Aleksey,
I was checking out the Osram site last night, and they mention that the 575W bulbs can be used with a 400W ballast - giving longer life. They don't specify whether this is the standard magnetic ballast, or a special electronic type.
I searched around the web and found a number of "pulse start" 400W ballasts that might do the job. (The pulse start ballasts include an igniter...)
I suppose a number of emails are in order to tech support people to see if any of the ballasts are ACTUALLY rated to drive the bulbs without going up in a puff of smoke...
Gunawan,
Cool stuff! I thought you were suffering distortion in the projected image... My experience is that by using this arrangement, you DO get a sharper, brighter, and more contrasty image overall (even with one of the cheap page magnifyers from Staples).
The Proxima 9100 chassis I mentioned, that made me investigate this effect, has a beautifully sharp image: text, even at small fonts, is very sharp and legible - even after having replaced the "guts" with a much lower-res 640x480 projection panel. Admitted, the fresnel that is included with the 9100 is VERY nice quality - but I'm sure that other fresnels of this quality are generally available at reasonable prices.
Bill.
I was checking out the Osram site last night, and they mention that the 575W bulbs can be used with a 400W ballast - giving longer life. They don't specify whether this is the standard magnetic ballast, or a special electronic type.
I searched around the web and found a number of "pulse start" 400W ballasts that might do the job. (The pulse start ballasts include an igniter...)
I suppose a number of emails are in order to tech support people to see if any of the ballasts are ACTUALLY rated to drive the bulbs without going up in a puff of smoke...
Gunawan,
Cool stuff! I thought you were suffering distortion in the projected image... My experience is that by using this arrangement, you DO get a sharper, brighter, and more contrasty image overall (even with one of the cheap page magnifyers from Staples).
The Proxima 9100 chassis I mentioned, that made me investigate this effect, has a beautifully sharp image: text, even at small fonts, is very sharp and legible - even after having replaced the "guts" with a much lower-res 640x480 projection panel. Admitted, the fresnel that is included with the 9100 is VERY nice quality - but I'm sure that other fresnels of this quality are generally available at reasonable prices.
Bill.
Re: Hey, marklar?
Thats what I was using for a while until my ballast blew up. I tryed to fix it but I couldnt find the part for it.prjctr_builder said:Is having the 750 hour lifo on the 575W bulb out of dukane 680 the only disadvantage? cause i wanna try to use it. the reason is that i do not wanna spend any more money buying the ballast and other things.
aleksey
Hi all again
http://www.hexachain.com.tw/modules.htm#b
The HC6401A LCD panel shown on there - has anyone ever taken one to bits, or know what's inside and wether or not it can be used in a projector?
Cheers
Jernau
http://www.hexachain.com.tw/modules.htm#b
The HC6401A LCD panel shown on there - has anyone ever taken one to bits, or know what's inside and wether or not it can be used in a projector?
Cheers
Jernau
it really depends on price, but unless this is the cheapest panel we've found, i don't think its worth it. the res is alright (still that low 234 vertical), but the contrast ratio is what bothers me. its only 120:1. which, isn't bad, but its not all that great, especially for a normal LCD panel. ususally they are much higher.
plus, for all the comp users out there, its ONLY NTSC. if its cheap, could work, but hardly a new find.
plus, for all the comp users out there, its ONLY NTSC. if its cheap, could work, but hardly a new find.
Jernau said:Hi all again
http://www.hexachain.com.tw/modules.htm#b
The HC6401A LCD panel shown on there - has anyone ever taken one to bits, or know what's inside and wether or not it can be used in a projector?
Cheers
Jernau
Site face lift
Well I built my new site its starting to come togather real nice check back often I will be starting projector #2 soon. hommie.net
Well I built my new site its starting to come togather real nice check back often I will be starting projector #2 soon. hommie.net
Marklar,
Rockin Site! The more we pool what we've learned and offload it to well organized sites the quicker newbies come up to speed and progress continues! I'll admit that for sure you and some other guys have made some nice work, so far I've taken the easy way out. Next week I'm ordering the bulbs and reflectors and going nuts.
In fact, I plan on posting what I hope to order and posting it for review beforehand. What can you tell us about the super-secretive, skunk works project 2 you're working on? Still going with the same MH bulb and reflector?
btw, Thanks for the props on your website!
Rockin Site! The more we pool what we've learned and offload it to well organized sites the quicker newbies come up to speed and progress continues! I'll admit that for sure you and some other guys have made some nice work, so far I've taken the easy way out. Next week I'm ordering the bulbs and reflectors and going nuts.
In fact, I plan on posting what I hope to order and posting it for review beforehand. What can you tell us about the super-secretive, skunk works project 2 you're working on? Still going with the same MH bulb and reflector?
btw, Thanks for the props on your website!
You guys are going to laugh at me.
Last week on Tuesday, I got shipment of a 400W MH bulb. 40k lumens, etc. It was going to be my final bulb for the project. Well, I opened it up at work a couple of times, checked it out a bit. When I was driving home from work, my wife called me on the cell and told me to go to her moms, because thats where she was. So, I did, and I took the bulb into their house so I could show my father-in-law. Hes been real interested in my projector. Anyways, after we were done visiting, I packed it up and went home. I threw the box in our kitchen, and forgot about it until the next day. The next day, Wednesday, was junk night. With all the chores I was doing and everything, it totally slipped my mind that I had never unpacked the bulb from the box. And, surely enough..
I THREW AWAY MY MS400/HOR METAL HALIDE BULB!!!!!!!!
I didnt realize what I had done until Friday evening. Searching all over the house for a bulb that wasn't here.
/me cries.
Anyways, heres latest pics.
my solution to mounting the lens:
what it came out like (it will work great)
latest pics of the box - main box is completed, so, I just have to build the front moveable lens assembly! Also, notice the hinges. Any guest will surely say "DUDE! CAN I LOOK INSIDE!"
this one, I was holding up the lens in the approximate position
Last week on Tuesday, I got shipment of a 400W MH bulb. 40k lumens, etc. It was going to be my final bulb for the project. Well, I opened it up at work a couple of times, checked it out a bit. When I was driving home from work, my wife called me on the cell and told me to go to her moms, because thats where she was. So, I did, and I took the bulb into their house so I could show my father-in-law. Hes been real interested in my projector. Anyways, after we were done visiting, I packed it up and went home. I threw the box in our kitchen, and forgot about it until the next day. The next day, Wednesday, was junk night. With all the chores I was doing and everything, it totally slipped my mind that I had never unpacked the bulb from the box. And, surely enough..
I THREW AWAY MY MS400/HOR METAL HALIDE BULB!!!!!!!!
I didnt realize what I had done until Friday evening. Searching all over the house for a bulb that wasn't here.
/me cries.
Anyways, heres latest pics.
my solution to mounting the lens:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
\
what it came out like (it will work great)
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
latest pics of the box - main box is completed, so, I just have to build the front moveable lens assembly! Also, notice the hinges. Any guest will surely say "DUDE! CAN I LOOK INSIDE!"
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
this one, I was holding up the lens in the approximate position
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
LCD projector
Im thinking of building a video projector but using a 7" 16:9 aspect ratio LCD. I had an idea for a light source: a 1,000,000 candlepower spotlight. This is the LCD i was considering:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/besttoys2/tm7001s.html
The spotlight seems like it should be bright enough. If anyone has seen Zark5150's original projector i was thinking of one along those lines, with the light behind the dismantled screen. I am also wondering how many lenses i will need and where i can find a barrel lense. Would a megafying glass lense inside some sort of PVC tube work? Also, does the lense need to be big enough to fit over the entire LCD module?
Thanks for your help good luck to everyone!
-Mike
Mikez871414@yahoo.com
Im thinking of building a video projector but using a 7" 16:9 aspect ratio LCD. I had an idea for a light source: a 1,000,000 candlepower spotlight. This is the LCD i was considering:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/besttoys2/tm7001s.html
The spotlight seems like it should be bright enough. If anyone has seen Zark5150's original projector i was thinking of one along those lines, with the light behind the dismantled screen. I am also wondering how many lenses i will need and where i can find a barrel lense. Would a megafying glass lense inside some sort of PVC tube work? Also, does the lense need to be big enough to fit over the entire LCD module?
Thanks for your help good luck to everyone!
-Mike
Mikez871414@yahoo.com
progress (sort of)
Well I think I have beaten my Macrovision problems. I bought a Macrovision buster on ebay, not expecting it to work very well. I finally got it last week, threw everything on a 3M 9550 OHP and checked it out. The Macrovision buster had a handy on/off switch so I could turn it on and off at will. I didn't really notice much of an effect on picture quality with it on, some of the colors changed slightly, but it actually looked better in my opinion. So I am considering that problem solved.
Now I want to go ahead and buy a 400W MH light and I am looking for reccomendations. I want a reasonably sized bulb, so can those of you with MH bulbs give me there rough dimensions (just assume they are rectangles)? Also, if there are some catalogs that I can use to get this sort of info, can you guys point me to them?
thanks to everyone in advance
J
Well I think I have beaten my Macrovision problems. I bought a Macrovision buster on ebay, not expecting it to work very well. I finally got it last week, threw everything on a 3M 9550 OHP and checked it out. The Macrovision buster had a handy on/off switch so I could turn it on and off at will. I didn't really notice much of an effect on picture quality with it on, some of the colors changed slightly, but it actually looked better in my opinion. So I am considering that problem solved.
Now I want to go ahead and buy a 400W MH light and I am looking for reccomendations. I want a reasonably sized bulb, so can those of you with MH bulbs give me there rough dimensions (just assume they are rectangles)? Also, if there are some catalogs that I can use to get this sort of info, can you guys point me to them?
thanks to everyone in advance
J
MikeZupcake:
First of all, you need to realize that candlepower is an extremely misleading rating. A 1,000,000 candlepower spotlight is usually a 75-150W Quartz Halogen that puts out at most 2,000 lumens. Check my site update that I did on MAY 6. heres the link:
http://www.dreamlash.com/DIY/may6.html
In fact, as a test, I picked up a 2,000,000 candlepower handheld spotlight for kicks. I returned it promptly when I couldn't project a damn thing with it.
First of all, you need to realize that candlepower is an extremely misleading rating. A 1,000,000 candlepower spotlight is usually a 75-150W Quartz Halogen that puts out at most 2,000 lumens. Check my site update that I did on MAY 6. heres the link:
http://www.dreamlash.com/DIY/may6.html
In fact, as a test, I picked up a 2,000,000 candlepower handheld spotlight for kicks. I returned it promptly when I couldn't project a damn thing with it.
Noodles:
A few things to check, noodles. First, make sure you aren't plugging a VGA cable into the 'optional monitor' port on the Spectra...that's a monitor OUT port. Secondly, make sure your computer's resolution is 640x480 with 16K colors, and make sure the refresh rate isn't too high (I've only tried up to 70Hz on mine).
A few things to check, noodles. First, make sure you aren't plugging a VGA cable into the 'optional monitor' port on the Spectra...that's a monitor OUT port. Secondly, make sure your computer's resolution is 640x480 with 16K colors, and make sure the refresh rate isn't too high (I've only tried up to 70Hz on mine).
Need help
Guys...
As I continue to go forward with my projector, I'm getting nowhere fast. I've got the 400W MH bulb mounted with a 12" parabolic reflector, and I can slide the reflector up and down the length of the bulb to try to find the focal point. However, I can't seem to produce a significant folused parallel beam of light with them. And no matter where I position the reflector, I can't get my fresnel lenses to converge the light whatsoever. It has become very frustrating. Any ideas?
Guys...
As I continue to go forward with my projector, I'm getting nowhere fast. I've got the 400W MH bulb mounted with a 12" parabolic reflector, and I can slide the reflector up and down the length of the bulb to try to find the focal point. However, I can't seem to produce a significant folused parallel beam of light with them. And no matter where I position the reflector, I can't get my fresnel lenses to converge the light whatsoever. It has become very frustrating. Any ideas?
HokieTT,
Part of the problem could be that you might never reach the focal point of the reflector with the "hotspot" of the bulb.
Have you tried Marklar's excellent trick of looking head-on at the reflector and poking your finger through the back - moving it towards you until the whole reflector contains a giant image of your fingertip? (Remove the bulb first, of course...)
The point where the reflector fills up with your finger is the focal point of the reflector, and this is where the hotspot of the bulb should be. (You might need to enlarge the hole in the reflector to allow the bulb to fit that far back.)
One other problem is that even if you get the position right, the bulb hotspot is not an actual point source of light, but is instead an elongated strip.
If you want to use this combination of components, you should put the centre of this hotspot at the focal point. The end result will be a fairly uniform beam with some divergence, and some convergence. If you get it right, and the reflector is bigger than your LCD panel, you might not need a fresnel between the reflector and the LCD - the reflector will have done the job of spreading out the beam.
In this case, you should definitely experiment with putting the fresnel before/after the LCD to see which gives you the best results. See previous comments on this concept and explore.
One thing - a 400W MH bulb is going to kick out a LOT of UV and IR... You will definitely need some heavy duty glass between the bulb and the panel, and possibly some fan-cooling too...
Bill.
Part of the problem could be that you might never reach the focal point of the reflector with the "hotspot" of the bulb.
Have you tried Marklar's excellent trick of looking head-on at the reflector and poking your finger through the back - moving it towards you until the whole reflector contains a giant image of your fingertip? (Remove the bulb first, of course...)
The point where the reflector fills up with your finger is the focal point of the reflector, and this is where the hotspot of the bulb should be. (You might need to enlarge the hole in the reflector to allow the bulb to fit that far back.)
One other problem is that even if you get the position right, the bulb hotspot is not an actual point source of light, but is instead an elongated strip.
If you want to use this combination of components, you should put the centre of this hotspot at the focal point. The end result will be a fairly uniform beam with some divergence, and some convergence. If you get it right, and the reflector is bigger than your LCD panel, you might not need a fresnel between the reflector and the LCD - the reflector will have done the job of spreading out the beam.
In this case, you should definitely experiment with putting the fresnel before/after the LCD to see which gives you the best results. See previous comments on this concept and explore.
One thing - a 400W MH bulb is going to kick out a LOT of UV and IR... You will definitely need some heavy duty glass between the bulb and the panel, and possibly some fan-cooling too...
Bill.
undream
i have seen your web page and came up with some ideas.
1. with all that room in your box im guessing maybe it might be better ifyou use a air tunnel type of thing to cool the light cause where your fan is at on your reflector is where most or alot of could be reflecting forward but instead its going right out the fan hole.
2.connecting a pipe to the fan thats cooling your light, alll the way to the out side of the box or what ever. so the fan gets cold air and not the hot air in the box.also when and if doing this you'll need and exsost for the hot air to exsit.maybe a hole at the top sents hot air rises.
well that what im working on now basicaly. no i havent tryed it yet. i just sent 3 day making a mirror reflector with integrade air tunnels on the outer sides of the refletor mirrrors.at the opening perimeter is where the air shoots forward then the air hits the glass sparationg in my box and comes back to the bulb and out the opening where the bulb gose through then out the exsost.
maybe i should draw a picture. it might explain it a bit better.
my reflector is made from ride aid cheap mirrors that i cut up to peices,sheet metal and 200 F temp resitant poly some thing grey duct tape(i found it laying around the house ,im stoked but still not sure if the tape will work).
other than that i think your settup is pertty dope.
like the lens , tell me if it works out. later
i have seen your web page and came up with some ideas.
1. with all that room in your box im guessing maybe it might be better ifyou use a air tunnel type of thing to cool the light cause where your fan is at on your reflector is where most or alot of could be reflecting forward but instead its going right out the fan hole.
2.connecting a pipe to the fan thats cooling your light, alll the way to the out side of the box or what ever. so the fan gets cold air and not the hot air in the box.also when and if doing this you'll need and exsost for the hot air to exsit.maybe a hole at the top sents hot air rises.
well that what im working on now basicaly. no i havent tryed it yet. i just sent 3 day making a mirror reflector with integrade air tunnels on the outer sides of the refletor mirrrors.at the opening perimeter is where the air shoots forward then the air hits the glass sparationg in my box and comes back to the bulb and out the opening where the bulb gose through then out the exsost.
maybe i should draw a picture. it might explain it a bit better.
my reflector is made from ride aid cheap mirrors that i cut up to peices,sheet metal and 200 F temp resitant poly some thing grey duct tape(i found it laying around the house ,im stoked but still not sure if the tape will work).
other than that i think your settup is pertty dope.
like the lens , tell me if it works out. later
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