OK so i have been using an unmodified OHP conversion for over a year now. It is dim. The colors aren't so great. I have to use centered 800x600 on a 15" XGA in order to avoid cut corners/vignetting. no rca/svid input. Time for an upgrade!!

So here is what i have in my possession:

575w HMI bulb/ballast, from elmo solar deluxe
Homemade light box to hold 575w DE bulb
G2A130 LCD controller (will likely upgrade down the road)
Samsung WUXGA
18" ednalite triplet (exactly like the besseler)
70mm pyrex precon (may ditch or upgrade)
lots of good 5/8" plywood
Lots of (cant remember size, maybe 5/8") mdf type board
Large FS mirror made from chepo walmart mirror

What is coming in the mail:

330mm rear fres 0.5mm spacing
550mm front fres 0.3mm spacing (3dlens out of stock, from diy-beamer)
replacement polar bear (damaged original during A/G removal)

What i still need

Pro reflector (i feel kinda bad cause this will be the only thing to be ordered from LL )

The build plan is going to be folded (still flip flopping on design / number). The idea is that the box will be mostly modular. I have built a light box out of sheet steel scavenged from an old pc, and i have made a truly unique bulb mount. The bulb is free to expand / wiggle if projecter is bumped. This is done by mounting the thing in midair with springs. The structural parts of the mount are two chunks of ceramic and lots of mechano pieces (hehe put to good use). I plan on having a lcd cassette sort of like quasi_mojo's, but made of only a couple chunks of mdf rather than basswood. The optics will be unsplit for best quality. I have stripped the lcd down to bare polars on both sides, but i damaged the front polar quite badly in the process. Pics to come later...

I'm very interested in this plog, because I'm making a 575w room heater too with 3 mirrors and a 10.6" lcd.

Lets see photos of the "truly unique" bulb mount...

Well the pics will be coming. I just got my fressies and a replacement polar for the lcd (the 17 incher from 3dlens). So in theory i can test the build with some cardboard sometime soon. Right now i am out of town for a few days, so don't hold your breath

Update time!!

First off, the polar replacement was a terrible idea. It is seriously impossible to apply the adhesive ones without leaving bubbles. The adhesive is too strong for you to rub them out, even with a plastic scraper. So i tore that off, and ordered a nonadhesive, high contrast polar from polarization.com. After testing the two polars side by side (holding up to desktop lcd at proper rotation) the HC polar can block light more efficiently while also being more transmissive. Hooray, a win win. I plan on mounting it directly before the triplet, in an unsplit design.

I built frames for the lcd and fressies. Way harder than i imagined. I made them out of 3/8" high quality plywood. They are held together with 4 big old bolts, one at each corner. The 4 frames allow for a deviously simple cooling solution (good cooling is a necessity for the 575 watter!). I will use 4 slimline 80mm fans. two will push air directly over the lcd from one of the narrow sides, and two will pull from the other narrow side. Its kinda hard to explain, i havn't seen anything like it here on LL. O well, a pic is worth 1000 words. (there coming, i swear!)

Ahh, i also was able to throw a test image on the wall with the bubbly polar. I just had my light box propped up on NES game cases (the only 4 objects of the same size that i could find atm... ;P) and the lcd sammich sitting on my table. I projected the words "no signal" upside down and backwards on my screen. At last! it works! Thats enough to keep me going.

I have now almost finished the box. Wow its big, even with a fold. It is designed so that everything mounts to the front and back of the box (vertical build btw) so that the two side pannels can be removed for easy tinkering and easy cooling. (you will see what i mean later)

Tools that absolutely everyone here should have:

Saber saw: I used this for everything, from cutting sheet steel for light box, cutting lcd frames, and cutting plywood for the box. (heh, it was my grandfathers, one of the first saber saws made, its tiny but it feels like its made of solid steel!)
C Clamps: necessary for good saw cuts
Steel Square: necessary for straight saw cuts, and square corners
Power drill and bits: always pre drill when screwing plywood or else it will split
90° Clamps: AMAZING for assembling a box that is all square and nice

I will try to keep this more updated than i have, as i can feel i am getting alot closer to a working projector.

And yes, pics are coming, i now have access to a digital cam, but its also 1am, too late for pics. Can anyone recommend a good photo hosting site thats free and plays nice with these forums?