X/Y Laser Music Visualiser

[goninanbl00d]

So, I got bored, and that's never, ever, ever a good thing. :can:

I went out and bought a set of $1.50 headphones, and attacked them with a hot glue gun and screwdriver, and glued a few FSRs to them. To top it all off I pointed a 150mW labby at the whole mess (because that was the only laser I had on hand that could run on a continuous duty cycle without melting.

The result?

No, it's not pretty. Initial results weren't too flash- I got more interesting patterns by smacking the baseplate on which everything was mounted.

The baseplate started life as a spirograph baseplate, hence the markings.

Then I switched over to my Lenovo S10e (which has a higher max volume output than my PC's sound card) and used Audacity to slightly de-sync the tracks on both speakers, along with a bit of re-alignment.

I'm still surprised it works. Don't believe me? Here, watch this video.



The only gripe with it is the scan angle, it's pathetically narrow. The pattern's 15cm wide at 3m, and it *could* be better.

But for something that costs $1.50, I'm not complaining.

 

[MoonShadow]

No more hot glue for you, mister

 

[goninanbl00d]

No more hot glue for you, mister

LOL. My hot glue gun drools as well, and it makes a mess. Some of the spider-web thingys got sucked into the labby driver's fan. I'm surprised it ran for four full minutes without a fan without overheating.

On a side note, I need to work out how to get hot glue out of carpet.

 

[Prototype]

Nice vid/project.

On a side note, I need to work out how to get hot glue out of carpet.

Scissors.

 

[TTerbo]

i thought they where your new galvos

 

[Grix]

The most ghetto scanners I have seen!

 

[anselm]

I've been meaning to macgyver something like that for some time now.
Thanks for this encouragement.
I think I might go with speakers that travel a little more than headphones though.

 

[weeba2kv]

INTENSE crap

 

[JLSE]

On a side note, I need to work out how to get hot glue out of carpet.

Ronsol lighter fluid for zippo lighters works really well in 'unsticking' hot glue.
Not the compressed stuff, the fuel oil type..

 

[goninanbl00d]

Anyway, thanks for the feedback. This project is now in the dustbin since I ran over the whole contraption with a chair. Oops, it won't be missed. :scowl:

Also, using speakers with more travel (and using a MUCH bigger amp) would be a good idea.

Ronsol lighter fluid for zippo lighters works really well in 'unsticking' hot glue.
Not the compressed stuff, the fuel oil type..

I ended up using boiling water to de-stick the glue. I'll keep that in mind next time.

 

[Pontiacg5]

Hard drives work a lot better than speakers

http://laserpointerforums.com/f47/my-new-project-big-pics-50316.html

It's a fun project though, and it doesn't cost anything!

 

[MoonShadow]

Somewhere I saw someone use the magnetic lens mount from an optical drive as a similar device. I think I/we should run a contest for the most creative/complete re-use of a laser sled.