I thought it was about time to start a plog since I'm starting to take pictures! So far all I've acquired is a Sharp 15.4" WUXGA panel, the Pixelworks controller, and an 18" Beseler. Once I get a bit more money I'll get the eBallast, T15 bulb, Pro reflector, and fresnels (as well as all the other necessary parts).

I plan on making the enclosure as small as possible. I've opted to leave the ballast out of the enclosure for space and heat issues. My final plan is to have the projector semi-built into the top of a shelf that will go behind my couch. The shelf will hold my Xbox 360, Wii and other electronics and will be designed based on the dimensions of the projector enclosure. I hope to get a Da-Lite High Power 96"x72" screen to top it all off.

I've already taken the backlight off of the LCD panel and have started the AG soak. I was initially terrified of the procedure but now that I've started it I have a good feeling about it.

EDIT: Here are some links to my photos and videos
Flickr Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25266919@N08/
Youtube videos: http://youtube.com/profile_favorites?user=knelto

[NOTE: I know I'm making a lot of posts in a row, however I'm trying to go in the order that things happened today as I got sidetracked and didn't get to put it up as I went along.]


Here's my Sharp 15.4" WUXGA panel.


Here's my giant lens.


Here's my inside work desk/table/area I set aside to work with things on. Not so much there right now, but I assure you I am a master at getting desks cluttered in record times!

Here's a few tests I did to see if I was getting a picture from the LCD. I know, it's probably a stupid idea to prop your LCD onto a window to get a natural backlight to see if it'd work, but I had to try!


It looks worse than it is... the Pixelworks wasn't going anywhere, I promise


Stupid me didn't turn off the flash... but it works! The line you see is part of the window, not anything with the LCD panel.

I nearly had a heart attack when I first turned on the controller board because initially the screen throws up a bunch of colored lines when it first boots. As you can tell it went back to normal but still, scared me.

I made a Youtube video of what I'm talking about... you have to kind of squint but you see it at 0:08 seconds

Now onto the soaking process for the AG strip! I started by using paper towels soaked in distilled water, but it seemed like the paper towels were drying out somewhat quickly.


As you can see, the paper towel wasn't big enough to cover the entire width of the panel. I had to use two sheets and it seemed fairly uneven and like I said it wasn't staying damp enough for my liking.


So I got some sponges at the store! I got them all somewhat damp but not drenched and placed them over the paper towels. All you can do from there is wait!

This is where it gets interesting.

I decided to check the status of the soak around the 2 1/2 hour mark or so. It was a little more damp than I imagined. There were slight pools of water collecting on the AG layer. They weren't big or anything but it was pretty damp. So I decided I would maybe try to lift up the AG with my thumbnail...


IT CAME OFF ALL IN ONE PIECE WITH NO RESIDUE AFTER ONLY 2 AND A HALF HOURS!


Here's Mr. Anti-glare


Here's the reflection of my hand after the AG strip.


Here's the reflection of me and my camera after the AG strip.

But that's my afternoon/evening in a nutshell! I haven't gotten to testing to see if the FFC's got damaged or anything but I didn't even touch them at all during the AG strip, so I can't imagine anything would be wrong. Tomorrow I may begin working on a focusing mechanism and double-checking that my lens has a focal length of 18" or 457mm before I order any fresnels. Goodnight!

Had quite a bit of fun this week! Still need to get fresnels and lighting set up although I do know I'll be getting the ballast, bulb, base, and reflector from fellow forum-goer rpearsey soon (thanks again!). As luck would have it, a friend of mine called me saying he could get me a free overhead projector from where his mom works! So we've been playing with it for the past week (not a permanent PJ but good enough to use until this one is built). At first I had the LCD lying directly onto the glass top, but I read that doing so could damage the panel so in some pictures you'll see it lying flat and others it propped up and being cooled.

Firing it up and projecting it onto my wall in all of it's orange/yellowness


My friend John helping cover up excess light with paper (yes the PJ is on a cushioned milk crate on a chair but it's sturdy!)


xbox 360 Dashboard on LCD


Halo 3 on the LCD


We had to put it in 4:3 to make it fit as close as possible. We left it in 720p in 4:3 rather than 1080, but we didn't really notice.



Here is the new raised, cooled version of the projector


The view of the projection from behind PJ during the day (I have windows on 3 walls of my room, so lots of light gets in here)


This is 1:1 mode in 720p during the day on my wall

Today it occurred to me that to get a better picture I should put it in 1:1 mode in 720p then pull back the projector until it fits well, then no cut off corners! I did that earlier and something started bothering me. (See this thread if you know what this is: HERE) Basically in 720p/1080p, there's a shadowing effect on lettering on the LCD. In 1080i it's fine.

720p/1080p:


1080i:


I messed with Sharpness a bit and it helped some but 1080i is still much better... strange.

In an effort to achieve maximum brightness, it's time to remove the anti-reflective layer! I'm doing the same procedure I used for the AG strip, which worked amazingly well: paper towels, distilled water, and sponges!

Paper towel layer:


Sponges:


It's only 20 minutes in, so I've got some time to kill. I'll be sure to update as soon as that layer comes off!

Good luck!

Oh Oh Oh,,,
She gets a sponge bath from an aggie

Nice work When I removed mine I tried it without water, dry peel AG and mirror backing ,,,,,, err, lots of glue had to be removed by hand.

I know it's a big request... but please take many pics of your box construction.

Thanks! And thanks again with providing me with some essential parts!


Haha, she sure does! Although I'm kind of fretting a bit now... Around 4 or so hours in I decided to check how it was. I couldn't get the AR up like I did the AG, so I did the huge no-no of using a razor to pry it up. Except I started prying up the polar! Luckily I didn't pry it very far and only a very small part of one corner is affected. The AR is still hanging on for dear life. It's leaving some glue behind but that this point I'm just wanting to get it off so I can check if it still works! Here's a not so great picture of the corner (The black area is about how much I pulled up of polar):


I'm assuming it should still work fine. It's a very small area of the actual pixels that I started to pull up. If, however, I did a very very bad thing, someone please speak up!


Oh, I plan on it! Just to clarify though, I'm not going to be using the OHP shown in some of my pictures. I still intend to make the box as small as I can possibly make it. Having about 5 carpenters in the family helps greatly! Updates may slow a bit due to work starting up for me. It's small summer job but it will help. Only 4 days a week leaves me Fridays and nights to work on the PJ.

It's good to see people starting to post on here! Feel free to post whatever, whenever!

The battle has ended. Results soon.

i like how you embeded the utube videos into your post . really neat to see the plog in action

Thanks, I thought it might add a little to plog. Plus it's fun! I hope to record more once I charge up my camera battery once my girlfriend gets back from Italy (I lost my charger and her charger works for mine).



Well, onto the battle:

Hmm... to start pulling up the anti-reflective or let it soak even longer?...


Oh, it's on now...


AAAAARGGHHGAGHRGHAHGRHGHHAHGRHARAHRHGHGAGHRAGHHHHHHH!!!!


Victorious.


Man, do I have some cleaning to do...


Whew, it still works!


All nice and shiny again!


It's much clearer in person. I don't have a tripod. Also, I'd like to mention that yesterday I was playing Halo and was bothered by how blurry the lettering and lines still looked. So I walked over to the overhead to take a look and figured out what was going on: The fan I set on the projector to cool the LCD was vibrating the projector enough to blur the picture! Strange how things work like that...


Ok, so this is a small piece of the layer that is now at the top. It has a slight tint to it. I've heard people say tint = polar. There also seems to be a layer under THAT that is more like the AG, more plasticky. Is that layer this PVA thing I've heard about? I'd take more pictures but my camera has a low battery and I don't have access to a charger. Plus I don't think I could take awesome macro shots with my simple little Canon SD400. Any info here would be great! I'd love to get off any layer that isn't essential so I can get the highest transmissability(?) possible.


Here's a little video I made showing Halo 3 using my overhead projector until I get it all ready. This was after the AR removal. The movement is crappy because I don't have a tripod, so I had my camera balanced on the frame of a marker board I have that I was balancing between my arms while I held the controller. There's no game sound, but if you listen you'll hear noise when the laser builds up. That noise is the controller vibrating against the marker board. Oh, and the loud fan is a mix of the projector fan and a box fan I have in my room.

Well after a long summer, it's about time I revive my plog. I've been working all summer (mostly 10 hour days) so I haven't had much time or effort to really put into finishing the projector, but now that my summer job is over and I officially have all my main components either ordered or on hand it's time to get to work!

On hand I now have, in addition to what I already have, the T15 65k LL bulb, eBallast, reflector with AWESOME mount from rpearsey, mogul base and wiring, 4 Antec Tricool fans (3 speed; Low = 39 CFM and 25 dBa, Medium = 56 CFM and 28 dBa, High = 79 CFM and 30 dBa). I bought a power supply from Fry's to power the fans but I got a lemon off the bat. So I took it back to get replaced and had them try it before they gave it to me. The one they brought had an internal fan that was hitting something and making a lot of noise. They got a third and said it worked but when I got home, DOA AGAIN. Luckily I have to go back tomorrow to help my girlfriend with something, so I'm getting my money back. I'm going to head up to Radio Shack after this post after fellow forumer rpearsey gave some advice for what he used for his fans! I also have a power switch I bought to be the master power switch for the PJ. It's a DPDT rather than a DPST, but I wanted to get the big metal flipswitch kind (picture coming once my camera battery gets charged). So long as I don't wire anything up to the 2nd half of the pole, this should work correct?

On the way are the Pro lenses from LL (650mm and 220mm) and the 5amp breaker. Also on the way, a Da Lite High Power 72x96" screen!


More details on the project and pictures to come soon!

It's been a busy morning but I'm pushing through! So my original plans to make the projector semi-into a shelf has not changed however some aspects of it are.

I'm no longer focusing on making the box as small as possible because I am planning on using a dresser that I'm going to modify, which is already built. Therefore I'm going to make the box around the same size as the top of the dresser. It it still going to be behind my couch and will have the same idea, but I'm not as concerned with space. I still intend to make it efficient, but not necessarily as compact as I was thinking. I'm also pretty solid on using an unsplit setup, and I'm going to attempt to go Jonjandran's route by having enough cooling to not have a heat shield. By going unsplit, the light will hit the two fresnels before the panel, so the panel will already be shielded a bit by fresnels. In his plog he mentioned that the temp stayed around 78-80 degrees on rear fresnel side by the LCD and that the collimating fresnel didn't seem to warp or buckle. This seems pretty good as I'd like to have as much brightness as possible.

I'm in kind of a crunch time-wise. I'm moving back to school (in an apartment) a week from tomorrow. I'm also going to be help my girlfriend move in this Friday so time is of the essence! I've been cleaning out my room getting things ready and what not while still focusing on the projector.

I've been trying to figure out what's going on with the fresnel/breaker shipment from LL. I ordered last Tuesday and by the next day it said it had shipped. Today I check the tracking number again and it just says "Package data transmitted to FedEx," which happened when I bought my panel from Johnzo. At the time I PMed Johnzo and he said, "Oh, it's in Tennessee, you'll get it tomorrow" which it did but didn't show up on my tracking so I figured this was the case again. I called FedEx to check and they said that the particular message meant that a label had been printed but it hadn't been sent yet. That just doesn't sound right. Surely by now it's in the mail right? LL said it'd been shipped which I thought to mean "It's in the mail on it's way". Maybe I don't fully understand shipping terms . I'm sure it'll get here soon, I'm just curious.

Well off to Fry's to return my DOA power supply that's no longer needed because I found an old cable modem that was 12VDC, 1A! I have working fans! Updates to come!

I can officially join the ranks of those who have lost an LCD panel.

Yesterday I was working on figuring out how to mount my LCD. I had kept the metal frame thinking it would be good to just put it back in it. That's where things went south. I've put the LCD back in the frame before to check if it would still work a few times with no problems. This time I was sliding the panel in (one side of the metal frame has a slight overhang) and my guess is that the panel caught something on the side because I remember hearing a crack sound from a corner.

Thankfully I was able to use the panel throughout the summer on an overhead projector, so it did get some use.


Worse yet, I was hoping to use the panel in the meantime but I tried it this morning and I believe I damaged the side FFC's in building a frame. They were catching from time to time on the side, so something must have happened.

Moments after cracking it yesterday I immediately checked eBay and found a cheap panel with 9 minutes left! So I bought it, a replacement for a Dell 9100/XPS, so hopefully it arrives soon so I can restrip everything (and find out what brand of panel it is, auction didn't say, just said 15.4" WUXGA 1920x1200).

Now that this gloomy post is out of the way I'll focus on more of the project.

Obligatory parts post:


Flipswitch DPDT for the master power switch. I wanted the biggest, yet still cheap, metal flipswitch I could find. Found it at Fry's for about a buck.


My test to attempt to remember how these switches worked. Thankfully I remembered.


Parts I bought from rpearsey!


Having a little fun.


I still can't get over how cool this mount is!


I also can't get over how thick the bulb is! (Everyone says it, but it's true!)


I still can't believe it's not butter! (Sorry... couldn't resist )


My fans I bought at Fry's for $5 a pop. They have LED lighting but it looks lame so I snapped the power to them. I'm using an old cable modem power supply to power it. They have 3 speed settings so I can tweak it pretty well.


Bought this originally to power the fans (before intelligence smacked me in the face and I realized I only needed a 12VDC power brick). The first one DOA, went to Fry's and the second one the guy got was hitting a wire or something, the third was DOA. Ridiculous.

Enclosure and ideas!:


Somewhere in this pile of wood is my enclosure.


Pardon the mess! This is the dresser I will be using to put the projector on. It's 36 1/2" tall, 20 1/2" deep and 41 1/2" wide. The top two drawers are going to be pull out trays to put my xbox 360, Wii, VCR (to use as a TV tuner, plugged in to my controller via composite), laptop (for now, I'd like to get an Apple TV or something one day since I primarily use a Mac). The bottom two drawers will remain and be a place to put controllers, remotes, snacks, whatever!

Something like this:



These are the pull out trays I was talking about. Still being finished.

LCD Mount:


After cutting and jigsawing I got it to fit. It's still kind of popping out in places although I'll probably tape it (will have to for light leakage anyway). I still need to add the perpendicular piece for the FFC board to rest.


I literally thought for hours yesterday what the best way to hold an LCD in place would be. I thought about using the white plastic frame, but you have to screw it into the metal frame then the metal frame screws to the wood. Too much, I think. So I'm going to use this. Nice 90 degree moulding that's cut down so as to not put pressure on the LCD.


This is the gap for the LCD. It seems small but I put in my panel and it seemed to fit fine. Probably going to sand it down to take a little off and make it less pointy.


Should look something like this.


Now, as I mentioned earlier I had trouble with my panels side FFCs and this frame. I just had the idea of putting felt or something on the one side that has FFCs to kind of let it sit better. Does this sound like a good idea? Might try it now that my panel is shot, but anyone else's advice would be appreciated!

Time for lunch and more working on things. More to come as they unfold!

Looks great. I went through 2 panels before getting to the one I'm using now.

Side FFC's are just as sensitive as the main ones. I would not have anything touching them. On my Sharp WUXGA panel, using my table saw I cut a triangular "wedge" out of the wood frame where the side FFC's are. Since you're using the metal frame too, you'll need to cut and flatten out the frame where the side FFC's are.

It's a lot of fine cutting and fitting, but now you have the benefit of a test panel and you only have to do it once.

I also recommend high-temp silicone for sealing gaps in the frame instead of tape. It's opaque and won't peel up when temps rise. Get at any auto parts store for $3-4

is this the famous controller that can do 1080p at 1:1 pixel mapping? Were you not able to use 1080p at 1:1 with it?

First let me get to replies, then to news.


Thanks, and it's sucks how such an expensive component can be busted so easily. I had a rough time with my new one and was sweating the entire time! (Story coming)


Since my original post I've put felt on the frame and using my dummy panel slipped in it and the FFCs bend up some but it's not bad. It isn't like it's such a snug fit there's a lot of pressure on that point, they just bend up because of a lack of a place to go. I understand the risk, but I have a feeling with the felt it will be all right. One question along the same lines is I've read a lot about people using tape to reinforce FFCs (side and mains). I was thinking of doing this in addition to the felt I'm using. Some wide clear packaging tape or something so that the felt wouldn't even be touching FFCs period. I'm not worried as much about the mains since they'll be lying on the perpendicular platform I made for it.

Thanks for the info on cutting the frame (even if I am being slightly risky by sticking to my idea , haha). And I'll definitely check out the high-temp silicone, thanks!


It is in fact said controller. I was able to use 1080p at 1:1 with it, however I was having some strange doubling on certain things. The strange thing was the LCD did it even when no picture was on it, as in, if I held up my panel to my room light, it would look blurry and appear to kind of double the image. I almost wonder it had to do with my soaking method. I used the rag soak but used sponges to help keep it moist and may have overdone it causing water to seep through and mess up the polar. That's about the only thing I can think of that would've caused it.

What I really found interesting is that I had 1080p set on my xbox 360 through component and when I switched from 16:9 to 1:1 pixel mapping, the image actually shrank some! I remember reading a post or two from jonjandran talking about weird ratios not filling up the entire screen, but nevertheless the controller is very nice.

Woohoo, page 2!

Now as to what I've been up to.


I kind of let you down (in a way). I figured what measurements I needed and asked my grandpa if he'd help me cut the pieces out for the box if I gave him dimensions. He didn't have anything to do today so he agreed (I had to run a lot of errands today, so I thought I'd ask). When I got home he had assembled it and even hinged the top for me! That's to say the box isn't complete but it's whole! I'm very appreciative of my family of carpenters, it really helps when I can't get something right on my own or if I need help!

Here are more pics of my LCD mount (with felt):



Here you can see how the side FFCs fit with the felt. It may look bad but in the panel I just stripped the FFCs were bent up like this from the backlight and frame, so I don't think it'd really be a problem.

Unfortunately I've been too busy to take pictures but hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to take more pics.

I'm getting tired so I'll post the abridged version of my day:

Cut fresnels to side- This was harder than I thought. Sometimes it wouldn't snap off cleanly, forcing me to carefully break off remaining sections with a hammer (somehow "carefully" and "breaking with hammer" don't sound right together). The end result is some very rough edged fresnels, but they work.
Fired bulb for the first time tonight!- It was awesome and bright. Since it wasn't the first time it's been used I didn't have to burn it in for hours, although it was on for a good hour and a half before I turned it off.
Managed to drop my dummy LCD.- It fell directly onto a corner and I didn't have a care in the world. It's weird babying something for so long, just to turn out and not care after having it break.
Tried to line everything up semi-successfully- I got it one to be pretty focused but only in one area really. I wasn't being exact but it didn't help my confidence at all. To be honest I need to mark my fresnels because I still don't know which is which. I flipped them around so much I could still probably have it completely backwards.

Tomorrow is going to be very busy, but I hope to get a better idea of lining everything up. I pretty much have to so I can cut the hole for my triplet and fans and things. It's going to be interesting. Let's hope I can do it.

Well a lot has changed since my last post. I've moved back to College Station, TX. I received my Da Lite High Power. And I've realized that in my last few days at home to finish my box, I rushed everything.

With my current set up, I can't tell if my centers are all centered. It seems like the hole for my triplet may be off-center, not to mention too far up(?). I did the calculations and put the 220 fresnel 220mm from the lamp and the 650mm fresnel about 650mm from the triplet and it's still blurry. The only remedy is pulling the triplet inside my box closer to the 650 fresnel and then I get blurry, dim corners. I'm also having trouble with my lamp firing at times (yesterday it was a bad connection and today I'm assuming the same I just don't have much time to work on it). I may start disassembling my box so that I can arrange everything correctly soon. I'm also halfway considering attempting a vertical build now. But I don't have much time to post right now.

Note for future builders (if any future builders read this): DO NOT rush things. Give yourself time to figure everything out! I know I still need to.