Roomate Blew this one up... so i rebuilt it better and cooler


This is going to be my first attempt at a projector project. I've wanted to do one for a while but never had the time. My first idea was going to go the route of using an OHP and placing the lcd on that. But with my room size constraints and my need for widescreen the OHP will not work since it is not large enough to accomidate the lcd screen.

So for the parts i have are

1) Synaps 15.4" Widescreen LCD Monitor (Native 1280x800) I can run it at 1280x720 though which i believe is 720p

2) Dukane 680 OHP. 575w Metal halide bulb, can put out about 8000 lumens to the wall at 5600K. 3-element lens at either wide angle 327mm or 280mm. Basicly i'll be gutting this for its parts.

3) 18pin FFC extender cable for the synaps lcd. (Upon initial test this extender cable seems to work, but i'll have more definate proof once i secure it with some hot glue and put it on the ohp to test colors,etc)

4) 1/2" pine plywood, misc screws, fans, bolts etc.

Update:
Finnaly Got It Working but now need to figure out how to focus the corners, any help on that would be great. Pics in the last post

pictures and descriptions can be found in
My PhotoGallery
Apologize for the blurry images, my hand isn't so steady, really need to get a tripod.

A note for the Synaps 15.4" LCD monitor that people may have or want to try
i stripped the lcd, and added the 18pin ffc extension cable. From what i can tell the side circut board controls the OSD. I can still make all the adjustments via the OSD menu, but the text is not entirely there, probably due to the FFC/FPC extension cable not matching up 100%, but it doesn't affect the picture at all and like i said i can still modify brightness,contrast, color, etc just fine.
I Disconnected the 18pin FFC extension cable that i add from the side circuti board to the circut board along the bottom of the lcd to test what would happen with it disconnected and it resulted in no picture to be displayed. So i then reseated the 18pin connecter back into the lower circut board a little better than initaly and when i fired the monitor back up, picture came up fine and the menu was back to normal, no busted characters what so ever. So the 18 pin FFC extension cable DOES WORK.

Sounds like a great deal you should be able to use almost the entire overhead pj except for maybe the fresnels if you plan on using a 15" lcd. If you stripped your lcd already please make sure it's secure playing around with it leads to bad results . Looking forward to seeing your plans.

DM

You should test the OHP to see what the total fl if the fresnels are it should be around 660mm.

You will need new fresnels so two 330mm should be OK but your condenser lens should make a light cone that will not cover your wide screen LCD.

You will need to find a longer fl condenser lens or a longer rear fresnel. 450mm would be perfect fresnel with the stock condenser lens but I have not seen one.

A 550mm/220mm might work but is untried. If you want a small box then go with a 6x9 condenser and stay with the 330mm/330mm

There is a 4.5 x 7 from altman that is nice too.It would be the best match for the 575 See the condenser lens thread.

thx, i will keep all this in mind as i continue my reading and research. I probalby won't be reusing the fresnels from the ohp since its only 11.2" by 11.2" and therefore not wide enough for teh 15.4 widescreen monitor. I probably need to get the ones that come in the pro-kit .

The dimensions i'm looking at right now with my limted apt setup, would be roughtly a 110" diagonal 16:9 ratio screen, with the projector sitting roughly 15 feet from that. So the rest i have to keep reading to see what kind of equipment and distances i need to build in the box, again very open to suggestions.

thx
michael

so far from what i've read and seen, i think if i go with the pro lense kit here then i shouold be able to set the projecter 13.5 feet from the screen and get a picture of 110" diagonal.

What i can seem to find are formulas for calculating how far apart the condenser fresnal should be from the light source and then the distance the lcd should be from that and the distance the field fresnal should be from the lcd. the distnace from the lcd to the pro-lens i figured should be about 22.5 inches.

LCD to triplet distance can be calculated using Focalcalc found in the Calibration and Tools forum. This distance is dependent on the screen size and throw distance and is set in stone. The collimating fresnel (rear) should be placed at its focal distance from the center of the lamps arc. so if you have 220mm rear fressy, place it 220mm from the arc center. This should be adjustable though since the focal dist is not precise. 10-15mm between fresnels, then 12-15mm from front fresnel to LCD for airflow and to make sure rings don't appear in the projection. The front fresnel is used to direct the light and fill the triplet. the fresnel should be selected based on the distance from LCD to triplet. so if using focal calc you find you need a distance of 580mm from LCD to triplet, the 650mm fresnel should be used (its focal length is closer to 605mm). The triplet will not be placed at the focal point of the front fresnel.

Thx. That clears up a lot I've also read some people using an 18" lens instead of the pro-lens, what exactly would be the benifit of that?

Also to verify, from back to front it would go ,, lamp , lexan/tempered glass , rear 220mm fresnal, space, front 650mm fresnal, space, lcd, calculated distance to the triplet lens.

18" lens will give you a slightly shorter throw. the pro lens is 500m which = 19.685". input 457mm for the triplet in focalcalc to get the different throw.


the order you listed is correct.

Cool, yeah i need a longer throw so the 500mm pro lens is what i'll go with . Thx for the help tameone i'm pretty much ready to start designing the box now and order up some parts.

While waiting for the pro-lens kit i've purchesed i deciede to take the antiglare off the lcd tonight.

2.5hrs later using the water method, it came off in one sheet.. BRILLIANT!!.

UPDATE!!! There is anti-glare sheets on both sides. Both sides just require the warm water paper towel method for about 3 hours then comes off clean in one sheet.

Got the pro lense,Pro Condenser Fresnel Lens,Pro Field Fresnel Lens, and tempered glass this week, so now its onto drawing out my box dimensions and such and start building the box. Have some ideas for a moterized focus mechenisum and a possible ir receiver.

First post here at LL. I've been lurking lately, finally I found a cheap alternative for a 16:10 format screen that an xbox360 runs good on! (and an inexpensive, good starter LCD). I have a few questions on the monitor. On the OSD menus, is there a scaling option, or 1:1 option, or does it just strech the signal automatically?

Good luck on your project!

So far i haven't found a scaling option in the osd, it looks like it just streches the singal. It is native 1280x800 so 1280x720 isn't too far off to be noticable. When the PJ is built i'll play around with the lcd more see if i can tweak it with powerstrip or something to not strech to its native resolution

Ok cool. I orded the Synaps (and a vdigi)tonight, since I didn't like the Norwood at compusa at all.

Exciting!

I also took your word, and ordered the synaps. Now lets hope it works, and I won't need to find u Have you used it yet? If so, how is the quality on 720p? Also does it stretch 1280x720, and is it noticable?

My projector build has taken a back seat during the postseasn. GO CARDINALS!!! So after the WS i should get it built. Also i had to rebuild my HTPC so i could pull in fox hd OTA. But it does 1280x720 and its not a noticable streatch since its native at 1280x800. So its acutally not going to stretch your video sources that much. If you have a 720p video it won't be able to stretch it to 1280x800 because its already 1280 pixels wide and therefore to way to correctly stretch to 800 so whatever software u use to play video files should just keep the 1280x720 and you'll ahve black bars on the top and bottom. At least thats what i've seen for a few test with HD DVDs, etc. Once i get it built i'll play with the monitor more,since its already stripped and i already gutted the OHP to use its parts.

Cool, keep us posted, this is one of the panels I'm considering for my HD build.

Finnaly got off my ass and made the calculations for the wood pieces i need. Went to home depot got some 1/2 pine plywood cut to the sizes needed and some gloss black spray paint. Gonna paint the inside pieces tonight and maybe start mounting some stuff to the bottom of the box.

I painted all the insides black and then could not see anything for the rest of the build except all the scraches. I would paint last.

Al the pine plywood I got from HD warped as soon as I got it home. Keep it inside.

I've had pretty good luck using MDF instead of ply- it cuts and drills very well since there is no grain to the material. Good luck on your build - any pics of the box so far?

Yeah as soon as it dries tonight i'm keeping it inside, the garage at least is not as cold as outside so it should be ok in there. I figured i'd just use a chalk pen to mark where i need to mount stuff etc

have the bottom sides and rear painted, top is just primed and sanded since i ran out of black paint. Still have to design the front piece, have a few ideas of a focus mechenism

Now that the postseason is over and the CARDINALS ARE WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!!!!!! its time to get this projector done and what better than a rainy windy weekend to do it.

Started putting together the box today, mountin the lamp in its light box.. Since i'm using the striped guts of an overhead projector i needed to make modifications to the light box to make it project straight from the middle. Also cut out holes for the rear exhaust fan and the powersupply heatsink.

Not the greatest cuts, but they get the job done with the limit tools i have, basicly a dremel with saw attachements.

More to come tomorrow

Did some more work on it today. Got the rear put on along with the rear fan. Got all the re-wiring done to add power for the lcd boards later. Got all the screwed down underneeth the light box. ANd then tested it out. Some pics....

Looks good so far.

One thing that might lead to trouble is the glossiness of the paint you used. If you look at the picture of the internal components, you can see the reflections of the components in the sides of the box. From what I understand, the purpose of painting the inside is do avoid light reflections and is usually done best with a flat finish. A gloss finish may give you reflections at odd angles that degrade the quality of your final image. Before you get any optics in there you might want to spray some flat black on the front half of your box. Blocking reflections is most important between the LCD and the triplet.

Just a thought, good luck.

yeah after painting the wood i was like damn it i think i should have used flat black..... So i sanded down the gloss black paint where it mattered and it seems to have dulled it a bunch, i'll post some pics later tonight after i work on it some more

I sanded down the gloss black paint and now it is more of a flat black so it doesn't interfer with teh lighting as much as the gloss would have. Noob mistake but at least i didn't have to repaint everything. U can see the difference in teh pic. I only sanded from the light box back since thats what will matter most. Also the frames and top that have yet to go on i sanded down also to look more flat black


Got all three frames made and mounted the lcd, 650 fresnel and the tempered glasss and 220 fresnel to it. Also drilled holes in the top so the curtain rod can go through them to hold them up and allow for easy minor changes when adjusting the PJ.


After roughly placing the fames in the box i was able to figure out where to cut out my side 120 mm fan to blow cool air into the box in between the lcd and 650 fresnel to keep the lcd temp down. Also was able to mount the lcd controller and power boards in postition for the lcd to be able to still connect to it and be adjusted front to back by a few inches. Also added a piece of black aluminum over the other circuitry near the lamp.


Just need to finish wiring up the lcd power, route a vga cable to the back of the box and drill out an opening for a female vga connector. Also have to get the front piece cut and driled for the triplet. Mount the curtain rods and frames. Mount the top to some door hindges, cut out a slit in the top for cool air to come in over the lcd and fire this baby up. Should have it up and running tonight i hope to make adjustments:)

Ok Finnaly Got it working, had to ditch the stock light box, get rid of the stock pre-condensor, slightly adjust the stock reflector and then move it closer to the 220mm fresnel untill i finnaly had even brightness all over my lcd instead of like right in the middle. Now the lcd is not blazin hot in the center anymore and i can have it on for over an hour at least since thats all i've had time to test with yet. Now all i gotta figure out is how to focus my corners and add a cooling slot to the top of the case. Pics to come

some screen shots. All i have for a screen right now is a off white sheet and part of a wall. Probably going to get a de-lite video spectra screen soon, should help with the images more. Also i gotta figure out how to focus the corners, any help on that would be great

a few of the usual 5th element shots


some text from top gun... i need to figure out how to focus the corners

a shot of ice age 2 from the couch