Make: Projects
Lunchbox Laser Shows
Build three different laser effects machines that fit into metal lunchboxes to create exciting sound and light shows.
Back in the 1970s, my friend Wayne Gillis and I used to do light shows at science fiction conventions. We had the usual panoply of overhead, slide, and custom-made projectors, and a single, very expensive, helium-neon laser from Edmund Scientific. Calling ourselves Light Opera, and later, Illuminatus, we performed at ConFusion conventions in Ann Arbor, Mich., and at the World Science Fiction Convention in 1976, where Robert Heinlein was guest of honor.
Flash forward 30 years, and I get a call from David Bloom, a web marketing/connection guy and awesome keyboardist. Would we like to revive our act and perform with him at Penguicon 7? You betcha, I said, and Wayne and I set about to update our craft, revive our spent youths, and order a bunch of now-inexpensive lasers. Thus Illuminatus 2.0 was born.
Penguicon is a unique convention that mixes science fiction fans with those deep into open source software. Given the open nature of the event, we decided to share our tech with MAKE readers interested in laser displays and soldering.
Instead of a single, monolithic laser device, we went with a bunch of inexpensive units, and as “cheapness” was the watchword for this project, we housed the devices in the cheapest metal boxes we could find, namely, lunchboxen. (Penguicon is a Linux convention, so it’s one box, two boxen). A search of eBay turned up a raft of cool boxen with science fiction themes, and we were on our way.
Steps
Step #1: Assemble the voltage regulators.
Next
- Count the number of voltage regulator circuits you need to build your boxen. Each Lumia box needs 2, a Diffracterator needs 4, and a Motiondizer uses 1.
- Cut a section of perf board for each box and follow the circuit schematic in the documents section to assemble its voltage regulator circuits.
- If you’re using a laser stronger than 10mW (or want the option to swap one in later), put a heat sink on the LM317 voltage regulator.
- Note that all the individual regulator circuits share their connections to power, diode D1, and capacitors C1 and C5.
Conclusion
Open Source Coolarity
Wayne and I have made 5 boxen so far: 2 Lumias (red and red-and-green), a Diffracterator (green), and 2 Motiondizers (violet and green).
And as for Penguicon, things worked very well. The DJ at the dance party wanted to buy a Diffracterator on the spot.
I Sing the Lunchbox Electric
Since the boxen run off batteries, you can do shows in camp. Not that you should, of course.
For indoor gigs, Wayne also built a massive power supply into a project case, and I found a suitable snake cable online that we use to get 12V DC to everything that needs it.
We also have several wall-wart power supplies we picked up at ham fests and such. The boxen don’t draw much power, so a small wart would probably do you. With a couple of warts, we can do shows without having to drag the big box around.
The Wobbulator disk on the Diffracterator, incidentally, is my one contribution to world culture. There are lots of other laser grating effects out there, but AFAIK, this is the first with a Wobbulator. (Although it may have been invented decades ago by Ivan Dryer at Laserium, I dunno.)
Feeding the Motiondizer
The Motiondizer needs full-strength input from your audio system, so if you also want to hear your regular speakers, you may need a splitter such as a distribution amplifier (DA). We use DAs we found on the internet. You can also control the Motiondizer with just a microphone, using a mic pre-amp. In concert, you can run line-level signals for a Motiondizer from the mixing board.
Variations
Lasers are blisteringly awesome to behold, susceptible to endless tweakage, and dirt cheap. The Lumia and Motiondizer boxes have enough room to mount 2 colored lasers, following slightly different paths to create superimposed pattern projections.
The Lumia projector Wayne built (shown here, minus the wheel) has red and green lasers both cooking away. Note the cooling fan and heat sink on the top laser, a 20mW greenie. The mirror is secured with a cabinet door hinge and a strip of pipe strap.
The motor has a more elegant mounting method: standoffs made for circuit board support. He also used ¼" masonite for his base. Having a better stock of sheet metal than I, Wayne used brass strips and small angle brackets for his laser supports. The blue material around the edge is designed to cushion the apparatus in transit, and the copper strip at the top secures the base plate to the box.
RESOURCES
A good place to start: laserpointerforums.com
For advanced users and professional laserists: photonlexicon.com/forums
The pioneering work of Thomas Wilfred: lumia-wilfred.org
Visit makezine.com/20/lunchboxen for hobby laser and materials buying advice and photos of the laser lunchboxen in action.
This project first appeared in MAKE Volume 20, page 110.
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