> I would think the cylinder would be better than a tape, since theres
> no need
> for spooling, etc. Wouldn't the image be distorted though?
It would be distorted in the same way as a Trinitron monitor -- flat
top to bottom (or right to left) and round in the other direction.
A short endless loop would be pretty manageable...not any real
problems with spooling. And, the "flat" surface should help prevent
distortion.
Imagine one made from audio tape -- it's pretty narrow, so the tape
wouldn't have to be terribly long. There are endless loop micro-
cassettes which work very well indeed...build a light source into
the center of the microcassette, and put an optical system in front
of it.
Of course a microcassette tape is probably orders of magnitude too
long...just shorten it, which means that less space is necessary,
so the case can be made smaller yet. etc.
If made as interchangeable modules, we could even make the basic
unit upgradeable, at minimal cost. It's just a matter of laser cutting
a different hole pattern -- same size tape, same size module, same
optics. A little logic included in the casing wouldn't be too hard,
so the interface could remain the same too.
> A fell a good solution would be to use a square, and then move it
> back and forth sideways with a linear actuator.
Maybe...but if I understand it correctly, the "slots" path needs to be
pretty long relative to its height.
If I understand this thing right, only one pixel is generated at a time,
just like on a CRT. Let's do a thought experiment...
Assume the sweep is made horizontal, and it's a 30 line display. For
a 30 line display, the path would have to be 30x the display's width.
A square wouldn't work. Perhaps a very long rectangle?
> Wouldn't a better solution for generating the disc be to print out
> on laser transparencies?
How opaque is toner, and how evenly can it be laid down in large
areas of black?
Sounds promising...
-- Chuck Knight
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