question about lasers

Can you link 2 or 3 lasers and have them chase instead of being uniform and without DMX?

No, you can't. That defeats the whole purpose of linking. You'd want to use some sort of controller to turn them on and off vi aDMX and hang them off a switching or relay pack via or some sort of older ADJ device that offers remote control over the various power ports.

If you link these in master slave mode, they are supposed to do the same thing at the same time, which is the whole point of master/slave mode. They may chase in unison based on what the master is doing. If the master chooses to jump to a different pattern or program, the slaves won't "jump" but rather receive instructions from the master to "do this, do that" because that's how it works.

Do they have to all be the same? Typically yes. Most lights that offer master/slave functionality require that you use like fixtures for linking. There are exceptions to this rule though. Generally speaking, you should NOT mix and match. Consult your manual to confirm this. I don't think you're going to be able to mix and match. You'll need to go dedicated runs between like fixtures(sky to sky, bat to bat, 3d to 3d...)

I'm not sure what you intend to do. You may want to get a DMX controller for more control over what's on or not. My personal recommendation these days is MyDMX software with an Elation Opto Branch/4 splitter/repeater. But, short of that, if you want manual control easier and with dedicated hardware, you could go with an ADJ/Elation DMX Operator, which has faders(they are called faders, not sliders) for a low-cost entry point. The DMX Operator is very heavily scene oriented, but works decent for smaller rigs for manual control depending on how you do things.

You can use almost any DMX controller though.

An issue to concern yourself about the DMX Operator has to do with how you intend to organize things(channels, not physically where you're putting lights) and will this controller fall in line with how you want to work?

Don't rush into this decision or you could waste money. I think now you're going to want to ask a LOT more questions. Also, think past just lasers, think what else you may want to get and try to envision a bigger picture so whatever you get should work good for you for 3-5 years so you cang et a decent return on invenstment.

this may not make sense, but i am thinking about creating a laser show with a beer budget. I am not sure having a bunch of lasers doing the same thing at the same time will look "cool" though, I could be wrong but while looking at some videos on youtube, i saw laser shows where they either chased or did different peterns.

I know that dmx is supposed to to be able to do this, but i played with the magic, and its rather confusing for me (noted i didnt spend too much time on it). Is mydmx easier? im not so much a techy individual, so if i can go around it, i will. I know ooner or later i will have to stop running from it though, since it is nice to able to play god with your lights.

Well, easier is a matter of perspective. I don't like the Magic based on how it works, but that doens't mean it sucks. I do like the DMX Operator, but as a starting point, I got lucky and found a bit of gear that worked ideally for starting out.

MyDMX can be quite easy. With profiles, the fixtures become very "human friendly" fast, helping to keep the easy factor.

But, you're talking beer budget, and one of the isuses with going "beer budget" route is something Jingles brought up in another thread, and that's in regards to start-up delay. Most fixtures go through a start-up sequence, which can take a second to many seconds. ADJ has some older and discontinued solutions that mainly involve a bank of power switches that can be turned on and off, either directly or remotely. The problem with this solution is the same as my idea of using a power/relay/switching pack:
You're cutting off power, so hence every time you want to use the fixture, you have to wait for a power-on self-test procedure.

If you go with a DMX solution, you have control over the light being on/off, and what it's doing BUT at greater costs. You also have the issue of controlling each light individually if you want to, or set like fixtures to same addresses, but you lose syncronizaton to a degree.

The DMX Operator comes in at the low end of the cost spectrum. I guess for a "better beer experience", you could, for the same concept(a bit more money for a better beer, or a better solution), you can go with MyDMX rather than step up to a higher end console.

But I don't consume alcohol(not at all), don't use drugs either. I'm a rarity in this industry. I don't even smoke. Hell, I'm off soda too and NO energy drinks ever!

The other added and hidden cost is you really should invest in DMX cables now. Also, if you go with MyDMX, it's worth the extra money to get the Opto Branch/4 by Elation to boost the signal. If you use a DMX Operator, you won't need to buy the Opto Branch 4, but I'd still recommend getting it anyways. In fact, I'm pretty much recommending we all get an opto Branch 4 if we're doing lighting, or else the stanad-alone unit.

With regards to the laser issue, I highly recommend using DMX to control them. Which units are you considering, and what sort of effects are you trying to produce?

Computer based consoles like MyDMX are nice in some respects, but from my own experience, they lack the 'hands on' control that I like to have. Realistically, you don't get (or need) a lot of hands on control when dealing with lasers, but I like to push physical buttons and move physical faders when I need to. For running conventional systems during a live concert, hands on control is a must. There are a lot of different controllers on the market, and each one might be the right decision for someone else. Like Chris said, ask a lot more questions and really think into the future on this.

I do agree with what you're saying abut needing hands-on control. I also agree with what you're saying about what might be the right decision for an individual. I also am in total agreement with controlling the lasers via DMX because it's going to avoid those self-test issues when you bring up the juice on a power pack.

Like, when I run my psychotic rave light show, I maintain manual control over my non-DMX centerpeices hanging off a relay pack(PP-DMX20L), since I also have to respect duty cycles on those(10 minutes on, 10 off, or in my case, 10 on, 20 off, as I have 3 to cycle through).

During my big show, I retain manual control over the ground fogger, hazer and the producters fog machine. I am also adding a flame bowl effect and I want to have manual control over that as well(for now).

MyDMX allows for manual control via many third party MIDI devices. At least the option is there. Some are very affordable. Some get stupid expensive.

There's no single right answer. If you're running scenes and want to tweak on the fly, it's good to have lights in a mode(HTP or LTP) where you can bring them in and out as needed should the mood hit you. Then again, on the big show I run, I have no room for creativity during the show(which is intentional).

The whole problem is that there is no one size fits all solution in lighting(or sound). My thoughts are to have stuff that can grow and work with me as well as evolve and adapt to what I do. MyDMX may be a bit lacking in what MyDMX does to adapt and evolve, but that doesn't mean I've not been able to take advantage of how the program works better, which tells me there's still plenty of capability in that software.

The thing is, I'm a sound guy, not a lighting guy. I don't like lighting controllers I'mnot used to. With myDMX, I give the scene a nice(or not so nice, depends on my mood) name, and I know what I'm in for. Click: there, done! So easy, even a caveman can do it.