Well here is what my new projector looks like. I will be posting real pics when i get done in a couple of days. Thanks to my bud JsPOL for drawing this.

Looks pretty cool to me, I like that name too.

A couple days is very ambitious; good luck! Are you going to make a plog?

I actually have it pretty much done. All I have to do is wire up everything.

I have been working on this for almost 2 months now during my breaks at work. I can finally take a real lunch break. This stuff is addicting.

Here is a little tease of the top.

What is the distance from the screen to the bulbs? Also, what screen are you using?

I am using
7" Insignia portable dvd player
6-26 watt daylight bulbs
220 triplet
220 fresnel
Basically everything from my last build.
The bulbs are about 5" from the screen.

Nice teaser! Looking forward to the projected screen image.

Here is my wiring nightmare.

That's awesome!

This will be interesting!

Wiring nightmare.......? How long did that take?

This took about a day to do. My fingers are a little sore.

I'm looking forward to the other pictures of this projector.

It's amazing, the results that some people are getting with such half-haas'ed efforts!

Here are some pics of the pj.

The back

The inside

The lights setup. I have lexan mirror on the sides, top, bottom, and back. You can also see the push latch i used to secure the top. All you do is push down the top and it pops up for removal. Magnets hold it down in front.

any projection images?

Very nice looking design!

Are the vents on either side in the front of the "box" for passive cooling of the front only or are they the main air intakes?
What are the internal temperatures like?
How is that PCAC fan working for you?

Can you sit something beside the projector to give us a visual idea of the scale of the projector? Something like a pop can?

does that dvd player have A/V inputs, or are you stuck watching dvds?

It has a composite input.

Wow its amazing what you can do on a weekend. As for the wiring excellent job very neat, mine looks more like spaghetti. Projection image? I gotta know how the CFL's turn out. See you at work.

The vents are the intakes. The fan is a little loud but not that bad. It seems to be cooling the box just fine. I don't have a thermometer yet to check the temperatures. The box is 13" tall, 14" wide, and 20" long.

For size reference.

Is the casing of the PCAC fan in direct contact with the wood of your enclosure or are you using something to absorb the vibrations caused by the fan's operation?
If you're not using anything to absorb the vibrations, you might want to try some thin rubber or silicone strips, weatherstripping or even felt. Anything that will soak up the vibrations could bring down the fan noise.

Good idea

I'm waiting for it to get dark outside so i can take some full size screen shots. This is in my bathroom on a white tile wall. The projector is about 5ft from the wall and the image is 4ft diagonal.

And another.

Wow, looks great. I can't wait to see it projected even bigger. Do you even use a diffuser, or is there nothing in between the lights and the lcd screen?

Just a piece of 1/8" Lexan to absorb some of the heat from the bulbs. I probably don't need it but i figured it cant hurt.

Here it is at 75" on a painted wall. I still have to make an actual screen. I think the brightness was enhanced in the bathroom from the gloss of the tile.

another

another

That looks real nice! Great job; I bet we see a lot more of these now.

Looks like you've got some red shift, of course I always think that, could be my monitor. Or maybe my eyeballs have green shift (or is it cyan)?

New pic

My 3 year old daughter loves watching big movies.

VERY nice build. I hope my CFL rig works as well as yours does (and looks half as nice!). Excellent work.

Very nice but how do you unscrew when a bulb dies?

victor

The plate that the sockets are attached to is removable and then you have to unscrew the connections from the terminal block. It's a pain and hopefully i will not have to change one anytime soon.

I thought I would post some better inside shots.

another

Another, I really need to clean out the inside. It's a little dusty.

What have you used to get the wood effect on the outsid of you box, also those two mirrors look as if they could be casuing some light problems (by this I mean dark corners at the top but not the bottom from the looks of the above pics). Anyway, that's a very nice looking projector.

It's walnut burl veneer and the trim is walnut hardwood. The mirrors on the sides actually evened out the light on the screen.

Time to upgrade the light source. I have to many windows in my room and the room has to be pretty dark for a good picture. Unfortunately I don't have enough room to put bigger CFL's in so I will be putting one of these lights and a condenser lens (if i need it and have the room) in.

http://www.topbulb.com/find/Product_Descri...oductID_E_43936

I will put a metal box around it with a fan sucking air across it and a heat sink on top with a fan on it. This should keep the bulb from getting to hot.

This is the heatsink and condenser lens I ordered.
http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prod...p?number=G13557

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prod...sp?number=G8384

you know that condenser is only like an inch and a half diameter right? so what happened to using only CFLs?

I found out how small the condenser was when it arrived. Oh well, if it doesn't work it was only $5. Like Ive said about the CFL's, they do work but I have to have the room completely dark and I have a lot of windows. Ive seen some nice results with the overhead projector bulbs. I just hope my box is long enough to put one in at the right distance.

throw a 250w double ended hqi in there it would be sweet

nice build dude