Hello everyone, I am about to start on my first projector build. I am going to be living in a fairly small apartment next semester so I was thinking that a vertical folded design would be best to fit it in and get the longest throw distance.

Here is my preliminary parts list:

15MF605T - 15” LCDTV so it has lots of inputs and *almost* 720p HD $148
LL mega kit
Pro Reflector
................... $353
I’m hoping I can get all this for at most $520. (not including enclosure)

Since it is going to be in a college apartment I want it to be a very strong and sturdy build that can withstand a fall if someone knocks it over. I only have very minimal experience working with wood, but I plan on getting someone to help me with that. What I’m looking for right now is ideas on what materials to use and a basic design that will be strong.

So here are some questions I have:
1) What materials to use to get the strongest design to withstand abuse?
2) How forgiving are these home made projectors to falling or tipping over?
3) Is the LL65K T15 Lamp included in the mega kit a 400w bulb?
4) Since the light bulb is going to be on the bottom shooting the light up vertically through the LCD, then using the mirror to project horizontally, and since hot air rises, what do I need to do to keep it cool? I noticed that not many people use the glass heat shield, but in this case is it a good idea? Does that affect picture quality?
5) Where can I buy a FS mirror?

That’s all I can think of at the moment, thanks in advance!

I plan on ordering these components in the next week or 2, then starting the build after the semester is over in about a month. If anybody sees any major flaws in my parts list or design, please let me know before I buy stuff! Thanks!!

Welcome to projector land. I'm not a pro or anything but I believe I could lend some assistance. Make sure you check out the tv you are going to get. Find out if it has ffc issues, and if it does, what types of extensions you might need. But, it might be a good idea to wait to order the extensions(if you need them) until you check your monitor because sometimes they revise them.

Vertical folded sounds good, though I hear it's a little more complicated to get aligned and working properly. Sure does make some slick looking boxes though. And with the standard lenses and a 15" lcd, there will be nothing longest throw about it! I'm shooting on about a 6 foot wide wall for my testing, and the thing is only about 6 feet back filling the wall from side to side. But I do see what you mean, shorter box makes longer throw capability, but you'll need one huge wall to be throwing from very far back.

And about strength, 3/4" mdf is pretty strong and heavy, It seems like the internal parts that hold things in place is what you would want to be the strongest they could be. My internals are pretty slender and could most likely be the easiest thing broken in my build. But the damn thing is so heavy you couldn't knock it over unless you were playing football in the living room or something.

1. Most use mdf and it is strong, though you could go with some cabinet grade stuff and have a really nice enclosure. Or you could even surprise us and make it out of space aged something or other.
2. Mine seems like a brick house, just like my old subwoofer I built about 8 years ago.
3. I believe you are correct. It has all the parts listed if you look at the details in the diy store.
4. I only have experience with a 175watt lamp producing significantly less heat, I would advise a heat shield of some kind like tempered glass or lexan. And also plenty of fan power circulating air to the proper places. Seek extra advice!
5.firstsurfacemirrors Seems legitimate. I also hear Edmund Optics is a good one although not cheap. Theres also an ebay guy who some have got mirrors from.

No major flaws, look into the tv you are considering and try to find out if its good and usable for the project. Also you may need to add a few things, not sure at the moment if the mega kit has completely everything you'll need. You may want switches and various other things.

I did search the forums and a lot of people have used the TV that i plan on using.
I estimate that my room will be between 10 and 12 feet wide, so I used FocalCalc and got this...
Click to view attachment

So my max screen size is looking to be a little more than 11 feet diagonal... is that too big for good brightness and image quality?

Aww man there was a nice looking desk with shelves in the trash at one of the apartments last week, if only I thought of it earlier I could have used that wood.

Another crazy idea I had was to make it convertible between folded and a standard box. I would just figure out a way to remove the mirror easily and just cut out 2 lens holes and make it easily removable.

My biggest concern at the moment is building the sled that holds the 2 fresnels and the LCD screen. I couldn't find any kind of tutorial on how to do this, links would be appreciated. Is the spacing between those 3 components standard that I don't have to worry about making a lot of adjustments there? Also, I want to be able to easily remove and rearrange the LCD if I go from a floor to ceiling mount. (is this even possible?) I am not familiar with the innards of an LCD yet ( how the panel connects to the board), but is this why I might need an FCC extension??

Here is a rough sketch of my design. Click to view attachment

I'll figure out a way to make the mirror removeable... what do you guys think?

despite the lack of replies, mega kit and reflector have been ordered!

Just won LCD on ebay for $148, two more weeks and I'll be ready to build!

Take a look at my plog for an idea describing how to mount the LCD, and theres pics of the LCD too, they are all very similar.

There are 2 basic arrangement schemes; split and unsplit. This refers to whether the fresnels are next to each other or have the LCD in between.

There is alot of information in the beginners guide. You should read that if you havent already. That plus the focal calculator will give you alot of the info you need. Make everything adjustable though, at least for testing, the optimum position for everything changes as your throw distance changes.

If you have any questions just ask I've used the Mag LCD tv in my build the metal frame iinside of it is good for holding the lcd in place a little silicone is all you need. You can then cut out the rectangular shape of the metal frame from a larger piece of wood a jig saw is all thats really needed. You are right about the input though it's a great panel but I was never able to get a higher res than 480p into it. Looking forward to seeing how your build comes along and $148 was a good price.


DM

Too many plogs. Too little time.

Be aware component alignment is rather critical for optimum results and adding the mirror is a fair leap in complexity in terms of alignment. What you're suggesting can be done and I hope you succeed but pay careful attention to getting everything aligned.

Also, you really must build in some adjustability. That can somewhat work against your desire for ruggedness in that every little element you put into place to assist in adjustability is another thing to potentially fail during rough handling in transit or whatever.

haha sorry about that, I wasn't trying to be rude or anything. I'm usually one who suffers from analysis paralysis so I was taking a leap of faith of sorts by ordering everything before I had it all figured out. Unfortunately I won't really have it all figured out until I get everything and I am able to look at it all 2 weekends from now when I'm done with finals. Thanks for the tips though!

In other news I found another abandoned desk with a decent finish to it. I just took it apart so I can see if I can use it for my enclosure.

I think i'm going to go with a standard horizontal design first and add the mirror later after I get the basics down.

OverSoul: do you have the FFC issue with the 15MF605T lcd you're using?????

Well I didn't get the monitor yet, and I won't be cracking it open for another 2 weeks, but many other people here have used the same monitor and I don't think they had any problems.

I am starting a web gallery of all my photos for this project here

I got my LCD today so i hooked it up to the tv and it worked fine, but then I hooked it up to my computer and i am rather unhappy with the results. The text is very blurry and the thickness is not consistent...



Is there something that i can do to fix this problem??

Lumenlab sure takes their time to get shipments out the door

Is your computer set to the native resolution of the LCD? That's really the only reason
I could see for that kind of problem...

it was set at native, im gonna try again with a different computer after im done this damn calc homework

This looks like a 'Phase' issue within the LCD. You may be able to get this in sync with the reset button in the OSD controls (on the monitor).

What SIM said.

The screen I use for my PC monitor has this kind of problem every once in a while, where it doesn't correctly sync with the video signal. After turning it off and back on, or resetting the resolution of the PC it usually works. It may be the same kind of issue, just mess around with it for a while.

haha wow, thanks guys. I found an auto adjust in the menu and the darkness problem and the blurry text is fixed, so now the picture overall is MUCH better and I'm feeling SOOO much better about this projector. I'm embarrassed that I didn't think of this before, I guess I'm just used to my samsung LCD doing it automatically, never really knew what was going on. Glad it was a simple fix

I use this LCD and it does 720p/1080i no problems. Doesn't have an HDTV tuner but you probably already know that. Also, I use the LL bulb and have an 11' (diag) screen, and brightness is fine. Also someone mentioned FFC issues; I own 2 15MF605T's which are slightly different as far as the boards go, but no FFC issues with either. Good luck on the build.

Thanks Aerosoul! nice name by the way. Do you have plog?

I ordered my stuff from lumenlab 12 days ago and it still has not shipped. Ive had this message

"Your order is being processed and packed. You can no longer add items to your order via this interface. An order being processed should ship within 2 days of the time processing begins."

for the past 5 days or so. I plan on starting next friday in 1 week so I sure hope it gets here in time. Anybody else order stuff recently? How long did it take for you to get your stuff?

Thanks for the name comment No... I don't have a plog. The big reason is because I don't have a digital camera. If that ever changes, I will post some pics of my setup. I love my 15mf605t and think you'll dig yours.

LL shipping isn't the fastest in the world. It took a couple of weeks for me to get my stuff, which from what I read is typical. Just try to have patience, although I know when you first get into this stuff its pretty exciting and you want to GO GO GO (at least I did.) Your stuff will come eventually. Just read these forums like crazy, and when you do get your stuff you'll be ready to build.

Well I emailed LL and they said they were waiting for a shipment of fans, but in any case I should get it by friday. Hurray!

to anyone who has used the 15mf605t TV, you were able to keep and use the remote control, right?

Well I really need to study for finals, so I probably wont be checking back too much until after my last final on Thursday. Wish me luck!

The remote function fine after you build your pj in fact it's one of the main reasons why I'm rebuiliding my PJ with my replacement mag instead of the samsung that I had in it. Reducing the image to the 16:9 ratio using the remote is great and it helps not having to manualy change the color settings, volume and so on.

I'm hoping to be finishd with my longhtrow rebuild today actualy but the ag removal with take at least about 5 hours so I might save that for another day.

DM

WOO!! I got a lot of good news today so im feeling pretty good. My LL package showed up, too bad its at home and I'm still at school for my last final tomorrow. But tomorrow night I can start WOOO!!!

In other news, if i get an A on my final tomorrow, I have a good shot at getting an A in the class, and if I get an A in the class I make deans list for the first time WOOO!!

Gotta get back to studying so I can pull this off...g'night LumenLabers!

NOOOOOO!!!!
I just opened my package from lumenlab and broken glass fell out of the light bulb packaging.



I'm guessing that red stuff isnt good either...

today was not a good day.... test didnt go well either

Dude my screen is 136" wide and I am usin the LL standard kit.
It could be brighter but it is most watchable. It is not exactly comparable to your plan because I am using a 2.35:1 screen and you are planning a 16:9 projection I think. If I was shooting a 16:9 screen at the current throw it would be 161" so I think you are well within your limits.

Basically I am adding another 2' of throw beyond what you are planning and it looks fine to me and everyone else who has watched it.

the red stuff is supposed to be in there, when the lamp heats up that stuff like vaporizes inside there, the fact that the bulb is broken is a set back though

just curious... how many hours is that bulb rated for? It doesn't say in the store section...

I believe the LL bulb is rated for 10,000 hours

Well since the bulb is broke I spent the past few days researching components for a new computer. The one I have is about 4 years old, so I just ordered this stuff from newegg

EVGA 680i mobo
Core 2 E6420 2.13ghz (going to overclock to ~2.93ghz)
8800gts 640mb video
2gb corsair xms2

so yea...games should look sweet on a 11 foot screen

Well its time to start designing my box!

I am trying to figure out the measurements on the pro reflector. The diagram in the LL store says EFL = 22mm and R = 44mm. So from this, where exactly should the bulb be placed? My guess would be the center of the bulb should be 44mm from the center of the reflector judging from the projector guide pdf because the light path is coming directly back into the bulb. Is this correct?

If I'm lucky I'll get the lens frames built tomorrow, start the LCD strip, and figure out my internal layout.

I am going to start the LCD strip today. I am having a hard time finding a general guide on doing the AG removal. I plan on doing the water soak method for about 5-6 hours. I'm pretty sure I know to do it, I just want to have some reference available in case a problem happens. And if there is leftover glue on the LCD what do you use to clean it up?

pics from 15mf605t strip



speakers


the FFC was a little difficult to get off, couldnt get my nails to grab onto anything


FCC off!


Backlight off!

and again


The whole thing took about an hour. I'm debating on weather to do the AG removal now or not...

uhm if the side facing the camera is the side facing the viewer when it was in it's casing it doesn't look like there's any antiglare on there, just a headsup so u dont rip off anything that should be on there lol.

What's the resolution of that panel?

The resolution is 1024 x 768.

The pictures were from the back of the panel, here is one from the front (in my dimly lit room, no camera flash), sorry about that

Well I did a lot of thinking today and a little building. I forgot my camera though

Using a table saw I just put little like 1/8 inch grooves into some scrap wood laying around to make the fresnel frame. I decided to make the frame for the heat shield, the first fresnel (collimator) and the LCD all one piece using this table saw groove method. Its basically a 3 sided frame, bottom and 2 sides, so that all the pieces can just slide in and out of the frame. The sides of the LCD frame overhang the bottom piece so that the controller board can hang under it. So those 3 pieces are going to be fixed distance between them, and the collector fresnel will be separate and adjustable for keystoning. This all sound good so far?

I also found out that if I mount my lightbulb horizontally the center part of the lightbulb will not line up with the center of the fresnels, so I either have to do a diagonal mount or extend one of the sides to allow it to get centered.

I went shopping and bought hinges for the top lid, weather stripping, clamp, and 2 standard light switches. The wiring kit from LL only comes with a fuse and the plug thing from the wall. I want to set it up so that the fans can run after I turn off the lightbulb. So the way I see it is the wire comes in from the wall, goes through the fuse, goes to the light switch, goes to the fan and to the next light switch (in parallel), then to the bulb and LCD power(in parallel). Anything wrong with this design? Im not sure exactly how to wire everything, i guess i can either cut the wires off the ballast and lcd power and wire it directly to the lightswitch, or use standard house wall sockets and just plug the stuff in like normal .

Whew lengthy and lots of questions, sorry about that.

How important is it to paint the internals black? Does it really improve the picture quality?

Ran to lowes again to pick up some JB Weld, lexan, and some distilled water. Here is my reflector



And some materials that I have...mmm chocolate


So i finished my frame and figured I would fire it up. Since I don't have my replacement bulb yet I used a million candle power flashlight. I took some pics of the LCD from the back looking into the flashlight (couldnt get an image on the wall)


The first thing i noticed is that bright ring going around...I hope its just because its a flashlight.

Then this started happening...


See the black hole? Whats the deal with that? It would kinda turn on and off. I turned off the light for like 30 seconds then turned it back on and it was gone...then it would gradually come back again. Anyone have an idea what could be causing this? I cant imagine it would be overheating, its just a flashlight, not even in a box yet...

That black spot is caused by heat from your flashlight. If you put a thermometer there, you would find it hot. It needs to stay under 100F or so I think. If you leave it running hot too long, it will damage the LCD and that black spot will be perminant. You can aleviate this with direct airflow of fans usually, or an IR blocking piece of glass, or both (not to mention a cooler light source or better cooling paths).

Well i got the pieces of my box cut out and the lcd controller board completely out of the lcd frame and found that I will not be able to mount the board on the outside of the box (to use the input connectors) without doing a vertical design. With a vertical design I can mount the controller board on what is currently the bottom of the box, right next to the FCC connector on the LCD panel. So I am scrapping my convertible box idea and just going vertical. I just ordered a 12x12 FS mirror on ebay for $40, hopefully that is big enough. That brings my project total to about $606... and I even got the wood for free, yikes! ....this better be good!

Glad to see you are making progress. Did you strip the AG?

Not yet, but how long did you let yours soak?

I'm going to be going hiking in canada, so this might be my last post for the next 7 days or so. By the time I get back I'm sure I'll have my replacement bulb and the FS mirror and my new computer...wooo!

I don't remember exactly how long (it was almost a year ago.) I soaked for a couple hours, was still hard to peel, soaked longer, peeled some but wouldn't all come off, soaked more, finally got *most* of it off. Soaked the small pieces that wouldn't come off, got some of them off but still left a couple small pieces on. I ended up getting another 15mf605t later down the road (for different reasons) and decided not to mess with the AG on that one. I'm very happy with the picture with the AG on. My 2 cents is that is isn't worth the unnecessary risk. If you get your PJ going and are unhappy with the picture, then you can always pull out the LCD and go for the AG. But I would not worry about the AG for now and just get the PJ going.

Have fun on the hike..

Well I have been extremely busy since I left for Canada, but I have a LAN party this friday so I really wanna get this thing done for then. I also start an internship tomorrow thats gonna take up 40 hours a week, so this is gonna be tough to get this done on time.

Here are a few pics of the box and frame and stuff








I just need to get some screws for the light bulb base and I'll be on my way.

One question that I have before I mount the lightbulb is this... I cannot mount the bulb vertically because the box is too small, and if I do it horizontally the center of the bulb (where the light comes from) is not in the center of the lcd and Lenses, its about an inch off center. Is this a major problem or can I just mount the bulb with the reflector a little bit off center? I did not measure for a diagonal orientation, but I assume that would work, but I dont want to bother with the added complexity if it doesn't make a difference.

(I use the LL bulb)

Our projectors use a point light source and an 1 inch off is way too much. Your light,reflector and frensels need to be on center or your projection will suffer horribly. I had that problem in my first build when they changed the length of the S400DD. I ended up going out from the corner to make up the inch they added and didn't tell anybody about.

Well I had a rigged up box that worked enough for the lan party. I just took some scrap wood and rigged it up without the mirror just to have it semi working. This 40 hour a week job thing and my second job that takes up about 10 hours a week isnt very projector building friendly.

Since the lan party a week or so ago I've been doing a bunch of things though. I built a device to hold the mirror, unfortunately it is not adjustable. also i know it doesn't look pretty, but I'm already way over budget and im just using whatever I can find laying around.




I cut out holes for the light switch, the power plug connector, the LCD cable, and mounted the power sockets. Instead of splicing the cords to length i decided to just use a normal plug and hide all the extra wires behind the mirror.




I stripped the anti glare off the LCD today. I soaked it with distilled water for 4.5 hours and it came right off real easily. I started going real slow but i noticed it would leave streak marks when I stopped, so i just got a good grip on it and ripped it off fairly quickly. There was a lot of slimy stuff left over so I took a wet paper towel and wiped it down a few times.




Here is my keystone mechanism. I got a threaded rod that I am JB welding to the frame of my lense. Then I am going to drill a hole in my box and use wing nuts to hold it in place.




So now I have to wire up the light switch, drill the holes, figure out where the triplet lens goes and drill the hole for that, figure out a focus mechanism, mount the LCD circuit board, screw all the sides on and I'll be DONE!!! (assuming it all works haha) My goal is to have it done by next weekend.

that looks kinda dark for the anti glare
may just be the way you took the pic
but it looks like the polorizer to me

have you tried the lcd yet ?