SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYMENTS

[brucemir]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

Hey Pman,
So far I have been able to access every pattern I have attempted. I had a good session with it on Saturday (in my warm den instead of my garage) and did some experimenting with the sound activation (results in previous post in this thread), and with accessing every pattern I a wanted. I was very successful at this. I will post some pics later this morning showing my results. I did not use my fog machine for any of them. By using the Obey 70 I was able to tweak the patterns I wanted and got some pretty neat shots.

 

[brucemir]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

Here are some shots I took this past Saturday afternoon after I was done experimenting with the Sound Activation. All the photos are the PD2. Usually I photograph in my garage, but these were taken in my den/computer room. I had a semi blank wall. Pardon the light switch, door knobs, and outlet present in the photos. Either this weekend or next I plan on bringing my projectors to where I work. There is one white wall (a little dirty) in the warehouse that is approx 20 ft x 20 ft and in the office area there is a section that would be good to project onto. I have some really cool ideas when I get to them.

 

[ReaperZ]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

I do appreciate these cool laser projectors and the savings! It's much appreciated that we have Linna as our liaison with LaserKing. I surely don't wish to jeopardize her position. I thank you, Linna, for helping us acquire these projectors!

I would like to get the sound activation to be much more sensitive than it currently is (mine won't trigger from external speakers or hand claps), but it doesn't really matter to me how this is achieved, either by LK or our own ingenuity. @Pman has researched and found a few inexpensive preamp mics, so all that's left to do is purchase and test in a projector, decide how to install, and whether or not to leave the existing mic in place when soldering in the replacement. If someone is successful at doing this with proven results, perhaps we can standardize the fix for other owners?

It sounds like the LKRGB5's have a pressing issue with green not being analog, and the rest of us have various sound activation issues. I can wait for Linna to receive feedback from LK on the sound issue. I would like to know about how long to wait before taking matters into our own hands and modifying the unit, which is kind of a big deal.

Likewise, i would like to thank Linna for providing us with these

@hakzaw - the rave is a private 50 people rave in a large warehouse but im sure the volume will be quite sufficient .. in saying that im sure myself along with other members would like the sensitivity of these lasers adressed.

I have managed to get the sound activation working, by throwing 110db of volume at it (i have a lot of power in my home theatre) - this is with setting the function under MODE : MUSIC to 9, and also setting the 'music sensitivity' level to maximum.

It may also be worth noting the back panel of the projector in the manual for the LK-RGB5 is completely different to the physical unit - the physical unit is more basic.

but i must say, im quite impressed regardless!!

Im going out to buy an SD Card + reader so i can put some ILDA shows on and test it out

a few quick questions
1) The sound activation issue is something that Linna's techs have been advised of right?
2) Will we receive analog green modules for the LK-RGB5 at some point ? It would be fair to assume there will be no cost for this, but as im an ametuer im a little worried the alignment won't be so easy, but im probably getting worried over nothing

Thanks hak for everything so far

 

[Pman]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

Like I said, I'll experiment with the Mic thing and let everyone know as soon as I can.
Why I ended up doing the AUX mod was people were telling me that that's just something you would probably have to do and I wasn't getting any answers so I threw in the towel and did it. The only thing that kept me from doing it sooner was the "taking matters into my own hands" and worrying about warranty issues but no one else seemed to be concerned with this.
I'm just hoping I can help us all out at this point for as little $ as possible. Just afraid someone is going to mess up their unit by accident.

Nice pics there Brucemir (as always). I keep thinking about getting the 70 as I think something that has a keypad entry will cost big bucks. It's not like I'm doing shows or anything. I'm on a knife edge about it.

 

[Pman]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

K, got the mics and they are extremely sensitive. The boxes say 6-12VDC and the center pin is positive. Don't know how else to describe the power adapter needed but it is the standard size plug as I have at least 30 adapters (save them from stuff over the years) and this is definitely the most common size as most of my adapters have the correct plug on the end.

First thing I figured out was the input voltage makes all the difference for how sensitive the mic is. It appears to pickup a very wide frequency range.
This leads me to believe that it is very possible that the internal mic isn't getting amplified like it probably should. Can't get any response from the mic if there's no power supply to it.
What's interesting about buying both of them is you can plug the power jumper from one into the other if you wanted to hook up 2 mics. The power supply registers no milliamp draw at all so it is minuscule (didn't bother to try measuring it with my Fluke 87V as there was really no point).
Now the wall warts voltage outputs tend to put out a higher voltage than they stated and I believe that is because they are made as cheaply as possible so there's voltage sag at rated output.
Unfortunately things are still a bit tricky as The sensitivity adjustment of the unit was obviously meant to work with the way the built in mic works because the adjustment between 1-9 isn't as varied as I would like (in other words it doesn't change enough between the settings and the difference between the 1 and 9 setting isn't huge).
The solution from my testing is to also have an inline volume control. Yes, it's one more thing in the loop but it does work.
Will need to open her up again and see if there's other options to power the mic from but I don't know if I want to try that route.
The aux jack was simple enough but I just don't want things to start looking sloppy. You could always power the mic with a battery since it doesn't draw practically anything.
9V battery with a switch to turn it on/off and mount the mic wherever you like plus volume control. Sounds a bit complicated but really isn't.
Just throwing stuff out there for ideas and to help with this

EDIT
Messed around again this morning using my selectable wall wart at 2.35 volts (actually says it is supposed to be 1.5V) and the sensitivity is fine but there's just not a huge difference between setting the unit between 1-9 as far as using your own ears. I really need to check with my dB meter. The real bottom line is that if you had a variable DC power supply feeding the mic you could set the sensitivity to anything you want. I know the stated power for the mic is supposed to be 6-12VDC but it seems to have no issues running lower voltages.
Haven't made a decision yet on what I'm going to do really as I am still messing with it.

 

[wendylou]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

So most projectors seem insensitive to all but the loudest of sounds (@Tmack is the exception), correct? How many people bought and can confirm the status of their sound input sensitivity? Do most of us require very loud sound levels to trigger the mic?

The fact that the PJ do respond to sound once some trigger threshold has been exceeded indicates that the sound control circuitry is working, if poorly. So either the mics themselves are of variable sensitivity, or the input or amplifier gain is variable. If we had a schematic of that particular board, that might help us learn what to check. If it was something simple like an improper resistor or a marginal microphone, I could see fixing this ourselves. If it's in an IC chip or other components, I'm afraid we are at the mercy of LK technicians to coach us on what to check or replace.

I'd like to fix this in situ if possible before resorting to installing an external mic, volume controls and external power, because we don't really know what the proper level is to feed to the mic input. Also, because the 0-9 software control did not seem to matter much with @Pmans external mic, that makes me suspect that there is something else on that sound board that needs our attention. In other words, perhaps it's not an input problem but maybe a poorly performing preamp or the controller circuit that is out of whack. My hope is that it is something as simply as component replacement.

I don't want to let up on this because those sound shows are worth it! It adds such a rich experience to the laser show, I just can't give up until we've exhausted all avenues. Linna, how can we send you money!

 

[ReaperZ]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

i can confirm my sound activated module works in my LK-RGB5 but at ridiculous volumes required and i dont want to let up either as one of my primary uses for this setup was the sound activation

 

[Pman]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

Hear you guys and of course it stinks having to mess with all this extra stuff. I just stopped at Adshak on the way home to pick up a few more adapters to mess with. It has been tiresome messing with all of this but as BY said , you just don't want to miss all the new patterns as it's like owning another projector.
At this point I can control my unit with any volume level I want and it isn't difficult but it feels like a big overkill to do what should be simplistic.
I'm trying to get this down to as simple as possible going on the assumption that we are not going to get a fix. Going to try something else tomorrow. You can always use a battery or batteries to power the mic. Yes it stinks having to plug my adapter in but i don't move the unit around like a lot of you guys do.
Anyways, I'll be keeping you all informed of any interesting breakthroughs but don't hold your breath.

 

[Pman]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

Some more great pics.
I realize this is called the laser "pointer" forums but we are very slowly educating others about the merits of the projector. Sure there's hiccups here and there but all GBs have them.
For now those extremely sensitive mics are certainly a viable option. The real trick comes down to how you want to implement it all.
I don't really like the whole wall wart thing for powering the mic (wall warts are just plain ugly and dont like that I need to plug it in) so I'm thinking about maybe a battery instead. You could use an eneloop, alkaline, lifepo4, 14500 etc. to adjust voltage to the mic for whatever sensitivity you are looking for in a simple battery holder. The battery holder could be mounted in the unit and add a switch mounted to back to turn it on/off. Decide where to mount mic inside or outside the unit.
Just throwing stuff out there as the best implementation l think would involve still keeping the unit as self contained as possible. There's so many different ways of making this work.

 

[ReaperZ]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

I'm trying to get this down to as simple as possible going on the assumption that we are not going to get a fix.

I am expecting a fix as it was advertised as having this as a usable feature by Laser King - also Linna emailed me saying we will be getting replacement drivers for the green module at some point, however she did not respond regarding the sound activation.

I'd love to be able to use this at some of my friends kids parties for overhead scanning, but cant really subject them to extreme volumes, its just not safe.

I havent had a chance to get any excellent pictures yet, still working on it - should be a photographer at the warehouse rave on saturday though

Thanks for your info so far Pman !

 

[Shakenawake]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

The sound response on mine is alright I think. I do put one of my four speakers right behind it so it can respond well, but it doesn't have to be very loud

 

[Pman]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

You're welcome. Thought I was going to get into it more this past weekend but ended up doing other stuff.
You can certainly do the speaker or headphone route if necessary for the parties.
I keep thinking about using the powered mic in conjunction with the built in mic to cover a wide range of volume. The powered mic doesn't do anything without power so if you switch it off the built in mic still works for VERY loud sound.

 

[bmholbro]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

Update: Sorry been out of pocket following my big NYE event--was in Mexico for a week... I had time to rush to the airport and pickup my SD2 Projector at DHL and return to putting together the party. I was able to run through the preprogrammed shows on the SD card during the party and it looked fairly solid in the venue--but I wasn't able to get the projector connected to my laptop and easylase II DAC. The printer extension cable I bought for the ILDA cable function (seen in posts here) was not the right direction and would only connect to the output of the projector. The other cable I had (came with my used DAC) was also this direction. I will see if I can find a F-F printer cable and make that work when I have time to mess with it again. I'm not sure if there is something different with my projector setup or with the type of DAC I'm using.

 

[hakzaw1]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

Thanks both Brian, Daryl , Shaken and Pete for the continued support and all the great help..

The four new LK owners are holding off on a full review and our tests until the issue with our green module is solved- IMHO its more important how this is handled that the actual snafu itself-( it was not an 'on -purpose' it was an accident)--& I too hope nobody at LK gets fired over this possibly $1000+usd error--

" from Wendy-
It sounds like the LKs have a pressing issue with green not being analog, and the rest of us have various sound activation issues. I can wait for Linna to receive feedback from LK on the sound issue. I would like to know about how long to wait before taking matters into our own hands and modifying the unit, which is kind of a big deal."

Wish it were different BUT-- fact is the sound response is not 'broken' it DOES work -- just NOT WELL.. but of course & sure needs to be better done- those who already own Chi-jectors already know all too well how poorly these tiny mics work- so do not look for a 'fix' coming from LK= the TTL green modules, on the other hand are a different matter-

I have a ton of praise for the LK- but don't want to post a review that ends in 'more coming soon & to be continued'


As much as I like all those LKs i have seen so far-- the LK is NO 'TOY' projector-- AND comparing it with a GREEDBay 1W at $600 is crazy talk-- < that one will be underspec and full color 'my ass'.

I compare the LK with those sold CONUS at MORE $$ and
'almost' completely equipped to become a legal for public display once a few other mods are made and the variance allpied for-
I

LK has worked hard to make all happy-

This mix up with the green module is NOTHING & - if its the only issue we have then its a barely feelable bump in the road-- will be forgotten soon while how we were 'made whole and happy' will NOT be forgotten any time soon.

If these PJ had come from some other makers- we would be forced to pay more than 200$ to send both ways-

there would be no free shipped parts nor all the help we need to fix ourselves not to mention the time away from us- do you REALLY think other sellers would make free repairs AND make a quick turnaround too??

THis is be my first 'store bought' full color PJ and i welcome the chance to replace my green and learn how to do this correctly--

I have doubts that LK will allow another RGB5 GB with all the free extras and upgrades- I think they lost money on this one so less likely to risk this again.

WE may increase our odds with 10 buyers next time- but I don't see that happening with all the cheaper PJs if they are taken seriously..

BTW my REKE RGB ILDA/DMX 500 is FS @$280 FIRM plus actual ship cost low hours and as good as any Reke 500 you will find.

Also have a few 50$ chances left to sell for a LK PD2 Ra44le also in mint condition and low hours-- ONLY selling enough of these to break even. LIMIT two 'tickets' per member- PM for moar details-- hak

 

[ReaperZ]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

Thanks for the continued support hak .. i guess i will have to suck up and realise that the sound activation is going to be poor and that LK will not do anything to fix it - im quite disappointed about this unfortunately as to be honest it was a big buying point for me - all of the chinese laser systems my friends have got (sub $500 units) sound activation all work fine. ... anyway

I have a new question i would like help with - the SD Card slot.

While waiting for my DAC + Software, i thought i would download some .ild files from the Photon Lexicon FTP server and copy these to a SD Card - i followed the instructions in the manual precisely, but have not been able to get it to work.

1) ensured the SD Card was formatted to FAT32
2) ensured the files were 8 characters or less (i understand fat32 restrictions quite well)

The RGB5 detects the SD card but i can't figure out a way to make it play or even see the files on the SD card.. i tried just a single file, a single file in a folder, and a file in a folder and a file in the root directory.

Has anyone played with this ?

*edit .. figured it out .. theres more to it than just an ILD file ;-)

 

[wendylou]

Re: SHIPPING!!& DELIVERY ASAP UPDATE!!Laserprojector group buy # 4 Time to send PAYM

Meanwhile, back to our regularly scheduled show, Sound Off with tonight's guests, "Mike Weakling and the Laser Kings". Tonight's episode: "Rip and Tear, Bruno, Rip and Tear!"

I got the idea to try a similar can-style mic with a soft rubber mount I had removed from something years ago. It had 1 in. insulated lead wires, and the resistance was slightly lower than the LK mic. I unsoldered the LK mic using solder wick – a painstaking effort to not touch the IC chip lines right next to it.

Result? It's actually slightly more responsive than the original – I don't have to tap on the case quite as hard to trigger it – encouraging, but, still not wonderful, and it still won't respond to external music. I still have to press a headphone against the mic hole and crank it up to near 100 dBC SPL. I think this proves that the problem is not the included mic but something in the audio circuit board or software control. It's very much like a line level input rather than a mic input.

I'm left with the feeling that perhaps the best remedy for poor sound response is Pman's idea of installing a small battery powered preamp.