Hi to anyone from South Africa that is keen on building a LL projector. I received my lenses today from LL at $109 shipped (took only 4 days to get here). I had to drive 20km's to Cape Mail in Epping to collect the parcel and the ba$tards charged me R96 customs duty. Oh well. Now i'm looking for wood cut to size and a bulb system. My best quote so far is R660 for 400W bulb,ballast,cap and ignitor from Bellville Electronics. Anyone got some good (cheap) sources of bulb and wood to suggest? Baie dankie ouens...

Hey,

Also from SA, Diep River to be exact. Started about a month ago trying to source things locally, what a B@#$... No one seems to know what you're talking about when you ask them about some of these things.

Best bet for wood is probably Chipbase/PennyPinchers/Cashbuild/Campwell Hardware. I'm going to try the fibreglass route in order to make the casing very light but will be making a mockup out of hardboard just to get the right dimensions, placing of parts etc. Going to build a 15" vertical (see Puni5hers PLOG) , you?

What bulb are you getting?

What is the size of your fresnels, and are you using a 15" setup? I can get quite a good deal on an OHP but the fresnels may be a bit small. So I'll probably end up odering from LL.

Later

Hey man

Yeah it's tough trying to get anything abnormal in SA! hehe. I'll check out the wood places you mentioned, thanks. Fibreglass sounds a bit to fiddly for me (and it itches apparently..) I'm going to build the plain and simple box that most people go for. My lounge is huge and i don't need anything fancy, plus my woodwork skills leave much to be desired. I'm not sure what the bulb is exactly. It's a 400W elliptical MH. I'm going down to Bellville electronics sometime next week to see exactly what they have. I know they stock Osram which are supposed to be good. The fresnals from lumenlab are about the same size as the screen on a 17" CRT monitor, but im using a 15" LCD from Samsung or maybe LG. Just waiting for prices next month from the dealers. Do yourself a favour and just get the proper lense kit from lumenlab. It is quality stuff. At least it'll last you a long time and you can always build new projectors using the old lenses. Cheap/OHP stuff is really not what you are looking for. When people (and you) see your projector in action, they must go "WOW, AMAZING" and not "Oh, that's pretty cool". If you order now, the lenses will arrive in about 5 days, mine did. Well, keep us up to date with your progress and i will too.

Ordered my lens kit and filter on Monday, hope it arrives by the weekend so that I can get started.

Excellent! I hope you dont have to go all the way to Cape Mail in Epping to pay customs like i did... Let me know when you get them!

Good luck

Should get lenses 2moro, how's your PJ coming along?

Would this thread not be better suited to the "Global..." forum?

I'm in PE at the moment. Found a Philips HPI-T bulb, ballast and ignitor for R570 at Unique Lighting. Now i just need a cap because they were out of stock. They gave me a SON ballast and ignitor (High Pressure Sodium) so i hope that will work! Hope you got your lenses..

What are the specs on it, lumens, cri, temp? Should be getting them today, they were sitting with Customs for about 3 days.

MMC - Have no problem with moving thread.

Just called Customs. Typical SA Post Office, their phones ring forever.

I'm extremely :angry: F(*&%$ P%$# :angry: . They've had my lenses since Monday and I've phoned everday, now they tell me that they need classification and that there's no invoice attached.

IDIOTS!!!!! :angry:

Hey man that sucks. I went through the same thing! Since LL doesn't attach an invoice to the package, customs won't let it through to your post office. All you must do is fax them a copy of the Lumenlab email you get stating it's value. Or take it there yourself.

The Philips HPI-T PLUS bulb is 35k lumens and 5300K temp i think. Do a google search. I phoned Unique Lighting and they told me the Sodium ballast and ignitor are universal and will work. He also said you can't get tempered glass cut in PE, only in Cape Town! Glad we live there - have you found a supplier there?

Good luck getting your lenses..

Just picked up my lenses after a load of crap. Looks GOOD

Funny you should ask, I just phoned for pricing. Wasn't 100% on the size, but 300x300x3 only R35 from M&E. Available a week after ordering.

Gonna setup a mock case for now just to see size of projection an d where I'd have to place things. Once that's done, I can start on a wooden box that will eventually be used as a template for the fibreglass one.

Can't afford to get lightning at the moment. When you back in CT, would like to get measurments so that I can cater for in my box.

How far's your project?

Hey, back in CT. Glad you finally got the lenses!! Stupid customs idiots...... What measurements would you like? Good to hear about the glass. Do you have a phone number for me coz i want it ASAP! Thanks...

ps: here's a link to the Philips bulb: --- its a monster!!

http://www.prismaecat.lighting.philips.com...ull&tt=Overview

CRI: 65
35 000 Lumens
4300K colour temp

not bad specs for 200 bucks

Their phone number is 7023730 and they're on the main road on your left coming from town in Blue Route, about half way between Penny Pinchers and the turn off to Ou Kaapse Weg.

R200, is that for everything or just the bulb?

Finshed my mockup PJ using a 100w halogen. A bit dissapointed by the size of the image (Way too big) . Looks like I'm gonna have to go the horizontal route. Didn't want to hang it from the roof. Will see what the forums come up with.

How fars yours?

Later

Hey excellent. Thanks man. I wonder if they do a UV coating?

The bulb was R200. Everything (ballast, ignitor) came to R570. It is a simple coil ballast, so you don't need a capacitor. I'll try post some pics soon.

When you say you are disappointed, is that because the image is too large when your projector is in a convenient position? I knew that the distance from the screen is approx the diagonal size of the image with these optics, so what i'm doing is building a horisontal proj and hiding under a coffee table in the middle of the lounge, with a bit of keystone tilt in the front Fres.

My progress so far is:

Got bulb components
Cut wooden frames

Now i need to get LCD,box wood and glass. I'm so keen to get going but getting components seems to be the longest bit.

PS: How have you setup up your lenses etc in a temporary arrangement? I'm still puzzling over how to mount the LCD since i don't know what frame it will have.

Yes, dissapointed because I wanted to go vertical and place it on the wall. Gonna pickup another lense this evening to test, maybe it'll help. Otherwise I guess I'm stuck with the horizontal and will go with a HAAS styled PJ instead of a Puni5her version.

Made a temp box out of cardboard before doing the real thing to test for 1, the size of the projected image which was a good thing and to test location/spacing of lenses and get a better idea of how things work.

I don't have my LCD yet. Using a sheet of OHP transparency with black lines for testing. Will only get LCD in about a month or 2, waiting for prices to drop and it's not 100% essential right now as it shouldn't affect the box design. What LCD you getting?

Ah, that's irritating...

I have my eye on the Samsung 510N. +- R1629 inc VAT from Sahara. I dont know how much cheaper 15" will get since not many people buy them anymore (17" are a few rand more with better specs) Plus the dollay keeps going up....

Howzit,

Geeez i thought i was on my own in here.

I ordered all the goodies from LL last nite and forgot to add a mirror and uv shield (doos).

Kellie was kind enough to add all the extras to my order, will see how long it takes to arrive,I will be collecting a Samsung 510n froma Sahara tomorrow it seems to be the cheapest LCD around, there are those CMV monitors listed allover the forums available from Eurobyte at R1899 ex (yeah right).

Im going to build a Punisher clone its the best looking PJ here.


Oh sorry i'm from Joburg (must be the thin air up here)

That's 2 Kaapies and a Gautenger. The SA's are slowly starting to grow.

My PJs coming along slowly. Just have the lenses for now. Also wanted to go the Puni5her route but running into placement problems. I don;t really want to have a mobile PJ. So doing some thinking, maybe have to go HAAS.

This is my mock setup...just for testing purposes

Brilliant. More SA input! Let's take over the world...

Please let me know as soon as you strip your Samsung, Neo. I know the 450:1 contrast version of that monitor has no FFC issues, but i've seen a 600:1 version on certain sites (sybaritic.co.za)- possibly a mistake. But generally the samsung panels are very user friendly and in fact Samsung themselves were very interested to hear about people using their monitors for DIY projectors and actually encourage it. Good luck getting all that stuff through SA customs - the slowest dudes in the world.

Nice temp setup their, J. just spray it silver and be done?!

Any luck finding a reflector bowl yet? I'm going to check out boardmans, mr price home and @home stores v. soon and let you know if i find anything. Correct me if i'm wrong, but we need something shiny and hemisperical?

Well, keep the pics and progress coming...

Just a question , How did u guys know your parcel was in SA if the post office didnt send u notification and who the hell did u phone to find out ?

Sorry DJ . Will let u know and possible take pics of samsung strip.

You should be able to track it on the web if you chose the top delivery/shipping option when your order because they offer insurance and tracking. (Hope you chose that one)

Give it about a 5-7days. Don't trust the web tracking though (not updated properly), rather phone CapeMail, ask for Customs, get a contact person so that you can speak to them when you cal again and again and again and give them the tracking number. Send the LL email receipt to them as an "invoice".

Good advice there. I did actually get a postcard in the mail saying i had to go to Cape Mail. That was about 5 days after the parcel was shipped. Glodal priority is very quick to major centres like CT, possibly 3 days at most. Web tracking seems to stop once the parcel leaves the US. Best follow J's advice and phone customs constantly with tracking number. And fax them the email at the same time. Good luck!

PS: Pics of the Samsung strip would be awesome. When are you both starting your PLOG's in the plog forum? I want all my parts first...

Started typing up mine offline. At a checkmate right now, trying to figure out which route I'll be taking as a result of my mock pj test results. I really want to go with the Puni5her PJ but that will more than likely mean moving it into place everytime I want to watch something because it'll have to be about 2.3-2.5m from screen, smack bang in the middle of the room. Not the ideal place especially with 3 little kids and no coffe table to hide it in. Can't really go HAAS route because I just recently put up fake/ceiling downlighting and don't intent messing that up.

So it looks like I'm gonna have to go mobile which I'm not looking fwd to having vga & power cables on the floor. Best to have it stuck in a permanent position with hidden cables.

Probably start my PLOG once I've decided which route I'm going and then can start building case etc. otherwise my PLOg will be pretty dead.

Have you considered a projector placed to one side of your room with keystoning in the horisontal plane? I don't know if anyone has done this but i know some commercial Sony projectors allow you to put them on the left or right of your room. Try it with your test box anyway - i'm interested to know if it works.

By the way, i just phoned various plastic suppliers and could not find Lexan (polycarbonate) with a UV coating. Could only get 10mm clear at R1500/sqm !! So i guess tempered glass is the way to go. What about UV? I'm concerned that without a UV filter my LCD will get damaged, although i suspect the Philips bulbs have a quarts UV blocking glass. Any suggestions?

I know some people are running their PJs without UV filter. Maybe search or post in HELP and see what they say. I think you can only see the effect after some time when the fresnel starts going yellowish.

My wife is starting to worry about me,every time we go into a shop i run to the pots,pans and mixing bowl section.

(deep voice) HELLO MY NAMES NEO AND I'M A PJ JUNKIE

Yeah i know what you mean. I will have to walk around Boardmans with a drill and sweaty overalls so people don't think i'm buying gay pots...

Look what i found at the @home store in Cavendish today. It looks like it will make a pretty decent reflector. And since it is about 1/3 of a sphere, i reckon no cutting is necessary to get the bulb arc in the centre of the sphere. What do you think? it was only R29 in the second aisle, back left of the store on the bottom shelf if you are interested.

That reflector looks awsome. Will check in joburg if i can get one of those.

The drill/overall gay pot thing was funny . LoL

And i picked up a Samsung 510n today wiil strip tonight and take some pics of progress ( kinda shitting my self obout taking it apart)


Having problems with a light source any suggestions ?

Hey.

I reckon all @Home stores will have that bowl. I see some people in the PLOG's use big bowls and others use little ones behind the bulb. I wonder what the difference is in terms of performance. Well, for R29 it's a good start and I can always get something else.

Glad you got your screen - i'm waiting for you to say it strips with no FFC issues before i go ahead and get one, so counting on you Neo! Good luck. Don't be too afraid, i reckon they are well made and won't break if you treat them delicately.

When you say problems with a light source, do you mean you can't find a supplier? Check out the yellow pages for lighting suppliers that list "commercial" or "industrial" in their adverts. Best to phone a couple of places and you'll find what you are looking for in no time.

Pheeew took the samsung apart took me about an hour and a half, taking pictures and being very carefull. All the wiring is cool and it looks like it can remain in a metal and plastic frame to keep it rigid.I have not plugged it in yet to see if it still works (panic).

Here is a pic on completion.

Excellent news! Thanks Neo. Well done on the strip. What sort of connectors are there between the panel and the control boards? I don't see them in your photo. It would be convenient to keep the panel in its own frame for mounting so that's good to hear. Any luck finding a bulb etc yet?

Oh. Could you give me the dimensions of the stripped screen in its frame? Thanks man..

Exactly what I was gonna ask.

Ordered my tempered and other glass and bougth the aluminum for the brackets.

How are your guys PJs coming along?

Ordering my Samsung 510N today so hopefully i'll have it tomorrow. How did you know what size glass to buy? What are you doing for a reflector? I need the screen dimensions before i can start with wood etc and i'm so keen to get going now.

Howzit all

Pics of stripped Samsung will be at a photobucket address shortly.

The Lcd can stay in its metal frame plus the white plastic ribbed frame can be modified by cutting the inside out and clipping it back onto the metal frame sandwiching the lcd.

Picked up a 250watt osram powerstar hqi-t daylight lamp
(tube type not elipticle) ,fitting,ballast and ignitor today for R402.00. Package says operates at 300 degrees c (Hello) and it has a uv filter built in.
Specs - LUMINOUS FLUX 20000LM Colour Temp 5300k Length 225mm Diameter 38mm

Im going to try the 250 plus the reflector from @Home which i also collected today

Been looking at the forums and they recon the 250watt plus a good reflector can perform better than a 400watt because you can control the light better and the lamp has a smaller arc.


400 watt lamp is freaking huge

Oh a pic of the lamp etc will also be posted

Here are the pics for the samsung strip.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/Neo...sung510n001.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/Neo...sung510n002.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/Neo...sung510n003.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/Neo...sung510n004.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/Neo...sung510n005.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/Neo...sung510n006.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/Neo...sung510n007.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/Neo...sung510n008.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/Neo...sung510n009.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b223/Neo...ung510n0010.jpg

Check it out

That is awesome Neo. Thanks a million. Going to make my life much easier by following your guide. What is that stripe from top to bottom on the last 2 pictures on the left half of the panel? Just a camera artefact? Looks like a stip of plastic over the lcd.

Glad you got your bulb etc. Hope it works as well as you expect. I'm sure 20k lumens is plenty anyway. I got the 400W bulb which looks like a giant cucumber it is so huge. The ballast must weight about 11kg. But i like the extra power - yeah!

Ps: don't forget to measure the LCD for us, shot.

Just went on the size of the fresnels, they should be the same or bigger than the LCD so I should be safe. At 67 bucks, not too much of a train smash if incorrect but I doubt it as they wouldn't make the lenses smaller than the LCD

There should be a Samsung strip in one of the forums showing you everything in detail.

The samsung lcd frame is 322mm x 254mm

Thanks Neo! I ordered my 510N today so should get it on Monday from Sahara. R1399 ex VAT. Hold thumbs.... Also called M&E Glass and 4mm 300x300mm is R45. Lumber City charge R175 for 16mm chipboard and R28.50 to cut. So all my parts are now accounted for - yay!

Aswell as ordering the lenses from LL ,I also ordered the 1st surface mirror as they are not available here and a uv filter.

The Osram globe has a UV filter built in (go figure)


Apparently a normal mirror is not recommended as the the light passing through the glass off the mirror and back out again screws up either the light intesity or aberation or somthing.

You can try a perspex mirror which is first surface coated they are available here.


SA Post cannot track parcels until next week (pain), Customs is trying to convince me that my parcel is A: unnatended luggage or B: I must phone the airline that it flew on ? ,So we WAIT and WAIT.

Building frames and enclosures this weekend.

Later

So I take it you're building a vertical if you bought the mirror, how about you DJ?

Finally found a locally available OSRAM 35000 lumen, 5200k, 90 CRI at Lighting on Main in Newlands. Getting final pricing on Monday. Bulb roughly R350 ex, not sure about control gear, but all in all should be about R900 for everything.

Wow, that's a really good spec bulb. But pricey!! My Philips is only a 65CRI 4300K, but should do fine. It was only R200. I must check out that osram when i replace my bulb in, oh, 5 years time. hehe.

I'm building a plain and simple horisontal LL. Hiding it under my coffee table for stealth projection People will be amazed! JK.

Keep the pics coming, of anything you get or do..

Thought about getting your bulb, but rather going to spend the extra +-R200 to get a higher spec'd one.

Got three projects going right now (PJ, Fibreglassing some speaker boxes for my car and doing some minor repair work on a jacuzzi tub I bought in the CapeAds for R250 ), $$$ and time.

Went to have a look at some LCDs today, think I may go for the Genistat 15", R1400, just waiting on specs from the US will decide. If not good enough then I'll probably have to go for the Sam for an extra R400 but then I know there's no FFC problems.

Decided to go the Puni5her route after all, as horizontal just won't work. Will just have to cope with moving into place everytime and keeping my kids away from it.

Also managed to score a 8'x6' projector screen from my dad. Gonna mount that to the wall and then add a windscreen wiper motor and some electronics with remote to make the whole thing come down/up via remote. But that's pretty much last on the list.

Time for some lunch while the fibreglass cures, then on to the jacuzzi.

So, have you guys started building your movie list yet? I'm on about 20 so far, can't decide which one's gonna get the honor of playing first

PS. Anyone have a copy of 5th Element?

Busy man... Nice to have many projects to keep you occupied. Why not just cut out the hassle and get the Samsung from Sahara. Give me your email and i'll give you the dealership name. It's R1399 ex which is R1594.86 inc VAT. Then you know it is right and will work.

My movie list is already quite large. My first movie will definitely be Jurassic Park, still my favourite of all time and i think even in modern day terms is one of the best filmed movies ever. I also have xbox games to play - Forza Motorsport ona 4m screen - yes please!

Glad to see sombody else has an Xbox.