with the 0-5V part?

Thanks
 
The flexmod will come with an instruction sheet, so you don't need to worry about that too much.

The amp board on the X/Y channels needs to have the swing go from +5v to -5v, but 0v when the unit is idle. It's a lot easier to visualize and tune the amps with an oscilloscope.
 
Last edited:
I think i understand...Once i get it ill ask more questions...What is the current that LOC's start lasing? Should i set it ~5mA below that?

My DB25 port came today...Its very nice.

Susie picked out my green laser. It does 135mW. It is very unstable though...it goes from 80-150mW in like 10 seconds and keeps doing that. Hopefully it will be more stable under modulation.

Im still working on the aluminum plate. Im ordering the galvos tomorrow.

Aluminum plate
DZE breakout board
AMP/flexmod
dichro
spaghetti
galvos

Ill post when more parts get here :)
 
Hi, anyone can tell me if it is possible to get the laserboy correction amp kit payed by paypal? or it just has to be google checkout? I don't want to make more accounts to pay things...

Thanks.
 
You could shoot drlava a PM and see what he says.. it's his product, so he may be able to help you out.
 
I heard that you have to set your software/dac or whatever to the correct scan speed. Normally they come pre-set to 30k and if i am using 20k scanners then they have to be changed or something...? Does anyone know what i am talking about? Do i need to worry about this with Spaghetti/the soundcard dac?

My fans came today! :) I will be drilling holes in the box tomorrow. I will also (hopefully) be putting the ILDA db25 port in my box tomorrow.

Thanks guys!
 
Hi, I can't contact with DrLava (maybe on vacancy), so for sure I have to wait a bit for the laserboy correction amp. I'm wondering if I put the signals of the sound card (before the cap) will I get some signal? At least to make some proof of the galvos/amps? or is there a simple way to build a single amplification circuit for each channel? I don't mind build six of then cause it may be used in another projects. Thanks in advance for your time.
 
You *might* get some signal, but it will be so small that the picture it scans will be very tiny. Try contacting drlava on photonlexicon.com. He tends to hang out there most of the time. The circuit for each amp channel is here:
799-usb-dac-correction-amp-section-schematic.jpg

Photo thanks to drlava and Dean Hammonds

You could use this to build your own correction amp. You'll need either a 9V or 12V dc-dc converter to supply the necessary voltage to the op-amps.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.





Back
Top