Hi All- I decided to build my 1st PJ using a PS1 5" lcd (I'm already planning a 15" soon)

OK- here it is.
Parts list:
LL lens kit- $70
300w120v Ushio- $20
Dimmer-$7
Heat sink-$2
Lexan-$4
1 way mirror 5"x7"- $8
cords and switches- $20
Salvaged wood from my daughters baby bed- $0
Dryer vent and A/C filter- $8
misc.-$20
2 80mm fans- $12
used PS1 screen-$30
total cost- app $201 US

Images removed by MMc because they are too much detail for a public project gallery. Looks like you put a fair amount of work into them, so I have PMed you the previous contents of the post in case you want to use it in a PLOG or whatever. Just don't repost those pictures in the public bit of the forum.

Awesome stuff . What would the projected size be. I havnt decided if Im going to do a 7"
or a 15" . Im in New zealand and the $1 is a lot lower than US it would cost me $800 NZ
to do a 15 " ,Mind you compared to $3000-$6000 NZ for a commercial Its still worth it . I suppose

cheers

im going to be doing a 7" too soon...but with page magnifiers to start..need to fingure out the distence to put them from the lcd....

my question to you is..what lighting system are you using? got a link for me? it would be greatly apreciated..thanks!!

At 10feet from the screen i get about a 50" diag projection. I'll post some more pics tonight. Good luck on your poject!




Can't wait to see your project. I read in the forums a quick way to figure your focal lenghts is to take your lenses outside and focus the sun on the sidewalk, when you get the smallest possible circle of light, measure the distance from your lens to the sidewalk. That should get you close.
I'm using a 300w 120v Ushio, a gx5.3 base w/heat sink and a household dimmer from walmart. The link to the lighting store (Daycoa) is : http://www.daycoa.com/
The light and base was about $21 and the dimmer about $6 or 7. Good Luck

are you finding the bulb to run very hot? cause i can get my hands on a comercial projector with no bulb..and want to retofit a bulb solution into it..but since its a smaller space for the light source im very worried about heat problems

thanks for the reply....looking forward to seeing some of your results!!

Yes it does run hot (i haven't measured the actual temp yet) As a matter of fact i just blew the bulb. I was careful not to touch the bulb with my bare hands durring installation and i did fit it with the heat sink base, also i used the dimmer to cut back about 5% hoping that would generate a little less heat. I only got about 6 movies watched before it blew.I ordered a new bulb. Anyone have any thoughts?

As promised, some more pics




And finally some screen shots- pics aren't that great, not to good whith the digital camera yet (especially in the dark) The screen is a piece of cardboard spraypainted with Rustolium Metalic Aluminum. The lines in the screen are on the cardboard. I'm either going to use blackout cloth or black and white poly for the final screen, although the aluminum spraypaint is really good (way better than white, off white or gray). At about 10 ft from the PJ i'm getting a bright 50" diag image.

My 10yo daughter in the pic for size ref.

[img]http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/Capt_kirk_1/7.jpg[/img]
As i mentioned earlier, my bulb blew and i have to wait a couple of days to get another. I'll post some more pics then.

Nice job - Great Picture!

it probably blew cause its getting too hot...i had a bit of trouble finding any info on the bulb..spec wise..but if its a halogen...its proably not the right color temp for projectors (4200K is what you need i think) i myself will be spending a bit more cash to get a HQI ballast and an HQI-T single ended bulb and get a reflector for it... the HQI-T is 150W and puts out 13000 Lumen..should be enough for a 5"-7" lcd

http://www.solded.com/boutique/product_inf...=80&language=en

Thanks! I'm going to check into that.

Look really nice. I may steal your design for 15" or 17".

Looks really good Capt_kirk. I was wondering how big can you get the picture diag before the screen door effect sets in? Is it still bright when it is at that distance?

Thanks,
Mukieluk

Can't wait to see it!


In my garage i got about a 60" diag projection, not quite as bright but still good. Actually, when i get close to the screen, it already has the screendoor effect (low res PS1 lcd), but at about 8ft away from the screen i really don't notice.

great job kirk I hve a question do you think this could be done with out the mirror as a straight thru? do you think it would be any brighter? Thanks Brian kc0kfg

Also in to your eyes how does the picture look compaired to a rear pj tv?

Yes, but the lcd screen would have to be re-positioned to face the opposite way and i think i read that everytime you bounce the light off of a mirror or transmitt through a glass you will loose about 8 to 10% (can anyone confirm that?)


Oh, and as far as a rr projection tv, i'm not sure but i think the viewing angle is better on mine, but a rr pj tv is better with ambient (sp?) light and probably better resolution. But where's the fun if you don't build it yourself right? You gotta remember, it's a 5" low res lcd to start with, but i'm tellin ya, it's totaly watchable.

Rear surface mirrors are some thing like 90-92% efficent, frount surface are more like 95-98%, lexan, fresnels, glass all seem to be 90%. i.e. 10% loss.

Oh trust me I wont be buying a big screen any time soon Im to excited about building one.
I agree its more fun when you can say you did it your self.

So im off to get a psone screen I belive I will be happy with the results (for a while till I want it bigger) LOL

Good luck, can't wait to see it.