Looking to buy a RGB projector

[slyoung1987]

Hello everyone, I’m Simon and new to this forum but, I have been stalking, scrolling and silently reading this forum for a few years and as my interest (addition) for lasers has grown over the years, I thought it was about time I came out of the dark and joined the laser ligiht.

Last year I brought myself my first RGB. It’s a Shinp 560mw with just DMX ports and apparently Full colour but I’ve only counted about 4 to 5-ish, not too sure if this is due to it using steppers and probably being a little bit out of line, but I was still very impressed this system.

Anyway I’m now looking to buy a new laser and looking to get one with a ILDA port so in future I can hook it up to my PC with a DAC and do some lightshows with nice beam effects and some animation. I’ve been searching though this forum at posts on “cheap RGB ILDA laser on a budget” ect.. And I have also had a look on Photonlexicon but seen people shot down for saying cheap or Chinese. I do understand that there is a massive price defence in what they say is a good laser and these cheap Chinese lasers I’m looking at so I know quality is going to be less as you get what you pay for, but obviously I want to avoid wasting my money on total rubish that doesn’t do what it says and get the best for my money.

I’ve found a few RGB’s on ebay that look to me to be good but thought I’d ask on here for some help and advice on these RGB’s and also whether anyone knows of any better ones anywhere, even second hand. My budget is about £300 maybe a bit more if I can convince myself and see the benefits. The power rang I’ve been looking at is from 600mw to 1w max as tend to use my laser from small house party’s to partys in the woods. I’m also hoping for a nice colour balance with full 7 colours with white. Here’s what I’ve found so far.

Here’s a link to one that I like the price and look of, with 700mw of power, 20KPPS scanner, ILDA, pattern size and from my limited knowledge for colour balance I would assume you would want the bright visible green with the least power, then red with a bit more and finally blue?
700mW RGB Full Color Animation Laser Light DMX Stage Lighting for DJ Party | eBay

This one is just over my budget of £300 but is in the UK has lots of cool modes, 25KPPS scanner and also looks and seems to have the same spec’s of one of Lanta-lighting’s lasers which sells for £500. I’ve heard that Lanta are meant to be a real good make of lighting and lasers?
DJs-Only COLOSSUS RGB 3D 4-in-1 DJ Disco Laser Effect Light - 5 YEAR WARRANTY | eBay

Any help, advice or other lasers to look at will be much appreciated :yh:

 

[Tmack]

Pm hakzaw1. He is arranging a projector group buy and has all shapes and sizes available for great prices

 

[slyoung1987]

Ok cheers, I've just had a look at the sticky of how group buys work and looks cool, I was hoping to get a new laser for new years party but I'll give him a PM and see what ETA, specs and prices look like. I probably won't mind waiting till next year for great specs and price

 

[Bionic-Badger]

You can also contact Winnie at Golden Star Lasers and see what they have to offer. There are some laser projectors at your price point, but don't expect something amazing.

 

[hakzaw1]

Hello everyone, I’m Simon and new to this forum but, I have been stalking, scrolling and silently reading this forum for a few years and as my interest (addition) for lasers has grown over the years, I thought it was about time I came out of the dark and joined the laser ligiht.

Last year I brought myself my first RGB. It’s a Shinp 560mw with just DMX ports and apparently Full colour but I’ve only counted about 4 to 5-ish, not too sure if this is due to it using steppers and probably being a little bit out of line, but I was still very impressed this system.

Sorry to pop your bubble BUT its highly unlikely that your RG is FULL color-many are sold as that but if its less than 1000$usd if going to be TTL blanking and thus ONLY seven colors--if you check the specs and see ttl its 7 color-if you dont see 'analog modulation' its prolly 7 color-

Anyway I’m now looking to buy a new laser and looking to get one with a ILDA port so in future I can hook it up to my PC with a DAC and do some lightshows with nice beam effects and some animation. I’ve been searching though this forum at posts on “cheap RGB ILDA laser on a budget” ect.. And I have also had a look on Photonlexicon but seen people shot down for saying cheap or Chinese. I do understand that there is a massive price defence in what they say is a good laser and these cheap Chinese lasers I’m looking at so I know quality is going to be less as you get what you pay for, but obviously I want to avoid wasting my money on total rubish that doesn’t do what it says and get the best for my money.

I’ve found a few RGB’s on ebay that look to me to be good but thought I’d ask on here for some help and advice on these RGB’s and also whether anyone knows of any better ones anywhere, even second hand. My budget is about £300 maybe a bit more if I can convince myself and see the benefits. The power rang I’ve been looking at is from 600mw to 1w max as tend to use my laser from small house party’s to partys in the woods. I’m also hoping for a nice colour balance with full 7 colours with white. Here’s what I’ve found so far.

not all that long ago 500mW rgb was a pretty powerful PJ- certainly enough for private small parties but now the cost to buy or build has been dropping and you can get a full color RGB for around $1000 usd

Here’s a link to one that I like the price and look of, with 700mw of power, 20KPPS scanner, ILDA, pattern size and from my limited knowledge for colour balance I would assume you would want the bright visible green with the least power, then red with a bit more and finally blue?
700mW RGB Full Color Animation Laser Light DMX Stage Lighting for DJ Party | eBay


Not quite correct- you need more red than blue and more blue than green- about 50mW of 532 is as bright to our eyes as 1W of 445 blue- and more than 2W of 650 red.

This one is just over my budget of £300 but is in the UK has lots of cool modes, 25KPPS scanner and also looks and seems to have the same spec’s of one of Lanta-lighting’s lasers which sells for £500. I’ve heard that Lanta are meant to be a real good make of lighting and lasers?
DJs-Only COLOSSUS RGB 3D 4-in-1 DJ Disco Laser Effect Light - 5 YEAR WARRANTY | eBay

Any help, advice or other lasers to look at will be much appreciated :yh:

these are the advantages when joining a Group Buy- 'we' are no long a single person but part of a group that in comparison is HUGE. the seller knows many wil be wanting our opinion and when a review is posted thousands will read it and if a single GB buyer is unhappy it can negate most of the good reviews-- after customer service is very important after the sale-
We get a better deal with the cost and the shipping- we save on bank transfer fees as when i do a PJ GB- all CONUS members send their money to me and I , in turn, bank transfer the entire amount to the seller/maker ... and has they too must pay bank fees on each transfer they too save some $$ this way-
The items often get a better inspection before shipping when it is a GB.


All LK PJs get 12 hours of close inspection and testing so none sent are NOT working perfectly--the vast majority of defects will show in the first 12 hours of usage. I have had only ONE LK projector in need of a fix out of more than 42 sold. Our LK salesperson, Miss Linna, has excelllent English skills and replies to all email very fast. She is 'hands-on' and personally does all the testing we all have found her to be the best we have ever dealt with. basically she really cares-- and wants us to come back for more-




and last is , of course, we often pay less for the item- with PJs it makes no sense to send the entire order to the GB host which is a GREAT idea when the item is small but NOT when its a larger item.
and lastly (at least in my case) after the sale you have the host who will add to the after-the-sale support- I still help people who bought in one of my GBs four years ago or more.

Also when the items come first to me i do a inspection and test each item before re-shipping- if it does not pass it goes back and i do that for my buyers- right now I am running GBs for 6 projectors from LaserKing China
from 248$ to 1248$ this last one is FULL COLOR and is a great buy IMO.

i can include you in this GB and the PJ will be sent directly to you-and i will not be handling your payment either - that you will send to LK yourself- but not using paypal- they take too big of a bite and the so-called buyer protection is pretty much worthless as you are NOT buying form Ebay (who also is PPal) I CAN sell you the best choice for lasershow software at the lowest price- these do come from me (& AixiZ Lasers --Houston) the Pangolin Quick Show is the number one seller and Pango has been around for more than 26 years has the best support and advantages that no other software seller can offer.

brb with a few links for you

 

[hakzaw1]

BUMP for the OP

Im back!!

My GB for these WILL be done in time for us to get delivery long before new years end.

we have been upgraded free to the best shipper-- DHL Express- once our orders are in and the money is there these get tested then given to DHL_ after that we normally ONLY wait 72 hours for delivery sometimes even faster.
DHL is not just fast- they are the safest shipper I know- we have never had a box opened after DHL gets it-

on-going GB- not too late to join us-

http://laserpointerforums.com/f55/laserprojector-group-buy-4-a-85297.html

here you can find ALL my GB threads
click only on those with my username under the thread title.

you need to mostly read the past three GBs I did for Laserking and Miss Linna.
the others are NOT for laser PJs. But do show you my GB skillz and record.

Laser Pointers - Search Results


... all these GBs show you how many members have trusted me to do the job properly.
check my rep- PM anyone that has EVER worked with me. I am well trusted. some send me cash in the mail!!
I do not suggest this- but it does tell you something about me and my buyers who often come back for more...
all the 6 PJs in the current GB are listed in my past 4 LK group buys-(Pics-specs and reviews from new owners) contact any who own them- one guy JamesCranmer knows me the best- contact him please..

the biggy this time is the 1.4W RGB FULL COLOR LK RGB 5 and while I have NOT seen this PJ in person yet I am quite sure, going by past experience , that it will be a great choice for those wanting lots of power and full color-- the 700mW you link is NOT full color- so do you REALLY want to spend your $$ buying form a deal that thinks you don't know TTL from analog modulation? Or worse they don't know the diff..
And on the back of this one I see dip switches- this is not good- al LKs come with a LED read-out and push buttons NO DiPPY DIPS< they suck.
and in the dark almost impossible to use..
happy to answer any Qs you have- i cannot tell you how much time you have to order- the GB closes once we reach the target number- ALSO real ALL the stickies in the GB section carefully-- not all are run the same way nor are all GB hosts as good as the next one- we have seen some GBs here at LPF end very badly and people got hurt. so do YOUR HOMEWORK--

You can email me using my forum name at Gmail or yahoo.

good luck and Cheerz!!

hak

# 11 (post count)-- looK OUT #10 HAK IS COMING

 

[Pman]

Can't believe someone would be stupid enough to send cash in the mail

Dip swithes are definately not as fun to deal with (have some on a few pro amps).
These are controlled simply/easily/quickly.
Noticed in the first link that the red is a 650 and not a 638 and in the second they don't even list the color nm and the choice of mw rating doesn't make sense.

 

[cadcoke5]

I know this thread is a bit stale, but I have a similar need, and thought it best to reply here, rather than start a new thread.

In my case, I want to start to do some custom laser animations, and am attracted by the low-cost RGB lasers with ILDA ports on them. E-bay has a zillion for under $300.

My initial project involves creating a realistic simulating of fireflies. So, simple on-off control of the laser colors is not enough. Rather, I need to control the intensity of the colors. However, none of my inquiries to those who sell the cheap RGB animation lasers have been fruitful. I know there is an Asian cultural thing, where it is considered rude to say no. So, knowing that, I think I should accept anything but an explicit "yes" to mean no.

I do hope to advance to more power and animation capabilities in the future, but for now I figure it is best to jump on as cheaply as I can, knowing that I can be much better informed for my future purchase. And, for my firefly project, my laser power and animation control needs are minimal.

The software and interface seems to be another major factor. I see plenty of the cheap iShow packages, but everything I have read indicates that this program will not run on my Windows 7, 64bit machine. The cheapest I have found that permit custom programs, and runs on contemporary operating systems is the $225 USD Mamba Elements by MediaLas. Its main limitation, for my needs, is that it cannot import/export IDLA animation files. So, your shows are pretty much locked into their program. Lasershow Software Mamba Elements by MediaLas Show Laser. However, you can purchase their upgraded MIII software, which costs $470 USD. It will open the Elements animation files.

Are there any other software and interface packages that are in this low price range, and will run on contemporary computers?

I found some recommendations in the forums for reputable Chinese sources for these systems, but I was unable to track any of them down. Note that for us newer folks, giving a company name as an abbreviation doesn't help. And even some full company names, if they are common words, isn't enough to find them.

Thank you for any advice.

-Joe

 

[Things]

I think for that price range, your 2 best options are something like a RIYA/Etherdream DAC + ILDSOS, or Pangolin Quickshow and the FB3. From memory both will run you about $500, but they're by far better than anything else for the price point. iShow is a heap of shit and you couldn't pay me to even touch it.

 

[cadcoke5]

I think for that price range, your 2 best options are something like a RIYA/Etherdream DAC + ILDSOS.

Thank you very much for that recommendation. I had not heard of their systems before.

I just checked out the above from Innolaser. The RIYA Etherdream DAC interface is currently priced at $180 USD. They also have the RIYA Lite DAC for $150. And, as what I am starting to realize is typical of this industry, there is no link to any significant technical information, or a manual.

However, I realize a USB cable can't be very long, so I can see an Ethernet interface as being more convenient. It is not apparent to me if you can just plug the Etherdream directly to your computer, or if you need an Ethernet switch.

At Innolaser, you purchase the software separately. The $30 ILD SOS seems to only be a converter and optimizer for content created by another program. Their Laser Show Express software starts at $130, then the basic is $190, and Pro is $350. They describe the features at the various levels, but much of that is not helpful because they don't put a manual online, to understand what the features are. My general impression is that the $130 version is sufficient for my needs.

Then I would need a cable, which seem to start at $30 on E-bay. This makes the total cost of an interface, and software $340.

The next challenge will be getting a laser projector that has control of the intensity of the colors, and has the safety features required by US law. I am guessing this may require purchasing from a US based vendor, and then the costs jump up significantly.

I have been looking for used lasers, but I can find almost nothing out there. I had hoped the low end ones would be sold when their owners wanted to upgrade to a better one, or perhaps sold when a place goes out of business. Other than e-bay, is there an online place to go for this sort of stuff?

-Joe