Durachko's Super-cool Hyperlinked PLOG Indices
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Projector-related Stuff:

• Modifying my cheapo Logitech X-530 Surround Sound System
• Samsung SyncMaster 710n strip
• My luxmeter
• Thermal switches, thermal probe, ladder chain & sprockets
• Reflector details
• Standard and Wide Screen Resolutions Chart
• The lightgate begins . . .
• The lightgate continues . . .
• My digital camera info
• Firing the lamp
• Lightgate refinements
• Fresnel and LCD frames
• Second lamp firing & hot mirror installed
• Permanent hot mirror mounts
• Antiglare strip
• Pseudo-screenies
• Start making sawdust & a change of heart (switch to 330 mm rear & pre-condenser)
• DE FC2 Lamp & Sockets
• Pre-condenser mount
• Overclocking/overdriving info
  
• Work resumes after a hiatus: first dados ploughed in my enclosure panels
• The ballast partially installed. The enclosure base takes shape.
• First test of Z-axis adjuster. It works!!!
• Triplet hole bored and extension of LCD control panel cable.
• LCD / fresnel sled installation.
• Mirror musings.
• Pro triplet modification spacers.
  
• First light through triplet (no LCD yet).
• Initial screenies for future comparison.
• Better initial screenies.
• Triplet spill and arc image at triplet.
• Adding convenience plugs to my light box
• Yet more screenies - getting better (UNmodified my pro triplet!!!)
• Rethinking some cooling ideas
• Hmmmm . . . when is 4:3 not 4:3?
• The triple fan array - bling, bling
• First screenies on my commercial screen
• Trying a ceramic lamp
  
• eVo versus my DIY
• The true beginnings of my WUXGA switchover
  
• more in store . . .

Assorted, Inane drivel:

• Hot Tub
• Wabbit twacks
  
• Fireball
• Charged by a bear - twice!
  
• Bird-eating bear
• Blacksnake
• Rattlesnake
• Fasteners & thongs (what happens when you ask for help around here)
• Another Rattlesnake
• Mating turtles
  

My System in a Nutshell:

HTPC:

• CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 2000MHz HT 4200+ Dual Core Socket 939
• Motherboard - ASUS A8N5X Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD
• RAM - 1GB Crucial
• Graphics Card - GeForce 6800 w/256MB
• Sound - Will see if the onboard cuts it first
• Case - salvaged ATX case from a dead Gateway

Projector:

• Monitor - Samsung SyncMaster 710N - Jump to Stripping Guide
• Lamp - 400W Ushio Pulse-Strike T15 - LumenLab FC2 Bases & MHDE 400W 6500K Lumenlab
  
• Lamp Base/Socket - 1008 Mogul Base HID Socket - LumenLab
• Ballast - M135 coil ballast - HiDirect S51 from member AV w/overclocking capacitor (Advance High Pressure Sodium Lamp Ballast Catalog Number 71A8493 For 400W S51 60 Hz CWA)
  
• Pro Lenses - Pro Lens Kit - LumenLab
• 330mm Fresnel - 3DLens.com
• 4.5"x6.5" borosilicate Pre-condenser Lens - pnta.com
• Pro Reflector - LumenLab
• Hot Mirror - Rosco - www.bhphotovideo.com
• Front Surface Mirror - LumenLab Trading Post - great deal, Thanks!
• Also a Surplus Shed FS mirror (Kodak). Plan to compare.

Software:

• WindowsXP Professional
• Media Player Classic ZoomPlayer
• FFDshow
• Dscaler
• Avisynth

Other Items/Mods/Extras:

• Logitech X-530 Surround Sound 5.1 - ebay - See Logitech X-530 Modification post below.
• Extension/Modification Cables for above - ebay & Radio Shack
• ZALMAN ZM-NB47J NorthBridge Chipset Cooler - newegg.com
• Some thermal switches and a thermometer from an old growth chamber I dismantled - click here
• Ladder chain and sprockets for nifty, adjustable sleds - click here
• Cabinet grade 3/4" oak plywood and whatever eye-candy crap I can dig up. Hall of fame in my sights!
• Some neato fasteners
• My projector screen from TigerDirect

My plan is to incorporate the HTPC into the enclosure for the projector. The sub woofer will be enclosed beneath the HTPC and will rest on the floor isolated from the other components. My box will be rather large as space is not a concern for me and it will allow for easier adjustments and future modifications/upgrades. Decided to not cut the pro fresnels to allow for future upgrades and changes. My projector internal dimensions will be 20 x 20 inches and the whole enclosure will stand about 4 feet high.

More to come as time allows and things develop . . .

Modifying the Logitech X-530 Surround Sound Speaker System

Please visit this thread for an intro.

The X-530 system has a less than desirable cable configuration for using it as a home theatre system. After some consideration and much kind assistance from the LumenLab community I decided to tear into it.

First, I carefully pried off the front grill of the right front "control" speaker. Next, I removed the control panel bezel and screws holding the speaker together then pulled out the speaker and cut the leads. Also, cut the leads coming out the back of the speaker. Removed the base to make handling easier. No going back now!


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Here are the guts:


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Carefully pry out the circuit board. It's gooped in fairly well.


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Circuit board underside details showing the volume control potentiometer stack, headphone jack, on/off button, and a few surface mount components:


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The cabling is good quality with shielding where required.

Pictured below is the PC board modified with necessary connectors. I plan to incorporate the little PC board into a convenient location on my projector.


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Tested the modified system and it sounds just fine.

Hey Durachko,

Checking out the PLOG - I'll have to keep it handy when I get closer to building.

Sounds like you've done some great planning for components. Are you gonna do 400W bulb or wait for 1000?

I have a couple concerns for the all-in-one projector/subwoofer box set-up. In my HT and (limited) audio engineering experience, the placement of a sub will need to be tweaked depending on the characteristics of a room - this may mess with your projection if it's in the same enclosure. And I'm worried a particularly lively sub might cause your DVD's to skip or rattle your HD. You may also encounter resonance problems with your enclosure - bass waves can really travel!

Other than that, sounds cool.

Go STEELERS!!!!!

GENE

The sub idea is a definite worry but I think it'll fly. I intend to heavily "vent" the subwoofer "enclosure" so as to avoid any resonance and wave constraint issues. As with so many things - the proof will be in the pudding. I've already set up and tested the sub and satellite speakers and even gone so far as to drop a wooden crate over the sub where it will (hopefully) ultimately be placed. So far, so good. Also, my coworker has done a lot of home-built speakers and he thinks what I have in mind should be okay. We'll see . . .

I'm pretty certain a 400W will be fine for me based on results of many other builders and my particular conditions in the room that will house my projector. I am going to wait for word on the new bulb Brainchild is working on of the FC2 style.

EDIT: FC2 has fallen through as of March 2006. Going with Lumenlab Ushio T15 Pulse Strike for now.

BTW: Didja check out the TWEAKS topic or just my lame plog?

For posterity I gotta record receipt of my pro kit today. Yeeeee-haaaaaa!!!

Unfortunately, yeah - there's ALWAYS a caveat - I just bought a hot tub and will be spending a few evenings installing that.

Wait a minute . . . now I must build a projector for outside too - right?!?!?

You mean...You have to ask?
Oh Dude!

Wife rules absolute.
Consensus among members
certainly can't hurt!

Outdoor hot tub + the ability to build a good projector = A definate NECESSITY for an outside PJ!!!

Besides, if you can afford to buy a hot tub, why wouldn't you make one for outdoors? Just keep it away from the water!

Now comes the 3/4" cabinet-grade, oak-faced plywood sheet(s). Thank goodness my neighbor works at a furniture manufacturing plant and can get me stuff at a good price! Heck, some of the stuff they send to the shredder at that place is enough to make me cry! They leave hardwood scraps out for firewood first-come, first-serve. The plywood scraps go to a MASSIVE shredder. Once the shredder broke and I got a few tons of scraps dumped in my field for firewood. It seemed a great idea at the time but it was a lot of work picking through and busting/cutting stuff to use for kindling in the woodstove. I got an unbelievable amount of pristine 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 inch maple, oak, and pine-faced cabinet-grade plywood scraps - some as big as 48 inches on one side and bigger. Mostly stuff 24 x 24 inches and smaller though. Still, a lot of good playthings for the shop.

Hey! Your first post here in MY plog! WELCOME DUDE!!!

What makes you think I have the ability to build anything? (Got everyone fooled I guess?)

Hmmmm . . . too bad it's a "HOT" tub. Could circulate the water to cool the projector! Wait, wait . . . maybe we're on to something here!?!?

Samsung SyncMaster 710n Strip

Proceed delicately & gently throughout!

Remove the monitor stand, any attached cables/cords, and then one screw to free up the plastic back cover.

Slide a couple of sandwiched credit cards along the dividing line between the front and back covers to separate (unsnap) them. You'll clearly hear and see them unsnapping.

Remove the rear cover.

Unplug the cable connecting the front bezel control assembly to the control circuit board and remove the front bezel (frame surrounding the panel). You'll have to pry open the connector to remove it.

Remove 4 side screws and 1 back screw (see pic) then remove the metal back.

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Untape cables & remove black plastic clips on backlight cables. Unplug control board connector. Remove 4 side screws and 3 back screws. Undercut the stickum holding the ferrite choke on the panel cable with an X-acto knife or similar (see pics).

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Remove the FFC cover. Pry open the locking tabs on the 3 sides away from the FFC cover and remove the metal frame from the panel. Fold FFC (CAREFULLY!!!) out of the way and remove the backlight assembly.

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Bob's your uncle! Tweren't that simple?

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Even though my projector ain't goin' so fast at least I've finally developed an avatar I can truly call my own. Whatcha think?

Took a bit longer than my whole lunch hour. Hmm . . . I wonder if I can smuggle my projector to work?

It's awesome Durachko. What program did you use to make it. I have avatar envy...I wanna make one.

MicroSoft Paint to create the smiley frames, projector elements (lens, lamp, LCD, mirror), and the "final" projector image. Then, I removed a couple of pixels at a time from the red, green, and white light rays to make the sequential frames of the movie. Adobe ImageReady to actually put together the animated gif and compress it. I don't know what's out there in terms of freeware/shareware for making animated gifs but there's likely something. Took me a little over a lunch hour and included several false starts getting things laid out to my satisfaction. At first, I'd just conceptualized the projector part but afterwards decided the smileys really added something. Glad you like it. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

So I have animated images disabled, because I find them annoying. When I saw this post yesterday, I thaught you were joking that drawing a smily took you a whole hour, or a thaught you were a little bit special.
Then in your last post i realized it was animated. that is some dedication to the forums.

Nah, more a dedication to screwing off at work!!!

Oh . . . I'm DEFINITELY "a little bit special"! That is TOO funny!!!

(And I do understand why some would find the animations annoying. I was chastised recently by pagercam [I think it was him] for using colored and boldface fonts - but I did deserve a little slap in truth. Ahhh . . . it's all in fun. Ain't worth gettin' yer panties in a knot. I enjoyed reading some topic very recently where a couple of members were going at it - it was about OfficeMax page magnifiers or somethin'. Geez . . .)

There is a program, freeware of course because thats all I use , that will animate several pics. I'll have to find it again; my pokemon doesn't seemed to excited.

What are you using for a media center program? Windows Media Center, MythTV, SnapStream? I use myHTPC, wanna know why? Cause its easy to use and doesn't dig in my pocket, I don't like things digging in my pocket .

If you needed some help with the HTPC build, I would gladly give a helping hand.

Here is the one. You have to have original jpgs or bmps as files. Made for digital cameras but you can just as easily use this for paint program pics. Just make sure all of the files have the same width and height dimensions.

Ummm . . . I think if my plog winds up exciting your "pokemon" my wife may get suspicious and/or jealous!

Haven't yet gotten a motherboard or processor. That'll come later in the year.

I will likely wind up using Windows Media Center. I have no television in my house so will have only a DVD/gaming projector for the foreseeable future.

I'll keep you in mind for advice on the HTPC thing. I'm a bit out-of-touch in that category.

I guess if your spending money on getting a new OS it would make sense to get a Media Center Version. I forgot about that.

With HTPCs, there are limitations, depending on what you want to use it for, especially with gaming. It depends on how much computer gaming you do and the choice of games.

I'll change my avatar if it comes to that. Koffing gets excited over a lot of things, he can't control himself.

there is no limitation in HTPCs for games. I can run just about any game anyone else can. My htpc runs the same components that every gaming pc could/does use. The OS is MCE, vs Home/Pro - But MCE IS Pro with a small networking protocol missing. For the average user, it IS Pro. Just pick the parts you want to run on your gaming system, and then install XP MCE, vs Pro/home and you'e fine.

I wish I could take credit for that phrase, but its from a funny funny man named Stephen Lynch.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004ZBE...v=glance&n=5174

Hes got some cd's out, but if you ever have a chance to see him live go for it.

Special Ed is a pretty funny song.

http://www.musicsonglyrics.com/S/stephenly...eciallyrics.htm

It depends on the case. If you want a HTPC case like I wanted, but wanted to through in a 7800GT, it doesn't work out well, cooling and applying enough wattage from the PSUs you have to work with. The benefits of a HTPC case are they look like a normal component in your armoir and they are small and quiet. If you have to through in extra cooling to make sure you components don't fry, then you get a tower case, otherwise it will be way to loud. I figured he wanted one of the HTPC cases. Granted my case isn't a HTPC case, though it does everything a HTPC can, I just have to hide it in a corner because it looks misplaced amongst the other components . I guess I should have rephrased it to your gaming needs are dependant more so on your case, than anything. Sorry for the bad word choice ricoks, I hate when my poor word choice and sentence structure cause confusion. Otherwise I definitely agree. By the way, what graphics card do you have? Im running a 6800GT myself, and it holds fairly well even with Call of Duty 2 with a bit of HDR.

MCE is just a frontend over XP Pro, and cheaper than XP Pro , like ricoks mentioned. If you already have an OS, I would go with either myHTPC or something that cost about $20, then you can save yourself about $100 for yourself .

Also look into Newegg.com for some ideas. They have some of the best prices around with unbeatable service. Thought there switch to UPS was rather disturbing, you still have the option to Fedex.

Okay, just about got everything ordered now. Coming together. Yippee!

On the downside, my neighbor got a new job so I'll have to pay a little more for my plywood - maybe. He's feuding with the old boss but claims he can still get me what I need from his old buddies at the factory.

Decided to shell out the $$$ for a hot mirror and forego the Lexan.

Bought a luxmeter on ebay as well.

Oh my, the next credit card statement is gonna land me in some very hot water with the better half.

Eh . . . I've never had much trouble with UPS as they seem to have their feces pretty much together just like FedEx. Of course, if I had to really choose one over the other I'd have to go with FedEx - no question. Besides, the blonde who delivers for FedEx almost always drops off my stuff at my neighbor's house and he's sweet on her and I'm sweet on his heated garage and son who'll tackle just about any job I don't want to do. God bless good neighbors!!!

Where did you get your hot mirror?

did u buy the cheap luxmeter that everyone buys

Going through bhphotovideo. [See first page of my PLOG. I just update that regularly so I don't wind up with an EPIC PLOG like that samuraij . . . errr . . . never mind!!! (Say, you don't happen to know where I can get one for free do you? Haven't ordered it yet. Contemplating waiting for the next credit card cycle to roll around. Hee, hee, hee.)]

Well. I WAS going to tell you where to get one for free but I dont want to be epic, so you will just have to SUFFAHHHHHH!

I'd guess that's the one. This:

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Whatsa' mattah' wit' it? Don't it woik?

I'm not concerned with accuracy so much as precision. My understanding of instruments of this type is that if you keep a fresh battery in it it should provide reasonably accurate readings with decent precision.

Any comments on it appreciated.

Went one step too far.
My foot resides in my mouth.
I apologize.

(Okay, come on man.
No one is listening now.
Where is this freebie?)

oh yeah im pretty sure it works. i was just wondering which one u got. i just took a wild guess. ill probably be getting thesame one .lol

Oh okaaayyyyyy. You know I cant resist the cute face...

Ready?

Check out your local TV/Electronics repair shop. A lot of the times they have bodies of tvs a such that arent worth fixing but contain good parts. A lot of the older projection tvs contain hot mirrors. You can also check with a copier repair shop and anyone who does AV.

By the way, nice Haiku....

I paid around $40 because I lack patience at times. With luck and persistence it looks like it may be had for more like $30. I also noticed Harbor Freight fairly recently (at least I don't recall seeing it in the distant past and I tend to sift through their ads pretty thoroughly) started carrying a luxmeter for around $40. It's not this same unit but another cheap one that's prevalent. Their 1/2 price sales can really rock. Just something to keep in mind. Good luck with whatever you get.

Awrrrr . . . shucks. Holy sheepskin! You tweren't joshin'! I'll be runnin' on down to the local shock-shops and contacting the salvage warehouse here on campus.Why thanks SJ!!! After penning the first one I did find that "step" and "foot" tied it all together rather elegantly.

Goodies!!!

Tore down an old growth chamber at work and scored some neat stuff.

Couple of heavy-duty Penn temperature switches. They max out @ 100 degrees Fahrenheit (~38 degrees Celsius). Would be nice if they went a bit higher - I suppose - but they'll do just fine. Selectable differential from 3 to 12 degrees Fahrenheit. Contacts rated 22 A @ 120 VAC. Both N.C. and N.O. terminal connections. Almost hate to cram them into my projector. Luckily I'm building BIG and will have plenty of room.

Also a nice thermometer I can mount remotely and use for temperature monitoring. Yeah, the new, high-tech L.E.D. stuff is nice, but there's something about an old-school, gauge-type thermometer that appeals to me. Gonna have to coil up and stuff all that pesky tubing going to the bulbs somewhere though. Oh well, that's the price one pays.

The sprockets and ladder chain I'll be using for my adjustable sled(s). (See this topic for more on them.)

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Also got to cut out most of my fresnel and LCD frames last night. 15 minutes here and 10 minutes there. At this rate I should be done in time to show off my projector to all my friends at the old folks home!

that is what i need to do. i need to get some kind of temperature

I use a meat thermometer to monitor my temperature.They're like $2.00 at wal-mart.The thermostat is alot nicer though.I'm going to hook one up eventually.

Was cleaning up the workbench and as I started to carry the monitor back to the garage scrap metal pile I thought - Hey, why not use this as the back of my lightgate?

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Then, as I stared at the rest of my pile of "trash", I began seeing things in a new light.

This old ATX power supply case along with some springs, washers, nuts, bolts, etc. became a pro reflector holder. Still requires some trimming and rigging to make it X-Y axis adjustable and mount it to the monitor back panel above but the springs and bolts currently holding the muffin fan guard will give me plenty of Z axis motion.

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My journey continues . . .

Just noticed something I found rather cool. Check out how when I photographed the pro reflector from the "front" there was a circular area where it cutoff from reflecting to being able to see through it.

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Just something I stumbled upon and figured I'd stick here for my own reference.

Standard and Wide Screen Resolutions Chart:

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Hmmmm . . . I'm afraid the new Hot Tub is cutting into the time I should be spending on my projector. Since I have so little to show in the way of progress on that front I figured maybe I could make maybe at least one person envious over this decadent luxury. It was somewhere in the single digits (Fahrenheit) on the day of this picture. Gonna move the tub this summer after digging out a spot, pouring a slab, and building a retaining wall. Nothing like a cold, starry night in the tub followed by a bourbon and a good book.

Watched "The Jacket" last night on my laptop whilst trying to make my brain think it was watching the movie on a big screen with my projector humming merrily along beside me. Just not the same.

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More tubbies instead of screenies.

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Durachko,
I just want to say how proud I am of you.
Overcoming your fear of water like that is truly an astounding feat. ..and taking one for the team!
I mean every bell curve has to have an extreme and you just stepped right up to the plate and accepted it.

And to hear that your further intend to introduce toxins into your body and embrace the printed page while exposing yourself to the dangerous summer sky?

You are inspiring!


( Now Im jealous so I will have to go build one....)

You know, if you took those pictures with a zoom lens, they would be "Tele-tubbies"...

Gee . . . you remembered! But IIRC I did specify "large" bodies of water - didn't I? I must admit - when we filled the tub the water was so murky I couldn't see the bottom and refused to go in. Never know what might be in there!

Dunh-dunh . . . dunh-dunh . . . dunh-dunh dunh-dunh dunh-dunh dunh-dunh. Name that tune and we'll forget that Snickers you sort-of-kind-of-well-not-really-at-all owe me.

Im thinking "Jaws"...

Give that man a Snickers!!!!!!!!

Not hard at all though - right? I'll see if I can come up with a real stumper sometime.

Perhaps something cerebral and high-brow like why are they called Tea Towels!

Didnt see YOUR answer in there, now did we?

Man thats a pretty large backyard which State are you from?