Hi,Great forum with lots of helpful and great ideas.I have 2 projectors ,both use 15 inch lcd screens,250 watt metal hallide,electronic ballast.I just went with the varifocal fresnel behind the lcd(220 /330)I played with the split setup but didn't find much of a difference if any.My vertical design has had the antiglare and polarizer removed,there is a polarizer lens on the back of my triplet whichcan be turned clockwise or anticlockwise to make fine adjustment to the contrast and brightness(much like when you tilt your laptop screen).I find with this setup that the lcd stays alot cooler(actually It hardly heats up at all ).My straight through design is a work in progress,It uses a little sony(lg lcd)lcd screen which required no ffc extension.the picture quality is not as clear as the standup design but I guess that is down to the polarizer/antiglare removal.I haven't got any pics of the screen yet as my digital camera isn't the best but I will try tonight .both screens are 12 foot diagonal,the projector is 11 foot from the wall.I could probably get much bigger if I had a bigger room.The brightness is very even for a 250 watt setup.All of the metal hallide running gear is in a seperate housing away from the projector to keep temperatures down.Thanks and keep the innovations coming.Great site

I added some pics but they don't seem to be showing,Anyone know why??/

Make sure that the file size isn't too large, by memory I think it should be under 200k. Also check that it is the correct file type. eg .jpg

DJ

also click on the button "Add into Post" on the right side of the "File attachments" table ...

Vertical projector,250 watt metal halide(now 400 watt),6mm lexan(polycarbonate)220/330mm varifocal fresnel lens, dell1505fp(samsung lcd) 15"lcd with anti glare removed,This is one tough little lcd it has taken a lot of abuse.120mm 100cfm fan in the light compartment,1 x 80mm fan blowing cool air on the lcd..Click to view attachment

My finished straight through projector,400 watt metal halide,6mm lexan,sony 15 inch lcd analog and dvi inputs,220/330 varifocal fresnel lens before lcd ,triplet lens with screw in/out for fine focus adjustment,220mm papst 130cfm fan in light housing ,80mm (air in)and 60mm(air out) fans in lcd area.I use my main computer with this one asus a8ne sli board with dual 7600gt graphics cards and I use the dvi input.I will try and take some good screen shots if I can get a good camera.Click to view attachment

Click to view attachmentHere is a few 14 foot diagonal screen shots of my straight through projector hooked up to my basic hp laptop .If you look you can see the door ,this will give you an idea of the screen size .Looks alot better in person.Click to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachment

vertical projector with 400 watt bulbClick to view attachmentClick to view attachmentThese pics are 12 foot diagonal and projected onto my home made screen(blackout cloth)

Nice work . Your projectors look very well made. I still have not got around to building mine yet and have landed up with a stock projector which I refurbished. Upon comparing the image quality this produces with that of the LCD TV I bought for the DIY one, I'd say the LCD TV produces a far more detailed picture. How does your final projected image compare with what the monitor produced in its original state. Is there any degredation in quality due to shining such a bright light through it, or does it look as good as when it was still in one piece?

Bets regards,

~Sinar~

Hi Sinar,There will be some difference because my final image is 12 + foot diagonal compared to the original size of the 15 inch lcd screen.The projected image won't be as bright as a standard size screen but apart from that there isn't much difference.The colours are crisp and clear and the contrast is good but some of this is down to the antiglare removal on my setup .A 15inch lcd will give you a larger projected image (12 foot diagonal from a distance of about 11 foot)a commercial projector will only give you an image of roughly 6 foot diagonal from the same distance.If you use a 400 watt metal halide setup there will not be alot of difference in the brightness compared to the standard screen as long as everything is lined up perfectly and your distances are correct.The pictures I have posted do not do my screen any justice as it is hard to take a picture of what you are seeing at the time especially when using low quality cameras.It has been alot of fun building the projectors,I highly recommend it.I wish you luck and you have all the help you need right on this forum.

Sinar forgot to say maybe your projector is 800 x 600 resolution .Your 15 inch lcd is probably 1024 x 768 resolution.This will also make a difference to your projected image.

Okay swapped my 250 watt metal halide for a 400 watt in my vertical projector.I noticed a big difference in brightness but I think I preffered it with the 250 watt,I find it looks a bit washed out looking with the brighter bulb and yellow,the colour temp is 4200k .I will see if I can find a 6000 k bulb.Hopefully this will make a differenceClick to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachment

These pictures are projected onto a green wall so that doesn't help any and again rubbish camera.It is very hard to capture what I am seeing and it is well worth the effort believe meClick to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachmentT
he image is almost 10 foot diagonal on this wall.

Oh boy I need a snack after all this projector buildingClick to view attachment
Now what am I going to do with my spare time when I am not watching the projector.MMMMM 7inch hami ,I have a spare lamp kit.No No fight the urge 2 is enough. Who would have thought projectors could be so addictive.

Nice builds I started with the 250 as well and I love the vertical setup. As far as the pj's go you can never have too many Where did you purchase your double ended 250 watt bulb from though I'm trying to find a reasonable seller in the U.S

DM

Thanks Dark Meat I am not living in America I am from Ireland .The 250watt bulb is a sylvania metalarc HSI-TD WITH UV STOP GLASS.The code on the box is 21037.I did a quick check on google and can't find anyone who supplies it in the US .I bought 2 spares of ebay,Here is a link to the seller on ebay selling the exact same bulb at 10 pounds which is $19 and he ships worldwide.http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/250W-metal-halide-Lamp-B-NEW-IN-BOX_W0QQitemZ260055093215QQihZ016QQcategoryZ20706QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Hope this helps.

Thanks again off hand do you know the ballast number is it a m80?

DM

The Ballast number is 108151 GF53523.4 shp 250 240/250volt 50hz. works with high pressure sodium and metal halide.It is a thorn magnetic ballast it uses a 35uf capacitor and the ignitor.It came complete as a kit.I have used this for quite a while now and it works well with this bulb,the colours are true and the whites are white etc.

A complete kitt that would save trouble thats for sure. I'll take a look at the site again see if they are willing to ship to the Bahamas

Doesn't hurt to ask..

DM

Here is a link to the first kit I bought of ebay but he has united kingdom only but he might ship if you ask .
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DIY-LCD-PROJECTOR-25...56660687QQihZ00
9QQcategoryZ22610QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem .I know he does a 400 watt kit also,not to sure on the price though.The bulbs are quite fragile and are packed beside a 6lb ballast so maybe thats what puts him off shipping overseas but as you say couldn't hurt to ask. Good luck.
P.S if your sister is in Ireland and on ebay she could get one and send it to you but the postage will add up and it might end up costing you more than its worth.

hoping to have my pj running by this weekend! i have everything completed just waiting on my light source to arrive:(

Great you should have it up and running before christmas.Where did you order your light kit from?
I look forward to seeing some results.

i ordered it from that guy you recommended from ebay! and........the kit arrived this morning! ill try get some pictures up! i went with the 250w kit....couldnt get over the weight of the ballast

Yup the ballast is quite heavy and it also gets quite warm so if you can mount it outside the box it keeps the heat down inside the box.I made a seperate small box for my projectors and housed the ballast ,ignitor and capacitor in there.I put a small on/off switch on the box to turn the bulb on and off .That way you can turn the bulb off and let your fans cool the box (lcd etc) when you are finished using the projector.Enjoy

If you can also you should mount an aluminium plate between the ballast and wood just to be on the safe side.The capacitor and ignitor don't get hot.

would you be able to have one plug running everything,say for the light lcd and fan, but different switches for them so one switch will do the lcd and the fan and one switch will do the light? or is it better to have 3 seperate switches? one for the fan one for the light one for the lcd!.......think ive confused myself there!

Yeah you can do that just buy some wire connector blocks from your local diy and wire your fans etc up whatever way suits .

I just have 2 switches ,one for the light box and the other controls the fans(one 127mm 130 cfm fan and a 80mm fan) and lcd all of which run of a 12 volt supply setup except the bulb of course which is 220 volt.

this might not be as simple as i thought! propper construction kicks off on sunday! ill try get some pictures if im not too excited! not sure how much is going to be done though! cross the fingers i get it completed that night!

Good luck,It takes a bit of tweaking ,to be honest it never stops.I am always trying to make my projection as good as it can be.

Here are a few updated pictures .These are from my straight through projector (250 watt metal halide bulb)and are projected onto a 15 foot diagonal wall.Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Few more

oblivion(just to give you an idea of size my girlfriend is 5ft 9inches)Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment