I heard about the Whirlwind DLS1 Digital Laser System “snake” and went to ask Joe Barnes what the deal was with it. I came away awestruck, and have to tell you that this thing really works. People have been asking Joe, “You are in the cable business, why do you want to sell something that will do away with cables?”

Joe Barnes and Whirlwind’s amazing laser

His answer to them was sensible and businesslike. “I say that’s OK, because with digital it’s going to happen anyway and I’d rather be the one to do it.” People who are concerned about drop-outs can buy a managed fiber switch – a “fail-over” – and run a second unit as a backup, much like an RF mic on a diversity system. Also, two systems can be used to navigate a 90 degree angle, like firing along one side of a building and then around the corner. The receiver and sender at the corner can be physically linked with an Ethernet cable. The system has a 2GB bandwidth, and the exciting reality is that it sees the CobraNet or Ethernet information it sends as just data, zeros and ones, rather than audio per se.

A company could buy a building across the street to expand their operations, pop a set of these guys up, and run their broadband Internet connection, video, or phone service across, for far less than it would cost to run hard wire. Joe told me about someone who had to pay fifty grand to run cable under a parking structure – with the DLS1, although the final consumer price is not set yet, it would have been far, far less, even if they had added a protective redundant second set-up.

I visualized one atop a festival truss, broadcasting to the FOH position and I asked Joe what is the unit’s sensitivity to vibration. This laser is not a finely focussed beam like a needle – it actually expands, in the demo version operating, shooting to and from another company’s booth a hundred feet away, by the time it reaches the receptor, the beam is about as wide as a pie plate. It does need to hit straight on, to be read, so up and down movement in the horizontal plane is less desirable than a minor movement to the left or right.

Probably, as the system is rolled out, people will develop ways to create extra-secure mountings. Although the prototype uses a rifle scope for aiming, since the laser beam is outside the visible spectrum, the production version will have a power meter which will show the user when it is locked on and how strong the signal is.

In terms of audio, the DLS1 can potentially run 640 channels. Now I just need to find a manufacturer who will build me a console that big!