So, first off I should probably explain the name. It basically came from a conversation from a friend that went something along the lines of:
Friend: "So, you're going to end up with a really nice picture coming out of a ghetto-looking wooden box?"
Me: "Yeah, pretty much."
And thus the name "Ghetto Beamer" was born. Less than inspiring, isn't it?
Work History and Actual Plog Stuff
Anywho, I shouldn't say this is so much a Plog as it is a place to put the random pictures I have taken, as didn't really log my progress so far expcept for random pictures. So let me get in the little history and plogginess that I'll have in here. This project actually started way back in September, when I bought a bunch of parts from the Trading Post here from member Sincere. I was delayed in November because I managed to break the LCD and couldn't get a new one until recently. So there was a couple of months in wich is did nothing and I got a second wind and made a mad dash for the finish these past few weeks. I don't really have much else to say on this. Right now, I'm just amazed to see this thing in action, even if it isn't yet perfect.
Parts List and Features
Most of these parts I got from the Trading Post here from member Sincere.
Bulb: Philips CDM150/T6/942 (G12 base)
Ballast: Sola Basic 150W M81/M102/M142 with Cap and Ignitor
LCD: Samsung LTN106W2-L01 10.6"
Controller: MST9E19EA
Precon: Not sure; I just picked on the the lenses Sincere sold to me. The one I used is about 3" dia.
Reflector: 68mm dia. spherical reflector from Tescorp's store
Fresnels: Johnzo's fresnel pair for the 10.6" LCD
Triplet: LL standard 330mm triplet
Other Parts: 4A/12V LCD monitor PSU, ThermalTake PSU fan, 2 RadioShack 5A relays, 2 Attic Thermostats, 3A fuse, 5A SPST switch, Power entry plug from ThermalTake power supply, a couple of 1N4148 diodes, a 1000uF 16V capacitor (also from ThermalTake PSU), 2N2222 transistor, other junk and lots of tape to make up for my poor wire organizational skills
So let's see what this thing can actually do. Well, it's a big black box that displays purty pictures. What else? Hmmmm:
--Turns on with the press of only one button. The entire projector turns on and off solely by pressing the power button for the LCD controller. This was based off the schematic Silbeer posted in the Offical 10.6 LCD thread, but with a few changes to accomodate the fact that the MST controller turns the backlight off every time the input source is changed (basically I put a capacitor in there). b0rna also did this with his tiny projector.
--Thermostat-based fan control. The fan is always on when the projector is on and on when the projector is off but the temp in the lamp area is over 90degF (can adjust that).
--Overheat protection. A second thermostat connected to a relay will turn the projector off if the lamp area gets over 120degF (I couldn't figure out a way to get the thermostat right next to the LCD without blocking light, so I put it as close as I could which is up against the collimator fresnel).
--Audio output. I just connected the Speaker Out pins on the board to two RCA outputs that are accessible from the side of the projector with the other inputs. I got this info from PhilW's plog.
--Keystoning. Not fancy gravity keystoning; I have to adjust the fresnels myself, but at least they tilt easily.
--You could probably use this thing as a weapon. I mean, you could defend your home while enjoying a nice theatrical experience.
Random Observations and Questions for You
So, this wouldn't be a Plog if I were completely done. There are still a few problems I need to overcome and I thought I'd throw my questions out there to see how others have handled things.
--The first problem I have is glue residue on the LCD. I bought my 10.6" LCD from eBay (seller browngranite), which had a glossy finish. I didn't do any stripping to the front because it looked pretty darn good already. The back however had one mirror layer which I removed with a dry peel. Others have said that there's a second layer, but all the prodding and poking seemed to indicate that mine only has one. The problem is that this layer left a gluey residue on the LCD, making it tacky so that dust and junk was sticking to it (I would have just left it alone if it weren't for the junk sticking). Searching these forums showed others saying that some warm water and a microfiber cloth will do the trick. All that did was make streaks in the residue, making things worse. I then read that rubbing your finger on it would help. Nope, also left more streaks. Acetone should work--I tried nailpolish remover, which didn't work. Maybe I needed real acetone...? Still one other option was to try water-soaking the gluey layer to make it come up easier. Still nothing. So now I'm stuck here with a tacky glue residue on my LCD with streaks on the backside (the side with the mirror layer on it). Is there anything else I can try to get those streaks out? Should I use Goo-Gone, Goof-Off, "real" Acetone?
They do bug me quite a bit as they are very noticeable. I just hope I don't make them too much worse. --Also, I noticed that the S-Video input looks awful. There's way too much red and the colors look "simple" (like they're in 256-color mode). This doesn't bother me too much since I don't plan on using S-Video at all, but this does happen (though not quite as bad) on the coaxial input. I tested the input (using an adapter from RadioShack to go from the European plug to the US coax plug) by pluggin in my Sega Genesis and playing some games on it. Bright colors looks absolutely great! I played the games Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sub-Terrainia (get it if you never played it; it's fun!), the latter of which has a lot of dark colors. In all of those games, bright colors are good, but the darker browns and grays have a lot of red in them. I managed to change this a bit by setting the color option to "Cool", but it didn't make the problem go away. Is there something wrong or is this just a known issue?
--Anyone here ever get one of these controllers to work with a programmable remote? I don't mean one of those fancy "I'll figure it out myself" remotes. I have an Onkyo receiver which has a monstrous behemoth of a remote that can be programmed to different components by punching in a 4-digit code. I would like to use this with the projector since I don't have the original remote for the MST controller. The manual for the receiver has codes for different manufacturers and devices (DVD players, TVs, etc.) and many manufacturers have mulitple codes to try. If anyone ever used a programmable remote, what manufacturer's code ended up working? I don't know if anyone knows what manufacturer's have used the MST controller in their products, but that would be helpful to me if anyone knew.
--Now for some good things: This thing is BRIGHT!! The impression I was getting is that with the 150W ceramic I could possibly get maybe a 100" screen if the room were more or less pitch black. I tested this on the wall rather haphazardly (to see how big a screen I'd need with the projector in the back of the room) and found that I can see it pretty clearly with a 60W bulb (well, it's a 20W CFL) in the back of the room turned on.
--Scaling Options Work!! Other users were saying that the scaling options in the MST controller's menu don't do anything and that everything is stretched to 1280x800. Well, I tried them just for the heck of it and, lo and behold, they worked exactly as they should have! Well, they worked on the coax TV input. I haven't tried the option on others, but this seems to be further along than others were getting. Maybe I got lucky, but all I know is that I can do a 1:1 fit on these controllers.
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