I began building my projector last week while i'm still on WINTER BREAK and now decide on posting my build on the forum to get some input.

cost: fresnel lenses and projection lens from lumenlab store $63.
bulbs, coil & core ballast (heavy), and mogul base from 1000bulbs.com $110.
thermometer, switches, weather strip, paint and misc. at Walmart $40
15" SVA lcd screen $100 (spent $20 on another 12.1 lcd screen that i messed up)
2 6" FFC extension and zif from digikeys.com $24 (hopefully they'll work).
1 Evercool fan from Ebay $20. (the fan is pretty loud compare to my computer)
Porjection guide from lumenlab.com
Various parts from an old broken computer power supply.
total:~$380

Finished building my box. Got some more tweaking to do but here's the box with the light on and fans running. I also wrote something on a piece of glass to test out the lenses. I'll take pictures of the interior after i paint it. I'm thinking of painting the box yellow cause they didn't have blue. If you want to paint your box, use a primer first (can get a can of primer from home depot for like $4). If you don't use a primer it will be a mess. MDF board absorbs too much spray paint and it won't be as even. I found that out the hard way. (i used primer)

Here are some more pictures of the interior/exterior of the projector after i finish painting. The lenses, bulb and etc are NOT installed because they were removed for painting.

i stripped the lcd panel. It's an 15 inch SVA monitor. there's FFC issues. If anyone has this monitor plz help me out. Here a picture of how the panel is connected to the board. This picture is from Joechevy2000.

The panel that joechevy2000 stripped is the same as the monitor that i stripped but they're different brand. i thought that was very interesting.
here are some picture (close up) of the ffc cable. The ffc that's attached to the monitor is not removable. only one flap is. I counted the pin and measured the width of the cable and bought the extension at digikey.com. Crossing my fingure that when the extension come, it'll fit and work. PLZZZ let it work. oh btw, i'm only extending the ffc, not the stackable connector (cause i don't know if it's possible, give me your input).

Here's how the cable connect to the board.

here is a shot of the result. i don't feel that it is bright and vibrant as others in the forum are mentioning. when i use my dvd player, the image is brighter. when i use my gf's laptop, the image is darker but still watchable. i'm currently using the viewsonic n5 video scaler. any one have any input on why this is so?

well after watching movie with the projector for 3 weeks now and reading and learning about other peoples build, i decided that it's time to make the final projector and move on with my life. I want to get rid of my ugly gigantic boxy design and do what tmpoff did and make another projector following haas design. I went to homedepot and check out their wood, god they were expensive, 25 for 1 piece of pine laminated. oh well. like i said, this would be a box that would last me at least one year or something. so i bought it and when i came home with it, my gf wasn't at all thrill because it means that i would be concentrating more on the projector then her.
i already finish cutting the part and routing the frame. i think i will just copy tmpoff idea on the sliding mech for the light bulb and frame. still figuring out a way to mount the napkin holder reflector. oh btw, i only have a dremel and a sander to work with, so it took a long time to do everything and get them to be exact. i wish i had a cnc router. i'm jealous haas. i'll post up picture shortly.
oh btw i'm planning on mounting this box cause it's annoying that i can't sit in the middle of the screen to watch.

first pic of the new box. it's haas design. only had a dremel to work with so the cuts are not accurate.

this forum is great. a lot of people have some great idea. oh btw, there's so much problem that i run into that make me want to quit building. my focus mechanism for instance is driving me nut. i only wish haas sell his focus mechanism, then i can just buy that instead of making my own with the neccessary tools.

Tuan, it looks great!

front shot!

rear shot!

lens and lcd framed

top view. still figuring out how far to put the napkin holder away from the sd400 bulb. can anyone tell me how far they put it to get good result? (dimension wize) how far the bulb to the top of the napkin holder?

hey man, you're my inspiration in building this box. my panel doesn't slide in and out that smoothly though. and also because my box is a little smaller then yours, i was unable to make the bulb adjustable like yours. now i'm trying to figure out what's the correct distance from the bulb to the reflector. how's your projector coming along?

From what I've read, it should be 6.5 cm from the base of the reflector to the filament of the bulb. I didn't have any time to work on it this weekend, but I'm going home tonight to get some work done. Tonight I am going to build a wood base that slides with the lens holder for the electronics. I should have new pictures up tonight/tomorrow.
I'm glad I could help!

Don't give up!! It look great ! I've got the first edition of the focus ring sitting here looking for a home. PM me with your adress ( in the states) and I'll send it to you. It fits a 5" hole like the others. The lens will have to be siliconed in and it doesn't have the piece on the end on it, it never did.

Tuan, dep qua!

You should definitely not quit, I am very impressed with how well you did (especially using a simple dremel, awesome control). I cannot wait to see your results with the new enclosure.

i think i will try drilling 10 or more half inch hole on the top and bottom and then use a sheet of aluminum flashing to cover the hole. since aluminum can spread heat and dissipate heat quickly, having those holes so that the aluminum can be expose to the outside would help reduce the temperature of the inside. just a thought. that way the lighted side is more cooler. wat do you guys think? i'm getting some suggestion about this before i actually start drilling holes. is it even worth it??

What is the average usage temperature? The "hole idea" seems pretty drastic to me. Personally, I think that the key is to create a proper vacuum by having the equal superficy for both intake and exhaust holes. With the proper flow, you should not need any extra measures.

the picture with the reflector adjusted is better. finally i'm actually happy with the result. but now the evercool fan is making really loud ratling noise. i guess it is because i didn't do a great job securing it so it rattle. i'll deal with that soon.