Awwwrrrrr . . . gawrsh . . . shucks. You and me both. You and me both!

Psssst: Don't forget to read SamuraJack's ENTIRE plog as well. It's a real treat. Just call in sick to work someday week.

Yeah, Ive been negotiating with Reader's Digest to turn it into a smaller novel....

readers digest condensed version:
"I work with computers. I built a really cool looking thing to watch movies with.Then the lesbians moved in."
no wonder they sell millions of those..

do they actually still do condensed books?

Dunno, but I decided to get my eyes checked since I just turned 45 and I don't think anyone's prodded them since college days or thereabouts. They did the whole 9 yards including the eye drops that make your pupils look like something that'd attract the immediate attention of Stephen Hawking. Anyway, they had a Reader's Digest large print version there. GEEZ!!! It's like this:

Once upon a time . . .

Well, Santa's just around the corner.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all you members out there!!!

Yer a great bunch to hang with.

Oh . . . and Happy Holidays to any secular lurkers I guess.

Merry Christmas to you!
Maybe Santa will bring you some time in a bottle so you can work on your PJ!

Or, may he bring you a bottle some time... I'm wrapping my teeth around a bourbon right now!

Merry Xmas to all, and thanks for your help so far.

[edit - bourbon induced gramatiminical error. Spelling shot too]

I'll tip back a bourbon to everyone during the holidays as well.

Santa took my wife and son away so I could work on my projector.

Here's a coupla' pics.

Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

The ballast will be actively cooled by a voltage throttled standard computer case fan (sitting askance in the pic). The subwoofer will be isolated from the enclosure and ports with speaker cloth will be cut into the enclosure. The big open rectangle will be the cooling air intake and will be covered by a filter. The panels missing in the picture will have upon them my HTPC (above subwoofer) and the lightbox (on another adjustable panel). There'll be a tunnel enclosing the ballast.

More as more happens . . .

Good to see you back in the saddle.

I was going to generally run 2x12V fans with the ballast hanging somewhere in the breeze, but I'm pretty much decided to actively cool my reflector so I can move it very close to the lamp, which means I'll be drawing the hot lamp air through to the back end too. I'm therefore thinking I'll isolate my ballast heatwise and specifically cool it with the 2nd fan ie basically put it in a tube with fresh air in one end and the fan in the other.

Don't worry. It won't last long.

A little more work done. It's said slow and steady wins the race but I'm just slow so destined to reside in loserville forever.

Filter:Click to view attachment

Another pic of ballast wiring:Click to view attachment

The ballast cooling tunnel (Note the sleek, aerodynamic plastic cut from a pretzel jug and stuck in place with copious amounts of hot glue.):

Click to view attachment

The cooling fan is well-isolated from the enclosure with sloppily fabricated custom isolation mounting screws and some closed cell foam; otherwise it's a New Year's Eve party noisemaker.

I hope to slam this base together whilst I still have solo time at home. Gonna be close . . .

we begin to see the light! good to see some progress, Go Durachko Go.

Amen, brother

You gonna share that or eat it all yourself? <oink, oink>

Edit: It was either type that or say "Young man - I trust you brought enough for everyone!!!"

I pick up the family tomorrow. Gonna try to get a few more minutes of work in now and early tomorrow morning.

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock . . .

Hell no! I stood in line for this show since it was first anounced. I'm not budging from my seat even for a piss.


Regards to you family 'D' and Happy New Years!

Yer gonna pee yer knickers Sim. Much happy stuff back at you too.

Now, the final results (weeelllll . . . maybe I'll do a teeny bit tomorrow morning) before terminating my temporary bachelorhood.

Moving platform for lightgate™*:Click to view attachment

Oooooooo . . . piggy's back.

Close-up of sprocket and ladder chain FINALLY put to use:Click to view attachment

Notice all the sawdust I got on the clean side of my air filter.

The lightgate™ gets its first ride:Click to view attachment

I guess that means it ain't a virgin no more?

The adjusters work great. I'd go so far as to say better than I expected. Surely beats the hell out of individual nuts on all-thread.

Final tweaking will be a . . . well, if not a pleasure then at least less of a pain.

The initial test will be with the long axis of the lamp arc parallel to the short axis of the panel in homage to you-know-who.

You may have noticed I made two chain access cutouts for ease of adjustment later should I reorient the platform to reorient the lamp long axis a la above statement.

The platform is drilled so it can be rotated 90° no problem . . . theoretically.

*TradeMark SamuraiJack

This solution for z-axis linear translation is truly inspired. Great great work.

It may have taken you a while to arive at this point but you have done an excellent job so far. we are not in a race here and making something over because you are in a hurry wastes more time than it saves.

D, great idea on the sprocket/chain design. I looked back in your thread and couldn't find any details on where and type. Can you provide some info? I'm guessing your manually turning the screws by pulling the chain from the open areas, correct?

Thanks to all for positive comments.

Sim: Check the first post in this plog. I have the ladder chain & sprockets hyperlink indexed™*.
Yes, turning manually BUTT <- (big butt) I'd really love to automate it with a motor. (The challenge has been made. Who'll do it first?)

*TradeMark Durachko

Can you provide more detailed photos of the sprocket and chain Z-axis mechanism? It's just such a cool design I'd like to see more of it. Thanks.

What do you have in mind? It's just a threaded sprocket and I put a washer on top for a bearing surface. The ladder chain is incredibly easy to size using only a couple of pairs of needle nose pliers. I drilled and tapped the plywood frame and screwed the all-thread into it and I may anchor it with some CA glue ultimately. Did you see the movie way up in this plog of tapping the sprockets? It also includes some footage of spinning a sprocket with some ladder chain. I'll try to accommodate if you let me know precisely what you wish to see.

Found the video. Thanks!

Well, the intermissions are really long, but I am lovin the show!
Got my popcorn, got a big soda, feet up on the balcony...I bought box seats for this show!

So what you got in store for act 2? The first act looks very nice!

Samuraijack

I couldn't agree with SJ more (except that I've got bourbon plugged into my soda, just for a change mind you). Truly elegant work. A few of you boys who have done it large from the engineering perspective have got me thinking hard about a P2.

I'll get this basic one up and running and learn what I can from it. Then I might just have to save up for a mill and a lathe and do some serious stuff. Autoclave too, for the carbon monocoque Dang - just dribbled bourbon onto the keyboard while stretching my brain around the possibilities.

Durachko, the next step is to work out how to show off these great internal works to your adoring public. I suggested somewhere else using the material used for auto-darkening welding helmets...

How hot does your light box get and how how many CFM are each of your fans? Because I plan on trying to use one fan, blowing from the end of the light box with a exhaust port on the opsite end venting to outsie the pj. I have a hot mirror like yours except I'm going use it to seal against the top of the box so all the hot air is vented to outside the pj. Then use a second fan to draw air accross the lcd to keep it cool. Ive got a 120mm case fan but I don't think it has enough CFM to keep the light box temp to a reasonable range.
Do you use all the 6 inch height of your box with the pre-condensor installed in your box. The reason I ask is because in I've built the bottom of my box with the the pro reflector mount and the HQI TS 400W W/D bulb installed and the top of the bulb is a long way from the six inch height the sides will make the box when I add them. I want to make my box tall enough in case I want to add a pre-condenser later on after I mess with the current set up. Just how thick is the pre-condenser at its thickest and how far from your lamp?

ps. I don't know how people can can mix bourbon with anything but ice and drink it with out getting sick. The only mix drinks I can stand are vodka and tomato juice with a shot of hot sauce but I prefer my vodka straight and ice cold from the icebox. There is one sweat mixed drink that I like, Its called a Slow Screw you mix slow gin and orange juice.

I'll consider your request fulfilled. High praise from on high. I'm blushing.
Good things come to those who wait. (And you guys may be waiting a l--o--n--g time for further advances!)
Right now I'm pondering the "second story" of my projector "tower".
Stick rules and masking tape with notes scribbled on it are clamped/stuck to my base so I can get a feel for what's goin' where.Wow!! More power to you dude!!!<Groan> You're just trying to set me back another couple of years from my finish point aren't you?!?! Some of your questions are answered in my plog but I'll say this: My light box exits air well over 100°F in temp IIRC. I think your design will work with just the one fan; however, multiple fans throttled down in speed will move as much or more air whilst making less noise IMHO. My precon is approximately 1.25" thick and it sits approximately a half inch from the outer glass envelope of my particular lamp. All these things are open to tweaking later on. I took my cue for starting positions from DAZZZLA's plog/setup. I spend a good deal of time thinking about how NOT to build myself into a corner. I want as many options open to me in the future as possible. That's making for a rather large build though - so, my methodry ain't for everyone.
I don't care how anyone else mixes their drinks so long as they're happy while guzzlin' 'em. As for me, I'm flexible. I can drink bourbon straight up, on the rocks, mixed, you name it. Depends on my mood and how much of a hurry I'm in. I like trying new drinks too. I once had something from a neighbor in an apartment next door which IIRC he called a "Bay Breeze". It was yummy but I didn't like retasting it multiple times that morning hanging off my deck railing.

There is an economical (read: hella cheaper than Beam... ) bourbon called Kessler that mixes so well with coke that the coke actually seems smoother. I'm not much of a *+coke (fill in the blank) drinker, but that stuff is good. Actually a great piece of advice from the guy running the liquor store.

Later!

The last time I went through this was with a drink called Dirty Bong Water. I hadn't been good and wasted in like a year, and my buddy got me doing shots off of an ice block......

Bad night starts in 5....4....3....2....1.....

I ended up with small red spots under my eye from popped blood vessels due to muscle strain from massive vomiting.

All in all, it's a fun one to talk about, though.

Later!

Has anybody ever noticed that tequila taste the same coming up as it did when it was going down.

Not sure - usually too far gone to remember by that stage. Long time since I've had tequila though. But I digress. My main point is - what a bunch of shameless drunks y'all are. Disgusting behaviour

The only time I feel shame is when I think to myself; "Awwwww, were out of beer! What a shame..."

SJ, your Bushido powers of elemental timing do you great credit. I was just opening your post as I took the last gulp from the last can of Cougar and Cola I had in the fridge. Not too much of a shame really, as it is bedtime over here and I'm usually in the office by 6.30 in the am; and at such time the head is required to be in a remarkable state of clarity. Well, remarkable for one such as me, who has not revisited his Ninpo training in at least 25 years.

Hmmm . . . Kessler huh? Not familiar with that. I'm due a run to the licky stoh. Perhaps I'll give that stuff a shot. I haven't had a *+coke in recent memory. I've had a few *+coke runs throughout my life and it feels right for a revisit.

We have a spot up in our woods we cleared many years ago. When we first moved out to our place we had a helluva bonfire up there one night. Back then one car passing our place was cause for great interest. So, we're up there with the fire and night is full upon us. Suddenly we hear sirens - many sirens - in the distance. They grow closer and closer and then we see the flashing red lights about a mile away on the road. A real convoy of pickups. It was quite the lovely sight. We look at each other and say "Jeez, must be a fire someplace down the road." The lights vanish below the horizon and things become strangely silent. Ten or fifteen minutes later our neighbor - the fire warden - comes huffing and puffing up through the woods.

"Howdy Jay. What's up?"

"Hmmmf . . . looks like things are plenty under control here. How 'bout you call in yer next bonfire?"

"Sure. G'night."

Not long after we heard we were actually up there dancing around the fire clad in white sheets.

It's been interesting.

Hmmmmm....All out of virgins, eh?

This is too funny. I live ~almost~ that far out for the next week and a half. And, it figures that on this forum, with the brilliant and creative people that are here, the first piece of relevant advice I offer is about a mixed drink........

Well, every bit helps, I suppose.

Hope you enjoy the drink!

Later!

Ah, yeah, VA? Let the bad jokes begin!!! Of course there's always West VA.

Thats the place where the family trees only have one branch, right?

Nope...no branches...just straight, contiguous lines!

I'm so glad you're back at it D! I haven't laughed this hard since the last time I read SJ's plog.

Yeah, I live that far out in VA. But, I live like 80 miles from Washington, D.C. So, I have the boonies, and can get to a metropolis in relatively little time. When the D.C Sniper thing was going on, my neighbors were wishing they would come out here. Had they done so, they would have been SERIOUSLY outgunned. There is a 4,000 acre hunting club immediately behind my property. My house will be for sale on the 13th, if anyone is relocating to the Fredericksburg / Northern Virginia area, and looking for "country living". (Small plug there. ^^)

The link below will take you to my (projectless) plog, where an image is linked in. The explanation of the image is there.

http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?s...st&p=187303

That's how I claim boonies status.

West Virginia, however, is about three hours from here. *hears banjos quietly in the distance*

Later!

I remember that dang sniper thing. Got a buddy living down there and he was at a gas station where one of the victims was shot not long prior to the incident. The whole time he was nervous as hell walking his dogs.

hey big D...gave your crossed lamps idea a shot, just a quick one, but I think the shadow of the front lamp is too visible and since one lamp is ahead of the FL of the fresnel and one behind, the blue/brown fringe effect makes the corners and edges too uneven looking... this was with a big lcd(19" widescreen) and a 220/650/pro combo... I may try it with a 15" lcd(better vingetting to start with) and a 330/330 combo(again, better vignetting so in and out of focus should be less sensitive to the fringes)...but my gut feeling from looking at it is probably not workable..but you never know..I'll give that setup a shot in a week or so...

Funny, I was just over in your plog cheering your effort with the crossed lamps.

Over time I'm coming slowly to grips with all these little quirks (like the blue/brown fringe) and more and more I'm thinking although some combinatorial system (multiple lamps) may be great the simple method of crossing them will indeed likely cause unsurmountable projection artifacts.

Good for you if you have a go with dual 330's though. Surprises do happen.

yeah, you never know, the 220 rear has very little flexibility for lamp placement I've discovered - which I think gets worse as the lcd gets larger...looking at this new 10.6 inch 1280x768 lcd going around is pretty intriguing...a smaller lcd has more potential for new lamp setups I think

Did a kind of mock-up of my system using a stick rule with approximate positions of sled, triplet, and lamp marked with masking tape so I could get a feel for whether this thing's really gonna work out the way I expected. I did get a couple of surprises and modified the way I was gonna cut out my removeable side panels so it's a good thing I did this. Cut out the side panels last night and the next step is to start getting the upper level of this two-story beast assembled. I may need to buy a hydraulic skid jack to move this thing around in my basement.

A coupla' pics for your viewing pleasure.

Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Are you going to have room to get all the wires pluged into the back of the PC? It might be just as easy to bail the box and just mount the MB to the bottom.

W-a-y more than enough room. Thanks for the suggestion though.

I actually did consider building-in the HTPC components but nixed the idea after some thought and figuring out just how much room I'd have.

Before you finish that stately tower, you should put some electric motors and gear dives in there to make it easy to move....You could store it in a closet, drive it out...
RC Projector....

So far it all looks very good, so Im thinking the end result will be too. Any plans on how you will finish the outside?

SamuraiJack

Ahhhh . . . there's the rub. Undecided and vacillating at present.

Open to any and all suggestions.