After reading for a while here and and elsewhere I've decided to take the plunge and build one of these things. It will be used in a basement rec room where ambient light is not an issue. I'm building it primarily for use with DVD movies and PlayStation games.

LCD
I decided to go with a Magnavox 15mf605t 15" LCD TV since it already comes loaded with inputs and pretty decent specs.
Picked one up for a good price at RefurbDepot. The TV was shipped quickly and everything arrived in good order. Nice looking TV.

Enclosure
Really like the Haas design and if this works out I may try reworking the projector in a ceiling-mountable Haas enclosure. But for now, I'm going to keep it simple and prototype with the standard 15" box.

Components
As this is my first build I decided to go the kit route for most of the components:

• Lumenlab Mega-Projector Kit
  • PS120 120V Pulse-Strike Light Kit
    • 400w T15 Pulse-Strike Lamp
      
    • 400w 120V Electronic Ballast
      
    • Mogul Base
  • 1005 S15 Lens Kit
    • S15 Projection Triplet (320mm fl)
      
    • S15 Fresnel Lenses (220mm & 317mm fl)
  • WK120V 120V Wiring Kit
  • 2 120mm Fans
  • WA120 AC Adaptor
  • UV1012 UV Filter 10" x 12
• Pro Reflector

I've received the TV and the lumenlab components. Next step is to take some measurements and head out to the hardware store.

The TV is great man I've had mines running for awhile with no problems and the ag layer strips easily just don't soak it too long. If I had to build another one I would still go with this lcd got mines refurbished as well

I haven't decided if I'm going to remove the Anti-Glare layer yet. Figured with this being my first projector, I'd build it very vanilla and then tweak afterwards. Stuff like the AG removal worry me because if I mess it up the WAF for this project is going to take a serious hit.

Still trying to finalize my requirements for wiring, cooling, etc. The kit includes two 120mm fans. I've seen plans for both one and two fan projectors. I'm assuming that I will build with two rear mounted fans at this point. I'm looking at using aluminum flashing around the light engine portion of the box to keep heat off the walls of the case. I expect to offset the aluminum slightly from the surrounding walls of the case so that it is not in direct contact and provides a small air barrier between the aluminum and wood. Does this make sense?

I picked up a PT-6 attic fan thermostat from Home Depot. I'd like to wire things such that the thermostat keeps the fans running until the box is sufficiently cool (even after switching projector off).

This will be a father/son project. My dad is going is going to help out. He's a better carpenter than I. And who knows, if it works well, we may be building a second one for his house!

How did everything go? Any updates?

Long Delay. I've been away from this project for the Summer while working on other things but I'm back to it now. I have the main case woodwork done and assembled. The case is MDF. Black, heat-resistent paint applied on the insides. Two kit-supplied fans mounted on the back along with the power entry module/switch and circuit breaker.







Question about the Magnavox LCD. I've got it stripped down to the panel. The panel is attached to the metal frame with a piece of clear tape that extends along the edge where the circuit board is. The clear tape is applied across the brown flat cables running out of the circuit board and onto the metal LCD frame. I'm afraid that messing with the tape could damage the flat cables coming off the LCD. Should I just take an X-acto and cut the clear tape where it is mounted on the metal frame? I assume I have to detach the LCD panel from the metal frame so that I can mount the LCD panel, correct? Also, in the picture you can see 3 green tabs on the right-hand side of the LCD panel. What are these? Should I leave them alone or be concerned about them? Thanks.

Congrats on the great design so far... everything looks good and I have used the same panel for months without any problems. I only want to address one main thing for now. Be very concerned about those three little tabs. They are pretty sturdy but you don't want to accidently flip them or bend them, this will cause horizontal lines to appear on your screen.

I made the mistake of trying to replace my polarization layer after having the thing running for months and I damaged those tabs. It's a great monitor all the inputs you'll every need. You don't need to worry about the tape I never removed mines and it worked just fine. I sued the metal frame for my mount but I had to cut down the sides just a bit for the metal tabs. I also used silicone to hold the lcd in place worked great.

Just one question since I'm shopping around for another mag lcd how much did yours cost and where did you get it from?

If you have anymore more concerns just ask quite a few of us have used the same lcd although mines was a vertical setup the rules of proper care all remain the same. Your lcd will be much safer if you have it in a frame. The tabs on the top connected to your lcd should also not be bent to much results vertical lines in your lcd.

DM

Thanks! Good info.
I picked up the LCD TV at Refurbdepot.com for just under $200 last April.

The outside of the projector has now been stained with minwax provincial stain which gives it a nice dark color. You can see a test piece stained in the pictures above. Picked up some Lexan from Home Depot this evening and am working out the assembly for the electronics/jacks. What input/output jacks for the TV did you mount on your projector? Where? I was thinking on the side of this unit toward the front since everything would be in close proximity to the TV electronics. I don't think I'll be mounting the TV power or control switches. But I expect to mount the receiver for the TV remote control as well as all of the TV input/output jacks.
I also have to decide on what to use for the Standard Lens mount. I've been looking at some of the posts regarding the use of PVC but haven't decided for sure. Want to keep the focusing straight forward and simple.