Ah excellent news for a Wednesday...my new vid card and ram should be on my doorstep when I get home. There is nothing like a gig of ram to make your winter blues go away!

The DVI on the vid card probably wont hurt either!

Installed the new vid card and the ram last night in record time. 5 minutes from start to finish. Since the Radeon was replacing another Radeon, it just took the drivers and blew by with them. Colors SEEM better and the ram helps considerably. No problems with playback.

My pro should be here soon. I,m seriously thinking of taking tomorrow off for sheer sanity's sake.

Loosing my mind very slowly this week.....

SJ...DAMN. That's all I can say. After you responded in my plog (very honored by the way) I had to see what you were doing. Now I know what my NEXT tax return is gonna be spent on. GIANT A$$ SCREEN!!! HAH. From one Scotsman (1/8th...that still counts right?) to another, "Great job laddy!"

Liberal
w00t!!

Honor's all mine and your very welcome! The da-Lite makes a nice difference. I just got a pro reflector in that looks promising and I am hoping to put it in soon. We watched the first star wars last night.

Whoa...!

Well, I supposed to be working, but I just spent a few minutes gazing into the new pro reflector and I must say I feel more "enlightened". It was definitely a "reflective" experience which brought my whole life into "focus"....

Its a VERY pretty thing. Its shiny and it looks more delicate that it is. Now I just have to figure out a way to mount it. I was thinking about a ring collar, but I think my desire to install it will override the pretty mounts. I feel a spring mounting coming on...

yup

So I go out to HD to get a few things to mount my pro with. I cannot believe how expensive these things are! Little tacky bits of metal and they want 1.35 each
... Im making my own. ;P

Hey SJ, I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the pro reflector. Since I was using a different lamp (and panel) with mine, it's hard to say how much difference it makes by itself.

Im very interested to see how it will work as well. Just my initial playing shows its much more reflective. I think I will be able to do some comparison shots based on previous photos I took. But Im thinking I might just take another batch and then replace the reflector and then compare. Could be a weekend thing.
Last night I was forced to pull out the PJ becuase my little ones wanted to watch "Mermaidia" on the PJ.

Im here to tell you that there is nothing more spooky than a digital Barbie as a mermaid at near life size. I took one look at it and promptly turned around and went back to my study.

I didnt sleep very well last night.

He he,you should try "Barbie and the magical pegasus",in 3D!!!
That stuff will freak you out BIG TIME!!!!
P

Don't know what you are planning to do to mount your pro but I found a a way to mount mine!
http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?s...pic=10119&st=47#

ChuckL

Thanks ChuckL!, Thats a good suggestion, but it wont quite work with the way my current system is. Quite frankly, I think Im just going to use some heavy gauge wire bent over the edges. I dont need pretty right now, I want action!

Cheers!
SamuraiJack

So I decided I wanted to make the simplest mount I could. How simple can you really go I wondered. I used the same basic technique as my other reflector, except that I knew this wasnt going to go well with liquid steel...ahem

So I start with the basics: an 80 mm fan cover and a brass plate holder. The brass is purposely made a tiny bit soft ( read cheap) so it doesnt scratch the edges of collector plates. I love it when substandard tempering becomes a Feature...

Click to view attachment

I cut the inner sphere out and prepared the unit for mounting on both sides should the need arise...

Click to view attachment

I hear that... My daughters are now phasing out of Barbie (Thank Heaven) and are getting into Bratz. I'm not so sure that this is an improvement, but at least I'll be spared Barbie in Swan Lake for a little while.

In the disturbing department, though, a 6' tall talking cucumber took some getting used to. Don't get me wrong, I actually like VeggieTales, and I think it's a lot better than a lot of the stuff the kids could be watching, but getting used to them on the projector took some getting used to. (The kids love it, of course.)

a few minutes with the dremel tool to smooth out the opposite side and to make a cradle for the reflector if I choose to reverse the fan grill. In case I need a few extra mm..

Click to view attachment

Now for the fun part...
I wanted to make the simplest, easiest method ( and cheapest!) to mount the unit. So I came up with this simple doo-dad. Basically nothing more than a bent piece of wire. The curved loop will hop over the edge of the reflector and wont contact the mirror. Just to be safe, I will round out the ends. The bottom part goes over the grill. Simple.

Click to view attachment

A side shot of the reflector mounted. Very easy to do. It uses a slight tension on the grill to keep it in place. If it needs more tension, you just squeeze the V section a little and she clamps down.

Click to view attachment

Agh! Beware of the BRATZ, with their "passions for fashions!" They are just a bridge to the unholy( tounge in cheek) behavior of the "My Scene" crew.
(RUN!)
They will teach your daughters how to loathe (SP?) others, how to develop mediocre self images and worse...
...TO SHOP FOR ENTERTAINMENT!

Youre gonna be poor!

Yeah, I have no children yet,
But my sis does, and ummmm yeah.....
the Bratz dolls are clearly skanks,
and are molded out of pure evil.

Back on topic though...
I cant wait to see your new screenies w the pro reflector!!

Im anxious about it too, but everytime I start to do it, the wife brings home another movie. She sat on the couch last night and said " Well, that 60 inch TV USED to look big...Why dont you fire up the PJ dear?"

So we watched "Dreamer" last night on the big screen.
It wasnt bad

Well I snuck a look at the fresnels I have installed last night and I am shocked. The places where I used the acetone has this "whitish frosting effect" that was not there before. I started to notice it last week when we were watching a movie and there was some dark grey scenes. At first I thought it was light leak, but it was actually frosted onto the fresnel. ( EEEk! and Ick!) So Im thinking that the comparison shots with the pro might get skewed if I do the fresnels at the same time. Need to think this one through. But after looking at the fresnels, Im CERTAIN Im loosing close to 10% clarity and some transmission.

Hi Samuraijack,
I used ~10" diameter "Secondary" reflector behind the napkin holder and it worked GREAT. Really helped brightness.

This was a SST bowl I found at the drug store for US$3.95.

Oh no. How did I miss this? Tell me you didn't try to solvent weld your fresnels or similar? Or did you use the acetone to clean something near the fresnels? Acetone is the devil as far as your fresnels are concerned. Ugh. Oh man . . . Going to backward read the plog now to see what happened. Crapola SJ.

Hey! Youre Back!
( I read your article in the local paper. Nice job!)

The trauma is here...

But Brainchild was nice enough to offer some new fresnels for my birthday. Naturally it took me until a few weeks ago to actually order them. My birthday by the way is December 10th.....hmmm

Did I mention I like to procrastinate? No? Well I will tell you about it later...

Im hoping to replace them this weekend, but I really want to put the pro in too. If I was more motivated, I would do it tonight, but we have Top Level visitors from Washington here today, so Im spending my day in a tie and smiling and answering dopey questions...

SJ

DOH! Silly me - all this while I was under the false impression that I had read your entire plog. I guess I'm just going to have to have another go at it and keep notes of where I left off so I don't miss anything this time.

I was afraid that your NEWEST fresnels had run afoul of some acetone! I've had some very nasty experiences with clear plastics and acetone and boy was I scared when I read that description above. Thank goodness it was just me being "THE FOOL".

I stayed home the past two days with a vile cold. Feeling somewhat human again - errrr - at least as close as I get these days. Bonus - I got to work on my lightgate between coughing fits and Tylenol ingestions.

Can you tell I'm feeling chatty just now? And what better place to allow my fingers to dance away on my QWERTY than right here in SJ's mega-plog. I shall never regret my high school Typing I and Typing II classes with Mr. Burris while sitting BEHIND Roslyn Chambers. (Is my wife watching?!?!?)

Tuesday I basically slept ALL day. My wife and just-turned-4-years-old-son co-decided that he had a fever and should stay home sick with Daddy. Bless his tiny little heart he was good as gold and allowed me to sleep - well, rest - with almost no interruption and even snuggled up with me every now and then. I only wanted to throttle him during the last 30 minutes or so of the day when his Mom was only roughly 2 hours later getting home than usual. (He comes by any of his faults honestly.)

As for that article - you've got way too much time on your hands if you're doing Durachko Googles.

I agreed to an e-interview with a reporter from our campus paper and submitted a few dozen lines of craftily-worded, somewhat overblown tripe via email. My co-workers and I then placed bets as to which of the quotes would make it to print. It's all fun. There is some debate as to who won the contest since they hackneyed some of my quotes. Damn journalists! :angry:

Ah! I was trying to find a translation for your name. There surprisingly few mentions of it.

Oh! Of course - I see. Well, God bless you for looking and curse you for pointing out - once again - just how unimportant I really am. I'm being fairly torn asunder by the alternating compliments and verbal slashes being dealt me on these forums. A veritable roller-coaster of emotions may be had herein. BTW - Took me WAY too long to figure out I had to enter words using the appropriate language keyboard when attempting online translations. Them DC suits still buggin' ya?

Whats unimportant about you? Just because you dont have a huge pool to pull from doesnt mean youre not a big fish in your own right. My families presence in history has been practically a single thread, and VERY narrow at that. I think you have made your mark here and in the Bio world. We have a term for folks who dont have a lot of easily accessable history...

...rare.



Yes, the suits are still here. My tie is bugging me and I can smell the ployester and Aqua Velva....(hack!)

They still make that stuff? Or do you suppose one of "them" has a really, really old stash? You should try to counter with Irish Spring (traditional - not one of the newer scents - that'd be like a matter/anti-matter reaction) or Old Spice!!!

Edit: I wore a tie for my interview here some 20 or so years ago. I think doing that almost cost me the job!

Another Edit: I can dress - no joke - for work like in my self-portrait pic and no one bats an eye.

Now you would think that after getting the pro reflector, that I would be revved up to put it in, right?
Wrong.
For some reason I dont seem to want to do it and I think its because of the new fresnels. I just really dont want to take the PJ out of commision for that long. But I dont want to put in the pro and realize that the fresnels really are as bad as I think they are...

I was going to do it on Saturday night, but I chose to play Civilization IV in the early evening and I was doing great, then the Germans attacked me during my medievil era...so I gave in and spent the rest of the night ruthlessly taking every city they had...
Turn the other cheek?
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii dont think so!

Astrogeek wants to see it with JUST the reflector replaced so Im hoping to do it tonight, but still...

Anyone else ever get a piece in and hesitate to do it? I know you should let sleeping dogs lie, does that go for comfy PJ's as well?



SJ


PS. I think Im just afraid Im going to do "Oh I could fix that while I have this open.." thing and open up a real big can of worms....

My God, I was just thinking this same thing this a.m. I was down for so long, now that I am running again, if I went to add anything or do any major tweaks that would put us outa commision for longer than a few hours.......well, I, um.......fear what they would do to me. IF I disappear from the forums, please look at my personal info page and send help. I will probably be tied up in a closet with a vga cable, gagged with a small nerf ball, and there will probably be a three year old little girl beating me with a copy of "Chicken Little" saying.......
"Why can't I watch this Daddy?"
"Why can't I watch this Daddy?"
"Why can't I watch this Daddy?"
"Why can't I watch this Daddy?"
repeat to infinity

She is a master of torture.

Complacency brings
a halt to further progress.
Samuraijack rests(?)

Never thought I'd see the day but if anyone deserves a break it's you.

I knew that Hall of Fame plaudit would ruin ya!

Don't worry. It doesn't last forever.

I do exactly the same thing. I put off SO many tweaks on my projector "Because it's working now." I found that I'd go down to the basement with part and screwdriver in hand, lift the lid in the projector, look into the inside for about 15 seconds, then sit down, turn it on, and fire up either a game or my DVD software.

Bluto: I can totally see that happening. I'm only saved from the possibility of such a fate because my wife heavily curtails the children's viewing time, and the projector is strictly off limits to the kids unless I'm home. (Her idea, not mine.)

Durachko:
Thanks. I have been a little tired lately. I think I need more green vegatables. Maybe you could engineer me some? Good Haiku, BTW!

Supraguy:
That makes me feel better. We just got done with a massive upgrade to the network systems, so maybe things will calm down a bit. I have been chewing away at a little surprise for the LL crowd...if it works. Hundreds of doodles and semi drawn bits...

Bluto:
Yep. My daughter too. Except she gives you this look like " You just killed all my hopes and dreams for the rest of my life! You *&%!@^%$! " Then she wanders off and does soemthing else which usually involves taking all the small pieces of whaterever intricate something she found, and spreading them all over the floor...

...or worse. She will try to help clean. This usually involves getting a broom, mop or swiffer and proceeding to knock down everything within 5 feet of the floor. Books, Refrigerator drawings, crystal, cats, Crystal Cats...
Nothing is safe.

Oddly enough, she wont touch the PJ. All that trouble to make the exterior cool and she doesnt go near it.
Huh..

BTW, the thought of seeing Barney at 7 feet tall, with accompanying digital surround, just makes me want to run!

SJ

Hey Sam,,

eeekk ! frosted fresnels,,,, oh dear

I use a kitchen type cleaner spray and wipe ,, the best one is Nifty,,

I spray it on till it is soaked,, then I use a paint brush and liberally brush in directions of grooves,, after that I rinse them under luke warm tap water, using brush again.. then use a air compressor to blow the water out of grooves..

they come out pristine again,,

Hey Elken,
This a chemical etch from the cleaner/solvent I used. I can polish it out, but since I got new fresnels, its low on the list.

Seemed like a good idea at the time....

Well, I broke my own rule. Its my fault and I know it.
I had realized that the past three weeks had been quite a bit more than I usually handle, so I started to feel better about my PJ's current lack of progress.
Naturally, I wanted to do something now. So I took my newly mounted Pro lens, carefully took off the back of the light gate and was shocked to find that I had used the wrong size when I mounted the new reflector!

Cut to SJ running around the shop laughing and mildy cursing at the same time. He searches high and low but cannot find one of the 80 MM fan covers in question. Should be easy to find one of these in ten+ years of computer parts, right?

Nope.
Im out. Done. Kaput. I am bereft of 80mm fans covers.

So tomorrow, in the name of immediate gratification, I will do that which is looked at in shame...

I shall journey to Radio Shack.

SJ

For some strange reason I have been collecting them in my drawer just incase I might need them for something. I’m sure there will soon be a world wide 80mm fan grill shortage Then I’ll be ready. I have only found one use for them as tweeter grills because of the kids. I have a whole pile of them. But if you look around the house you would understand why. Some times it is best to throw things away.

I always take them off because the fans are a little quieter without them. Any thing close to the fan blades will make a huge amount of turbulence in the air flow. One more trick to make a PC fan quieter is to cut the motor out of and old fan and use the frame to space the new fan away from the grill it will be a little quieter and still have the same air flow.

well GUESS what

I got my Pro reflector today from LL

ditto,,

those grills cluttered up everywhere, now since house move in jan,,, not one in sight,,,, grrrrrr did a clean out triple grrrrr

samo samo collecting all the old pc parts from working on them,, oh well

Nah, that's small potatoes. [non-green vegetable pun] Boss is lookin' toward bio-fuels. It's all about grant money in the research biz. Besides, too many cruciferous veggies this early in the year after a winter of jerky could trigger flatulence until your intestinal flora is back up to snuff and then you'd be in danger sitting near your metal halide igniter. You'd be just another spontaneous combustion story on the front page of The Enquirer.

You need to get down South more where things green up quicker. This time of year I figure the only thing green up your way is the mold on the hardtack.

Forums need spell check. [solace not solice, vegetables not vegatables] I find myself gritting my teeth frequently and forcing myself to NOT go back and edit that post I made last week because I mispelled something or my grammar was just way too funky. Dang - forgot my meds again. OCD!

Heresy!!!!!!!

Great PLOG but reads like a 20 volume encyclopedia. you need a table of contents on your first page...WHERE TO FIND INFO...
I was hoping to get your final thoughts on the screen. I am told you did some extensive research on the shower curtain. Thanks for any input befor i start on the screen.

What would you like to know? I settled on a Da-Lite Model C with High Power material at 9x12 feet...

Its Very NIIIICCCCEEEEEEEEE!



Good suggestion about the table of contents...I was toying with that idea.

RadioShack has no fan covers? What it this world coming to?
Guess Im going to have to make my own mount....

Radio Shack didn't have what you need?!!

Shopping at Radio Shack is an exercise in compromise, and using what you find there is an exercise in ingenuity.

I wanted to know what you thought of the results with the shower curtain or shouldnt i bother?
How does it compare to the Da-Lite? No contest? sorta close?....and what was the gain? I heard a high gain can show a "hot spot" in the middle on bright scenes?

"Radio Shack: You've got questions, we've got blank stares."
Or, better yet:
"Radio Shack: You've got questions, we've got cell phones."

I think I saw those on a posting board somewhere.
I have gotten some decent parts from Radio Shack. Just don't expect anyone there to know what you're talking about.
They are, however, the only ones who offer the mini-Leatherman tool with wire strippers:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...ctId=2104745&cp

Well, the shower curtain was okay, but more by virtue of layering rather than anything else. It also didnt come in a large enough size. Since my LR is a long rectangle the brightness and hotspotting has never been an issue. The only problem I have noted so far was during the first star wars movie. The first outdoor scene in the Naboo city was so bright it wasnt funny. My wife and kids actually covered their eyes. But it was washed out at the same time.
The curtain is great to play around with but the best result I got was with 220 TC sheeting backed by mylar.

..except for the Da-lite of course...

Thank you, thank you, thank you.... that info really helps. I may even get the wife to allow me to buy one on ebay after uncle sam is done bleeding us dry next month (taxes...crap!) :angry:
I will try a sheet or the shower curtain to get the optimal size then maybe order a Da-Lite or similar.

Well, I installed the proreflector tonight. I finally got fed up and caterpillar mounted it and stuck it in.

I thought a side by side shot of my new versus old might be nice. I was surprised how similar they are.

Click to view attachment


A little reflector action. Its nice. It doesnt really make the picture brighter in a dark room, but we have been able to amp up the lights quite a bit and still enjoy a nice bright picture.

Click to view attachment

That......I can't even tell you how spot on that quote is...
I once went into radio shack looking for a specific eeprom for a small project....
I could find more parts around my house than what they have...So I got upset and demanded to know why I couldn't find a simple eeprom...not to mention, only the manager knew what one was...
He replied: We make more money selling 27" tv's than we do trying to sell $1 eeproms.
And the way he said it was to make ME look like a jackass...Who goes to radioshack for tvs and cell phones?!? Honestly? I really want to know!

Anyway...enough of my rant...

If you still want an 80mm fan grill SJ....I will ship you one for free...Just out of my hate for RadioShack.

Dude, you are in VERMONT, what's with the shorts! Every picture, shorts. I bet you let your kids outside with wet hair too!