This plog is a mix of two projects. First few pages is a MDF box, using a Synaps lcd. As you read on, I change to a aluminum case with a WUXGA lcd.

]INDEX

720p Synaps: First Light
WUXGA & Change to Aluminum
WUXGA First Light
Toshiba Arrives

Parts list:
Synaps 15.4" 1280x800 lcd panel
Philips 17PF9946/37B 17" Widescreen TV
Sharp model LQ154M1LW2A, 15.4" WUXGA
Toshiba model LTD154EZ0L, 15.4" WUXGA
G2A130 controller- (Dobie ran out of 210's)
LL Pro lens kit
LL Eballast, and LL56k bulb
Pro Reflector
FS mirror
High Contrast Polarizer
Beseler 24" Triplet
FFC extension

Not including S&H(my god, this snowballed into an expensive project)
I wiped the prices, since it was making me hate my self for blowing so much money
And a ton of crap from home depot, that I lost track of.

New Aluminum WUXGA Enlosure(build starts on page 4)


Not much to show right now, since I took it all apart to paint it flat black. But here it is.


This was a test projection with my 15" 1024x768 panel(synaps didn't arrive yet). I'm in love....

Sweetness!!! Another reason for me to get back in the saddle regarding my stalled projector. Congrats and keep the posts coming.

Edit: Yep - the $$$ really add up for these puppies don't they?

What are you projecting onto?

mmmm Exige.. that will be my next car when I finish paying for the S2000

It's projecting onto a gray wall.

Here are some more pics.

How is that panel?... any ghosting? What are you using as a video source?

Edit: nevermind. Didnt see that was with a 1024x768 lcd

If you mean the synaps, then I have no idea as I didn't get it yet. The projection in my first post is off a 15" 1024x768 Viewsonic. Source is a Xbox 360, thru VGA.

They're both mounted facing the same direction. Flange towards the lcd.

OOps It does look the same.Sorry

Happens to all of us once in a while

Some more pics.

Temp lcd frame.

VGA, AC, and a circuit breaker.

Got the monitor on thursday(next day after ordering, walmart rocks). Now I just need the ffc extension from LL. Here are some pics. Also some screen testing below.

Screen testing. I mixed up some MaxxMudd LL and painted it onto a piece of untrated mdf for testing. Even after 2 coats you can see the difference.

More to come soon.

I"M GETTING SOME OF THAT PAINT MIX! Thx 4 comparison pics, now paint the whole thing so you can enjoy your projection.

What is the screen material behind the painted MDF?

It's a plain gray wall. Very similar color to the mudd, tho no sparkles.

Did a bit of work today. Here are some pics.


Lens and door, 5" hole is rouunded off with a router. Door clears it perfect to swing open(hole is centered, just the pic was taken off center).


Electrical rig.


Slides in and out for ease of service.


Retracted.


Vent cut in front door. This allows the fan to suck fresh air over the eballast. The box has a muffler chamber in the back. All fans blow hot air into the chamber, which then vents it out of the case. Almost zero light leakage thru the fans.

How did you attach you wires to the breaker?

Are you using that breaker for your projector on/off switch or just as additional over-current/short protection?

One side is soldered on(was such a bitch tho)


Other side has a screw for tightning.




There will be a switch up top to power it on/off. Main reason for the breaker is short circuit protection. 15A is a bit much for overcurrent, but it can't hurt either.

Edit:

I almost grabbed some hot 110 the other day, so I made a small cover for the block. For those days when I'm drunk, and the pj acts up

Your build is looking really nice.

I looked up the specs for your monitor, and it's native resolution is 1280x720. It seems it will support 720p easily!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Synaps 15.4" Specifications (Obtained from www.WALMART.com)

Aspect Ratio: 16:9

Contrast Ratio: 400:1

Brightness: 220 cd/m2

Pixel Pitch: 0.2588

Response Time: 15ms

Resolution: 1280 x 720

Color Support: 16.7m

Viewing Angles: 140deg/120deg

Interfaces: D-SUB

Speakers: 2W x 2

Input Power: 100-240V

It's actually 1280x800(walmart is wrong on that one), but yes it does 720p great. Still waiting on the ffc extension, to try it out in my pj.

Sounds good! What have you used to test the panel so far? a PC or a DVD Player?

Based on your results, I just may end up getting one of these panels instead of the Samsung 740B. Keep us posted!

I tried it with a pc, displaying 1280x720. I also with a xbox 360, set to 720p. Both work great.

Thanks for the update. I hope your extension arrives soon.

I got the pj up and running with the WS synaps, and to say the least it's a bit disappointing. The image looks like crap compared to my viewsonic. I might be jumping the gun a bit, since the AG is still on(and some fine tuning is needed) but it just dosen't look right. The image is much darker, and lacks the sharpness and colors of the viewsonic. Only hope now is AG removal, hopefully it will clear stuff up a bit.

Shaky hand on the first one...



PS- Any ideas what is causing the the stripes?

Your unslip fresnels being misaligned with each other would be my guess... if thats the case maybe your bulb alignment is off as well? That would cause the decrease in brighness.

TDU, nice call. I need to get off my a** and update my plogg with TDU and dead rising.

I also need to make real fresnel frames ^^

He's correct.

Problem fixed. Thanks guys.

AG removal on the synaps is very easy.

Just do the water and paper towel method, for about 4 hours.

Peel up 1 corner with your finger nail and go slow, it will come off leaving no residue. That should help with the sharpness alot. Good luck, glad you got the monitor workin!

So has the image quality improved? Or do you still think the panel is not suitable for high quality results?

Jury is still out on the panel, as I still didn't remove the AG(needed the pj for hanging my screen). Tho I am seeing improvements, so hopefully it will work out. This pj will use a 15.4" even if it kills me

The screen......keep in mind this is only after 2 coats, atleast 3 more to go.




Some more TDU




There is a bit of hotspoting on the bottom, but hopefully that will be fixed after a few more coats.
AG should be off mid week, so then we can see some results...I hope.

Tony Hawk Project 8 for good measure.

GSX, I have couple of questions for you:

Is the MaxxMudd mixture you used same as the one below?
What is UPW ?
Do you know the international codes (RAL for example) for the paints ?


your results are looking pretty good. I fired up my pj 2 nights ago and wasnt happy with the image also - it looks much like your first post now after some adjustments. I am looking for ways to improve my image quality.



RS-MaxxMudd LL
24 oz. Delta Pearl Metallic #02601
16 oz. Delta Silver Metallic #02603
16 oz. UPW
16 oz. Minwax Polycrylic - Satin finish
10 oz. distilled/tap water

I used this mix:
16 oz. Delta Pearl Metallic #02601
12 oz. Delta Silver Metallic #02603
12 oz. UPW
2 oz. Delta Pale Metallic Gold #02624
14 oz. Minwax Polycrylic - Satin finish
10oz. distilled/tap water

Plus I added About 2 extra ounces of Silver and .5 oz of gold, to get a bit more daytime watchability.

But, here is the kick. I just checked AVS and pb_maxxx just updated the mix. So as of 10/30/06 the mix is as follows.

RS-MaxxMudd LL
16 oz. Delta Pearl Metallic #02601
10 oz. Delta Silver Metallic #02603
10 oz. UPW
2 oz. Delta Pale Metallic Gold #02624
14 oz. Minwax Polycrylic - Satin finish
10oz. distilled/tap water

I might have to give this another try, unless I can find the recepie for Black Flame

UPW=Ulta Pure White (had no clue myself, untill I seen it on a can)

As for the international codes, I have no idea. Sorry

Some shots with the lights on.

Hey GSX,

I was just wondering how you managed to get the teeny little clip open for the FFC. I opened up my Synaps clone and couldn't quite figure how the clip works. I figured its probably not the best idea to break this microscopic thing.


-Mark

The connector was very hard to get apart. I ended up using a knife to pry it off, and sliced my finger to the bone in the process. My is now secured with some glue. If Im not mistaken, you need to slide the small gray piece of plastic forward.

Removed the AG today. Here are some shots.




Took about 4 hours of soaking. This was not as esy as others say. I stripped AG off a Viewsonic before, and that was cake.

PS Last shot is without te screen. I messed up the mix, and will have to repaint it. That's the reason for the hotspotting, and most likely the washed out pic in some of the shots.

PPS

What a difference that makes, that's absoultly beautiful.

Good stuff GSX!

I think the antiglare removal helped alot.

From the pics it looks like removing the AG helped a ton. Sweet!

Well, the AG seems to have helped....I guess. I'm starting to go crazy with all the adjustments tho. Way too many variables to know what is actually helping. I decided to leave this thing alone, untill I finish my screen. Once that is done, tuning the colors and contrast should be easier. I still have some doubt in the quality of this monitor tho. Might just have to go with the viewsonic from the first shot, as the quality was great.

PS- I'm painting the screen right now..Should have something done tonight.

Screen is drying, so I figured some testing is in order. Anyway, here is my problem. There seems to be a brightness or contrast issue at the top of the screen. Notice in the pics' how the hair is visible on the bottom of the screen, yet when on top it's not. I don't have my reflector mounted, and the 220 fresnel is about 8.5" from the center of the bulb. Do you think that is the problem? Any other ideas? ALso the sides of the screen are a bit out of focus.

Ureka! I found the answer to most of my problems. The ffc was not plugged in all the way
So yea here are some more shots....Sorry for all the screens, but I just cant help myself(i'll try to atleast switch up some games..motogp anyone? )

Before:


After


The money shot


Some tuning is up next, but the monitor is finally showing some promise.

WOOOOOO!

Now you're talkin'! Good job GSX, it's looking sweet.

I decided to switch things up..... again. The synaps is getting scrapped, and will be replaced with a Philips 17PF8946/37B 17" Widescreen LCD TV. The specs are not the best(@25ms), but the price was right($230 straight from philips). Anyway, hopefuly it will be in mid next week and the madness can resume.

PS- I got a 15.4" syanps, and a 15" Viewsonic lcd's for sale


Here is a pic of the new panel.

PPS-I just realised this image will not fit on my screen from where my pj stands Not again...

PPPS- Now is this a bitch or what...Turns out my box is 1" short on width to fit the 17". Pj #3 seems to be on it's way

So you successfully removed the anti-glare and finally got some clear, bright, snazzy results... and then you switch LCD's all of sudden? Curious... why the change?

Also, I have question about your Synaps. I have the same monitor and am about to yank out the ffc, but since this is a first time for me, I'm a little cautious. In a previous post, you said you need to slide the small gray piece of plastic forward. Is that forward towards the center of the LCD? Does it flip up or something? Maybe that releases the yellow strip from the grey part? (I'm looking at a picture you posted)

Thanks, and I hope your sliced finger has fully healed by now.

I'm a bit anal about guality, and the synaps just wasn't up to par. My 3yr old viewsonic, killed it when it came to blacks. Plus the monitor seemed to have alot of backlight leakage. There is a good chance I got a bad apple, so don't be too alramed.

As for the plug, it works like this(just figured it out recently). You will have to bend up the small piece of metal that holds the gray piece(the small notch at the bottom(in the pic)). Once that is out of the way, the gray piece should flip up(up and away from the ffc), freeing the cable.

On another note, more delays with the pj. I got the monitor on monday(didn't open till right now), and there are problems. First off there is a decent sized pressure mark on the screen. But what tops it all, is Philips' stupidity. There is a component input on this montior, that does not accept HD signal The only way to feed the monitor HD is thru VGA. It does support sog, so atleast u can use component to vga cable. Tho it crops the crap out of the image. So yea, it's going back today, and i'm in the market for a WS monitor...again. Anyone got a suggestion, under $300?