Did so, did so, did so. Nyah, nyah, nyah-nyah, nyah.

Just because it was a totally inane answer don't mean it weren't there.

Jimminy Crickets man I think it was the FIRST non-answer in that thread.

You #*&%^$ meanie you!

Hunh, I just went and checked. It WAS the first totally wrong not-even-an-answer-at-all answer.

See here.

And I just ate the Snickers I was saving for you!

Hey DM: I like yer projector. I'm smack-dab in the middle of PA and sittin' on 120+ acres and tryin' like a madman to buy more. Two years ago we could see only one old farmhouse and barn a few thousand feet away. We'd sit on the porch and raise our eyebrows when a car would pass by (again a few thousand feet from the house). Now, I can no longer shoot at varmints in any direction without risking a lawsuit but it's still fairly wild and wooly hereabouts. Old man Anderson - a.k.a. The Turnip Man - kicked the bucket and his family commenced to feudin' and wound up selling out to a freaking developer. The sad part is the developer only paid a coupla thousand more than a local farmer offered. The rest is history. Now I can't drive home without a pimply faced teenager pushing me from behind with his/her pimped-out ride complete with ground effects, neon, and spoiler the size of a barn door. Now we raise our eyebrows if we don't see a car passing for longer than 5 minutes. Nothing blood pressure medication, a hot tub, and bourbon can't cure though.

Durachko,

Maybe you could get a few lobbyists to work on the local government there to make teenage pimped rides and land developers illegal...works for everything else in this state...

You gave a "reply" not an "answer".......nyah nyah nnnyyyyyaaaahhhhhhhhh!
( heheheheheeeee....) We better stop this before its gets too insane...

You ate my snickers? Thats it! Now Im not coming to PA to watch your manhood water /alcohol immersion ceremony!

Well space is important and it still looks like you've got alot. The hot-tub thing is an added perk

Durachko... until i saw your hat I thought your name was just something unique you came up with... the hat in the hot tum confirmed it for me though. Zhayete ruski yazik? molodetz, bce u vac delali ochen krouto!

Great idea but I shoot politicians AND lobbyists as soon as they are in range!

How could I possibly make that name up?

Apparently it was Duraka (or similar - unknown) then Durachka then Durachko. My grandparents always spoke slovak. Sadly, I've retained almost none of what little I learned in the way of that language and they have long since passed away.

So, you gonna give me the translation or do I have to phone my aunt?

no biggie, i just said you know russian? all of the stuff you've made is cool... I'm just learning so I didn't have too much to say.

Odd. I did a Russian to English translation via the web and it didn't work??? I probably just screwed it up somehow.

You're one of many people who've pointed out to me the Russian-like quality of my name. Someone even told me once what it supposedly meant but I've long since forgotten.

I've decided to scrap the idea of using my monitor backplate as the back of a lightgate. Verdict: bad idea.

Instead I'm building a 6 deep x 8 x 16 inch steel lightgate. Putting a hot mirror within the plane of the lightgate output side. The hot mirror will be suspended in such a way that air will flow freely around it and escape through the rectangular output iris. I plan to use two 12VDC 85 mm fans blowing into the box from the bottom. My build is a vertical by the way. I will provide for airflow adjustment in the way of two additional adjustable vents near the top of the box probably also on the iris plane.

Are there any obvious flaws with this idea?

One thought I had was that if the hot mirror has space between its upper surface and the lower surface of the iris there may be some reflection problems at the periphery of the hot mirror. I really doubt that's going to be an issue though. Everything will be painted with flat black high temperature paint of course.

I'm right now fiddling with some 3D CAD software to try to get an image of my idea posted.

Oh yeah, is there a consensus as to whether to have the bulb oriented vertically or horizontally with respect to the projected image plane? And, is there a consensus as to how to orient the bulb rotationally along its long axis again with respect to the projected image plane? In other words, where's the best place to keep the little nubby on the arc tube and/or the glass coated rod that spans the arc tube? (This is a Lumenlab T15 Pulse Strike I'm talkin' 'bout here.)

Edit: Answers to the two questions above may be found in my tweaks topic. See my signature line.

Here's what I have in mind. This is pretty much to scale but not exact. The extra vent holes I mentioned are not included nor are the various holders and adjusters which will be included.

Click to view attachment

Durak - means fool, Durachko would be a diminutive derivative of durak, something like goofball for lack of a direct translation.

Well, I'm glad we cleared THAT up! Explains a heck of a lot actually. Fool is a wee bit harsh but I'm happy as all get-out with goofball and it describes our entire family quite nicely.

(Now how do I change my Lumenlab username?)

Okay tovarishrob - help me out a little here. I just remembered a Russian gal who used to work in our lab said Durachka (or similar) meant - roughly translated - "cute boy" or "boy who a girl has a crush on" or something like that. There's another Russian woman working there still (both were named Tanya) and when this one Tanya used to say my name to the other Tanya she was confused because the other one didn't know my name at that time and thought Tanya #1 was referring to me as though I were her boyfriend when she used my last name. While I cannot contest durak means "the fool" I'm grasping at straws here trying to save face. Of course, this same girl also was incredulous when I poured her a shot at our Christmas party. She looked at it and said "That is not a shot. A shot is around 100 milliliters." Hmmmmm . . .



Is my desparation showing here?

Its okay, my first name in real life means "diffident", but is also means "bright star"...

Actually to be called a fool is not really an insult. If you look closely at the great works of literature you will see the fool as the one in the room who can tell the truth without being hurt and is often used to bring matters to light that might otherwise be skipped over. The fool is a character who is honest to a fault and often seen as the one person in the room who can be counted on to lay it all out. A man at the beginning of the great journey of the hero, the fool is innocent but endowed with the capacity for insight. Properly cultured, this insight often turn to mysticism or a trancendant figure. In my family to call someone a fool is to say that they have not decided which path in life to take. They are an "uncarved block" or a "tabula resa".

You may also wish to look at it in terms of variants of the meaning. Fool can also be translated in to Trickster. Loki, Coyote, Hermes were all Tricksters. Not bad company if you really think about it.

Be proud of your name. It may have a few negative connotations, but mostly it speaks of great potential. Which you have shown.

SJ.

So can I change my mind and come to your water immersion/bourbon ceremony?

This is his self portrait, maybe the name does fit

Click to view attachment

Knew that would come back to haunt me someday.

So, pagercam, what's the answer to the quiz question in my self-portrait?

BTW: Can you imagine a lion sneaking up on me and poising itself for the attack only to turn in fright when it saw what it was actually thinking about eating? That outfit must work as I've never once been attacked by a lion in all my years of wandering the forests of PA!

I shudder to think that you might be wearing a thong in that picture...
( congrats on your teams recognition!)

SJ

Hey, I got a thang fer thongs!

Anyway, if it's good enough for The Shaq - it's good enough for The Durak.

Funny how slowly the journalistic wheels can turn. Our PI got that award MONTHS ago and it's just now hittin' the presses.

Now if I were caught fondling Mr. Shawley's draft horses I'd be front page the next day and the AP would have it all over the country before I could even get the horse dung scraped off my clod-hoppers.

Look what I just found in my email. Coincidence? I think not.

http://www.mrcomputerservices.com/DancingHippo.htm

A little progress on the lightgate.

The lamp will be mounted on a plate allowing for rotational (about the lamp's long axis), tilt (a few degrees), and x, y, and z-axis adjustment about a defined lightgate centerpoint. I'll allow for something like +/- 1/4 inch adjustment from the nominal centerpoint for tweaking and alignment. You can see how I allowed for rotational adjustment by examining the picture. Loosening the two screws pictured will free up the mogul to rotate within/upon the plate. The three holes will allow for tilt adjustment by way of compression springs similar to my pro reflector mount higher up in this plog. Rotational and tilt alignment should only be necessary during relamping so I won't pay particular attention to making those terribly accessible or convenient.

Click to view attachment

This is the back of my lightgate. The large holes are for dual cooling fans. The sled with the arrows will be adjustable from outside the lightgate via some all-thread. Not pictured is the assembly holding the pro reflector (see higher up in this plog) which will ride on the sled.

Click to view attachment

The lightgate is being made from scrap shelving.

Gut Buster!
BTW
Plans look great!

Nixed the idea of making the lamp itself x, y, & z axis adjustable within the lightgate. Not only overkill but better achieved through a much simpler means on my particular build. The lamp will retain a tad of adjustability via the 3 point compression spring plate mount anyway. Now I may more rapidly move on to finishing up the lightgate and building the main, wooden enclosure.

She probably has a crush on you, using a diminutive form is a sign of familiarity and intimacy even if the word means goofball. A strictly professional relationship would not use such nicknames and hence the other lady's confusion. as for the translation meaning 'cute little...' that is the result of the diminutive nature of the '...chko' the precise literal meaning would be cute little fool but in a fond way... goofball in my mind better captivates the meaning. Just my 2 cents.

Where else but Lumenlab might one become schooled in the intricacies of a foreign language whilst building the DIY project of a lifetime?

Oh yeah...that fits!

Who could resist a face like this?

You think the FACE is bad? Check this :

Click to view attachment

This is On Topic because of the shirt.

Awwwwww! Thats SO CUTE! You both got the same tattoo!


(ROTFLMAO!)

Lightgate coming together. I've been considering a few minor design options and it works for me to just think about stuff awhile and then start cutting, threading, and fitting and to allow the chips to fall where they may. Here's where I am:

Pro reflector adjustable in 3 dimensions. X and Y axes (red arrows) allow for roughly 1/2" of total travel about a defined lightgate centerpoint are are adjustable remotely from outside the sealed lightgate. Z axis (up and down into the workbench) is adjustable roughly 1/2" as well but may be accessible only when the lightgate is partially disassembled depending on what I do in the way of a hot mirror/IR filter. I'm currently pursuing two options along those lines.

All components have not yet been painted. The two holes are for cooling fans. The hot air will be simply pushed out the iris and around the hot mirror if I wind up with one inside the confines of the lightgate. I've calculated the input and output areas and I think all will be well. I will monitor temperatures inside the box while testing it and throttle the fans down if possible.

I have some minor concerns about the fans being exposed to some harsh conditions but I consider them expendable and easily maintained/replaced items. Light leaks back through the fans shouldn't be an issue for my design.

Click to view attachment

Here's the outside mogul end of the lightgate. The mogul is mounted on a plate allowing for a sufficient amount of tilt adjustment and what I'll call Z-axis adjustment along the long axis of the lamp. The mogul is rotationally adjustable by loosening the two screws within the confines of the red circular arrow. The four screws with captive washers allow for roughly 3/8" X and Y axis adjustment of the mogul. You can see the oversized holes those screws ride in as a little crescent moon shape to the bottom left of the two straight red arrows. I probably will make some kind of light baffle for this relatively large hole eventually but the way I'm designing it may work fine to just leave it open.

Click to view attachment

A little more detail on the mogul tilt and Z-axis adjustment.

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And a pic of the partially assembled reflector sled adjuster assembly. I gotta use my good camera more but these pics ain't too terrible. See ya later . . .

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Wow, that looks awesome. I wish I had the tools to use metal in my projector, because that is very cool

Actually, the only really "fancy" tool I used was a really cheap benchtop metal-cutting bandsaw albeit with a VERY good industrial blade in it supplied by my buddies Dad. He's making one for my home bandsaw soon. Err - and I cheated a little and used a monster brake in a shop where I work to make some bends but they weren't truly essential and I could've done without. A few taps, a pop rivet gun, and a pair of nibblers did most everything else. It is nice to be able to avoid wood near the lamp but plenty of people are doing it so that's cool too. The great thing about this group is how everyone has their own little twist on everything. Your projector is looking great BTW!!!

Thanks so much for the compliments =). So is yours! It was kind of difficult for me, the only tools I had to work with were:

Drill
Jigsaw
Sander

My high school does not have any type of a shop, either.... So I had to be a bit "creative" in my design

Nick

I've got a 4 year old son. When I went to high school shop class rocked. I don't even know if they provide such instruction any more. In any case, I hope to have my son sufficiently learned by the time he gets to high school that he'll be able to show the shop teacher a thing or two if such a teacher still exists at that time!

I also remember our first woodshop project. Take a piece of rough lumber and using only a square and hand plane make a perfectly square piece of planed stock. I think just about everyone wound up with a pile of shavings and a freakin' toothpick!!!

And now, just last year my cousin's boy got in SERIOUS trouble because he had a penknife at school.

My mother-in-law had her cuticle scissors confiscated while getting on a flight.

What has the world come to?

its the ( pardon my french ) pussification of america....

Here. Here i second that!!

Yep,same over here too!!

Forgot to mention - although from the pics it's obvious - I'm set up for two 12V fans and the plan is to throttle them down by running in series or with dropping resistors after empirically determining the temperature characteristics of my build - any comments on that? Is there an optimum temperature to try to hit with the T15 Pulse Strike? I have a point-and-read temperature gizmo and some other nifty digital thermal probe equipment so I should be able to get plenty of thermal info on the lightgate.

Digital Camera Info

Canon PowerShot S30

Standard camera setting info (these are the settings I always use for comparison photos):

• distance from screen
• shutter speed
• aperature
• ???

I also carry around a Samsung Digimax 201 with me basically all the time. I bought it to mount to an R/C plane to take aerial pics and movies. The lower quality pics in my plog were probably taken with the Samsung.

(Thought I'd tuck this in so I don't forget to standardize my picture taking when the time comes.)

Finally reached the point where I could fire my lamp. Simple benchtop test with a ratty piece of cloth positioned an appropriate distance from the lightgate iris and having a black rectangle scrawled upon it of the dimensions of my LCD. Pictures, pictures, pictures . . .

Ready to fire.

Click to view attachment

Projected light after only a few minutes burning.

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For a complete thumbnail gallery of full-size images click here.

The iris consisted of simply a piece of aluminum foil with a rectangle cut into it. This was to help me design my actual adjustable iris. A proof-of-concept test.

The box remained very, very cool everywhere except next to the arc just as you'd expect. I'm probably going to put a couple of standoff plates inside the box at those spots to keep it all touchable. It was only a little over 100 degrees Fahrenheit so no big deal anyway but I can easily put in the heat baffles.

A temperature probe placed in the plane of the iris only got up to a little over 100 degrees Fahrenheit as well so it's staying nice and cool.

I shot these pics of the arc offhand through a welding helmet and figured I'd post them too since I just like 'em so much.

Click to view attachment

Now how'd them dang boogers get on there!?!?

Click to view attachment

I like the pictures. Very "Eye" like.
How is the noise with the two fans? Did you wire them in tandem or each seperate?

I have an Iris design that I have been playing with. Its yours if you want it.

SJ.

Since this was just a first test and AFTER my bedtime I kept my burn-in to only 2 hours and wired the fans in parallel so they were whirring along quite noisily. I'll play with throttling them later.

I shot a video with my Canon intending to let people "hear" the box but there's some saturation-oscillation issue with shooting video of the lamp. Weird pulsing effect. Also, the dirty cheesecloth (?) waved beautifully in the breeze created by those two fans! It almost lulled me to sleep. Daylight savings change and spent ALL day outside cutting brush and pulling winter weeds. How do those friggin' plants seem to grow roots all winter right where you don't want them?!?! :angry:

I'd love to see your new iris idea!!! PM me? I was going to do something quite simple with four independent sliding metal plates.

I wanted to set up a better "screen" for my test but just didn't take the time. Still not sure just how I'll adjust the borders of the projected light with respect to the rear fresnel. I mean, I've gotta allow a bit of overspill - yeah?

The IRIS is based on the 4x3 projection area. I will see if I can whip up a quick electronic drawing of it. Four independant sliding metal plates? You mean Like this?

Dude your lightbox Rocks! Very nice work, I am looking forwaed to seeing it in action.
BTW
Love your tips and tricks!

Preeeeeeeeeeee-cisely! Well . . . the same, but different. I ain't breakin' much new ground here brother. I'm walking in the footprints of giants.

Thanks and thanks and thanks. I'm getting a little excited at this point. I hope I can keep some momentum going.