I had a few questions about the lumen lab projector. I am a newby and I want to build a projector I don’t know much about how it works and im trying to figure it out. But my questions were do u have 2 build your projector to a specific way according to the spot where the projector will be sitting. Or can you focus the projector where ever you move your projector. Like if i want to put it in my room which is small and then move it into my garage can i focus the projector so the screen is in focus in the garage and in my bedroom? And I want to make a simple projector im probly going to use the standard box design but I wanted to know if any 1 had any suggestions about monitors?
thanks
Full Version: Focusing projector
I have moved my projector several times and the triplet only moves a small amount.
You can make shims to adjust this distance about 1/2 inch or so. I find that if the triplet is not square with my box you will get beter focus. just me though.
If I had it to do over I would make sure that my first lcd would be a 17" monitor that is capable of 720P (not all are) It would make hdtv with the vdigi alot beter I can only get 480p.
You can make shims to adjust this distance about 1/2 inch or so. I find that if the triplet is not square with my box you will get beter focus. just me though.
If I had it to do over I would make sure that my first lcd would be a 17" monitor that is capable of 720P (not all are) It would make hdtv with the vdigi alot beter I can only get 480p.
KidB
First off, Welcome to the forum!
If you go to search and type in focus you will get a lot of hits on how members deal with this issue. If you build a focus assembly and give it 2 inches of adjustment you will have enough range to focus any concievable placement of your projector. If you allow about 50mm of movement you will always be in focus.
First off, Welcome to the forum!
If you go to search and type in focus you will get a lot of hits on how members deal with this issue. If you build a focus assembly and give it 2 inches of adjustment you will have enough range to focus any concievable placement of your projector. If you allow about 50mm of movement you will always be in focus.
If I may, I would suggest you build a first box with about 16-18" of travel from the triplet to the first ferensal and make a moveable 2" squared box to house the triplet to pull back and forth. This will help you get a better idea about how it works and how long you will actually have to make your box to suit your needs.
I would suggest using 1/2" pre-cut plywood sheets from your lumber store. This will make it easier for you to cut if you don't have power tools.
I bought mine at Lowes for about $4.00 a piece and I bought four of them.I believe the size was roughly 2'w x 3'L. I also bought a 8' 1x2" wood strip, about $2.00 and a box if 1 1/4 " screws. Not the fine thread ones.
I am currently on my fifth box build and there is just so much you can learn if you just accept that your first box is not your final.
The way I measured it out to start with was:
20" from triplet to first ferensal, 5" from first ferensal to rear glass ( to give my self room to figure how I would place the lcd) 10" from rear glass to back of box for lamp and parts . So ein the end the total box was around 35" L 14"w and 16" h ( I made my fist box to accomodate a 500w psu, motherboard and lcd ctrl boards under the projectors main assymbly).
Doing this really helped me figure out how the whole concept works, what is feesible, and what kind of trade off's I was willing to accept for different modifications.
I hope this helps and your eyes didn't get sore from the lenthy post.
I would suggest using 1/2" pre-cut plywood sheets from your lumber store. This will make it easier for you to cut if you don't have power tools.
I bought mine at Lowes for about $4.00 a piece and I bought four of them.I believe the size was roughly 2'w x 3'L. I also bought a 8' 1x2" wood strip, about $2.00 and a box if 1 1/4 " screws. Not the fine thread ones.
I am currently on my fifth box build and there is just so much you can learn if you just accept that your first box is not your final.
The way I measured it out to start with was:
20" from triplet to first ferensal, 5" from first ferensal to rear glass ( to give my self room to figure how I would place the lcd) 10" from rear glass to back of box for lamp and parts . So ein the end the total box was around 35" L 14"w and 16" h ( I made my fist box to accomodate a 500w psu, motherboard and lcd ctrl boards under the projectors main assymbly).
Doing this really helped me figure out how the whole concept works, what is feesible, and what kind of trade off's I was willing to accept for different modifications.
I hope this helps and your eyes didn't get sore from the lenthy post.
Thanks soo much... Just a little info, I am a 14 year boy and in 8th grade. I am pretty smart and in the whole HA thing at school, i am very much into computers and speakers and such. I have been wanting a projector forever but could never afford it. Once i saw how cheap and good the home made ones are i havnt been able to think about anything else. I am wondering if anyone thinks that i could make a projector mostly by myself?? (my dad cant even plug in a toster)
I was planning to make the basic box design from the toturial.
i was going to use the Dell E153FP 15-inch Flat Panel Color LCD Monitor
and i am going to buy the whole kit thing off of lumelab and use all their basic items.
Also what is the (motherboard) i no it cant b a mother board from a computer. so im guessing its somthing in the monitor.
thank you so much
I was planning to make the basic box design from the toturial.
i was going to use the Dell E153FP 15-inch Flat Panel Color LCD Monitor
and i am going to buy the whole kit thing off of lumelab and use all their basic items.
Also what is the (motherboard) i no it cant b a mother board from a computer. so im guessing its somthing in the monitor.
thank you so much
B)-->
Thanks soo much... Just a little info, I am a 14 year boy and in 8th grade. I am pretty smart and in the whole HA thing at school, i am very much into computers and speakers and such. I have been wanting a projector forever but could never afford it. Once i saw how cheap and good the home made ones are i havnt been able to think about anything else. I am wondering if anyone thinks that i could make a projector mostly by myself?? (my dad cant even plug in a toster)
I was planning to make the basic box design from the toturial.
i was going to use the Dell E153FP 15-inch Flat Panel Color LCD Monitor
and i am going to buy the whole kit thing off of lumelab and use all their basic items.
Also what is the (motherboard) i no it cant b a mother board from a computer. so im guessing its somthing in the monitor.
thank you so much
[/quote]
You can actually build a computer into your projector if you so desire, but he may have been talking about the LCD controller board. I'm betting he was talking about a computer motherboard - I've thought about it as a neat all-in-one video solution. Many people put a PC power supply in to power cooling fans anyway.
Welcome...
QUOTE(Kid B @ Feb 3 2006, 10:32 PM) 
Thanks soo much... Just a little info, I am a 14 year boy and in 8th grade. I am pretty smart and in the whole HA thing at school, i am very much into computers and speakers and such. I have been wanting a projector forever but could never afford it. Once i saw how cheap and good the home made ones are i havnt been able to think about anything else. I am wondering if anyone thinks that i could make a projector mostly by myself?? (my dad cant even plug in a toster)
I was planning to make the basic box design from the toturial.
i was going to use the Dell E153FP 15-inch Flat Panel Color LCD Monitor
and i am going to buy the whole kit thing off of lumelab and use all their basic items.
Also what is the (motherboard) i no it cant b a mother board from a computer. so im guessing its somthing in the monitor.
thank you so much
[/quote]
You can actually build a computer into your projector if you so desire, but he may have been talking about the LCD controller board. I'm betting he was talking about a computer motherboard - I've thought about it as a neat all-in-one video solution. Many people put a PC power supply in to power cooling fans anyway.
Welcome...
Hello again.
As far as the motherboard goes, I was refering to a pc motherboard. And in the end, I have decided to have a smaller, lighter box. It is a little more family friendly in my case.
I believe at 14 you are more than capable of doing this project provided you mave the finacial means and patience. As far as your father goes, I wouldn't rule him out just yet. He just might suprise you with what he actually can do and figure out. Especially when it comes to wiring.
I would encourage you to seek his assistance during that phase so you have an extra set of eyes on your work because it isn't worth dying over.
Have fun and good luck.
As far as the motherboard goes, I was refering to a pc motherboard. And in the end, I have decided to have a smaller, lighter box. It is a little more family friendly in my case.
I believe at 14 you are more than capable of doing this project provided you mave the finacial means and patience. As far as your father goes, I wouldn't rule him out just yet. He just might suprise you with what he actually can do and figure out. Especially when it comes to wiring.
I would encourage you to seek his assistance during that phase so you have an extra set of eyes on your work because it isn't worth dying over.
Have fun and good luck.
k thanks so much. But i have another qustion what does the mother board do in the pj? Dosnt it have to be connected to all the power inputs and all the vid and sound cards? why not just use the hardware from the lcd and just run that wire to your computer and plug it in into your viedo card?
thanks
thanks
It's just a computer built into your projector, so that you don't have 2 separate boxes sitting there. Yes, all the computer hardware would need to built into the projector box. As a side benefit, the wiring to your projector would potentially be cleaner, since all the video wiring could be internal to the projector - in my case only power, audio, and mouse/keyboard/peripherals wiring would come out of the projector. Not a whole lot cleaner, but a bit.
Most people do just run the wire from the LCD board outside to an external computer. Just a matter of personal preference to do it either way.
Most people do just run the wire from the LCD board outside to an external computer. Just a matter of personal preference to do it either way.
B)-->
k thanks so much. But i have another qustion what does the mother board do in the pj? Dosnt it have to be connected to all the power inputs and all the vid and sound cards? why not just use the hardware from the lcd and just run that wire to your computer and plug it in into your viedo card?
thanks
[/quote]
In my particular case, my wife doesn't want the pc in the livingroom so it currently resides in our bedroom. It can be quite the hassel unplugging the whole system to move into the livingroom just to watch some movies, game, or browes on the big screen. not to mention I have two children ages 4 and a 8 month old crawler, not the kinda folks youi want admirering your hard work...if you know what I mean.
If I had been able to put it all into one box that would have been less for me to keep an eye on.
unfortunatlly I have been givin a 2' x 1' x 1' restriction...so I have my work cut out for me.
QUOTE(Kid B @ Feb 4 2006, 06:15 PM)
k thanks so much. But i have another qustion what does the mother board do in the pj? Dosnt it have to be connected to all the power inputs and all the vid and sound cards? why not just use the hardware from the lcd and just run that wire to your computer and plug it in into your viedo card?
thanks
[/quote]
In my particular case, my wife doesn't want the pc in the livingroom so it currently resides in our bedroom. It can be quite the hassel unplugging the whole system to move into the livingroom just to watch some movies, game, or browes on the big screen. not to mention I have two children ages 4 and a 8 month old crawler, not the kinda folks youi want admirering your hard work...if you know what I mean.
If I had been able to put it all into one box that would have been less for me to keep an eye on.
unfortunatlly I have been givin a 2' x 1' x 1' restriction...so I have my work cut out for me.
B)-->
Thanks soo much... Just a little info, I am a 14 year boy and in 8th grade. I am pretty smart and in the whole HA thing at school, i am very much into computers and speakers and such. I have been wanting a projector forever but could never afford it. Once i saw how cheap and good the home made ones are i havnt been able to think about anything else. I am wondering if anyone thinks that i could make a projector mostly by myself?? (my dad cant even plug in a toster)
I was planning to make the basic box design from the toturial.
i was going to use the Dell E153FP 15-inch Flat Panel Color LCD Monitor
and i am going to buy the whole kit thing off of lumelab and use all their basic items.
Also what is the (motherboard) i no it cant b a mother board from a computer. so im guessing its somthing in the monitor.
thank you so much
[/quote]
Kid B yeah you can buid it yourself!! the only worry i would have is hooking up the ballast, I got the coil type it is a little tricky just remember that you can really hurt yourself if you dont go slow and check everything twice
QUOTE(Kid B @ Feb 3 2006, 10:32 PM)
Thanks soo much... Just a little info, I am a 14 year boy and in 8th grade. I am pretty smart and in the whole HA thing at school, i am very much into computers and speakers and such. I have been wanting a projector forever but could never afford it. Once i saw how cheap and good the home made ones are i havnt been able to think about anything else. I am wondering if anyone thinks that i could make a projector mostly by myself?? (my dad cant even plug in a toster)
I was planning to make the basic box design from the toturial.
i was going to use the Dell E153FP 15-inch Flat Panel Color LCD Monitor
and i am going to buy the whole kit thing off of lumelab and use all their basic items.
Also what is the (motherboard) i no it cant b a mother board from a computer. so im guessing its somthing in the monitor.
thank you so much
[/quote]
Kid B yeah you can buid it yourself!! the only worry i would have is hooking up the ballast, I got the coil type it is a little tricky just remember that you can really hurt yourself if you dont go slow and check everything twice
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