Here are a couple of pics from my projector. It uses

standard lens kit
philips HPI-T Plus 400W MH Globe
hydroshop.com.au ballast/control gear box
Keystone adjustment
Adjustable front lense (has 3 adjustable position) aswell as fine tuning via threaded PCV
2 fans
CMV 520D

All parts were sourced from within AUSTRALIA. I LIVE IN Melbourne.
This projector does NOT have a reflector installed yet, so im looking forward to putting one in, as im sure you will agree these pics are already brilliant. Thanks to everyone who helped, I will be posting a massive log soon for everyone to see, so stay tuned. I have 2 more to build now and i have some wicked ideas up my sleave. Also like to thank dad, without him this would not have been possible. We are projecting onto a creme white wall, with a 12 ft diagonal image. Hope this inspires omeone. Will have more up soon. Just resized all images for the forums convinience.

Cool... What do friends and family say when they first see it?

Is it bright enough without a reflector, or does it need the extra few percent of light?
You've inspired me, I'll probably go and buy that same globe tomorrow.

Cool pics dude, really keen to know more since I live in Melb too. Been waiting ages for someone local to post their PJ. Very inspirational. Look forward to your detailed log.

People are like "you built this?" "you cant build a projector!". And then they are pretty gob smacked when i turn it on. Im not sure if the pictures do it justice. They seem blurred and out of focus. On screen they are crystal clear. These were all taken during the day. It is definetly bright enough, but im sure it would be brighter with a reflector. Im sure with a pure white wall, and a reflector, it will be perfect. Ill be putting a reflector in on the weekend. I delayed that cause im toying with a few old disco lights to see what i can do. I like to tinker. BUILDING THE PROJECTOR WAS THE EASY PART! Its taking pictures of the finished product thats the hard part. I have pics of doom 3 and wow, but they always seem to blur. When i get that right ill post them.

cool, great job. man.

whos hotter..... the old green monster lady or liv tyler?

And isn't that at least half the point of building one?

Well, since your camera doesn't seem to have any trouble actually taking the pictures...

In low light conditions, the camera has to expose for longer periods of time. This means that to get good pictures...

1. The camera must be very still. Holding the camera in your hand is almost certainly going to result in some blur, as it's practically impossible to keep your hand that steady. A tripod (Or at least something stable to put the camera on) is almost a must. Also consider using the self timer, so that you can take the picture while you're not even touching the camera
   
2. Pause the movie/game. While things are moving on the screen, the camera isn't going to get a good capture of it. You'll notice that a lot of log pictures have either the word "Pause" in the upper left hand corner, or a small pause icon (double bar) on the screen. Some software players don't display that, though.
   
3. A decent camera, unlike my POS. This doesn't seem to be a problem for you, your camera seems to do a creditable job of picking up the light, and getting a decent image from it. Cheap cameras (like mine) with no night mode will refuse to "see" an image at all. I have a few black frames in my camera's memory from trying...

Good luck getting those pictures, we're all looking forward to seeing, them!

Thanks supraguy. Here are a few more for you all.





I think everyone gets the point that it works. BTW these were taken with my reflector installed, during the day, with a Canon Powershop A75 3.2 MP camera with shutter speed set to +2.

Fantastic results, Adzza! Do you have any pics of the projector itself, inside or out? I'm using the same monitor so I hope I get results like you did.

Yeah i do but im not sure im really allowed to post them here cause of the forum rules seeing how this forum is public... I will be working on my PLOG so you can see it all in there soon. I dont have a problem posting pics here, if its ok in the rule book. Cheers dude.

I didn't even notice which forum I was reading when I saw your post. Of course, only post them in your plog. I will check for them there.

The images look good but a bit yellow. Are the actual images yellow or is this just your camera, trying to help???
Does the cream colored wall make a difference??

Yeah its just the camera. I am projecting onto an off white/cream wall white cant be helping. The images are perfect in real life.

what about that text in the lower left corner? is it clear and at what distance also noticed the pics seem to change and get better every day

Yeah the text is clear, not perfect but clear due to keystoning at 11ft from the wall. The pics get better cause im learning how to use the damn thing....imagine how good they would look if i knew what i was doing!.

nice that 1st shot of monster inc is nice

Hi Adzza,

Just wondering if your still happy with your light setup? Just want to confirm before I order mine (when they finally stock the damn things!).

For anyone interested it was:

Control Gear and Lamp holder ~$115 from www.hydroshop.com.au
Bulb Philips HPI-T Plus 400W ~$70 from Middys

Thanks

hi, im in melbourne too and in the process of building a projector!!
still in the process of aqquiring a LCD atm,

got any ideas of where I could look to source a ballast / lamp holder locally?

at this stage I think we will be using a samsung 152x lcd (450:1, 16ms), std lens kit, and the phillips 400w bulb

adazza what did you use as the heat shield?

thx : )

I am very happy with my light setup. Runs great.

Foresaken, as for the ballast/lampholder, I got mine from hydrostore (or hydroshop...cant remember).com.au. They are the cheapest.

For the heat shield, do you mean flashing? or for the actually glass? I used a piece of thin aluminium from bunnings, and i also bought some lexan (laserlite) from bunnings and this is in place of tempered glass which i could not be bothered with, as the lexan comes with a built in UV filter. Hope this has helped. Cheers.

cool, thanks for that. no problems with the laserlite stuff letting too much heat through?

cheers

not at all mate. It usually runs between 6-10 degrees hotter than room temp which is great. I have then sensor next to my lcd.

Hi adzza,

Sorry to be so pesky but where did you get your reflector and fans from? Also what are the details of your fans (12 or 240v)? I have had a look for fans at radio parts and they sell a sunon fan 120m, 240v for around $20. I also have been told studio equiment places are good to get reflectors.

Also do you have temperature sensors? If so where did you get them from? If not how did you test the temp prior to installing the lcd panel.

I got my LL lenses, globe(same as yours) and ordered my lamp so keen to start my pj soon.

Thanks in advance.

Are you in Melbourne? This place has $7 fans (I havn't tried this fan myself):

http://www.rockby.com.au/Rockby/Mailer/010405_1.Htm#32429

Had a look at those, damn they are cheap. My only question is what is the CFM of them and noise level. I will email and ask. Also I dont know anything about that manufacturer CIC.

Oh and yes I am in Melbourne (and I just updated my profile too).

Thanks.

Hey guys, yeah im in melbourne. I just got some cheap $4 fans 12V. I am going to replace these with some ultra low noice fans. try silentpc.com.au i think it is. As for the replector, I am using a bowl i bought from a $2 shop, but it has a flat spot in the middle of it, which creates a brightspot in the middle of my screen, but its only noticable on whites. I am yet to experiment with another reflector, im still having to much fun playing games and watching movies. As for the temp sensor I bought mine from tandy electronics. It has an internal and external sensor, and was about $25 from memory. Hope that helps guys.

Edit. stupid question.

Nice pj

Great pictures. Have any of the box?

Yeah soon guys. Been a little slack I know. Will have a PLOG up soon. Just need to get the time. Cheers.

Awesome projector, love the WoW pic.

nice work!

can i ask: how did you implement keystone correction?

Hi adzza,

Just wondering when you stripped your 520d did you remove the FCC plugs? I bought a 520d myself and am trying to prepare how to strip it.

The other question is how thick is the panel? I.e if you put it in its own frame how much space do you allow for the panel to slip in?

Thanks in advanced.

Interested in that myself. I have a 520D, but it had to go back due to 1 dead pixel (replacement on the way). Luckily there was a 0 dead pixel guarantee. Did any of you have trouble with pixels with this model too?

-Pete.

No I did not have any dead pixels with mine still hoping they don't appear though! I have only had my lcd monitor for a week.

I tested for them using the following link:
http://www.gdargaud.net/Hack/DeadPixels.html

Hey adzza, just wondering if you're gonna put up a plog soon with some more details pics of your pj.

Probably too busy watching movies and playin games still. dont blame ya

adzza

Looking Good.

Yep you guessed it........... Another Melbournian

Garry

The pictures look liek there is too much red or contrast, got any updated pics?

Hi Adzza, I'm in Melbourne too and I'm still sourcing the parts while waiting for my LL Lens kit to arrive.

I've just been to Bunnings looking for a sheet of Lexan (Laserlite).
Was the sheet of Laserlite you purchased tinted or was it clear?
I'm guessing it was the tinted sheet as it filtered 99.9%UV and was the only polycarbonate sheet I could see for sale.

Also, was it an electroinc ballast you got from the hydro shop for $115?

Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone...So sorry. Been away from my computer for quite some time. Wel this site anyways. I am going to build another soon. Does anyone have any recent questions? Sorry again. Adz.

I'd recommend looking up plastics in your yellow pages, there are alot of factories etc that do cuts for customers and have heaps of diffrent plastics, i got a 40cmx40cm 3mm UV lexan for $20aud, bunnings dont sell cut sheets only the large ones thats enough for like 4 projectors. Also there something like ~$60 a sheet i think?

Also Adzza any chance to see some pics of your box?

Adzza's Back. Been a while, but Im back in FULL SWING.

Im going to make a super high res. 1600 X 1200 next.

Check this out for info.

http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20124