heres the pictures of LCD disassembly. again, university may unplug my system over the break, so get em while they're hot. only tools required are a regular phillips screwdriver and some way of getting out painfully small phillips head screws (i used a very small flat head screw driver), and a lot of patience.
frankbatzen: good words. thanks. inspiration.
currently running 100 inch wide screen. diagonal depends on form factor, 100 inch width is constant. brightness at this range with my DYS/DVS/BHC bulb (rated for 13000 lumens mean) with moderately efficient projector is good enough to allow ambient room lighting while in operations, however real movie watching and game playing is shitloads better with lights off.
i'd highly suggest people look into metal halide high intensity discharge bulbs. these things are the unquestionable grand mac ****. 40,000 lumens, 20000 (twenty THOUSAND) hour life for a measly 400 watts. $30 a bulb and requires $50 - $70 for ballast, but god damn is it a worthy investment. if you look hard enough, you can get them 5000 K color temperature, or 10,000 K color temperature with 30,000 lumens brightness. their energy (and therefore heat) efficiency is literally seconded by none. there is nothing better. if your really serious about a good high output system, do not not consider anything else. there are a number of different types of ballasts and lamps out there that will be pretty much custom tailored to any concievable system.
ah, man, finally got a chance to play gran turismo 3 again on the setup. i really missed my baby, my denso supra.
i'll probably be gone until weekend after this approaching one. bye all. have fun. remember: innovation, experimentation. well thought out risks are the way to go.
myren
frankbatzen: good words. thanks. inspiration.
currently running 100 inch wide screen. diagonal depends on form factor, 100 inch width is constant. brightness at this range with my DYS/DVS/BHC bulb (rated for 13000 lumens mean) with moderately efficient projector is good enough to allow ambient room lighting while in operations, however real movie watching and game playing is shitloads better with lights off.
i'd highly suggest people look into metal halide high intensity discharge bulbs. these things are the unquestionable grand mac ****. 40,000 lumens, 20000 (twenty THOUSAND) hour life for a measly 400 watts. $30 a bulb and requires $50 - $70 for ballast, but god damn is it a worthy investment. if you look hard enough, you can get them 5000 K color temperature, or 10,000 K color temperature with 30,000 lumens brightness. their energy (and therefore heat) efficiency is literally seconded by none. there is nothing better. if your really serious about a good high output system, do not not consider anything else. there are a number of different types of ballasts and lamps out there that will be pretty much custom tailored to any concievable system.
ah, man, finally got a chance to play gran turismo 3 again on the setup. i really missed my baby, my denso supra.
i'll probably be gone until weekend after this approaching one. bye all. have fun. remember: innovation, experimentation. well thought out risks are the way to go.
myren
Damn, anyone get that?
Anyone get those pics??
I usually don't like posting messages that contain nothing important (cause I don't like reading them in return) But did anyone get his zip file?? Doesn't seem to be available @2:49 PST... his connection get unplugged already?? If someone can send them to me, I can serve them on my university alloted web space (unlimited bandwith as far as I know)
I'm about to buy/rip open a LCD panel too and I was looking forward to the pics....
Oh, and Myren a few quick questions, where are you getting your prices for your MH stuff, so far the online places I've seen have slightly higer bulb prices, but ballasts in the $100 range. And do you know if the electronic type of ballast is quiet? And did you modify(ie rip its original guts out) your projecter to fit the the new ballast/lamp set?
-Mike
Anyone get those pics??
I usually don't like posting messages that contain nothing important (cause I don't like reading them in return) But did anyone get his zip file?? Doesn't seem to be available @2:49 PST... his connection get unplugged already?? If someone can send them to me, I can serve them on my university alloted web space (unlimited bandwith as far as I know)
I'm about to buy/rip open a LCD panel too and I was looking forward to the pics....
Oh, and Myren a few quick questions, where are you getting your prices for your MH stuff, so far the online places I've seen have slightly higer bulb prices, but ballasts in the $100 range. And do you know if the electronic type of ballast is quiet? And did you modify(ie rip its original guts out) your projecter to fit the the new ballast/lamp set?
-Mike
contrapasta
You might find these links useful:
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/union/aquarium/public_html/DIY_MH.html
http://www.lighting.com/index.taf?_...subType=buylink&ptr=1&_pn=etailers_list&_op=5
http://www.lighting.com/index.taf?_...ubType=buylink&ptr=8&_pn=etailers_list&_op=11
I couldn't download those pics from Myren either.
Also, I have made some very minor updates to my webpage, if anyone is interested.
Good luck.
-f4
You might find these links useful:
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/union/aquarium/public_html/DIY_MH.html
http://www.lighting.com/index.taf?_...subType=buylink&ptr=1&_pn=etailers_list&_op=5
http://www.lighting.com/index.taf?_...ubType=buylink&ptr=8&_pn=etailers_list&_op=11
I couldn't download those pics from Myren either.
Also, I have made some very minor updates to my webpage, if anyone is interested.
Good luck.
-f4
Myren pix
I found some other pictures on Myrens link, but not the zip file.
Just go back "up" one level from the URL he gave...
I found some other pictures on Myrens link, but not the zip file.
Just go back "up" one level from the URL he gave...
First Pics
Alright, now I am able to post pics.
jjasniew, althoug I think (see my last post) that it doesn't make a lot of sense to go and look for the exact same parts just because they work for someone else, that probalbly doesn't apply to the lighting. So here are the specs for my bulb and ballast.
Bulb: Osram Power Star HQI-TS 400W
Ballast: May & Christe QI 400-03.2H
Don't look for the parts but for a whole lamp. I got one for 8$ (I was VERY lucky with all parts) off of ebay. It was a very shabby convolute of 10 of them but I only bid on one. You can also buy Sodium discharge lamps, which generally are a bit cheaper on ebay because there are no aquarium guys wanting to buy them, which is the case for HQI-Lamps. For the Sodium-lamps you may have to buy a new Ignitor-coil (just translating to english word by word...) since there a two different types. One (Pulszündgerät) that only works for sodium-lamps and one (Impulszündgerät) that works for HQI and Sodium. The bulbs are fairly large. HQI-TS has sockets on both sides and the bulbs are SMALLER. HQI-T are screw-in bulbs (onesided) and are said to be a bit more spot-light. However they are much larger (same wattage), so forget them. First pics are of the lamp in the housing of the OHP and of the ballas on the outside of the housing. Screwed to the top of the housing is the ballast for the display (silver-grey). Everything below that is the electronics for the lamp wiht the big green thing being the ballast. More pics to come.
Alright, now I am able to post pics.
jjasniew, althoug I think (see my last post) that it doesn't make a lot of sense to go and look for the exact same parts just because they work for someone else, that probalbly doesn't apply to the lighting. So here are the specs for my bulb and ballast.
Bulb: Osram Power Star HQI-TS 400W
Ballast: May & Christe QI 400-03.2H
Don't look for the parts but for a whole lamp. I got one for 8$ (I was VERY lucky with all parts) off of ebay. It was a very shabby convolute of 10 of them but I only bid on one. You can also buy Sodium discharge lamps, which generally are a bit cheaper on ebay because there are no aquarium guys wanting to buy them, which is the case for HQI-Lamps. For the Sodium-lamps you may have to buy a new Ignitor-coil (just translating to english word by word...) since there a two different types. One (Pulszündgerät) that only works for sodium-lamps and one (Impulszündgerät) that works for HQI and Sodium. The bulbs are fairly large. HQI-TS has sockets on both sides and the bulbs are SMALLER. HQI-T are screw-in bulbs (onesided) and are said to be a bit more spot-light. However they are much larger (same wattage), so forget them. First pics are of the lamp in the housing of the OHP and of the ballas on the outside of the housing. Screwed to the top of the housing is the ballast for the display (silver-grey). Everything below that is the electronics for the lamp wiht the big green thing being the ballast. More pics to come.
Attachments
Pics II
In case you wander why the lamp is crooked in the above picture, it's not fixed, yet. It was fixed exactly below the center of the fresnel, but I now found out that the picture gets a lot sharper when it is fixed slightly offside. Dunno why. Anyway second pic, closeup of the bulb, with a frontside-mirror fixed below it. I don't think it does a lot of good, but it came with the OHP, so what the hell.
In case you wander why the lamp is crooked in the above picture, it's not fixed, yet. It was fixed exactly below the center of the fresnel, but I now found out that the picture gets a lot sharper when it is fixed slightly offside. Dunno why. Anyway second pic, closeup of the bulb, with a frontside-mirror fixed below it. I don't think it does a lot of good, but it came with the OHP, so what the hell.
Attachments
All this page is belong to me.
I will now continue to reassemble the projector. Will take more pictures and post them instantly. Damn, I am getting a valuable member of this forum. Have to get used to that first.
g!zmo aka Frank Batzen
I will now continue to reassemble the projector. Will take more pictures and post them instantly. Damn, I am getting a valuable member of this forum. Have to get used to that first.
g!zmo aka Frank Batzen
frankbatzen
I think I can offer an explanation for why you need to keep the mirror and also have the light source off-axis.
The concave front surface mirror is actually creating a diminished real image of your light source - thereby getting you closer to a point source. This diminished image is closer to the mirror and with the results you are getting, appears to be located at the focal point of the original setup of the OHP.
This is what happens when an object ( the light source in this case) is placed outside the center of curvature of a concave mirror.
I think I can offer an explanation for why you need to keep the mirror and also have the light source off-axis.
The concave front surface mirror is actually creating a diminished real image of your light source - thereby getting you closer to a point source. This diminished image is closer to the mirror and with the results you are getting, appears to be located at the focal point of the original setup of the OHP.
This is what happens when an object ( the light source in this case) is placed outside the center of curvature of a concave mirror.
sorry about the server. bastards unplugged it right after i left. i cant really do anything about it now, its in my dorm which i'm locked out of during spring break.
as for lighting, i dont have the links that are on my main system available right to me now, seeing as how the only computer i have access to is my families p166 here. i'd do the google searching again, but i'm on a 28.8 connection. pricing definately did vary a lot depending on source. all i can really say right now look around.
my own usage of mh is limited to experimental usage only at the current time. i've got my working projector going, using the OHP and viewsonic. that system will probably not be changed, and i will continue to use it as my primary for quite some time. i also have various lenses and MH light sources here which i'm testing out for the professional projector upon which i'm going to base my company. i would love to use one of my own prototype setups as a primary, but every prototype i dont end up selling is going to cost me quite a chunk of money. hopefully by christmas everything will be underway enough so that i'll be able to afford one of my own systems.
ryans: the projector i'm building should cost me approximately $5000, but should offer specs significantly better than those of this beast (better in every aspect listed except the lack of 3W speakers (oh no!) and lumen rating, which will around a mere 6000 lumens). this is, however, a commercial endeavour, and as such has crossed beyond the range of simple DIY. the point is though, if someone were willing to invest as much as a decent normal projector, they could build some rather obscene creations.
myren
as for lighting, i dont have the links that are on my main system available right to me now, seeing as how the only computer i have access to is my families p166 here. i'd do the google searching again, but i'm on a 28.8 connection. pricing definately did vary a lot depending on source. all i can really say right now look around.
my own usage of mh is limited to experimental usage only at the current time. i've got my working projector going, using the OHP and viewsonic. that system will probably not be changed, and i will continue to use it as my primary for quite some time. i also have various lenses and MH light sources here which i'm testing out for the professional projector upon which i'm going to base my company. i would love to use one of my own prototype setups as a primary, but every prototype i dont end up selling is going to cost me quite a chunk of money. hopefully by christmas everything will be underway enough so that i'll be able to afford one of my own systems.
ryans: the projector i'm building should cost me approximately $5000, but should offer specs significantly better than those of this beast (better in every aspect listed except the lack of 3W speakers (oh no!) and lumen rating, which will around a mere 6000 lumens). this is, however, a commercial endeavour, and as such has crossed beyond the range of simple DIY. the point is though, if someone were willing to invest as much as a decent normal projector, they could build some rather obscene creations.
myren
i think keystone correction can be done by simply tilting the panel itself. should be the optimal solution.
Where can you get LCD panels of that quality??
Hey Myren, just wondering, I don't think I've ever seen a LCD panel(available for retail) of that high res and contrast before, where are you getting your supplies from? I imagine that at this point your not simply using desktop lcd panels.....????
Anyways, get your product out ASAP! The industry is a changing, for the better (according to a couple trade articles I read)although maybe not better for small capital companies like you. Its the opion of some experts (I forget who, but it doesn't really matter sales evidence supports this) that the front projection tv industry will very soon be maturing from its current 'performance' market state (low equipment runs, high per unit cost, limited demographic) to the mass audience state (I'm paraphrasing of course, I forgot the exact wording of the article). Which basicly means high production runs, low cost, therefore wide demographic. What really makes it all this possible is the low cost of DLP chips/projectors.
DLP, which is currently marketed only for high end systems due to exceptional quality and contrast compared to LCD, is actually relatively cheap to produce, and is extremly durable.
Anyways to anyone else you has thought about making this a homebrew business, just wanted to post a heads about the current niche in the marketplace; The major players knows it exists, its only a matter of time before DLP ( or simular) extends down to the value market. This should definitly NOT discourage you, just a kick in pants if your serious about this!
For me personally, I first started reading this with the intention of making a cheap large screen dvd player, then extended this to a small business (mainly because a friend and I used to contract on small hometheater projects, it was DAMN good part-time money) But the more I think about it, the more it doesn't seem to mesh with my long term goals (I'm a EE major, a Jr). It just doesn't seem like the target market will remain wide open long enough to create something substantional enough to compete with the big capital players once the market gets flooded with mass produced product. Anyways, I'll shut my little rant of right now, I have to get ready to go out tonight, see yea guys!
-Mike
Hey Myren, just wondering, I don't think I've ever seen a LCD panel(available for retail) of that high res and contrast before, where are you getting your supplies from? I imagine that at this point your not simply using desktop lcd panels.....????
Anyways, get your product out ASAP! The industry is a changing, for the better (according to a couple trade articles I read)although maybe not better for small capital companies like you. Its the opion of some experts (I forget who, but it doesn't really matter sales evidence supports this) that the front projection tv industry will very soon be maturing from its current 'performance' market state (low equipment runs, high per unit cost, limited demographic) to the mass audience state (I'm paraphrasing of course, I forgot the exact wording of the article). Which basicly means high production runs, low cost, therefore wide demographic. What really makes it all this possible is the low cost of DLP chips/projectors.
DLP, which is currently marketed only for high end systems due to exceptional quality and contrast compared to LCD, is actually relatively cheap to produce, and is extremly durable.
Anyways to anyone else you has thought about making this a homebrew business, just wanted to post a heads about the current niche in the marketplace; The major players knows it exists, its only a matter of time before DLP ( or simular) extends down to the value market. This should definitly NOT discourage you, just a kick in pants if your serious about this!
For me personally, I first started reading this with the intention of making a cheap large screen dvd player, then extended this to a small business (mainly because a friend and I used to contract on small hometheater projects, it was DAMN good part-time money) But the more I think about it, the more it doesn't seem to mesh with my long term goals (I'm a EE major, a Jr). It just doesn't seem like the target market will remain wide open long enough to create something substantional enough to compete with the big capital players once the market gets flooded with mass produced product. Anyways, I'll shut my little rant of right now, I have to get ready to go out tonight, see yea guys!
-Mike
Contrapasta
Such was the state of manufacturing of the PC before Michael Dell came along. The greedy lamp makers will stagnate any attempts to mass produce projectors.
I see a little Michael lurking in Myren.
Such was the state of manufacturing of the PC before Michael Dell came along. The greedy lamp makers will stagnate any attempts to mass produce projectors.
I see a little Michael lurking in Myren.
I figure the average 1024*768 projector has about $500 USD worth of parts in it, and we are being essentially robbed for the rest of the money. that is why i WILL not buy one. And the projecoor companies keep us from their sources for parts, for finachial reasons.
Done.
Hi,
last night I enjoyed my projector for the first time. I watched football and movies with friends and it rocked. Some things that have to be adressed:
It was not possible to go with the f=400mm lens in the end. It did not work with the fresnel or some other part, my knowledge in optics is not sufficient to figure it out. So I went with the original lens setup, thus I had to mount the projector not on the opposite wall but more to the center of the room. While this is not really nice to look at, I can deal with it.
While I would still recommend my lighting solution, there seems to be a considerable drawback. The picture is a littlebit blurry at the outside. It really is bearable and movies are very watchable, but when projecting my desktop, the icons at the outside are pretty blurred. I think this is due to the bulb not being a pointlike lightsource, so there really is not a lot I can do.
Now I have to mount the cables, build some more housing, make the projector's "arm" detachable and paint the opposite wall partially white. That should do it.
Hi,
last night I enjoyed my projector for the first time. I watched football and movies with friends and it rocked. Some things that have to be adressed:
It was not possible to go with the f=400mm lens in the end. It did not work with the fresnel or some other part, my knowledge in optics is not sufficient to figure it out. So I went with the original lens setup, thus I had to mount the projector not on the opposite wall but more to the center of the room. While this is not really nice to look at, I can deal with it.
While I would still recommend my lighting solution, there seems to be a considerable drawback. The picture is a littlebit blurry at the outside. It really is bearable and movies are very watchable, but when projecting my desktop, the icons at the outside are pretty blurred. I think this is due to the bulb not being a pointlike lightsource, so there really is not a lot I can do.
Now I have to mount the cables, build some more housing, make the projector's "arm" detachable and paint the opposite wall partially white. That should do it.
Attachments
Frankbatzen!
Your pictures are very encouraging, looks like what I want to do in the end as well, thank-you!
Could you post some detail around the LCD mounting and the cable hookup to the driver board? I can see that this will work (conceptually) via your last photo, but the details of how you "swung tthe driver boards outta the way" would be most interesting, pix being worth 1K words...
Also, the brand and model of the LCD panel, might help others decide on a purchase, simply being based on that you're shown it's possible! (If you've posed this info before, I apologize for asking again - this forum should have a search for all entries by user function)
I bit the bullet for all you gentleman and bought a VP140 for $150 "off ebay". I hope to accomplish a Frankbatzen / Myren style setup with the Elmo HP-A305 OHP. My primary motivation for doing so is to get more light on the screen, by the increase in aperature over that of my Nview z350.
I'll report my progress in pictures after it arrives. Hope whatever hosts this forum can tolerate lots of photos!
I may run into trouble -
- It may not work, was an "as is" purchase, though the lady assured me all she's sold so far have been fine. I have to come up with my own power supply, hope I dont hook it up backwards initially...
- Maybe it is 6 bit color and that in itself makes it suck. So after getting it powered up, I'll do a color check versus my 19" CRT.
- Maybe it dies somewhere along the way, as did Axeman's KDS and Myren's V?150. If so, I'm out $150...
- Maybe the driver boards present an impossible arrangement to modify such that they're 'outta the way" of the light. Maybe the ribbon cables are 0.025 pitch and soldered down.
Who knows what fate I'll encounter! If everything works out positively, I should have a great little system like Frankbatsen's.
Your pictures are very encouraging, looks like what I want to do in the end as well, thank-you!
Could you post some detail around the LCD mounting and the cable hookup to the driver board? I can see that this will work (conceptually) via your last photo, but the details of how you "swung tthe driver boards outta the way" would be most interesting, pix being worth 1K words...
Also, the brand and model of the LCD panel, might help others decide on a purchase, simply being based on that you're shown it's possible! (If you've posed this info before, I apologize for asking again - this forum should have a search for all entries by user function)
I bit the bullet for all you gentleman and bought a VP140 for $150 "off ebay". I hope to accomplish a Frankbatzen / Myren style setup with the Elmo HP-A305 OHP. My primary motivation for doing so is to get more light on the screen, by the increase in aperature over that of my Nview z350.
I'll report my progress in pictures after it arrives. Hope whatever hosts this forum can tolerate lots of photos!
I may run into trouble -
- It may not work, was an "as is" purchase, though the lady assured me all she's sold so far have been fine. I have to come up with my own power supply, hope I dont hook it up backwards initially...
- Maybe it is 6 bit color and that in itself makes it suck. So after getting it powered up, I'll do a color check versus my 19" CRT.
- Maybe it dies somewhere along the way, as did Axeman's KDS and Myren's V?150. If so, I'm out $150...
- Maybe the driver boards present an impossible arrangement to modify such that they're 'outta the way" of the light. Maybe the ribbon cables are 0.025 pitch and soldered down.
Who knows what fate I'll encounter! If everything works out positively, I should have a great little system like Frankbatsen's.
Well Done
FRANKBATZEN!!!!!!
Well done, you are the man, I have not had the time to do much work on this project since I completed the rear projection , which by the way was an excelent set-up and if you are not after a large (bigger than 51") this might be the way to go for some of you.
I am now on a 1 week vacation and hope to get some work done on the new projector. It will use the OHP approach as for the lighting I am still debating on the HID vs standard OHP bulb, which brings me to my question. How bright is the picture? Can it be viewed in ambient light or a fully light room? Or are you restricted to a dark room?
Thanks TIM
FRANKBATZEN!!!!!!
Well done, you are the man, I have not had the time to do much work on this project since I completed the rear projection , which by the way was an excelent set-up and if you are not after a large (bigger than 51") this might be the way to go for some of you.
I am now on a 1 week vacation and hope to get some work done on the new projector. It will use the OHP approach as for the lighting I am still debating on the HID vs standard OHP bulb, which brings me to my question. How bright is the picture? Can it be viewed in ambient light or a fully light room? Or are you restricted to a dark room?
Thanks TIM
Schnectady?
Dave,
I'm from Schnectady - actually Scotia. Now I'm living in Roy, Wa...
I think the projector prices are totally market driven. I'm sure the manufacturers figure "now who's going to be using one of these?"
and they think corporations, like Intel, Exxon, GE, Ford, Dell, etc. Then they think "What could they afford, to get the job done".
Well, seeing as $100 to a big corporation is like $1 to you and me, maybe $5K for one of these makes sense? $300 for a replacement bulb is like you and me changing out an ordinary light bulb.
I agree with you, I will not pay $1500 - $5K for one of these myself. My specs read -
- 5ms tr, 7.5 ms tf, maximum
- 1024X768 native, minimum
- 1500 lumens, minimum
- 2K hour bulb life minimum, $49.95 replacement cost
- VGA / component / S-video / composite input
- Remote, all functions including focus.
- Front, rear, upside down projection mode select
- operates in any position
- 70 dba fan noise, maximum
- $499.95 retail
Then I'd just buy one, today.
Dave,
I'm from Schnectady - actually Scotia. Now I'm living in Roy, Wa...
I think the projector prices are totally market driven. I'm sure the manufacturers figure "now who's going to be using one of these?"
and they think corporations, like Intel, Exxon, GE, Ford, Dell, etc. Then they think "What could they afford, to get the job done".
Well, seeing as $100 to a big corporation is like $1 to you and me, maybe $5K for one of these makes sense? $300 for a replacement bulb is like you and me changing out an ordinary light bulb.
I agree with you, I will not pay $1500 - $5K for one of these myself. My specs read -
- 5ms tr, 7.5 ms tf, maximum
- 1024X768 native, minimum
- 1500 lumens, minimum
- 2K hour bulb life minimum, $49.95 replacement cost
- VGA / component / S-video / composite input
- Remote, all functions including focus.
- Front, rear, upside down projection mode select
- operates in any position
- 70 dba fan noise, maximum
- $499.95 retail
Then I'd just buy one, today.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.