Yes, the LCD is mounted upside down and rotated because the lens then flips the image back up and the right way around again.

An easy way to see this happen is: once you get your PSOne LCD and before you strip it, hook up the LCD to a dvd player, play a movie with subtitles or something else with text, make your room completely dark, put the lens against the LCD and point it at the wall. You will see the projected image upside down and backwards.


If you mean the FFC extension, you don't absolutely have to have it, but without it the controller board is right against the top of the lens. It's a lot easier to work with if you have an extension.

I haven't been able to find a local store that has FFC parts, the only place that I can find them is from the LL DIY store, bulk electronics suppliers and DIY-Beamer.com. Radio shack doesn't know what an FFC cable is.

Tgreenwood

I don't know. I haven't had any problems so far.

Tgreenwood

[b]so basically all you say we need is a cfl bulb with a color temp of 5,000 or more and cri of 90 or better. What if we go for as much lumens as possible and keep it about 5 to 7 inches from the screen. I love your project and feel it will satisfy my needs, but my main comcern it getting the light spread even on the final picture. If i kept the cri above 90 with a 5,000 color temp how many lumens would you recommend for me to have a good enough picture and watch a movie or play a game with a good decent amount of light in the room (without flushing the picture out).

Also did you use the circuit writer pen to peform the brightness mod on the psone screen, because i don't have any equipment to solder, plus i'm probally horrible at it. Would you recommend 6 cfl or do you think i can add more to give it a better quality without flushing the picture.

Don't worry about the CRI of the bulbs, it is the color temperature that matters with these fluorescents. Just get the GE daylight bulbs (6500K) that I have shown in the "recap and tips" post.

If you want to go for as many lumens as possible and "have a good enough picture and watch a movie or play a game with a good decent amount of light in the room", use 9 bulbs in a three by three grid with the tips pointing at the lcd, and seven inches from the tips of the bulbs to the LCD. 9 bulbs will give you 14400 lumens in the lightbox. The most I've had in my lightbox is 8800 lumens.

Don't do the brightness mod until you finish your projector and see what kind of image you get without it. The image quality might be better, see if you like it. You can always do the mod later, and yes, I did use the circuit writer pen to do the mod on mine. Radio Shack still has it available in their online shop.

Don't expect to get good image quality if you have the image bigger than 70 inch diagonal. The low resolution limits the size.

Tgreenwood

2 years ago i had a tv that powers on and just turns off by itself. since then we never used it. The model number is P46924 made by Rca. Its a 46 inch screen. i believe its a projector tv. My question is do you think there is a lens in there that i can take apart and use?

does anyone know about the lens from Surplus Shed ? is it just like the lens from Herbach.com

The one from Herbach.com does seem bigger though and has a larger diameter, so I'll probally get that one.

I'm so excited and im just waiting for everything to get here. i want to build one in my entertainment room for the family and have one in my room for me personally.

As long as i can get 60 inches with good quallity i will be so happy. All i'm trying to figure out now is building an enclosure. I have no tools, and no capentry skills.

Does anyone know a good enclosure setup made wit parts from home depot. i was thinking of figuring out measurements and having home depot cut it for me. then all i would have to do is put it together.

tgreenwood also i wanted to get a better understanding of how you connected your wires for all the bulbs. i plan on using 9 cfl, but i want to be able to have a switch that powers all the lights at once. then possible a switch for the fan and lcd seperate. I would love to know how to set up a fan that only turns on when the enclosure gets to a certain temp.

this may be a little too much for someone to explain, so i don't expect for anyone to go out of their way for me . But this site is so helpful and everyone seems so encouraging. Plus when i get everything together i plan on making my own plog with some great pics to show.

i know this may sound stupid but does the part of the enclosure holding the light source have to be the same size as the lcd, because it might be hard for me to fit 9 bulbs in there.

listen i need some serious help. i just got my psone screen from ebay on monday. i plugged it in to see if it powers on, but it doesn't give any sign of being on. the seller said it was new and when i got everything it really seemed completely new, the box the wrapping and everything.

I'm wondering if i actually have to have a psone for it to work, or is there some kind of mod done to make it work by itself. I got the right power supply unit and the right input mini jack. but no matter what i do it doesn't power on. i got it for 39.00 including shipping. would someone go through ALl that trouble just to rip me off. the guy said he had 5 screens. if wost comes to worst i'm just hoping maybe its a loose connection somewhere and i can bring it to a electronic shop to get something soldered for 5 to 10 bucks maybe.

please help me if you can, am i missing something to power this screen, i would love to figure this out before my crt lens comes in. it might get here tuesday or weds.

here is the link on ebay that i got it from Click here

wow, i order from the same guy on Saturday, it hasn't arrived yet... i hope you get your porblem solved ( because i have no idea)

tgreenwood, in your recap you said that a minimum of 6 blubs are needed for a psone screen with the AG removed and the brightness mod. Also ive seen it said that the best picture is when the tips of the blubs are pointing at the screen. Not to say you are wrong or anything, but i am curently using 2 blubs mounted vertically, 5-7 inches from the screen and my ag still on ( i will remove it one day, i sware) and i get a satisfactory image. It can evin be seen with the lights on (although just bearily). I will be ading pictures to my thred eather today or tomarow if you want to check it out. (link in my signeture)

still waiting for my LCD to arrive, but i was wondering: how do you wire the fan to a wall wart. do you just connect the wires (positive and negative)?

That would probably work, but I actually dug out an old AT computer powersuply (the king with the powerswitch conected directly to the power syply) and am useing that for my fans.

So do you have it connected to a DVD player or something? A PSOne screen won't power on unless it detects a video signal. If it's not connected to a video source it doesn't do anything.

Tgreenwood

It all depends on what brightness you are happy with. It seems that most folks want the projection to be bright enough to see in the daytime with a light on in the room, that's why I recommend 6 bulbs. It's good that you're happy with just two bulbs. Did you use the walmart bulbs?
It'll be great to see more pictures of your projection images in your thread, I'm looking forward to seeing the improvements.

By the way, I think your build is totally cool with all the K'nex pieces. (I've used lego's myself)

Tgreenwood

Yes.

Use a 12V wall wart for normal speed, or a 6V wall wart for half speed and less noise.

Tgreenwood

It is a rear projection TV, and the lenses inside might be usable. The only way to find out is to pull out a lens and give it a try.


I used regular lamp sockets and just spliced all of the wires together into one plug. Other PSone builders have pictures of how they wired their lamp sockets in their plogs, but I can't find them. Help me out guys?


The whole enclosure doesn't have to be the same size as the LCD. It is helpful to narrow down the size of the lightbox as it gets to the LCD, but it isn't required.

Tgreenwood

[b]I had it connected to the output of my cable box, that didn't work so i tried my little sisters dvd player and still no picture. So i'm thinking this guy ripped me off, but that sure is alot of trouble to go through for 39 dollars.

Maybe i'm doing something wrong. No matter what I do nothing works. i cannot get a picture on the lcd. I even took it apart to see if anything was loose but everything looked fine. i'm stuck and confused

does it have to modded for it to work as a standalone.

No, it doesn't have to be modded to work as a standalone.

Does it have RCA composite sockets (red, white, yellow) or are you using a plug like this.......
Click to view attachment
to hook it up to the DVD player?


Tgreenwood

Yeh, I used the 26W (100w equvilant) GE daylight type cpfl from walmart. (wow thats a mouthfull) Funny thing about the K'nex is that evin if i build a nicer box i think i will still use them to mount the lense because they work so well.

Here's a pic from my PSOne. I just cut small pieces of an extension cord and wired the sockets together. The plug end goes under the aluminum foil (yes, I did upgrade that later to mylar) in the lower right corner of the box.

I HAVE A PLUG JUST LIKE THAT, BUT I STILL GET NO SIGNAL, I THINK THE SCREEN IS MESSED UP. THE SELLER TOLD ME HE HAD 6 MORE AND IF I CAN'T FIX THE PROBLEM HE WILL TEST ANOTHER ONE AND WHEN I SEND HIM THE OLD ONE HE WILL SEND ME THE NEW ONE. I HAVE A PORTABLE DVD PLAYER WITH A LCD. ITS A OFF BRAND. A DYNEX MODEL NUMBER DX-PD510

I WAS SO PISSED ABOUT THE OS 1 SCREEN THAT I OPENED THE OLD TV I TOLD YOU ABOUT AND GUESS WHAT, IT HAD A BIG PLASTIC MIRROR IN IT AND TO MY SURPRISE I SAW 3 DELTA 40 LENSES. NOW THIS IS MY QUESTION, ARE THOSE LENSES USABLE BECAUSE IF THEY ARE I FEEL PRETTY STUPID ORDERING THE DELTA II WHEN I HAD THESE THE WHOLE TIME. PLUS WHY IS THERE 33. CAN THESE BE USED WITH MY LCD TO MAKE A PROJECTOR?

AS FAR AS MY PS 1 SCREEN DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY ELSE THEY CAN THINK OF THAT I SHOULD DO. I'VE BEEN WONDERING IF THE SCREEN WORKS BUT THE POWER SUPPLY IS BAD. IS THERE ANYWAY FOR ME TO TEST THIS THEORY, OTHER THA PLUGGING IT IN AND PUTTING MY TOUNGE TO IT

The dynex DVD player usually has both video input and output. They use the same jack for both, and there is a switch for choosing video in or video out. Make sure it is switched to video out.

There are three lenses because it has three CRTs, one for red, one for blue and one for green. Sometimes the color filter is on the CRT, sometimes it is on the lens. If the lens has no color when you look through it you've gotten over hurdle number one. Then measure the diameter of the lens on the end that is against the CRT. If it is over 4 7/8 inches you've gotten over hurdle number two. Now look at the CRT that you took the lens off of. If it a flat face CRT, not curved face, you've gotten over hurdle number three and have a winner. If all three of those things are true, it should work great, and you've got spares to sell to friends. (Save the mirror, and don't get fingerprints on it, it is valuable.)

You could try another 7.5V center-positive wall wart if you can find one around the house. I would send it back to the seller for a tested one.

Tgreenwood

Today i took it to a repairshop, after trying to explain to the repairman for 30 minutes that its not missing a peice and that it can work as a standalone, he decided to open it and test it.

from what he explained he said the circuit board behind the lcd was bad but the other circuit board connected to the power supply is good. I kept on explaining to him that he also needed a video signal but i don't think he understood that it would look off with out a signal. he tested the board to know it wasn't good. all he said is that it was cooked.

well i mailed it back to the seller and he told me that when he receives it he will test another one before he mails it out.

now im playing the waiting game again. in the mean time i think i will take the dynex lcd apart and the delta 40 of that broken tv i got to see if i can cook something up until i get the lens from herbach.com.

hey does anyone know about there shipping, and how long do they normally take after receiving payment. they do not give a confirmation or tracking number. I ordered on sunday and was hoping to get everything by thursday.

I haven't done it yet, but had a question about it. if the crt from the tv is curved that means i cannot use the lens. Why is that?

Also why is that mirror you were talking about so valuable, it seems pretty cheap and not even made of glass. its kind of flimsy and if you touch it, it give you that water type matrix effect like when Neo touched the mirror.

Because the lens matches the CRT's curve, the CRT touches (or is the same distance from) the lens at all points. If you use an LCD (which is flat), the lens will be varying distances from the LCD. This will cause major focusing issues later.


Here goes an explanation of a front-surface mirror. A normal mirror has the reflective part behind glass. (go look in your bathroom mirror and you will see what I mean) If you were to use this in a projector, you will get "ghosting", which is a duplicate image. (to see what this looks like, shine a flashlight into the mirror in your bathroom and look at the reflection on the wall/ceiling - you will see the main beam and a dimmer version of the same thing) The mirror that you are talking about is a front-surface mirror. It has the reflective part in front of the glass (or plastic in your case). Because there is no glass/plastic to diffuse light in different directions, you will get a clear image. (you can do the same experiment with the bathroom mirror and flashlight, except use the mirror from your projector in place of the bathroom mirror and observe the difference)

I believe it is curved, when i took the lens off it look like the crt had another lens on top of it. And it looked like that lens was curved inward. Plus the diameter of the lens i got is under 4 and a half.

when i experimented last night i saw that this lens does not have to be right on the lcd i had it about 2 inches away from the lcd and it gave me a picture.

since the delta lens has a small diameter what it i use a fresnal in front of it to send the whole picture into the lens

hey i just cam back from a tv repairshop to ask the guy if he had any delta lenses for sale, then he came from the back with the exact lens that i have. a delta 40. the only thing is his had a extra part connected to it. it seems as if its the part that i didn't take off from my tv. the other part had a lens also but with some oily stuff on it. he told me the oil was to prevent the lens from getting hot. i asked him if thats the only lens he had and he said yeah. he also stated the majority of rear projection tv's use this type of lens. if you were looking down you would see the lens with a bubble inward iside a metal plate. then the delta 40 on top of that lens screwed onto the plate. does that mean my crt is not flat, so basically i can't use it or is there someway around this.

Ishyster, my suggestion is that if you have an lcd monitor or a flat crt, take a picture and make it so its about 5" diagnal on the screen and the put the lense to it and see what you get. If you get a focusable image then it will work, if you get an image that only has the center or the edges in focus then it wont. Ive actually tested my delta II by puting it on the screen for my laptop. I just layed the screen flat and set the lense on it to project on the celing. Hope this helps you and good luck with your projector.

I built my projector in a cardboard box, and its alot bigger than i expected (the image), which is a good thing

I have a few questions.

Does the brightness mod make the image projected about alot brighter, because as of now i have two lights and it is dim with the lights off, i would have to say unwatchable. I was going to get a circuit writer pen this weekend. (and more lights)

Also does the reflective material help brighten the image?

Thanks

scb, The brightess mod does brighten it up a bit, but the two most benifical things you can do for your projector (this is what i have figured out) aside from adding more light is to make the lightbox reflective and to take the anti glare off. Its easier that it looks. Just go read up about ag removal first. Oh and how are your lights mounted? ponting at the screen or vertiacally? Check out my build, it sounds like your pj is very similar to how i built mine. (in my signeture)

they are pointing at the screen...

Also, i added an Aluminum foil lining to the box, and it brightened up quite a bit, and as of now (for testing purposes) i do not have a cooling system (fan) so i can't leave it on very long... The aluminum foil seemed to get really warm. Does the Mylar material not get hot? if i add more than two lightbulbs seems like it might heat up too much...

I'll check out your build.

About the AG, it is on the side that you watch, right? It you watched is as a regular LCD TV.

My earlier tests i without a fan and the lights touching the cardboard for extended periods of time. >.< but the cooling fans make a diference now. Also, i have my lights vertically and with just 2 bulbs it is watchable.

Yes. Don't be afraid of AG removal. Just be sure to let it soak for a full 2 hours - don't get impatient.

Defenetly dont get impacent. That 2 hour wait feels like forever >.<

yesterday i finally did a test run. looks great and pretty simple. I will post pics once i install my webcam.

I came a across to this while testing. How are you guys actually mounting the lcd with the controller connections?

Not only that i took of the screws on the delta II lens, now is it me or are those lens pretty rough on the focusing, it doesn't just slide smoth to focus, seems like there is a little tension involved.

i only projected an image about 25" as a test i got the focus pretty good by actually moving the len farther away from the screen.

am i the only one having this problem?

No, you're not the only one who is having this problem. I found focusing too rough for me, so I sanded the raised rings on the lens. (the raised rings on the part of the lens that comes out, not the part where you mount the LCD) When you pull out the lens completely, sand the rings and keep putting the lens back in until you get it loose enough for your needs, but tight enough to stay focused.

This helped me to focus and find that perfectly focused spot with less struggle.

For me i left it teh way it was becuase when the ring click into place is where i need it to be focused for the sized image i an useing. Its atually quite convienyent.

WELL WHAT TECHNIQUE DID YOU USE TO MOUNT THE LCD, THIS IS THE TOUGH PART

Do you still have the plastick and metal holder that the screen was in origenally? i just cut a hole in the white plastick the same size as the screen and used that to mount it.

that makes a lot of sense but i do not have tools to cut the plastic part that held the back light.
but i still have the metal fram and that white plastic like you said

You dont realy need tools for it. i used a knife to score lines where i wanted to cut it and then bent the plastick back and forth untill it broke along the line.

In case anyone's interested, here's a little more detail about how to sand the lens to make it focus smoother (from a PM from Ishyster):

Has anyone got a source for this lens in the UK. The company linked to dont ship here.

other them lumenlab, no one here actually builds projectors for people on this website.

i mean what if i wanted a projector built, is there anyone here who does that as long as i pay for the supplys and labor.

Try http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l3789.html their FAQ says that they usually have no problem shipping world wide

Tescorp does he's a legend in these forums as far as I'm concerned Check him out http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17103



Keep in mind that he builds LL design PJ's

I, too, have been having issues finding the best way to mount these smaller LCD's.

Click to view attachment

Above, I am using the plastic that the LCD was originally mounted in - now in this case, it's in the hole I had previously cut in the wood for a larger screen, which is why lots of light is leaking through on the top and side - but you can still see I was slightly off on myplacement on the bootom and right sides...

My goal was to get the LCD flush with the wood I wanted to screw the lens into, somehow cutting a rectangle in the wood slightly smaller than the LCD, but I have had no luck with my crappy jigsaw getting straight enough cuts within the tolerance of the 'outside edge' size of the LCD.

Perhaps I could just cut an oversize hole in the wood, and use black construction paper and tape for the LCD - I may try that......but experience has shown the material has to be *really* opaque, or light bleeds through...

Holy smokes, Look at this.

Лампы Дневного Света .
(Go toward the bottom of the page)

Boy, I wish I finished that Russian language course that I started.


Tgreenwood

i guess you should feel flattered or get a dictionary.

Is it possible to do the same like you did, but use a larger 15" lcd. I can't seem to find any projection lens that is that large though .

here, translated version used google.
heheh now we know somewhat they were saying

Just an update ...

I am (more or less) finished with my mini CF projector.

I am pretty happy with the brightness and with the finished box.

Here is shot the finished product:
Click to view attachment

I am updating my PLOG with some final details and images.

Now, except for the kids watching it occasionally, it will probably just sit on the shelf.....Ah well ...