Well, I thought I would start up my plog. This entry will be short. I'll just outline what I plan to use. This is going to be a standard 15" design. I do have a few odds and ends parts to try out from some old 3M 8030 projectors and a broken Panasonic projector (ill get the model soon). One of the projectors is working so I can compare results with it. It has a rated 500 lumens and 200 contrast. 500 lumens seemed way to bright for me so I am hopefull that my homemade projector will be fine.

PARTS
- CMV 520d 15" LCD
- Standard LL lens
- "LCD PROJECTOR ZOOM LENS", all I know about this is from the panasonic projector that had a 48-72mm fl and 1:2.5-3.1 (Wow this should work horribily! )
- Some fans


I'm going to end up using BrainChilds new lamp when it is complete, so I'm currently searching for a ballast that will work with it, and a cheap bulb to use as a substitute.

~colin

Ok, hi again. I thought I would post some pics of the panasonic lens:

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Ooooo nice lens!! Are you planning on hooking up the motors to allow it to focus by the touch of a button? (I'm assuming thats what they are for).

Well, I could but I think the throw would be really short since I am using a 15" LCD. I have some pics of the 3M lens to upload too, it is a fairly similar lens. The focal lengths of both max out at around 80mm though.

Maybe I'll look into building a DIY projector based off a small LCD (lilliput?) I think these lenses would work really well with a setup like that.

Hi, I have found some spare parts from a junked projector. I am going to see what I can salvage. So far I have got a light source (250W), a temp sensor switch, and some small (3-4" in diameter) circular lenses. I am not sure what kind of lenses they are though.

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I really don't think that lens will work for DIY. The focal length is much too short and the field of view is probably designed for a very small lcd.

Yah, but I'm going to see what kind of quality I can get out of it...just for fun.

Well, my build is almost done. I didn't post often because it is pretty ordinary. Here is a pic of the inside of my box. I have no keystone (dont need it), and I have used screws in the bottom of the case to adjust the height of my lcd and lenses. To mount the pro reflector I wrapped it in two thin strips of aluminum, and then mounted this aluminum frame of sorts to the case. I'm still waiting on the LL ballast. I am not sure if it will work with my bulb. Here is the link to the discussion. http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?s...pic=10536&st=20


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I made a bunch of mistakes on this build. I plan to write a recap when its all said in done. In summary I paid too much for a premium LCD. I should have went with a second hand from eBAY for this build. I would recommend 17" LCDS for all builds. If you cant afford this pro lens kit then just restrict your LCD to the number of pixels that will fit in the frensels. If the projector doesn;t work out then you have a nice new LCD monitor for your computer Thats what I would do anyways. Actually, since I dont have any 1024x768 material, I plan on restricting the pixels used on my monitor so I can lower my LCD size (virtually) and place my projector further back from the screen while keeping the screen a good viewing area.

Here is a pic of the inside with the lenses in. My light source was just a tiny bit dim though


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I would make the lamp adjustable in all directions, You will thank your self later and the front fresnel must match the lens or be close in fl.

Ok, thanks for the tip! When my lamp holders get here I'll work something adjustable out. Maybe a rails system, or a simpler nuts and bolts setup.

Got the LL eballast today, something is rattling on the inside. Not sure if that is OK. The good news is that the
LL eballast is driving the HQI-TS 400W/D bulb. The output seemed a little dim, but I had all the wiring tapped together (as a result sparks were flying haha). So, YES we can use the LL eballast with the DE bulb. What a relief!

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Thought I would give an update.

I almost ruined my LCD. The FFCs that connect the LCD to the circuit board must be a little loose. I have lost one inch on the left hand side of my LCD, I'll post pics later. HOWEVER, I am able to resolve this by putting pressure to the FFC on the edge of the LCD (pics coming). I have taken the past few days off to think about this problem. I think I have come up with a solution, but it will be tricky to implement. I think it is the only possible solution to get that 1 inch back. I will have to build a new case to accomodate this solution though. I'm going to begin work on it today, and will probably finish by Monday. I'll post detailed pics as a hope to help others out with a similar problem.

colin

Crap...sorry to hear bout the LCD Im on my second and I dont even have the box yet.

Pressure HUH? some sort of a clamp and flexible epoxy wouldnt work? It would be a shame to redo the whole box. You should post your thoughts on the fix before starting. Some of the rocket or Projector scientists might tweak your idea. Anyway....

Good luck.

Here is an image of what I plan to do:

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The brown thing is at dowel (spelling?). I figured my finger is similar in shape so it should work. I tried it out and it does solve my problem. The only thing I have to decide on is how to keep it there, and keep enough pressure to ensure proper operation of the LCD. I was thinking of making a LCD frame that would hold the LCD and dowel in place...The only problem is getting the hole for the dowel in the right place, and of course slit for the lcd itself. (I only have a jigsaw and power drill)...

Here is the best option I have thought of so far, let me know if you have any other ideas.

1: Drill a hole is two "frame-sized" pieced of wood for the dowel.
2. Put the lcd in the "frame" (only left and right portions at this point) and position it so that the dowel is pushing the FFC in the right manner to pass the signal to the LCD pixels.
3. Mark the location of the LCD on either side for the top and bottom of the left and right frame sides.
4. Glue thin pieces of wood to these marked locations.
5. With the dowel out, place the LCD in the frame.
6. Slide the dowel in place, hopefully the pressure applied to the ffcs is still correct. I could compensate with foam or something.

Tenderheart,

I thought your idea was pretty good. You're the first person I've seen in the forums that even attempted to fix a connection right at the edge of the LCD. Anyway, after seeing your diagram, I had an idea, so for the sake of brain storming, I've drawn a few pictures. Perhaps it will help you, or give another member an idea that will help you and everyone else in the end. OK here it goes...

Fulcrum

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What this design does best, is it allows the stabilzer stick to be removed and replaced as often as needed, as the connection may change, even after the projector is up and running. The paper clip can be bent as needed to add more of a spring effect and/or achieve a better contact shape. If more than one connection is needed, then it is possible to add more paper clips. One of the draw backs of this design, however, is that it is bulky. Your frame may not be wide enough to accomodate the 1/2 inch stick. Perhaps a 1/8 inch by 1/4 inch stick would be better.

Cheers,

Fulcrum

Thanks for the ideas Fulcrum, I'm going to put some thought into them but right now I am ragging the LCD. I have already passed the 8 hour mark and it doesn't seem to have done anything. Im going to go to bed, and hopefully wake up with an easy-to-peel antiglare.

Well, the antiglare came off really well for one half of the screen, the other side is having a little trouble so I'm going to put another hour or two in for that. It's a little early to call the process a success, but it's going very well.

Tenderheart,

Sleep always helps. After I slept, I thought wow my original idea is way too complicated. The solution should be as simple as possible and only use easy to find tools. So from one of my engineering classes I remember being taught "Keep It Simple Stupid" (KISS). Here a few pictures of another idea I had, which would take much less time and anyone in the forum should be able to use it.

P.S. I hope the anti-glare comes off nicely.

Cheers,

Fulcrum

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Here are the antiglare removal pics. I started the process at 7:30 pm last night. I checked at 04:00am and it was not ready (I couldn't peel up the edge). I went to bed and checked again at 09:00am, I got the edge up relatively easy, but as I progressed to the centre of the LCD the antiglare started to peel in instead of off the LCD. I put the rag back on and soaked for another hour. When I came back I was able to finish the process with only a few areas with minor difficulty. I used brita filtered tap water. I live in a small community with good water quality (not many chemicals).

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Ok, everything is dry so I am going to begin work on fixing my LCD. Here is a pic of the problem:

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good to see you got your a/g off without much trouble. keep your fingers crossed when you power it back up

Gameover?

Well, I cannot get the FFC connection thing working because .... there is a tear in it! Crap! There must be something I can do to fix it. You should be able to replace it. Does anyone know if this is possible? It looks like it is glued to the circuitry and to the LCD with caulking ontop to add extra support. I'm looking around locally for a LCD repair shop. Maybe I could transplant a working one from a broken LCD?

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For talking about my FFC issues, please see this thread: http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?s...96&#entry132896

I won't say I'm giving up, but the LCD connection repairing is being put on hold

I was able to strip the FFC and get a signal to the monitor, the only problem was that the signal was upsidedown in some areas...so I guess that approach is not going to work. I would like to try with an entirely new cable though, but they just aren't available to the consumer. So I am settling for a 896 * 768 screen, which is not so bad since I don't have any hi-def content so I only need DVD quality.

Here are my bittersweet initial results? Why bittersweet? Because I love the results, and can't help but pine over that 1/8 of the screen I am missing. Would you guys buy another LCD or just say "it's good enough"

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Hey everyone. Just thought I would give a little update.

I bought a used CMV520d panel for 50 dollars plus shipping, so I am going to build another projector using that. I wanted to search for a high quality panel, but 15 inchers are kinda scarce and the price was right so I decided to stick with the basics.

On my currect projector I am running without a heat shield and I am at around 95 degrees using one 120 mm fan. The noise isn't bad at all and I am also "maximizing" brightness. I have my exhaust at the top of the box, and gap underneat the first frensel, and an intake in the lid right before the LCD. Seems to be working quite well.

Well I'm back

I just got a fp71V+ monitor in the mail. I picked this one out because it didn't have AG on it...so that saves me one step. It is a really nice 17" LCD and I recommend it for LCD monitor use. I can't recommend it for projector use yet because I haven't taken it apart yet .

Anyways, I am using a 17" LCD in a 15" build. I'm always going to use my PC as the input source so I can control what portions of the LCD are being used to display. I am not sure of which cabinet I am going to use yet. I could go three directions:

1. A standard box setup...advantages are simplicity. I would build a frame and then enclose it with 1./8" plywood to keep it light.

2. HAAS box. I have one built that would fit a 15" LCD. I would have to enlarge it for the 17" LCD.

3. Vertical box . I would have to build this one from scratch. Although it would be bigger, I kinda like this idea because I can get the lens at the height I want without mounting it on the ceiling of having it on a table. This is the least likely box I will build though because it would involve the most work and I would have to buy a mirror etc...

Any comments?

I am building a standard build... or planning on that at least, hopefully in a few more weeks I can purchase the rest of my supplies. Anyways, I am also building the cabinet that the projector sits on. This allows me to put both fresnels behind the LCD optimizing the brightness. And... the fact that building the cabinet underneath it is also optimal, because on one side, there will be shelves to house dvds, and on the other... shelves to hold a dvd player, xbox, xbox360, etc. Obviously youd need to have a fan cooling that enclosure as well (assuming you put some cabinet doors on it or something, though you could leave it open), but it keeps everything neat and tidy, and out of view. Thats my suggestion. Of course you could do this with the vertical build, but again, I chose the standard to optimize brightness... instead of using a mirror that will absorb some of the brightness. + youd have to buy a mirror and mess with angling it... etc

Well, I am just about finished with my build. Another week or so and I will be done. My frensel lenses are scratched so I want to get new ones...I might bite the bullet and go pro but I don't have that much money

Here are some pics. I didn't pause the game cause I wanted to get the colours. There is a lot of blur in this photo but the brightness is what I see and the colours are true to life as well. This is with a FP71V+ LCD. It is a 17" lcd without AG (never had any in the first place). I have the bulb closer to the frensels because I only use 1027x768 of the screen so I don't need to worry about unfocused corners. I'm using 15" frensels by since the 17" has a tighter dot pitch then a 15" I am only using:

(1280/17)/(1024/15) = 0.9
(1024/17)/(768/15) = 0.85

so im only using 13.5 wide and 12.75 high of my screen. I'm hoping this lets me get away with more lens shift too.

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Here are some photos of the Benq Fp71v+ all stripped. Notice there are no FFC's and how the electronics are protected. Once my projector is done I'll post photos of the box etc..

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Here is a prelim comparison shot between a commercial projector I found at the dump (beat that cost effective solutions LL ) and mine (which is no where near complete...and has a foggy/ruined frensel).

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The commercial projector is a 3M MP8030. Projector Central link

Please oh god please tell me the second picture is the lumenlab projector.
How do you find a projector in the dump..................... ?

Unfortunately not lol.

I was tipped off that our local community college was throwing out their old projectors so I went to the dump and asked for them I didn't actually rummage through garbage piles or anything lol.

"Them"?

If you have one that seems like total trash I would love to buy it from you for dissection/learning purposes. Maybe you will post something in the Trading Post?

Tgreenwood

Yah, there were 5 in total. My familly has three, I have one, and the other is broken but I already swapped LCDs in it. There is one at home that might not be working...I'll see if anyone is using it.

colin

The DIY projection is actually better.. just a little out of focus and clearly damaged due to crappy fresnel. The commercial is way too saturated and not crisp at all. I would rather watch the first pic, in focus.

Didn't get that much work done today...found a stray dog hanging out in the middle of the road...almost hit him!

Here he is:

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I did get some painting though. My primary pieces are just clear coated and the accent pieces are solid black.

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Tameone: I agree, the commerical projector has three LCDs that aren't aligned just right. I spent a few days tweaking it but I couldn't get everything lined up in all areas. The commerial is rated at 500 lumens so we will see how brightness compares once my LL is complete.

Here is a photo of my focus mechanism. I am having a little trouble with the last thread on one of the rings...it is a little squished in one area and will have to be fixed to allow for smooth movement in and out of the other ring...I'll tackle that tomorrow, as well as:

1. Fan placement
2. flash shielding
3. control panel for LCD

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There is nothing new here. I cut off the non-threaded sections of 4" pvc. Total cost was 15 dollars for these pieces though...there must be a better/cheaper source for something with rings of resonable depth.

Just finished up my heat shield. I had some aluminum around but I decided to go to the hardware store and pick up some zinc flashing. It is a metallic colour (other than powder coated white) so hopefully it will also help in brightening my projection.

I bought the stuff from a roll so it was a little tricky getting the curve out of the squared pieces without puting unsightly bends in the metal. Overall I am pleased with the heatshield. Next up: front panel.

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I thought I would add how I am making my front panel. I have two dowels, one is thinner than the other. Im going to cut two short pieces from each and stack them centered upon each other. THis will be one button. The larger end will be next to the LCD control panel button, the shorter end will be accessable through a hole in the front of the projector. The hole in the front of the projector is only large enough for the smaller end of the button so it won't fall out. Below is a pic of the tools I am using as well as a small diagram of what I just attempted to explain.

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Buttons are glued together and drying right now. I don't think they will be able to withstand too much force since I am using two hammers as weight to keep the pieces together while drying. They are also not consistent in length and are not square (I am using a hand saw and router here) so I might have to take a trip over to a friends to get a straight and accurate cut.

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In this image I show how I aligned the panel with the smaller holes with the panel with the larger holes. The perspective makes it look like they are not aligned but I assure you they are. I also put a spacer inbetween the two panels so that I can drop the larger dowel on top of the smaller dowel and glue them together.

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This pic shows the buttons glued together with hammers ( ) supplying weight to get a somewhat strong bond. You can see how all the cuts weren't perfectly square and how they are not all the exact same length...hopefully this doesn't pose too much of a problem.

Here is a photo of the final product next to the control panel...should work.

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