Well I received my ebay items: 3M 9800 for $70 and Dell 153fpb for $25 (bad backlight).

The Dell LCD was an easy strip; no fcc issues as others have corroborated with this particular model. I have got it up and running however sadly no digital camera; I will borrow a digital camera in the upcoming weeks. I have done no tweaking as of yet so still work to be done, but I have got it functioning. It looks very good when operating in windows; I started 1 movie just for a look thus far which was Star Wars Episode 3. It was very dark and very difficult to watch; I also noticed a few issues. There are vertical lines which are very noticeable, and some of the corners are not focused very well.

I wonder if the 35 ms response time is going to be bad...? However, for $25 I guess it is no biggie.

To do list:

1. Currently the edges of the LCD screen are propped up with layers of cardboard; I suspect that the height is uneven and thus the focus issue occurs.

2. Dare I remove the antiglare...? I could definitely use the extra light that is being dispersed by the anti-glare coating which is on one side. Also, I remember seeing another member with this exact model whose antiglare came off with only 2 hour rag soak. I think I will do this tomorrow.

3. Setup cardboard around projector to block the spill.

4. DIY screen using blackout cloth as currently I am projecting onto a crappy white wall.

5. Clean optics and fs mirror? I cleaned the stage and bottom of fresnel with cloth and liquid utilized for cleaning large screen LCd tvs. I made an attempt at the triplet with camera lense cleaning equipment and while it helped it did leave slight streaks. Also, I think the fs mirror is in bad need of cleaning. The item is used and there are a few fingerprints on it and what not. I know how one is supposed to clean fs mirror, however that method is not really practical for this application. So, I attempted to very lightly clean with the optics grade liquid and cloth in a small area and it indeed proved ineffective. Anyone have any good input on how to clean up this fs mirror...?

Well, hopefully I can knock out the majority of these issues in the upcoming days as class resumes on Sept. 20. I would appreciate any input. Thank you.

J. Persinger

Well thus far I have only been able to amend the focus issue; the LCD is now supported by wooden slats. The corners are still somewhat out of focus so shims may be in order. I made an attempt at removing the antiglare screen; 2 hour rag soak didn't do much for me. I know generally the rag soak method takes much longer to work however so I will make another go at it at some point however maybe not immediately. After fixing the focus issue I couldn't resist the desire to get it running again; I started out with Aqua Teen (cartoon) so I could feel good because of the bright images. I am projecting to about a 5-6 ft diagonal onto a plain newly painted white wall, and also keep in mind that I have still not constructed an outer box to block the excess light as I want to finish up the stuff on the inside of the box prior to this obviously. All I can say is WOW! If you are just starting out and are a little broke, don't hesitate to go the OHP route. I did some reading around the forums for a few days and almost came to the conclusion that I should dump some more money into the project for a better quality build; to be honest I am completely blown away by what I have currently. Maybe ignorance is bliss.

I then moved onto to a tougher challenge...Blade Runner. Lots of dark scenes...again I am blown away. No vertical banding apparent like existed in Star Wars, and the dark scenes are highly watchable in Blade Runner. I am not sure why Star Wars Episode 3 looked like such crap...

Still no dig camera, but as a testament to image quality, a friend had stopped by today noticed this, and now apparently there is going to be a midnight showing at my house tomorrow! I may just construct the box to block the excess OHP light, but I may also have another go at getting the anti-glare off before tomorrow night. Either way, right now I am going to get abck to Blade Runner!

35ms refresh is cutting it close. 1 / (35 milliseconds) = 28.5714286 hz, aka it can only display 28.57 FPS. DVDs playback at 29.976 FPS so you might see some slight ghosting but probably nothing noticeable. for $25 though it's ok. I'd rather die than play video games on it though

Yeah, I would too unless your playing oblivion...I have a 7900 GTX in my comp. and 2.8 gHz single core Opteron and in outdoor segments fps dips easily to less than 20 fps.

I finished the enclosure last night; basically a box made from black foam board that I would say catches all but 20% of the light previously spilled throughout the room. I watched Blade Runner through...I didn't see any ghosting and again it was quite stunning.

Updated to do list:

1. Figure out what is up with the focus. I may have to shim the edges of the LCD with something as the screen is slightly out of focus as if again it is not mounted parallel to the stage. However, it is still highly watchable.

2. Thermal issues...I had anticipated this problem and constructed a solution. It involves 2 80mm 40 cfm fans with a shroud that is constructed to direct airflow underneath the LCD as I have about 1/2 in gap. At the side opposite the fan/shroud assembly I am noticing what seems to be slight overheating of the LCD screen. Loss of constrast and blacks seem get bright/halo; I don't think this was present upon start up so I may have to utilize another fan.

3. Antiglare; attempt the rag soak method again for longer duration. The image is good now but I think I will take the risk to improve brightness/contrast.

4. DIY screen with blackout cloth.

Boon Dock Saints, some Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Cowboy Bebop the movie, and Hero later; I love this projector. Today, we hooked it up for some college football watching as well. It actually looks very acceptable; the resolution is obviously crap but it still looks very good and I am enjoying watching it a great deal.

I have solved the thermal issues by removing a few sections of the black foam board box constructed around the OHP. A little more light leaks from the outer box but it is thrown directly at the ceiling and not so problematic.

As for the focus issue, I am beginning to think that this is due to the subpar optics utilized in OHPs in general or perhaps an issue with my fs mirror. I think that I will most likely replace the fs mirror if at all possible soon.

I think tomorrow, or tonight succeeding college football, I will have another go at removing the anti-glare coating utilizing rag soak method.

Also, in about a week I will have the cash to obtain a screen. I was thinking of going with DIY blackout cloth but I think I will actually go ahead and just purchase a Dalite screen. I will most likely go with 8' 8'; although I don't need this now perhaps in the future it will be useful. I would like to obtain the screen material only so will most likely need to harvest this from a manual pull down unit; as for screen type I am thinking matte white, video spectra, or high power. People watching the movie will be strewn about the room so I am thinking the high power may prove not as useful due to the odd viewing angles so I am leaning heavily towards the video spectra material.

I really enjoy this setup and it is nowhere near dialed in. If I can get the anti-glare coating off, a screen to project to, and some improvement in the focus I will be extremely pleased. The images look fantastic to me; I still have no dig camera but I will put some pics up at some point, most likely when it is all finished. Again though, maybe ignorance is bliss but for the ~$130 I have spent on this project thus far I couldn't be happier.

Also, I have noticed in reading that people tend to stretch their screen fabric over a frame such as constructed from PVC. Is there any reason I am not aware of for not just attaching the screen material to the wall with thumb tacks...? I'm in apartment and cannot attach anything serious to the walls or ceiling...

You probably can, if you're careful. You want the fabric taught, so as to avoid wrinkles. If you don't wrap the fabric around a frame (and tack it directly to the wall), in stretching the fabric, you may pull the tacks out of the wall or the tacks may tear the fabric. Just take care.