Well today I recieved my Infocus X2 projector and I was quick to get this thing ripped apart. Of coarse it did not come with a bulb. I figured out how to trick the unit into thinking that that the lamp is installed on working.

I installed a 10ohm resistor from the ballast signal line to ground. I found out that this line pulls to low with the bulb installed and working. The projector comes on and stays on.

I have been testing with some light sources to see if I can make this thing usable. The first test was with an ultra bright 5mm white LED. In a pitch black room with a size of about 20 inches I could see a dim picture. This got me excited and LET THE MODDING BEGIN!!!!. I am looking for some recomendations for light sources. I currently have a 50W full spectrum MR16 bulb rigged in place but this is way way too dim. The bulb is blinding but I need much more. Even with this bulb I could still see a very dim picture in a dark room. The problem that I am seeing with DLP projectors or maybe just this projector is that the area for the light to shine through is roughy 3/8 inch square. This doesnt let very much light pass through. I will need either an extremely bright source or a highly concentrated source. Please give recomendations and I will post pictures of what I have so far. This projector came with a 200w SHP lamp.

I was hoping that I could do an LED array but I think I will need an LCD projector to try that. I can keep my fingers crossed and hope that a 5000 lumen LED comes out. It would be interesting to see how the MR16 lamp would do in an LCD projector.

Here are some pics thus far

It actually does really well at least in my 7" projector. I started with a 250 watt OHP bulb then got sick of the short life and moved down to the 50 watt and the lifetime on these are GREATplus you can find them anywhere and they are CHEAP. I think its brighter than my 400 watt halide.

Last LCD projector I looked at had a nice big area where the bulb went to collect the light. Im assuming that the UV filter could be removed and you should get some viewable brightness. I might be SOL with this DLP I cant really think of a light source that is super small yet powerful and concentrated. I am going to get a stock bulb and see how the reflector and lens is setup. I should be able to do something with that.

You’ll need a converging light source. An elliptical reflector system or a couple of PCX lenses may work.

DJ

I do have a setup like that from a OHP It has a bowl shaped reflector and a 1/2 shpere lens. Would those work?

I also wonder how a 575HMI would work with a small fresnell aimed right at the light hole. The only problem that I see is that the light needs to enter straight like this = not >. I would hate to spend the money on a ballast and bulb if its not gonna work.

If it’s from an OHP then it won’t work by itself. You’ll need to use another lens in front of the existing lens to converge the beam rather than diverge it as would be the case in an OHP. Still not as efficient as the original lamp/reflector assembly though.

DJ

Just Fell across this article after doing a basic search...DIY LED DLP Projector Mod...removing Colour Wheel and syncing the use of Red/Green/Blue LED's instead.

http://tiny.cc/yEdoO

I like that idea but with the very small light tunel I am limited to only 1 led so for this projector that will not work.

However anyone know how a 55W 6000k HID Xenon Short Arc lamp will work. The ones used in automotive applications. I know that the wattage is low but will it produce watchable results. The stated lumen output is around 4000 for the bulb. I know there are big losses with the optics but seems to be less loss with DLP vs LCD so I am thinkin one of these may work.




I really wish i could have read and saved that


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Are you sure about that because what I read it was the opposite. LCD let more light thru.......

"LCD is generally more 'light efficient' than DLP (ie. the same wattage lamp in both an LCD and DLP would produce a brighter image through the LCD)"

http://www.projectorpoint.co.uk/ProjectorLCDvsDLP.htm

In LCD projectors the light needs to be split into 3 then shines through the LCD. In a DLP it goes throug the color wheel and reflects off the mirrors. The only real block is the color wheel. The mirrors in the DLP reflect all the light. The LCD's im sure absorb some light like in the DIY projectors. I could be wrong....

What do u think about the HID short arc headlamp?

Well blow me away..I had no idea..it was the first search that came back from google..I was thinking it was a published article for the public domain...my boo boo

From what I remember..the author removed the colour wheel AND Light tunnel...proceeded to make an LED array from R/G/B Led's..and a new light tunnel..i think from memory the LED's were luxeon rebels..(100 lumens each)..I think there were 22 or 24 stuck on a heatsink with the DIY foil light tunnel on top.

The DIY cicuit that triggered/powered the LED's is the key to the whole idea...I guess if one is interested one would have to buy the article...if it can be bought..

One thing I didnt see was a picture of the result ! so its hard to judge brightness as no output figures were given..its another approach yet unless you build one its hard to know if it s any better...

EDIT: Curiosity got the better of me...here is someones comment on the article (public domain !)
http://www.elektor.com/forum/elektor-forum...eStart=1#491972

and here is where one can buy the article
http://www.elektor.com/magazines/2008/marc...or.372582.lynkx

downloaded that article a few months back. When you register with elektor you get enough points to download it for free. Not sure if they still have that promotion.

DJ

Well I had a good look at that artical and that is pretty much what I had in mind of doing. The problem that I am trying to find a way around is that tiny light tunel. I did remove the tunnel and tried it with my MR16 and the results were better than before. I run into a problem with the optical sensor on the color wheel getting flooded with light and going out of sync but that can be fixed later. I am going to research this light tunel and see what makes it so important.

Well I am looking into alternate sources for light. I keep looking at the 50W 4300k HID Auto headlamps. They claim to output 4500 lumens and last about 3000 hours. They have a short arc and the ballast runs on 12V. Before I spend about $200 I would like some input on this setup idea. I cant really find anyone that has used it. Im guessing if I can get 4500 lumens to the color wheel I would see about 300 on the screen.

It has been done before... I think it was subgenius that had a plog on it (in a typical dvd player build i think). Just letting you know.

Well supposedly my brother got me a REAL HID setup from a Honda. I will be trying it in a couple of things my 15.4 just for fun then my litepro 550 and my portable 7" and lastly my 3m s40 projector we shall see how it goes. I really need a lux meter but am to cheap to buy one its a called investing in other things

How about this lamp..normally 50watt MR16 lamps..like the one you guys are using are about 800 lumens.
The lamp below claimes to be 4x that at 2,800 lumens ..its a 75 watt MR16 halogen..life expectancy of 4,000hours..perhaps could be overclocked to produce 3,000+ lumens....colour may improve with overclocking.


http://www.servicelighting.com/EiKo-15096-...cent-Light-Bulb

Price is good ...$8.95 !

EDIT:
Here is a 100Watt MR16 at mains voltage (120v) 2,000 hours at $16.95 ....no indication of lumens though ?!....
http://www.eikolightbulbs.com/eiko_15110_fsf.html

Another 100watter MR16 7,000 candelas at 10degree $5.79
http://www.bulbs.com/eSpec.aspx?ID=10455&a...2=Halogen+Bulbs
What the lumen equuivalent is Im not sure...perhaps it could be a case of trying a cheapy and seeing if it does it for you.


On the Xenon side
how about a 75watt 8300lumen Xenon !?
http://www.xevision.com/hid_options.html#bulbs
Probably going to be a tad dearer.

I'll check those out....The xenon looks promissing but these babys can make a ton of heat

1 candella = 1 lumen

good luck with whatever you decide..please tell us how you go...

One thing is sure..whatever you get to try..its gonna be better than what you have now.

yeah not sure about that ....more to it than a straight conversion..if it is true then thats one mighty Halogen MR16 at 7,000 lumens..could do the trick

I am going to try that mr16 for 5$ why not. The color temp is not too good but it sure beats the HID route in price. I will need to make some kind of baffle to keep the color wheel sensor from being flooded. I will post some pics with results.

I stumbled upon this

http://www.servicelighting.com/catalog_pro...aLightBulbs.com

what do u guys think?

With that low color temp it is going to be noticeably yellow.

Yellow is ok for now its brightness that I am after.

A 65watt MR16 with 11,500 lumens at 4,000 hours ....WOW ! good find ..colour is no worse than any other halogen....r those specs real !
Says special order...best check what that means hopefully you dont need to purchase a 1000 of them or something..worth a shot if brightness/instantly is what you want.

http://www.businesslights.com/ushio-50w-65...lamp-p-664.html

I am sure it wont be bright enough but the color is killer

Yeah see how blue/purple its reflector looks...perhaps one needs to add some blue to the light stream..perhaps a filter..or a blue hue DIY Projector screen would help...also perhaps overdriving the bulb a tad.

I am going to try both of those bulbs. The 75w HID for aircraft use is sweet but with the bulb price at $150 its not really an effective replacement as far as cost goes. I'm gonna hold off with the HID stuff and see what these MR16's can do. The cheapie I got from Lowes gives me about a 2foot viewable in a super dark room. I know there is room for improvement.
I still really need to get a real lamp/housing for this so I can take advantage of the optics that focus the beam to that narrow path. I think that will increase my output by letting me collect more light. I might even be able to use some LED array with that housing.......More to come I am ordering those bulbs......

yeah the HID is pretty dear...and if the MR16 65watt really pumps out the lumens at 11,500..you should see a huge improvement over your current 800-1000 lumen MR16 lamp.

Are you saying the original lamp housing has a lens ?...certainly need some lens to help focus the beam thru that small opening.

Good Luck
Please keep us posted.

Well if you dont care about the color how about this

http://www.mr16usa.com/ELC-10-250w-MR16-64...category_id=474

250 Watt

its runs at 24 volts and the life is pretty good

That lamp states only 400lm not sure that more wattage = more light. It could be a bigger element sucking up the wattage. Not sure tho.

Yeah lumens is pretty low...I hope these figures they display are correct...I mean that seems too low for a 250watt and 11,500 lumens seems a bit high for a 65watt...

I guess we will only know if someone buys one and measures the output !

Yeah for some reason I highly doubt a 65 watt halogen is outputting 11,000 lumes every 50 watt halogen I have seen has been under 1,000 but do prove me wrong Have you purchased it yet??

Also found these for around $40
http://toolsmet.com/high-intensity-discharge-bulbs/
9000 and 24000 lumen output. These are very large arc gap but with a small square to be light up it may work really well.

"GE QUARTZ HIGH INTENSITY DISCHARGE METAL HALIDE Primarily for Street lighting,Motion sensing & security. Lamp type:High intensity discharge- Quartz metal halide. Bulb type-ED28 Bulb material-Hard glass. Mogul Screw (E39) base. 400 Watts. 33,100 initial lumens. Color temp. 4,000 Kelvin CRI-65 Avg.life:20,000 hrs(Vertical);15,000 hrs (Horizontal). 8.25" M.O.L.(Max. Overall Length) 'Multi Vapor' product line. Do not use in standard incandescent sockets. Clear finish bulb. Boxed.
"

How big are those lamps ?
no instant on with Metal Halide.

Well have been doing ome testng. I tried some 120 lumen luxeon rebel led's results were poor. I since have ordered a seoul P7 900 lumen led that am going to try next. I am holding off on the low color temp lamps for now even tho they have alot more lumens. If this LED is a failure I will try the short ard 4000 lumen HID auto lamp and see what happens......What is the lumen output of the standard bulbs these use?

Well I recieved my P7 led and was suprized with the results. The image is very dim but watchable. This is only letting out 900 lumens at 3.7volts and 2 amps. The LED is the size of my pinky nail. I need to mount this to a good PC heatsink and do some longer testing. This baby gets super hot fast. Currently I think this is the brightest led available. I have a broken light tunnel that I need to fix. I think that will show alot more brightness

Cool do you have any pics? Also do you have a link where you got your led? Also what are you using to power it. Do you have a regulated supply? Sorry for all the questions.

Here is the LED

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12721

And here is the basic circuit

http://www.instructables.com/id/Circuits-f...gh-Power-LED_s/

No pics for now but when I can get my dads good camera I will post some. One thing I noticed. Putting the LED inside the factory reflector made a huge increase in brightness. I am gonna go bulb hunting at the auto parts store and see what they have. It still looks like HID headlamps are gonna be the way to go. But it is nice to see atleast an image with the LED thats watchable. Projection size I will guess is limited to 32-40 inches with the 900lumen led beyond that brightness really starts to suffer.

I also have only been running the LED at 1amp. I am gonna try 2amps and see what happens. It is rated for over 2amps. If I cook it I cook it. The led also gets wicked hot. It needs to be mounted to a PC heatsink with fan to avoid overheating with long running times. It gets hot enough to burn my fingers badly after 30 seconds of run time.

Also dont build the cheap easy circuit at the end if you plan to use a 12v power source the regulator cant handle the current. The 2 transistor circuits work great.

Here is a cellphone teaser pic. I am using a 55w white star auto lamp with the stock reflector. The color and brightness are a little better than what this pic shows. Results arent great but viewable at about 40 inches..Small images look amazing so I know that more power is needed.

I have a 55w 4500 lumen 6000K HID auto lamp on its way. This should give some interesting results.

GOOD NEWS.....I have some watchable results and a picture. I ordered my 50W car ballast and lamp. Ballast $69 Lamp $29

Lamp Stats
Color Temp 6000
Lumen Output 4000
Life 2-3000 HR

The picture is still about 50% of stock brightness but its working and the lamps are cheap. The pic was takein in a moderate lit room with sun blasting in the window. I am going to try the 4300K 5000 lumen lamps next.

nice image, my X1 still has a few hours left on the bulb, would love to try some these mods.

Are you using a reflector???

Using the stock reflector with the lamp just kinda resting in the hole. I need to find a way to glue it in place with some high heat silicone or something. This little lamp sucks some power my 12v power supply gets super hot after a while. It draws a constant 4amps. I am still thinking that this type of mod would still work better on a LCD style projector. A lot of light is wasted with the small light tunnel not all 33% of the light makes it to the DLP for each color.

**If anyone has an old 3LCD projector they want to donate to research let me know. I would like to compare DLP to LCD with the same lamp.

I have a really old 3 lcd projector and a HID setup but I dont have a reflector so thats what holding me up. If this projector I have had an old bulb I would have it mocked up by now.

My main PJ is a 3 LCD but its in working order and no way am I tearing that apart for testing. I'll search flea bay for a cheapie with a blown bulb. I'm not to fond of single chip DLP. IMO they waste alot of light and just have a crapy setup. 3 Chip dlp might be worth playing with. The color wheel is the biggest loss of light.

After some testing I decided to try a computer power supply. The sticker claims 19A on the 12v line. My big 12v bench supply is only 10A. After hooking up and testing. The computer supply doesnt even get warm and I can use the fan to cool the ballast of the HID. I still am going to try and mod a 3 LCD but this was a major improvement with power and heat.