Well, since I've now started pulling stuff apart and taking photos of my work, I guess it's time to start one of these PLOG thingies

I started off by reading the guide on Tom's Hardware, which used an overhead projector. After some extensive research (which is far from complete!) I got a rough idea of the parts I'd need to source, and in the process, found Lumenlab.

I've since scrapped the idea of using an OHP and will now be building my own enclosure to get the best result I can possibly get.

I started off by buying a Samsung 151s off eBay, hearing from someone (not here) that they were compatible. Little did I know about a later revision of the monitor which was not. Guess which version I got? Silly FFC cables...

I then decided to stop beating around the bush and just buy a new monitor. I went out today and got a Mitsubishi (Diamond View) DV177, which is perfect. It stripped easily, and there were no FFC issues at all.

I also went down to my local hydroponics store and picked up a Sunmaster 400W bulb, lamp holder and ballast. At first, I was a little disappointed when I switched it on. It didn't look too bright to me. Little did I know that it would blind me in a few minutes after it had a chance to warm up. It was like having my own little sun.

Anyway, that's all I've done so far. Stay tuned for more news, as it develops

Parts List -

Monitor - Mtisubishi DV177 17"
Lamp - Sunmaster 400W
Fresnels - 3dlens.com's 330mm FL and 220mm FL
Reflector - IKEA Blanda Bowl

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The monitor, right out of the box

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Face down, ready for surgery

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Sans stand

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Now we're getting somewhere. Back removed.

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Metal casing removed, circuit boards detached

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A closer view of the circuit boards, mostly so I had a reference of what plugs into where for future reference

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The last step, removing the frame and then the backlight.

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The final product!

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Last pic for now. Not much to look at, just my lamp test. The photo doesn't really do the light justice, but I think it's purdy

It's been a while since I started this PLOG, so it's about time for an update. Things are slowly coming together. I'm still working on the enclosure itself, but it's almost done. I've finished making a frame for my fresnels, and one for my LCD is in the works (glue is currently drying). I've also done a bit of work on my reflector. I've managed to cut a semi-circle in the side of my IKEA bowl so my bulb sits at the right position. I'm not at the terribly interesting point yet, so I think I'll just let the photos speak for themselves at this point in time.

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The enclosure, starting to take place.

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The top and bottom of the frame for the fresnels.

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The side for the fresnel frames added. Now we just need to fill in those spaces at the side.

I forgot to mention, I do realise that I haven't left any air spaces. I'm actually going to be researching that next, and placing a few more cuts are required.

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Filling in that space mentioned, at the side of the frames for the fresnels.

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The box, flipped over, so the bottom can be attached. It's starting to look like a single unit at this point, rather than just a few stray boards of wood held together by some clamps

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A different perspective.

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The bottom is now screwed into place, and has been flipped back over to the correct position, with the lid piece resting on top.

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The same different perspective (that sounds weird).

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The reflector, showing the bit I cut out with a dremmel.

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Ooooh, shiny

Looking good

Just picked up my DV177 the other day so now I need to start ordering the other parts so I was hoping to ask you a few questions:

What fresnels are you using and where did you get them from? - never mind that found the answer in another thread of yours.
Are you doing a split or an unsplit design?

Also must say I'm jealous of the workshop you have there, very nice.

Wow, the first reply to my PLOG by someone other than me

I've now edited my first post to include the fresnels I bought (3dlens.com's 220 and 330), thanks for pointing that out to me.

I'm currently doing an unsplit design, though that may change down the track. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible at first, then perhaps, once I get the thing working, I'll look into converting to a split design.

The workshop sure does come in handy at times, from making a rather nice treehouse for me when I was much younger (the workshop actually belongs to my Dad) to this project here

very nice wood work
What are the specs on the LCD...
and what have you decided on the screen...
Not sure i can see but how will the box open up when you need to "tweak" the inside guts?
Will it open easily for repairs ect..?
Great Work

Do you plan to remove the AG on your lcd panel?

@capt. video: LCD Specs are -
Max resolution: 1280 * 1024
Response time: 8ms
Contrast ratio: 700:1

For the screen, I've had an old proper projection screen lying around for years. The type that rolls back up into a metal tube, which then collapses even further to moving/storage. It's a tad small though (well, certainly much bigger than my current tv, but smaller than plenty of the screens people have here), so I may just use that until I get around to making some sort of screen out of blackout cloth.

At the moment, the lid is just sitting on top, not held in place by anything. I was toying around with 2 ideas of either just putting handles on top of it so it could just be lifted right off, or 1 handle and a hinge. It should open up easily enough for repairs.

@Rorshach: I was considering it, but I think at first, I want to get it working with the AG still attached. I'm a bit too scared about ripping off the polariser too. I've already lost one monitor to this project (due to FFC issues) so I don't really want to risk ruining another. I'm sure though, once I start projecting images with this thing, that it will be one of the first tweaks I consider doing

Do you know what resolutions the DV177 runs at? Does it do the 16:9 equivalent as a stnadard resolution? (i think its 1280x720) Or doesnt this matter anyways?

And do you know if there is any difference between the DV177, DV177SB and DV177-W coz they are all the same price. Or would it just be a matter of different codes for different colours (which doesnt matter anyways?)

Is it possible to pull this monitor apart with out scratching it, so it could be put back together for possible warranty purposes later on?

Thanks heaps!

..
Valid8oR

I know the max resolution is 1280*1024, and I doubt it does 1280*720 as standard (but that's what powerstrip is for, isn't it? ), but yeah, I don't think it really matters. Then again, I suppose it depends on exactly what results you expect. If you run a widescreen movie at fullscreen, you'll just get black bars at the top and bottom, so in essence, the viewable area falls back to a widescreen resolution.

I know for a fact tha the DV177SB is just for the silver and black casing. I haven't heard of the -W model before. Widescreen, perhaps?

I suppose if you took a lot of extra care, you could put it back very close to what it started out to be, but the effort required would be incredible. There'd be no cutting of tape to make your life easier or anything like that. I think if you tried to claim warrenty on this monitor after it is taken apart (or any other monitor for that matter) that they would notice that it had been taken apart (assuming also that they bother to look). For example, on the 2 LCDs I've taken apart, both used some sort of glue to hold the power to the backlight, so once you pull those cords out, the seal will be broken. You could always put it back together for some other purpose, or even ebay. I'm still deciding what to do with my Samsung monitor, which had FFC issues. I put it back together and it works fine, so I could even attempt to re-ebay it

If you feed it a true 1280*720 resolution it will stretch it to fill the screen. However there is an option in the ATI control panel (and I assume nVidia's would have an equivalent) under Image Scaling to use Centered Timings. What I assume this does is tell windows it's a 1280*720 display but then sends a 1280*1024 signal to the LCD filing the top and bottom in with black bars. Anyway short version is that it lets you use the DV177 as a 1280*720 display as show below.

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Thanks for your responses guys..

The reason why i was asking about the rez was that initially i plan to run my PJ off my xbox (in which case i will need a box to convert the RCA to a VGA connection, like the AverTV 9). So from what you were saying, Aeon, about the ATI or nVidia control panels, i would need a PC of some sort. I do plan on making up a Home Theatre PC.. but i'll have to wait until my budget recovers from the PJ itself .

So if anyone knows how/if it works with a monitor that doesnt support 1280x720 standard, when using something like the AverTV 9. Basically, does it still look decent? Or does it distort the image?

Aeon..
I know you are also from adelaide.. what exact model is your monitor and where abouts did you get your monitor from and how much was it.. if you dont mind me asking

..
Valid8oR

Although I'm not from Adelaide, so I might know a few well kept Adeladian secrets, you might find it helpful to use http://www.ausprices.com. You can enter an item (mostly computer related products, but it seems to be entering other fields now too) and it will show a list of stores in your state selling that item, in order of price.

The news isn't very good for those in SA, according to that site though. Cheapest and only price is $388. I hope there's a store or two that it isn't indexing that sells the monitor cheaper, for your sake

I managed to snag a few more items for my projector and thought I'd quickly post an update.

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Firstly, my tempered glass. I got an online quote of $45 from some guy who lived a fair distance, then I went out for some quotes from some local shops (who didn't have websites). The first one said $60 with a 5-10 day wait, which I thought wasn't too bad. Paying an extra $15 for not having to drive all the way to the guy who gave me the online quote was reasonable, but then then I got my third quote. $23.10 with a 3-4 day wait. I was quite shocked at the difference. I was even more shocked when the glass was ready to be picked up the next day

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I thought this might come in handy for painting the interior of the box. What do you think? If it can be used on potbelly stoves, barbeques and engines, I think it should do the trick nicely for DIY projectors

Yeah, I just keep asuming that everyone runs their PJ off a computer which isn't the case



When I disable the centering feature on my comp and set the res to 1280*720 it distorts the image to fill the the screen. So I assume this is what would happen if you just sent it a 1280*720 signal to it through something else but I couldn't be sure.



I bought it from Paramount Computers - http://paramountpc.com.au/ - at richmond. Price was $330 for the DV177W (white/beige version which I have) and for some reason they quoted $370ish for the DV177S/B (silver and black versions) whereas everywhere else they are the same price. Colour doesn't exactly matter once it's been stuck in a PJ so I was happy with the price of the beige one. Price is ~$30 more than you can get it for interstate which IMO is pretty good for Adelaide. I couldn't be bothered checking other places to see if they were any cheaper so you may be able to get a better deal elsewhere.

Only issue with this monitor is the dead/bright pixel warranty or lack thereof. But I decided to just take the risk and ended up with one that is perfect.

Yeah, it sucks being in adelaide sometimes coz of the prices of things.. i mean, we're not that for away from the eastern states.. so whats the deal?
How much did you pay for your monitor?



So your using tempered glass. I'll have to go down this road if i cant find a lexan equivalent over here.. which i dont think i will. What are you doing about the UV, and where did/are you getting it from?



I havent fixed my mind on the DV177, but going by the specs it does look promising, especially the contrast ratio. Do you guys know of any other brand/model that we can get over here that is suitable for the DIY PJ's?
I had a look thru the 'compatible monitors list' but most of the monitors in there were brands i'd never even heard of b4, or brands that are hard to find. I'm only considering buying a monitor locally, coz i'd rather pay a bit more than have to worry about freight and breakages and stuff like that.

As far as deadpixels go, what is mitsubishi's take on that? Correct me if i'm wrong, but i dont think that dead pixels are that much of a problem anymore. I guess if you get a deadpixel somewhere down the line then you're pretty much buggered. But like was said b4, the lcd panel can always be replaced if its that much of a problem, and it would still cost less than a bulb for a commercial machine.

I paid $298 for my monitor.

As for the UV thing, I was going to see how I did with just the tempered glass. While I was at Bunnings today, I saw something that seems similar to lexan. It claimed to block out 99% UV light. I might pick it up later if need be.

Got a bit more work done today. Basically, I got the frame for the tempered glass done, and most of the frame for the LCD too. I also decided to see what it looked like with the lamp placed inside (not mounted yet, just sitting there). I was pleasantly surprised to find my back yard lit up quite well, and even more surprised at how well the tempered glass was keeping heat trapped.

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Believe it or not, there is actually a slab of glass in that frame.

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All the frames, lined up.

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Now we're finally getting somewhere

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Who needs a floodlight for your yard when you've got a projector handy?

Time for an update. It's been a while since I've posted anything, but that's because I've been working so much on the projector

I don't know where to begin, really. I guess, once again, I'll let the photos do the talking. The box is now fully constructed, the interior is fully painted with heat proof paint. My fan is mounted, and all the elctrical stuff is wired up. My focusing mechanism for the triplet is all done up, and my lamp mounted in position.... I think that's about it

The fan I salvaged from an OHP is working wonders. Not only is it super quiet, but it's keeping the temperature *inside the light chamber* at 35°C (95°F), the chamber with the LCD is barely being heated at all. I won't even need a fan to blow over my fresnels/LCD.

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Painting the box

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The fan

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The front panel to hold the triplet, with the arms used for focusing being put on.

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Mounting the fan

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The reflector mount

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The machanism to lock the front (triplet) panel in place

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The switches. Red to turn on the fan, green to turn everything else on. This is done so the fan can continue to run after I'm finished with the projector, to cool the box down.

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The bulb is now in place. It was at this time that I noticed the reflector was a bit wonky. Some work will have to be done on it to get it just right.

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The bulb, now mounted in place.

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It's alive!!!!!!!!!

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The first few images from my projector. As always these photos don't do the image any justice. It's better in real life. I'll have to play with my camera settings some more to see what I can come up with.

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Did I mention that this is sort of outside too? The projector is still in my workshop, and it's shooting the image outside, onto an OHP screen I set up outside. The sun had mostly gone down, but not totally.

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And now, the problems begin. Does anyone know what is going on here? What is causing these curly lines, and how can I fix them? Also, how would I go about increasing the brightness in the corners?

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More pics of the problem.

So did you let your lamp burn-in on a mattress ?

Anyways great work so far.

As for the curly lines, did you try increasing / decreasing the distance between rear fresnel and bulb ?

also I understand for unsplit config you need atleast some minimum distance between two fresnels (like 15mm)

EDIT: I saw this is already mentioned by GS.

have fun.

fw

Heh, no, I didn't do a proper burn in on a mattress. I just turned it on for about 2 minutes. I realise, though, that even though I only had it on for a short amount of time and was supervising it the whole time, that it wasn't exactly the safest move. Don't worry, won't be happening again

It seems that other people are also saying that I should put a little gap between the 2 fresnels, so I'll modify my fresnels frame a little bit and see what happens, and I'll also play around with light position. Thanks.