Wanting to Make my Own DIY Projection Setup but need a little help

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With the inspiration of others stories/setups here and elsewhere, I have decided to construct my own DIY Projector set-up 😀. Id prefer my own due to the obvious initial saving + savings on lamp replacements.

The screen itself seems preety simple: will use blackout screen and build a frame from timber or something (shouldnt be 2 hard): http://www.cnet.com.au/hometheatre/0,39025963,40054843-3,00.htm

However with the projector itself (Keep in mind that ATM im not much of a handy man and have crap all tools):
I have seen 2 setups: 1 with an overhead projector HEREand one where u buy everything and build the box + put it together HERE.

I'm Thinking I shoud go with the 1st option (overhead projector) for the following reasons:
1) Im not experienced with building such things
2) I believe the parts will be hard to come by for the 2nd option, where as for the over head, I just need a 15" LCD and a overhead projector. (BTW, will a 17" fit on a overhead projector nicely as they are about the same cost)

What are other members thoughts on this 🙂?

with the overhear projector guide, im a little confused however with regards to the pic where you are ment to raise the LCD pannel by 1cm or so. It looks to me like they have put the polystyrene in place, but the LCD isnt touch it, so whats holding the LCD screen 1cm above the glass :S?
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

Also if the LCD pannel rests on something to hold it up, isnt that going to cover some of the screen + create stress on the middle that isnt supported?

Oh also, what would be the best way to go about powering the fan on the side? (will i need a PSU for this, and if so how will i rig the PSU to be turned on without a mobo?)

and with the LCD screen settings, I assume once u have taken the LCD apart, u can no longer adjust the screen simensions/brightness/contract on the unit itself, but would have to use software?

With the overhead projector not looking like the most stylish piece of furniture u could add to room, what do people think about making a wooden box to slip over the top of it with a big enough hole at the top-front for the image to shoot through? (could even mount some fans to it maybe to keep it cool).

I read this in the FAQ section here also "There are two different types of overhead projectors transmissive and reflective. Reflective type overheads will not work for LCD projection. ", hmm how do I tell the difference? (would have to buy the wrong one)


Thanks for any help, cant wait to see what I can do 😀.
PS. sorry for asking so many questions, i really appreciate any help.
 
Hey mate, nice to see a fellow aussie.. along with Hillbilly. Im still learning myself but ill try to help u out with what i know. Just to let you know i just built a projector out of a 1.8inch LCD TV and a slide projector. Now obviously your looking for better quality, but i still trying to find the parts in Australia is fairly hard unless your goin to grab them online. Ive looked for hot and cold mirrors and lenses in local stores over in Perth and didnt have much luck. The only thing i found in bunnings was wats called 'polycarbonate' and if you making you own box etc.. this MIGHT be possible to use to block UV to your lcd (to keep it cooler). I would be sticking with the OHP design if you dont have much prior building as all the optics are already basically there. With the LCD i think the largest is 15 inch only because that the going size of the fresnel lenses used to 'straighten' light before your LCD, some of the more experienced might correct me on that one. One of th elast things i did for fan, was i had an old mobile fone charger, put out 10v... hook that up to a 12v fan from an old computer and it worked fine just ran a bit slower.. dont know if thats feasable for you or not. Some of the more expericenced guys mite be able to answer your other questions..
 
Nice unit 🙂 (checked ur web site)
Yeah would want something HQ tho, with a res of at least 1024x768 if possible for High Quality Movies/Games.
Cheers for the info on needing to stick to a 15", u are correct on this matter 🙂
Sweet idea with the mobile phone charger 😛

Someone has told me how to hook up a PSU to turn on without a mobo also so thats sweet 😀

As for the materials, yeah thats a real pain aye, I think Ill go with the Overhead projector model, however Im not so keen on the bulb life:
halogens lasting 100hrs or so and costing about $30ish I think
and haladi last 1000hrs or so I believe, but I think these cost a heap :S.

I was hoping that with a DIY projector, bulb replacements would be cheaper.

(edited 1st post)
 
Ok so I cant edit my original post 😛

Ok well here are my main concerns now still (other than in the above post)
With the LCD, if I put some Wood at the front and back of the pannel where the LCD pannel rests, so as to keep it from touching the Glass, Will it warp, or is it preety solid. and how much of the LCD should I place on the supports to support it enough without cutting off 2 much of the screen?

and lastly: with the 2 types (transmissive and reflectiv), when finding OHPs on Ebay etc, they dont tell u which they are, how do I tell :S?
 
coooljono said:
Ok so I cant edit my original post 😛

Ok well here are my main concerns now still (other than in the above post)
With the LCD, if I put some Wood at the front and back of the pannel where the LCD pannel rests, so as to keep it from touching the Glass, Will it warp, or is it preety solid. and how much of the LCD should I place on the supports to support it enough without cutting off 2 much of the screen?

and lastly: with the 2 types (transmissive and reflectiv), when finding OHPs on Ebay etc, they dont tell u which they are, how do I tell :S?


transmissive is the kind of ohp where the bulb etc is in a box below the fresnels

reflective has the bulb in the head bit and has a flat base with no box, just a mirror ( and a fresnel i think)
 
cheers cooljono, my idea is a fairly simple one and would work great with a higher res LCD ( but still would have to be approx 2 inch). Metal halide is a better light if u can afford it - much cooler and will produce a whiter light im pretty sure and will last longer...and transimissive are the ones that are used in most of the schools..the "normal" OHP's... anyway ive also pm'ed you my email addy.. add me to msn if you have it..and we can chat...
 
fan

If you can find a small fan that runs right off the power mains, then you don't need to get a power supply for it. I have one from Radio Shack. Maybe you have those in Australia, or some other similar chain store.

In the image you posted, that LCD does not appear to be raised above the glass stage: It will overheat that way. They are pretty strong, so you can just support then around the edges. You should not use styrofoam or plastic tape, since those will zap the electronics. A wood frame would be fine, to hold the driver boards out of the way. Be very careful not to stress those big flexible cables. Don't even flex them many times during assembly. The idea is to make yourself a sturdy projection panel, like the commercial units.

14" LCDs fit an OHP better, but they have lower contrast and slower response time than 15". 17" is too big for an OHP. Even with the 15", some of the sides will be cut off. No problem for video since they overscan quite a lot. You won't miss anything. Not so great for running windows.

Lots of people make nice enclosures for their OHP projectors. (Lots make ghetto-style cardboard enclosures, too.) You get a much better image if you block the stray light. And you will have to have the monitor controls attached for it to work. Just figure out how to mount them in a useful way. You will still be able to adjust the screen with them.
 
cool DoctorDubb, ill add ya to my msn 🙂
and yeah Guy Grotke informed me of the metal halide arc lamps, they sound Great! ill just have to learn a bit more about them and that will be sweet (I was considering just buying a 2nd hand LCD projector, but now im back on track 😀😀)

Cheers Guy Grotke for the advice in the other thread, and this one. With the fan, ill probably connect 2-3 if I use a metal halide lamp so as to keep the lcd panel cool, so will prob just hook up a cheal low voltage PSU behind the OHP 🙂.
With the pic above they have reaised it as can be seen here: http://www4.tomshardware.com/howto/20041113/projector-07.html, but i cant see how they are holding it up and like u said, it seems as if its not being held up in the initial pic.
Ill use some thing wood on the wrong and back of the OHP for the LCD to rest on, and a little piece half way down the sides, with a fan either side.
Ill keep the cables in mind when mounting the LCD pannel, and will be very careful, cheers
Ill use a 15" cos of the better response + resolution, but ill try to use the controllers to shrink the image on the screen so that none is cut out by the edges being covered.
lol cardboard sounds like an idea 🙂, but yeah ill go wood 🙂

thx for the feedback/help
 
Just purchased a 15" LCD monitor to use 🙂, only down side is the 30ms response 😛 (wont be playing lan games with it tho so dosnt matter 2 much i guess).

Here is the LCD: http://www.dansdata.com/pv720.htm, got it from ebay for $162.5 + $12 post ($174.5) HERE

AM looking for an OHP, now all I need to do is find a good light source that will last a long time and provide 400W or so (metal halide ofcourse) as per my thread >>here<< asking for advice

Thx for the help so far, and any help on the lighting issue would be great.

PS, danm i hope this thing comes apart easy :smash: :hot:
 
As per my post in the other thread:
I found another site (over seas)m but the prices are good 🙂
http://www.hidirect.com/framesets/ballast.htm = 400W ballast $46.50US - Code: M59 - under "Standard Metal Halide Ballasts"
http://www.hidirect.com/framesets/ballast.htm = 400W metal halide lamp ($25US) - Mogul (E39) model (15000hrs or so life, only 4000k temp but ah well, and 36000lumens, so plenty bright 😀

Just Gota check out the shipping + how to pay (have an aussie credit card, wonder if this will work on a US site)
 
That LCD is pretty cheap ay... good find... keep me updated on how it pulls apart that way i mite be able to even afford that 😀....keep in touch and btw i havent received any notification of u adding me cooljono ... maybe i typed it wrong.. <my username> @ hotmail.com ... and if your goin to get sum lenses / fresnels or hot/cold mirrors from the states .. give us a yell as i mite be interested as to save some postage...
 
yeah not 2 bad aye 🙂, i was thinking it would cost me $250up for one 🙂.
I have added ya again, if it dosnt work my msn is coooljono (at) gmail . com

Im off out not to buy some gyprock and check a light store (not that im confident that ill find anything)

hmm i hope 4200k light temp is enough for a projector (400W), any feedback on this would really be appreciated.
 
color temp

Lots of people are perfectly happy with their 4200 K lamp projectors. You adjust to a wide range of color temperature within a few minutes. You may be able to select different color temps on your video monitor, to see the differences.

A color temp of 5000 - 5500 K would be a perfect match to the LCD monitor's backlight, so you would not have to "adjust". But it is not really all that big of a deal. Just don't try using a 3000 K streetlight, or a 10000 K reef tank lamp.
 
icic, yeah did a bit of searching and found many people are using 4200k, so this is great news 😀

Ill have to look into changing the temp settings on my LCD panel or through my 9800pro if this is possible, cheers.

Ive read that the ballast's weight about 8kg :bigeyes: , so i may look at buying the ballast in AU and the bulb in the US if possible. So long as they are both 400W and the same sort of bulbs, i assume they will be compatible 🙂?

BTW here in AUs our power is 240V as opposed to the USA (110V or 120V), but I dont think this would matter with regards to the Bulb, just the ballast (neeed to make sure it accepts 240V, which the above do).
 
ballasts

Not neccessarily: You have to match the lamp type to the ballast type. Some 400 Watt lamps are pulse start, some are not. Some lamps require an electronic ballast, some can work with both magnetic and electronic.

In the US, the lamp manufacturers all give an ANSI ballast type for their lamps, like M59, S51, etc. Then you just have to buy a ballast that has that type. I'm not sure what the rest of the world uses. Some ANSI standards are equivalent to other world-wide standards, some are not.

One thing I like about the Ushio retrofit MH lamps is that they use High Pressure Sodium ballasts. Those are easier to find locally, since they have fewer varieties and they are used in street and parking lot lighting. I got an HPS ballast that can use 120 VAC, 170 VAC, 240 VAC, or 377 VAC. You just pick the tap to match your local power, and then put insulating wire caps on the other leads.
 
Ok I believe i know what bulb/ballast im going to buy:

ballast: http://www.hydroshop.com.au/Products/StockInformation.asp?stockNo=159 (dont really know about its specs other than that its 400W as the site has crap all info)

Base for the bulb:
http://www.hydroshop.com.au/Products/StockInformation.asp?stockNo=414

and 400W bulb: http://www.hydroshop.com.au/Products/StockInformation.asp?stockNo=431
Specs here: http://www.venturelighting.com/LampsDataSheets/StandardMetalHalide/18520.pdf
Its color temp is 4000k, so it is just enough, however at the bottom of the page is says that the norm temp is on a + or - 15 degree angle and this may increase if its layed more horizintally, so that would be good 😀.
Life = about 15,000hrs, so i should get at least 10,000 or so from it.
upto 36,000 lumens, so plenty bright enough 🙂

It works out more expensive than ordering from the USA (possibly $20 more after postage), and im limited as to the lamps to choose from (would have liked a 4200k-5000k one, or a smaller 8.5" one instead of 11.5", however im unsure of how long id have to wait for shipping from the USA + none of the sites replied to my request for such info 😛.

Anyway let us know what ya think 😀

If I go ahead with this, all ill need is an OHP ^_^ and ill be able to begin and post results in the not to distant future.
 
Ok ill be ordering the bulb and ballast in the next few days or so

I Just purchased this OHP for $40AU + post ($30AU)
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Messenger-Ec...7551065695QQcategoryZ3307QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
The same model from the same person with the same specs sold last week for $102AU + post 😛, so im not 2 upset lol

The seller replied to my Q about dimensions saying its approx 30cm by 30cm (the window) so that would be sweet if it is, and the corner pieces are: the front = 4.5cm wide, the back = 3.4cm wide.

IF THIS IS TRUE, then the LCD pannel will only sit .5cm off the edge, or .25cm either side (which i may need to support it above the glass anyway), and the corner pieces will only intrude 1cm on the top or bottom, or .5cm each (again which ill need to support it above the glass anyway).

Ill be using "Powerstrip" to shrink the image shown on the LCD pannel a little so i dont lose any of the image: http://entechtaiwan.net/util/ps.shtm.
 
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