Open Source LPM: What interests you?

[The Lightning Stalker]

I can definitely do that since I'll have most of the parts already.

 

[NKO29]

HAHA for me, $30 sounds excellent! I would much rather good quality parts especially because the cost is so low! The way things were going with everyone wanting so many features, i would have thought it would have been at least $100 :eg:

 

[Trevor]

• Measure Low. I want to measure low-power HeNe’s I buy off eBay. It needs to measure down to 1mW +/- 0.10mW.
  
• Measure High. I want to measure high-power diodes, such as those Nichia 445nm in the >2000mW range.

These may be mutually exclusive. No "professional" company offers a single sensor that is able to do both of those things well. Furthermore, if we had to develop a standardized sensor ecosystem for the project (required to meet both of these criteria), that would end up massively driving up costs.

I'll think on this.

• Peek and Hold. I want to see the maximum my laser diode puts out, before it begins to heat, drain the batteries and the output falls off.

Are you referring to just standard peak detection or something else? If you'd expand on that, that would be great.

• Average output. Between two time points.

Peregrine already does this - but onboard the LPM? That may be something of a tall order, unless it's something as simple as pressing the "AVG" button to start and stop averaging.

• Graphs. Data collection is fine. But I want to share what my lasers can do with others on the LPF forum. Those nice graph images people post are really slick. I want software to do that.

This project will more than likely use Peregrine as its PC-side datalogger; so, no worries there.

• Cross-platform. I love windows because I can tweak it and I’m a software engineer. But macs are cool, too. And as long as I am far-reaching, why not through an app from a mobile device?

Peregrine is already cross-platform, but developing a comparable mobile app would be a significant time investment. I probably don't have the time to devote to that.

Pretty crazy I might want all this, huh? But there’s more. I don’t want to be required to install large funky libraries, or .NET 9.0 on my machines to use the LPM and graph output. Further, I want the source code, so I can fiddle with it in my evil lair and improve it in my laboratory. Then when I can graph phase-shifts of my beams off the moon, I can contribute to the Open Source LPM project and become infamous.

Again, Peregrine offers all of that, since you probably already have Java installed.

In the end, though, the meter-part of this project, and the “Open Source” software involved, need not be all that complex. And many of the above-mentioned features are dependent on the hardware, not software.

The firmware you've outlined is potentially horrendously complex, depending on how you expand on your above points. Perhaps not from a usage standpoint, but definitely from a development standpoint. Are you looking for something with a graphical LCD or just a character LCD? Are you thinking of just a few buttons, or something like a directional pad? The mental image I can conjure up of a device that meets your requirements ranges from something about as advanced as a cell phone, to something only a little bit more complex than a LaserBee. That level of complexity hinges on how the user interacts with the device. I definitely need you to expand a little bit on your vision, to help me understand what you're looking for.

Having developed and released OpenLPM, I've had a taste of writing embedded code designed and polished for public consumption. Depending on the final complexity of the project, it may require several more developers to share the load.

Anyone interested?

Trevor

 

[borgqueenx]

i would like to measure 5watts max, have a screen with graph on it like the rubicon, work on cheap batteries and have a usb connection for logging files.
and have a ophir head.
thats basicly my dream LPM, but priced.

 

[ARG]

First draft. Forgot the Serial connector for data logging

 

[NKO29]

Looks very nice! I can actually CNC a board if i can get hold of a double sided board...
Oh and of course i'd need the dimensions

 

[ARG]

Well I've made some progress on this. Ordered the PCB and parts for a prototype. We'll see how that goes.

 

[NKO29]

Yay an update Like i said, I can CNC a board as long as it doesnt have internal layers. Only cost would be for the Blank PCB... If you need a tester i'm up for it!
-Josh

 

[shokkunlasers]

Well I've made some progress on this. Ordered the PCB and parts for a prototype. We'll see how that goes.

I hope it's not too late for wishes you all did great work esspecially you ARG had so useful wishes and I'm a bit late so why not something funny

Could you please integrate some kind of ****ographic content in this that's my wish for a Open Source LPM

Can be just a pin up girl on the PCB silkscreen

 

[crazyspaz]

definitely subbing to this thread. DIY LPM for 30$ seems awesome. It would need an ophir head, right? or will it be possible to use a TEC like the other DIY LPM tutorial thats on the forums?

 

[ARG]

definitely subbing to this thread. DIY LPM for 30$ seems awesome. It would need an ophir head, right? or will it be possible to use a TEC like the other DIY LPM tutorial thats on the forums?

Both will work

 

[crazyspaz]

Both will work

Sweet!

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

I hope it's not too late for wishes you all did great work esspecially you ARG had so useful wishes and I'm a bit late so why not something funny

Could you please integrate some kind of ****ographic content in this that's my wish for a Open Source LPM

Can be just a pin up girl on the PCB silkscreen

No oceanographic content please. The fish have a hard enough time as it is with all the
nuclear waste and pollution.

 

[ARG]

Oceanographic content? I can do that. What kind of fish would you like to see? Maybe a crustacean? How about a mermaid with crabs?

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

Perhaps a pineapple dwelling superluminary sponge.

 

[shokkunlasers]

Me want the CRABS

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