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- Dec 27, 2011
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Ok, I'll try to keep this short. FAIL- You can skip to the bottom for a TL;DR and pics and vids! A little while ago I got to talking with Hak about the REKE500. He can get you a great deal on the Pangolin QuickShow software and FB3 DAC which is pretty awesome stuff. I'll talk more about that elsewhere... If you have any questions about any of this stuff, PM Hak and he WILL hook you up!
After we got to talking about the REKE500, I decided to do some research to see if maybe I wouldn't like to go a bit better than entry-level and after getting a lot of advice here and on some other more "projector-oriented" forums, I ended up getting in touch with Winni at goldenstarlaser.com
I talked back and forth with her for a couple of days and she was always VERY responsive and very knowledgable. When our language barrier did get in the way, I was usually able to ask questions on one of the forums and get an explanation.
In the end, I really wanted to get a projector in time for a PRIVATE party that is coming up soon and I decided to take a chance and put myself in Winni's hands. I pretty much told her what I wanted it to be able to do, and asked her to make the recommendations.
She recommended the H-RGB1000-DT30 for my needs. After looking it over, I decided to go with the H-RGB1200-DT30 simply to get a bit more red but otherwise it is pretty much the same projector - just a little more power.
Winni strongly recommended the H series because of the red laser in those projectors, which is a 637nm unit (as opposed to a much less bright 650nm in some of the others, even at greater mW) and it also has better beam specs.
She also felt like the DT-30 (DT stands for Dragon Tiger which is a brand name and they are more reliable, quieter and generally considered worth getting over no-name 30k scanners) scanners were an important upgrade.
I decided to trust her and pretty much went with her advice.
I do NOT know much about projectors other than they are wicked cool like all laser stuff and they add the beam show effects AND graphic affects along with colors like yellow, sky blue and magenta that we can't really get in pointers and I knew even less when I ordered.
The only mis-step was that at first, the supplier for the DT-30 scanners was out of stock so we had to wait a week to build the projector. But Winni told me they would get them on Monday and start building my projector and they got them on Monday and started building my projector.
Winni took pictures of the build as it was being done and sent them to me, and then sent me tracking numbers from DHL. I also took her advice and ordered the slightly more expensive "flight case" option vs the wooden crate (I think) option. This was a very good move because you get the projector in a very nice case that looks like something you would see backstage at a rock concert. It will be invaluable in transporting the laser to parties or in any moves. It is very solid and has a nice cushioned interior that really is excellent.
It took one week from when they started building the laser to DHL pulling up in a yellow and red van and handing it to me!
I unboxed it, and fired it up and it immediately started playing the SD card animations on auto. It was very impressive.
And then when I hooked up the Pangolin Quick Show software and the Pangolin FB3 DAC it got even more impressive...
One of the things I wanted to do was be able to scan in logos and I was able to do that in a matter of minutes with the QS software. Getting them rotating and doing cool stuff was simple.
There IS a learning curve on the laser show software, but for just doing cool basic stuff it is very easy. A full show may take a bit to learn, but it wasn't too hard for me to figure out how to load some pre-made shows that others have made available on the internets and get them running for testing.
My initial impressions of the H-RGB1200-DT30 are as follows...
The case (not the flight case, but the metal case the projector innards are housed inside of) is very solid black aluminum and it is very attractive. Mine did not come with a glass cover over the output aperture, that is an option though. I don't know if you lose any significant power with it or not. I guess the only real reason to do that would be to keep fingers from accidentally touching the scanner mirrors. Dust is gonna get in no matter what...
There are probably a dozen fans inside and the main two fans are not whisper quiet. But it isn't LOUD, just know that you will be able to hear them. I even tried replacing them with some spare fans that "I just happened to have from a Ca$io projector" but they weren't significantly quieter. Again, it isn't a real issue, just don't expect it to be silent.
The scanners ARE pretty quiet. I am NOT experienced in this area, but I am under the impression that not all scanners are quiet and that is one of the advantages of the DT-30's.
If you are thinking of getting one of these, you will have several options here. 20k, 30k, DT30k, 40k (I think), DT40k and 40wide.
Personally, I think the DT-30 are probably a great compromise in price vs performance. But if you decide to go higher that is great. Personally, I would not advise against going any cheaper - these are the mechanical heart to your machine. These things are doing the impossible every second the projector is on...
Another possible upgrade that I would recommend talking to Winni about would be adjustable dichro mounts. You have three lasers in the box shooting at mirrors. The green shoots at a 90 degree mirror that sends the beam to the scanners. The green beam passes through TWO mirrors to get to the scanners. The blue bounces off of one mirror and goes through the red mirror and the red bounces off closest to the scanners and does not go through any dichros to get to them. Which is pretty good planning because red it the one you want to be the closest to the scanners and you don't want to lose any more of the red's power than necessary. You have plenty of blue and green and they aren't as critical. I suspect green is the farthest because the green beam spec is probably the best so it can afford to be farthest.
Anyway, if those dichros and mirrors aren't aligned PERFECTLY, then you can get splash of red or green or blue off to the side of a white line. If you get the glued into place versions that I have, there is no fine tuning or adjusting to be done later. I had questions as to whether mine was aligned properly when I got it because I can see some splash. Some more experienced hobbyists have pointed out that each of the beams have different specs so SOME splash is inevitable at this price range. And I've been told by some experienced hobbyists that based on their experience, mine are pretty well aligned, so I'm not gonna mess with them for now.
Be sure to order an ILDA cable from Winni. It is a DB25 m/f cable (old style printer cable) and they can be had cheaply enough on Amazon from Cables 2 Go but why not have it when your projector arrives. And I think Winni sells them pretty cheap.
Ultimately, I am VERY HAPPY with the projector so far and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Winni. Let's be honest, most of us have dealt with Chinese companies that were less than scrupulous or at the very least - not really knowledgeable about the product they were selling.
Winni is neither of those things. She was very straightforward and honest with me, and it is very clear that she has been in the laser business for a while and she knows what she is talking about and is able to give GOOD SOLID advice on the best way to go...
She could have easily sold me on a HIGH POWER red system with a crappy beam and a 650nm red laser and I would have never known any better. But she took the time to explain why the H series would be better for my application (graphics more than beamshows, you might be fine with the fatter red beam if you don't want to do graphics - ask her - she will tell you for sure!) and I really feel like she went out of her way to make sure that I was happy with my purchase.
Winni even offered to send me a free ILDA cable after-the-fact when she found out that I did not have one, but I didn't feel like that was her fault and it wasn't expensive to get one on Amazon. But she was ready to send me one for free to make me happy.
So, in summary (TL;DR) I would highly recommend Winni at goldenstarlaser.com for any projector you might be considering. Even if you are looking at a REKE500 or something like that, you should talk to her first and see what she can offer you because it really seems like she is interested in making sure the hobby community gets a good quality product so they can get repeat sales.
Here are some videos and pics of the unit...
H-RGB1200 - $750.00 : Laser Light-goldenstarlaser.com, Laser Light-goldenstarlaser.com
winni@goldenstarlaser.com
I also have some iPhone videos, again not the best quality.
I also have a bunch of pics of the innards
H-rgb1200-dt30 - a set on Flickr
I did one small mod, I changed out the two main fans
DC 6020 12V fan - Detailed info for DC 6020 12V fan,12v fan,DC 6020 12V fan,AV-D6020 on Alibaba.com
And replaced them with U60T12MUA7 fans from a Ca$io dlp projector.
Nidec U60T UltraFlo Cooling Fans
The nidec's are a tiny bit thicker, but they clear everything and I was hoping they would be quieter than the originals, but honestly I'm not sure it made much difference. Maybe a little...
After we got to talking about the REKE500, I decided to do some research to see if maybe I wouldn't like to go a bit better than entry-level and after getting a lot of advice here and on some other more "projector-oriented" forums, I ended up getting in touch with Winni at goldenstarlaser.com
I talked back and forth with her for a couple of days and she was always VERY responsive and very knowledgable. When our language barrier did get in the way, I was usually able to ask questions on one of the forums and get an explanation.
In the end, I really wanted to get a projector in time for a PRIVATE party that is coming up soon and I decided to take a chance and put myself in Winni's hands. I pretty much told her what I wanted it to be able to do, and asked her to make the recommendations.
She recommended the H-RGB1000-DT30 for my needs. After looking it over, I decided to go with the H-RGB1200-DT30 simply to get a bit more red but otherwise it is pretty much the same projector - just a little more power.
Winni strongly recommended the H series because of the red laser in those projectors, which is a 637nm unit (as opposed to a much less bright 650nm in some of the others, even at greater mW) and it also has better beam specs.
She also felt like the DT-30 (DT stands for Dragon Tiger which is a brand name and they are more reliable, quieter and generally considered worth getting over no-name 30k scanners) scanners were an important upgrade.
I decided to trust her and pretty much went with her advice.
I do NOT know much about projectors other than they are wicked cool like all laser stuff and they add the beam show effects AND graphic affects along with colors like yellow, sky blue and magenta that we can't really get in pointers and I knew even less when I ordered.
The only mis-step was that at first, the supplier for the DT-30 scanners was out of stock so we had to wait a week to build the projector. But Winni told me they would get them on Monday and start building my projector and they got them on Monday and started building my projector.
Winni took pictures of the build as it was being done and sent them to me, and then sent me tracking numbers from DHL. I also took her advice and ordered the slightly more expensive "flight case" option vs the wooden crate (I think) option. This was a very good move because you get the projector in a very nice case that looks like something you would see backstage at a rock concert. It will be invaluable in transporting the laser to parties or in any moves. It is very solid and has a nice cushioned interior that really is excellent.
It took one week from when they started building the laser to DHL pulling up in a yellow and red van and handing it to me!
I unboxed it, and fired it up and it immediately started playing the SD card animations on auto. It was very impressive.
And then when I hooked up the Pangolin Quick Show software and the Pangolin FB3 DAC it got even more impressive...
One of the things I wanted to do was be able to scan in logos and I was able to do that in a matter of minutes with the QS software. Getting them rotating and doing cool stuff was simple.
There IS a learning curve on the laser show software, but for just doing cool basic stuff it is very easy. A full show may take a bit to learn, but it wasn't too hard for me to figure out how to load some pre-made shows that others have made available on the internets and get them running for testing.
My initial impressions of the H-RGB1200-DT30 are as follows...
The case (not the flight case, but the metal case the projector innards are housed inside of) is very solid black aluminum and it is very attractive. Mine did not come with a glass cover over the output aperture, that is an option though. I don't know if you lose any significant power with it or not. I guess the only real reason to do that would be to keep fingers from accidentally touching the scanner mirrors. Dust is gonna get in no matter what...
There are probably a dozen fans inside and the main two fans are not whisper quiet. But it isn't LOUD, just know that you will be able to hear them. I even tried replacing them with some spare fans that "I just happened to have from a Ca$io projector" but they weren't significantly quieter. Again, it isn't a real issue, just don't expect it to be silent.
The scanners ARE pretty quiet. I am NOT experienced in this area, but I am under the impression that not all scanners are quiet and that is one of the advantages of the DT-30's.
If you are thinking of getting one of these, you will have several options here. 20k, 30k, DT30k, 40k (I think), DT40k and 40wide.
Personally, I think the DT-30 are probably a great compromise in price vs performance. But if you decide to go higher that is great. Personally, I would not advise against going any cheaper - these are the mechanical heart to your machine. These things are doing the impossible every second the projector is on...
Another possible upgrade that I would recommend talking to Winni about would be adjustable dichro mounts. You have three lasers in the box shooting at mirrors. The green shoots at a 90 degree mirror that sends the beam to the scanners. The green beam passes through TWO mirrors to get to the scanners. The blue bounces off of one mirror and goes through the red mirror and the red bounces off closest to the scanners and does not go through any dichros to get to them. Which is pretty good planning because red it the one you want to be the closest to the scanners and you don't want to lose any more of the red's power than necessary. You have plenty of blue and green and they aren't as critical. I suspect green is the farthest because the green beam spec is probably the best so it can afford to be farthest.
Anyway, if those dichros and mirrors aren't aligned PERFECTLY, then you can get splash of red or green or blue off to the side of a white line. If you get the glued into place versions that I have, there is no fine tuning or adjusting to be done later. I had questions as to whether mine was aligned properly when I got it because I can see some splash. Some more experienced hobbyists have pointed out that each of the beams have different specs so SOME splash is inevitable at this price range. And I've been told by some experienced hobbyists that based on their experience, mine are pretty well aligned, so I'm not gonna mess with them for now.
Be sure to order an ILDA cable from Winni. It is a DB25 m/f cable (old style printer cable) and they can be had cheaply enough on Amazon from Cables 2 Go but why not have it when your projector arrives. And I think Winni sells them pretty cheap.
Ultimately, I am VERY HAPPY with the projector so far and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Winni. Let's be honest, most of us have dealt with Chinese companies that were less than scrupulous or at the very least - not really knowledgeable about the product they were selling.
Winni is neither of those things. She was very straightforward and honest with me, and it is very clear that she has been in the laser business for a while and she knows what she is talking about and is able to give GOOD SOLID advice on the best way to go...
She could have easily sold me on a HIGH POWER red system with a crappy beam and a 650nm red laser and I would have never known any better. But she took the time to explain why the H series would be better for my application (graphics more than beamshows, you might be fine with the fatter red beam if you don't want to do graphics - ask her - she will tell you for sure!) and I really feel like she went out of her way to make sure that I was happy with my purchase.
Winni even offered to send me a free ILDA cable after-the-fact when she found out that I did not have one, but I didn't feel like that was her fault and it wasn't expensive to get one on Amazon. But she was ready to send me one for free to make me happy.
So, in summary (TL;DR) I would highly recommend Winni at goldenstarlaser.com for any projector you might be considering. Even if you are looking at a REKE500 or something like that, you should talk to her first and see what she can offer you because it really seems like she is interested in making sure the hobby community gets a good quality product so they can get repeat sales.
Here are some videos and pics of the unit...
H-RGB1200 - $750.00 : Laser Light-goldenstarlaser.com, Laser Light-goldenstarlaser.com
winni@goldenstarlaser.com
I also have some iPhone videos, again not the best quality.
I also have a bunch of pics of the innards
H-rgb1200-dt30 - a set on Flickr
I did one small mod, I changed out the two main fans
DC 6020 12V fan - Detailed info for DC 6020 12V fan,12v fan,DC 6020 12V fan,AV-D6020 on Alibaba.com
And replaced them with U60T12MUA7 fans from a Ca$io dlp projector.
Nidec U60T UltraFlo Cooling Fans
The nidec's are a tiny bit thicker, but they clear everything and I was hoping they would be quieter than the originals, but honestly I'm not sure it made much difference. Maybe a little...
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She's great to work with, really fast replies. 
