Hello all, newish member from oz here, i bought in on this thing a while back though my password never worked? anyhow im back as i just picked up a bargain 15" and want to start, though my issues is $$$$$ so i have been brain storming i havent had time to read through a lot of this stuff so please refer me if this is already stated. In the interest of recycling (as i pretend to like this as im poor), i came up with using focal leses from broken lcd projectors or what i thought to be cheap and easy to find the focusing lenses from old darkroom equipment (film enlargers) or slide projectors. is this possible there designed i guess for the same purpose, high quality, readerly available? please help?

I, and many-here, have had luck with long-FL triplets from what are known as Opaque-Projectors...with 3-500mmFL EFL-lenses from makers like Beseler/Buhl/American/etc. ... with FoV diameters 100mm-and-up (some 'way' up...<g>).
Standard-triplets, from LL or elsewhere, are 25.-or-so (and do yeoman's-work with 15"-and-less, if 'long-throw' isn't needed...).

Thanks i've done a little more reading now i think im getting my head around this stuff.