I am embarking on a journey to build my own projector to supplement the nice cave I have carved out for myself for the last two years of undergrad. As an Electrical Engineering major, I feel if I am incapable of building one of these things I should be seriously worried about my employability going forward. Right now I am still in the planning stages and am attempting to source a monitor off craigslist for as cheap as humanly possible (ideally free). Whatever monitor comes my way will determine the rest of the project.
Onward!
Full Version: Aetius's projector
Craigslist comes through again (I've furnished most of my room out of the free section) and I have a bead on a pair of 17" Pyxscape LCD monitors for a grand total of $0. Not sure if they'll work for this purpose, but since they're free I figure it's worth finding out. I'll keep one as a back up in case I damage the one I'm working with, but if I make it through with just one LCD I'll try to flip the second monitor for some cash. If all goes according to plan my costs for the LCD may in fact be negative. When I say budget build, I mean it.
Alright, I have encountered my first question. I threw some numbers into the focal calculator and I think things will work out but I wanted to be sure.
I want to make sure the projector can be built in a box no more than 40 inches long because I want to have it sit on one of these and if it's longer than that I lose the height adjustment functionality of the space saver (I'd have to place it on its highest rung in order to avoid having the support poles in the way). The projector can be placed anywhere from 7 to 9 feet from the screen and the screen is a wall that's seven feet high and as wide as it needs to be. I don't want to use the whole wall, but wanted to illustrate that the wall is big enough to allow some flexibility if need be. I'll be sitting about 12 feet from the wall and the lower portion of the wall (about 3 feet) is partially obstructed. I've included some pictures of the view to illustrate, sorry for the low resolution, camera phone is all I have.
As you can see there is a desk partially in the way, but ideally I would watch widescreen movies above the desk area and then use the full area to the right for any gaming/fullscreen. Or I could simply size it so that the whole screen fits above the desk. Suggestions as to what works best for both the viewing and the build are welcome. Thanks all!
I want to make sure the projector can be built in a box no more than 40 inches long because I want to have it sit on one of these and if it's longer than that I lose the height adjustment functionality of the space saver (I'd have to place it on its highest rung in order to avoid having the support poles in the way). The projector can be placed anywhere from 7 to 9 feet from the screen and the screen is a wall that's seven feet high and as wide as it needs to be. I don't want to use the whole wall, but wanted to illustrate that the wall is big enough to allow some flexibility if need be. I'll be sitting about 12 feet from the wall and the lower portion of the wall (about 3 feet) is partially obstructed. I've included some pictures of the view to illustrate, sorry for the low resolution, camera phone is all I have.
As you can see there is a desk partially in the way, but ideally I would watch widescreen movies above the desk area and then use the full area to the right for any gaming/fullscreen. Or I could simply size it so that the whole screen fits above the desk. Suggestions as to what works best for both the viewing and the build are welcome. Thanks all!
You say that you want to keep everything as inexpensive as possible, but you need to consider some things.
Since you're using a 17" LCD, it's advisable to go with the more expensive Pro lenses. It's possible to use the S15 triplet with larger fresnels sourced from 3DLens.com, but it's not recommended:
With such a short throw, your projector enclosure will most likely be blocking your view of the screen. You might want to build a mock-up out of cardboard like John D did and see if it'll be in your way.
If your projector is sitting within 9 feet of the screen, and you're sitting 12 feet back, the projector enclosure will probably block your view.
Even with the Pro lenses, your projector enclosure is likely to be under 36" long.
I've found that Google Sketchup is handy to use to design and visualize what your projector (and room) will look like. And best of all, there's a free version you can use. If you go to the Google 3D Warehouse and do a search for Lumenlab, you'll find that some members have uploaded parts that they have modeled so you can download them and use them in your own model.
Since you're using a 17" LCD, it's advisable to go with the more expensive Pro lenses. It's possible to use the S15 triplet with larger fresnels sourced from 3DLens.com, but it's not recommended:
QUOTE (SupraGuy @ Feb 14 2008, 12:32 PM) 
...
Get larger fresnels (The pro 220 and a 3dlens 330, for example) and the standard triplet ....
The standard triplet can deal with a 17" LCD -- though I'd personally never do this as the throw would be unbearably short.
Get larger fresnels (The pro 220 and a 3dlens 330, for example) and the standard triplet ....
The standard triplet can deal with a 17" LCD -- though I'd personally never do this as the throw would be unbearably short.
With such a short throw, your projector enclosure will most likely be blocking your view of the screen. You might want to build a mock-up out of cardboard like John D did and see if it'll be in your way.
If your projector is sitting within 9 feet of the screen, and you're sitting 12 feet back, the projector enclosure will probably block your view.
Even with the Pro lenses, your projector enclosure is likely to be under 36" long.
I've found that Google Sketchup is handy to use to design and visualize what your projector (and room) will look like. And best of all, there's a free version you can use. If you go to the Google 3D Warehouse and do a search for Lumenlab, you'll find that some members have uploaded parts that they have modeled so you can download them and use them in your own model.
QUOTE (Quasi_Mojo @ Aug 3 2009, 07:57 PM)
You say that you want to keep everything as inexpensive as possible, but you need to consider some things.
Since you're using a 17" LCD, it's advisable to go with the more expensive Pro lenses. It's possible to use the S15 triplet with larger fresnels sourced from 3DLens.com, but it's not recommended:
With such a short throw, your projector enclosure will most likely be blocking your view of the screen. You might want to build a mock-up out of cardboard like John D did and see if it'll be in your way.
If your projector is sitting within 9 feet of the screen, and you're sitting 12 feet back, the projector enclosure will probably block your view.
Even with the Pro lenses, your projector enclosure is likely to be under 36" long.
I've found that Google Sketchup is handy to use to design and visualize what your projector (and room) will look like. And best of all, there's a free version you can use. If you go to the Google 3D Warehouse and do a search for Lumenlab, you'll find that some members have uploaded parts that they have modeled so you can download them and use them in your own model.
Since you're using a 17" LCD, it's advisable to go with the more expensive Pro lenses. It's possible to use the S15 triplet with larger fresnels sourced from 3DLens.com, but it's not recommended:
With such a short throw, your projector enclosure will most likely be blocking your view of the screen. You might want to build a mock-up out of cardboard like John D did and see if it'll be in your way.
If your projector is sitting within 9 feet of the screen, and you're sitting 12 feet back, the projector enclosure will probably block your view.
Even with the Pro lenses, your projector enclosure is likely to be under 36" long.
I've found that Google Sketchup is handy to use to design and visualize what your projector (and room) will look like. And best of all, there's a free version you can use. If you go to the Google 3D Warehouse and do a search for Lumenlab, you'll find that some members have uploaded parts that they have modeled so you can download them and use them in your own model.
Yeah, I'm not opposed to spending the money where it matters, but I'll be trying to minimize costs wherever it makes sense to do so. For example I now have those two LCDs in hand for nothing more than the cost of extending a trip to IKEA a bit further to pick them up. I'll test them tomorrow and see if they'll work for the project.
As for the view, per your suggestion I took the space saver shelf (which I already own) and moved it into position where it would be when the projector is in action. I had clear lines of sight to a screen at least the width of my wingspan (I'm 5'8" so roughly that). A six foot wide screen from a dozen feet away is more than fine. Should there be a slight blockage issue when the final set up is done, I can always move the seating up a foot or so and clear a much wider view.
Thanks again for the tips.
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