Okay, I didn't follow the clearly better instructions listed on this site, in fact I'm beginning to think that the instructions I followed were just a gimmick.

http://www.bigscreentv.20m.com/photo.html

I followed the steps on that site to a "T", but I'm getting a large picture and very blurry edges no matter where I move the fresnel lens or how close I am to the projector screen. Can anyone find the major flaw in the design? Or is the entire project a wash?

Welcome to the forum!

The flaw in the design is the design.

Member hoagtech attempted to build one of these CRT Monitor projectors, but I don't think he ever finished it.

Member Fulcrum built one using a 13" CRT TV. You can check out the posts in his PLOG starting here.
Here's another post where Fulcrum talks about his Frankenstein creation.

Here's another thread with more information: DIY CRT Projectors?

I found these posts using the following Google search: site:lumenlab.com crt tv monitor fresnel

Thanks for pulling those links for me Quasi Mojo (nice name too )

hmm, from reading those it appears my problem is the curved edges of my screen, the lack of brightness in my CRT, and my basic single fresnel design...so basically everything. Unfortunately none of those posts seem to offer any solutions, specifically to the blurriness problem because that's the most annoying kink. Also, these other guys seemed to have used 12-14" TVs, and I used a 19", could that add to the lack of even focus I'm getting? Would using a triplet instead of a fresnel help me get a more even focus?

I personally couldn't say - as I have no experience with that.

I don't think the end result will be worth the trouble, though.

Okay, so apparently there is a "right" side and a "wrong" side to the fresnel, because I flipped it around and I now have an even focus. After cranking the brightness all the way up, the picture isn't as bad as you might expect. It's huge, in focus, and better than just watching the 19" by itself by far. So I was watching some baseball, and I noticed that almost all the batters were left handed, then some words appeared on the screen and they were backwards!

I think this has to do with me flipping the tv upside down. It makes the image right side up, but the image is reversed! I heard Fulcrum talking about a "switch" that inverts the image on the CRT so I don't have to turn the TV upside down. I bet that would solve the reversal problem as well. Any idea where I can get one of those?

Hi again, not ready to give up on this yet. I looked everywhere on the internet but still could find one of these "switches" that turn the image upside down on the TV. I tried PMing Fulcrum but his inbox is full. Anybody know where I can get one of these switches?

Well you have to open the TV up (not a smart thing to be doing if you don't know what you are doing can result in DEATH) and swap the wires to get the image turned around.

It isn't from flipping the TV upside down, it's a natural consequence of the method of projection. The lens rotates the image 180 degrees, but you're not looking at it directly, you're looking at what amounts to a reflection of the screen, so it's like watching your TV in a mirror. This is one of the known and documented shortcomings to this cheap method of projection.

So what's the fix? I assume I would have to mount a mirror after the lens to get the picture un-reversed? Although that would probably kill what little brightness I have on the wall.

Yup a mirror will help (before or after lens) and yes you will lose what little brightness you have.

hmm, not sure how I'm going to angle the mirror since it's a straight shooter right now. Should I point the TV straight up and angle the mirror overhead-projector-style? Not sure If it would stand up like that.

Yep. That'd work.

Point the TV straight up, with the top towards the wall/screen. Angle a FS mirror at 45 degrees, and put your big fresnel in front of that. You'll lose 4-10% of your overall total lumens, if you have a decent FS mirror.

Alternately, you can point the TV 90 degrees to the side, and angle the mirror etc.

As mentioned, putting hte mirror before or after the lens won't matter, both ways will work.