RGB White Laser Module with TTL

[ArcticDude]

Paul,

Sounds good. Where can I find some DIY build examples or video with the RGB module?

Here's some RGB units running TTL modulation >>

Also, with 4duino >> it would be actually quite easy add digital PWM controls for RGB laser.

 

[paul1598419]

I though those RGB units from Optlaser that grainde built were analog modulated. That is the same as yours, isn't it, Tero?

 

[JohnSim]

No problem, Thanks Paul.

 

[Benm]

Actually, that one is a bit better as it uses all direct diodes.

That's indeed a benefit when trying to do projections and such.

There is an inherent delay with DPSS lasers causing them to have a bit of a delay. For a laser pointer this is not even noticeable, but when doing projections or beamshows it can very well be.

If you'd just have a diode red and dpss green combined you can notice how the green lags the red when just projecting a circle with just some segments of it lit and others dark. If you get scanning up to 30.000 pps you will really notice red and green are no longer well aligned.

Some software actually allows compensating for this problem by putting some adjustable lag time on each channel so you can get it right in any combination of technologies (diode red + dpss green + diode blue, or diode red + dpss green + dpss blue).

Also the linearity between drive current and light output is more linear with direct diode lasers, so that's one less problem to deal wtih - if you can do a diode green, do so

 

[paul1598419]

If there is a delay in the 532nm in my RGB laser, it must be very fast as I cannot see it at all. It seems to keep up with the other two direct diodes very well.

 

[Benm]

It may vary between diodes. I've had one with indentical drivers for the red and IR pump for the green, and the green definitely lagged the red when turned on and off at the same time to produce yellow.

You may not really notice it in practical application, but if you run the standard ILDA test pattern at high speed (30.000pps or more) you can usually see it: At the upper half of the pattern there are a few lines (between the central box and Y label) that are scanned pretty quickly, and they should be perfectly white. You may notice those have a bit of red streak at the start and a green streak at the the end (going from left to right).

Sometimes you can also see it with the bottom dots on the test pattern, though that's more likely to be caused by non-linear response.

You probably would never notice if not running a test pattern or high speed animation though. If you're just scanning in the air for a disco venue or something it doesn't matter at all.

 

[ArcticDude]

I though those RGB units from Optlaser that grainde built were analog modulated. That is the same as yours, isn't it, Tero?

OPT RGB units accepts both analog & TTL input. Signal is PWM on grainde's and mine RGB.

Here's my old & similar el Cheapo RGB module (DPSS green) with TTL inputs controlled via PWM..

 

[paul1598419]

Huh. I guess I got to learn something new. I would have sworn you were using an analog voltage to modulate the colors on your RGB unit. That old unit of yours certainly wasn't all that much. Looks like a single mirror moving.

 

[JohnSim]

Here's some RGB units running TTL modulation >>

Also, with 4duino >> it would be actually quite easy add digital PWM controls for RGB laser.

Good tip , thanks. I wasn't aware of that product (4Duino).

 

[RedCowboy]

Huh. I guess I got to learn something new. I would have sworn you were using an analog voltage to modulate the colors on your RGB unit. That old unit of yours certainly wasn't all that much. Looks like a single mirror moving.

WHAT WHAT WHAT..................No, I refuse to believe it, paul knows all or so I thought :cryyy: my image of paul is shattered :cryyy: who will be my hero now ? :cryyy:

---edit---

paul, maybe you only pretend from time to time that you are less than omniscient just as I do, after all we don't want the " regulars " to be intimidated by our God like intelligence......YES that must be it, of course I knew that now I can get my wallet size pic of you out of the trash and put it back in my wallet Oh Happy Day

 

[paul1598419]

:undecided:

 

[RedCowboy]

Hey, I laughed at your southern fried rat with 11 herbs and spices.....and you know I can have a strange sense of humor, besides I was just bringing with the jokes.

 

[paul1598419]

Okay. No harm, no foul. It just didn't make sense to me in the moment.

 

[RedCowboy]

Yea, just got a wild hair and was amusing myself aloud, it doesn't always translate.

My brother is practically an idiot savant when it comes to people skills, he can crack dirty jokes about a strangers wife with the couple standing in front of him and they will laugh with him, if I said what he does I would be slipping punches, however the guy can't even change a tire.

I was turning wrenches from a young age and see mechanical things in my mind without trying but people skills I had to learn and still it's not my strong point.

From what I read we are all born dominant in usually 3 of 7 areas such as some can paint what they see or imagine in their mind without any formal training, some have natural musical talent and can preform without training, others can solve mathematical problems and see numbers as shapes and colors but they are wired like a calculator and get it right, and some have great people skills......it's funny because at times I can really connect with people and motivate them about something I feel passionate for, but not always, and at times I can sing when the mood hits but if asked to sing, forget about it, maybe some of it is buried in all of us, maybe I'm just an asshole, however I know that I like to laugh and share laughs and I was laughing when I thought what I wrore and I did wonder if it would translate, but I thought aww what the hell.....the scary part is I held a lot back :/

---edit---

One thing we are missing in text is all the body language and tone of voice, we can say something that could be taken as funny or hostile but it's the persons demeanor and tone of voice that makes all the difference and that is missing in text.

 

[paul1598419]

:beer:

 

[hakzaw1]

Wait-- the one sold by newgazer looks lie the best choice 9W/O SEEING THEM ALL IN ACGTION)--diode green- and iirc the red is a 638-and rea;l blue NOT 405( I hope 'they' have stopped using bluray for 'blue'-)[/B]
the price was better too )- I own RGBs from AixiZ- less power & higher price-- I had the green 532 fail in one of 3.. I like them for my small LUMIA PJs - the TTL allows lots of 'play to the music'-- for live stuff.
... .. TBH... only 'we' would know what we were seeing was 'ONLY' ttl-not analog or only 532 not 520-or that our red was just' 650- or our scanners were only PTs.. I like to balance my $$ in ways that make a diff to my viewers- not just my fellow LPFers.
One thing I do know is""" when WE see/admire/envy an awesome white-- most in the audience are thinking WTH? only white ''light'' enough!!.. bring back da laszers!..

I sure would like to see more reviews and follow-ups on these *white laser* 'sleds'

anyone own the Newgazer version-? looks a tad crude (not anodized black) imo its an 'in-house' item like Techood makes 3 sold 7 left -- BUT n/p with that-- looks a lot like my Homemade sleds . hhaaha

back with link and idea to save a few $$.

ABSOLUTELY no appreciation for all the extra work/$$ etc that it takes to REALLY please us!!

''''''''''''''''''''''''update'''''''''''''''''
Here is an unsolicited review of the AixiZ RGB ($145) I am NOT posting it to steer you towards or away from AixiZ or any other seller/maker- BUT its here for you to read & I suggest you do so- Mr Lyon knows of what he speak(ith) and any reviewer who can do such an expert job deserves our respect. He would be a great person to have review your RGB.. he may do that for free. I still have plans to contact him if for nothing else to say TY for the review--I learned a lot from it- TY Terry
his review in its entirety >\______________________


DISCLAIMER. The author of this “customer comment” assumes no responsibility for the unsafe use of this laser kit and the following assembly and use information is intended to help prevent potentially harmful eye exposures. The visible and invisible laser beams emitted by this kit must be terminated in a backstop that is within a controlled area to prevent human access. Further review of current laser safety standards is advised. This author has volunteered to create these comments without any financial compensation and they need to be used with caution.

This RGB kit exceeded my expectations considering the low cost, small size, light weight (less than ½ pound) and it even contained sophisticated optics to combine the three beams into what appeared as white light. I remember 50 years ago when multi-wavelength lasers were a thousand times more expensive and larger in size. Back then, no federal standards and only a couple safety standards existed. Many safety standards exist today for manufacturers and users. I installed my RGB kit into an opaque enclosure to largely block extraneous radiation (secondary beams and near-infrared laser pump emissions).

The kit arrived without any connection instructions, safety instructions, or schematic/layout. It contained a laser module connected to a controller module and four sets of wires with connectors. The controller module was insulated from the mounting holes with a plastic frame so it could be mounted in a conductive aluminum enclosure. Four basic connections were made between each loose wire set connector to the blue, red, green, and white sockets along one end of the controller module. Power was connected through that white socket with red as positive 12 VDC (which should be controlled with an ON-OFF SPST switch) and black as ground. The other three wire sets are used to disable individual lasers (TTL lines) so they could be connected to three individual SPST switches. Miniature toggle switches work well. When a TTL line was open, there is about 2 VDC present, and when closed each line drew about 0.5 mA which turns off one diode laser. Keep these lines separated electrically from each other as when they are combined some undesirable operation can occur.

I used a 7812 (RS 276-1771) 12VDC positive voltage regulator fed from an unregulated power adapter that was rated for 1A. The RGB kit should also work OK with a regulated 12 VDC adapter or a 12VDC battery. I inserted a 1 ohm 1% resistor between the adapter and a 1000 microF filter capacitor ahead of the 7812 regulator input to ground and a 0.1 microF capacitor on the regulated output line. Voltage developed across the resistor can be used to determine the operating current. The 7812 was bolted to an aluminum enclosure which was a box approximately 2 x 3 x 5 inch (RS 270-0238). This enclosure required some trimming of the controller module plastic mounts to fit in the enclosure. It is really important to enclose the laser module in an opaque box with a single aperture to transmit the combined beams as this will block many other potentially harmful laser beams. Also, I would recommend against using a black plastic enclosure as many transmit invisible NIR radiation from the 800 nm and 1064 nm laser beams that are often present in the 532 nm output of green laser diodes. I found that the aluminum enclosure was adequate for cooling the laser module and the 7812 for non-continuous operation, dissipating about 7-8 watts for a few minutes. Continuous operation may require a heat sink with a fan for which there appears to be a separate connection on the controller module.

The following list contains some measured results for my completed “AXIZ LLC RGB kit 650-150 / 532-80 / 450-120 TTL with optics 12VDC.” Radiant power was when operated in continuous wave (CW) mode and were measured at the output where the beams were combined. Data below are listed by operating mode, peak wavelength (nm), applied voltage VDC (volts), operating current (mA), and radiant output power (mW) in the main beam:

white beam, (441.7, 531.9, 659.8, NIR1, NIR2), 11.40, 490, 308
red beam, 659.8, 11.98, 130, 134
green beam, 531.9, 11.98, 205, 69
blue beam, 441.7, 11.98, 212, 122
NIR beam1, 804.4, green mode, green mode, ~1.4
NIR beam2, 1064, green mode, green mode, ~0.18

Some other comments follow: The kit weighted about 193 gram or 6.8 oz. Peak wavelength measurements were made with an ILT950 spectroradiometer, voltage measurements were made with a Fluke 87 DMM, and radiant power measurements were made with a Scientech disk calorimeter and a calibrated Thorlabs photodiode. The output beam may have had some slight clipping at the laser exit aperture. Many green laser diodes contain a NIR pump laser (such as 808 nm) and are frequency doubled to 532 nm from a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser. Two NIR wavelengths leaked into the output beam but were largely reduced by the beam combining optics.

This laser had a hazard category of ANSI Class 3b which can result in an immediate and permanent eye injury from momentary viewing from within the beam (intrabeam viewing) or a specular reflection of the beam. Reflections from diffuse surfaces at this class are not considered to exceed safety limits. Also, skin exposure is not considered harmful. Laser safety eye wear is advised and I added a permanent 2 x 2 filter holder at the laser exit aperture so that I could use a removable neutral density filter to reduce the output power when full power was not needed. I also added a ping-pong ball diffuser to a 2 x 2 metal plate with a hole that can be placed into the laser beam for laser demonstrations. This combination double diffused the beam with 2 ping-pong surfaces to further reduce the laser output and is considered safe for any viewing condition. I also added warning labels to the laser housing to show where the laser exit aperture was and a laser DANGER label.

My analysis was an abbreviated safety study but it did provide some estimated optical densities for safety filters that are listed below. These are the approximate optical densities for an attenuating filter to reduce the laser output to below ACGIH intrabeam laser “point-source” viewing safety exposure limits. Viewing through such filters would still be very bright and not advised. Data below are listed by operating mode, peak wavelength (nm), and optical density (OD) for ACGIH to 8 hours:

white beam, (441.7, 531.9, 659.8, NIR1, NIR2), 3.6
red beam, 659.8, 2.6
green beam, 531.9, 2.3
blue beam, 441.7, 3.5
NIR beam1, 804.4, ~0.3
NIR beam2, 1064, none

Some other comments follow: Greater NIR levels existed within the extraneous beams created by the combining optics and these must be blocked with an opaque enclosure or barrier such as a flat-black painted metal surface.

Rating: 5 of 5 Stars! [5 of 5 Stars!]
I will add AixiZ RGB pics soon- but you can see them at aixiz.
http://www.aixiz.com/store/product_reviews_info.php/products_id/459/reviews_id/25