Hello fellow project(ors)!

Since I now have a "ready" panel I am posting my efforts as I go from here so that I can share (and maybe it will also help keep me going)


The Story So Far:
I had rotated a working SDM-M51 off of my VIAO system and it was sitting on the floor. I had been watching projectors on EBay and had already seen the lumenlab ad. Not knowing exactly what the method was for this "on the cheap" projector I was curious and paid the money. As I read the PDF and realized the basis was a computer monitor used as a light gate, I look down at my sony 15" panel

An hour later I had the glass out and as I fired it up, it still worked

Since I already had the panel, and I already have a 65" rear projection home theater, I decided to do this for fun and learning. Also this will make a great patio and pool A/V unit. I realize that the sony panel does not have the best of spec's for serious HT.

The first problem I have is that the column driver PCB folds on the bottom. When reversed, it will be on top. So, I had to support it and probably will have to cool the panel from the bottom. I would appreciate and ideas as I'm going to start drawing up some plans soon!

As you will see from the picture I saved the cost (and lead time) of the flex extender by hand soldering the wires over to the row PCB. Not for everyone I can tell you! I used lots and lots of RTV and some sticks to support the PCB and one metal bracket in the middle. In the end, despite some handling, I managed not to break the tabs

Now, the real fun begins...

damn wish ya had of told me... i woulda bought some shares in RTV sillicon before you started.... share price just jumped 20c lol

but hey.. long as its workin thats the main thing !

Looks like a hobby to me

Hats off on the solder job.
That takes dedication and lots of patients.
The Silicone reminds me of when Charles Barkly played ball
"Not pretty but gets the Job done"

Even better, all of what you see came from a clogged window calking tube. I just cut it open and spooned it out:) (After doing this I briefly wondered if there might be some bad stuff in the compound that would corrode the electronics.) Not! Considering the my situation with the PCB having to be up, I can't think of a better way.

Of corse you see those tatted guys on the cable channels fabbing all kinds of cool stuff!

from my experiance out in the Mechanical Maintance world for the last 25 years is watch it with silicon on electrical components. for a sealing agent it has the annoying tendency to attract moisture, so keep the box in a nice dry area to prevent moisture buildup, you should be fine with this application (or over application ). i'm talking mainly about things exposed to the weather, like junction cable boxes on top of a 30foot pole that you keep coming back to time after time to try and seal while working on a 24foot ladder..... been there done that

looks like you got around the incompatablilty issue of the SDM-M51.

i almost bought one cheap from ebay due to it's backlight issue, until i read the compatibles list.

good stuff

note on the SDM-M51, i read a review that said the specs were much better for the PAL model compared to the US model. (better response time)

I guess my problem was that I did not even take time to consider an incompatibility. We will see how this one goes, I look forward to striking this one off the list!

FYI I bought all the lenses, glass, bulb, base, etc, I wll need from another user parting out his projector. Total cost so far $148! All I need now for hardware is the ballast. Anyone???

Also I would like to add that the sony hardware is only VGA input. It just so happens that I have one of those scaler TV to VGA boxes. I will use this to convert DVD SVideo to XVGA!

RTV Man...