I'm guessing that this affliction has affected nearly EVERY builder here. I, for example, haven't even plugged in a saw, or turned a screwdriver, and have been thinking for almost a year now. I sincerely hope that my build goes faster than my thinking, when I get to it. I mean, geesh, SJ had to think for what, 5 years before he even built his stand!

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger here.

Later!

Dang but I've amazed myself by making more progress this weekend.

Power strip attached. Note subwoofer hole.

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Adding sled support frame to anchor z-axis adjusters.

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Another view.

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Sled in place for a test ride.

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NN: If you're watching I may have to bump up yer schedule!!!

Awesome to see the big pieces coming together

Are you comfortable to give ETA for a test image yet?

"Tesh talk" is gettin deep here...


DC Looks very nice! Cant wait to see some nice images come from your beastie...

Talk about multi-tasking! Playing in the hot tub and STILL working on the PJ!!

Must be that the local store is out of lime Jello??

Could be worse.....at least its not "Tush Talk"
Wonder if that means he's talking out his........

Sure . . . sometime before I die . . . maybe.

Seriously, I think it'll still be a coupla' weeks 'cause I wanna make a nice, finely-adjustable mirror mount.I feel guilty anytime I go to bed without having had a dip in the tub. After all, it's such a decadent thing to have. <Oh, I rarely feel guilty.> Rem's got me pegged better than anyone else.

Durachko, very happy to see the progress on your PJ. I just joined the forums a little while ago, but have read through the majority of the posts in your plog. Yes, no life i know...actually its because its in the middle of exams at school, nothing better to do...what...study? don't be absurd! Anywho, very curious to see how your PJ turns out in the end, as Im planning to do a 17" vertical as well.

Keepin a close eye of your plog in the future!

Unless you're a "returning student" <euphemism for old fart going back to college> you may just live to see my projector finished!!!

Thanks for stopping by.

You just made me remember how little I studied in college. Don't know how I squeeked by. Still, gainfully employed and living large . . . at least by my (rather low) standards.

Kidding!!! Kidding!!!

Study???? Who needs to study??

Remdaddy
"Lauda Whoda Thoughta" Graduate with Honors.

Durachko your still building with out a piece of lexan under your bottom fresnel depending on the hot mirror to block UV and IF ?

Yessir - no Lexan. I firmly believe a hot mirror to be a dandy investment. I follow that statement up with my trademark butt-covering remark that others have taken paths highly divergent from mine without much in the way of apparent deleterious results.

What's another $4.09 when I've already sunk around $10,000,000.00 into this baby?

Sled return springs 'n nuts and mirror adjustment mechanism springs 'n nylon screws. (You'll see.)

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Another boneyard score - buttons and LED's for my HTPC to be incorporated into a custom control panel.

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I like to see lots of pictures of your mirror mount because I need to borrow a good idea for my mirror mount.





If pigs start flying I'm getting a umbrella, as it is the dam birds use me for target practice.

Check the current end of rearden's plog <here> as I just described it to him a bit. I may get some work done on it this weekend and if so I'll post some pics. I think it's a good idea but I've been proven wrong on my ideas many times. That's considered good luck - being crapped upon by a bird - in the circles I frequent. Yah, I have a really odd family.

In all seriousness I think that's a largely held superstition . . . but WHY?!?!

Durachko, the only time i was ever crapped on by a bird was when i was about 6 while i was biking down the sidewalk. Someone should have cut that bird off the chocolate or something! Come to think of it, i have really bad luck on the sidewalk...another time when i was 7 i was sprayed by an old lady with her car washing attachment for her car. ow... . But hey...maybe i did get good luck from that, because even though i didnt study much I got sweet marks on my exams . Anywho, no Im only 18 so it looks like i will get to see your project to completion! . Doesnt look like I'll get to mine for a while though, apparently my mom wont let me order the stuff online until i refinish some kitchen cabinets for her, but then she'll pay for most of it ...Boy am i cool. Im glad to see all the stuff that you are getting, but im very curious to see how it is all going to come together......... interested indeed!

Anywho, Im away from home and this isnt my comptuer, so i'll go, but good luck with your LEDs, hope you have lots of fun with them .

PS love the new avatar, hope to have mine soon, but i have somthing specific in mind, so just wait until i have a chance to "fold it"

LEDs? I'm confused. Maybe the boneyard score above? Must be.Make that confused and curious. "fold it"?

Weekend Update: Mirror stuff.

I think the pictures will suffice.

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The pig is almost ready to fledge.

why a three point mount for the mirror?

he is using astronomy method of mirror adjustment

called a three point floatation system, as opposed the normal 18 point floatation used in mirror type telescopes

oh ps I have sent some '''fairy''' dust your way,, hehehhe,, found some in the closet

Back at you - why not? Three points form a plane and this mirror is so thin (see below) I think it'd be really easy to torque it into a bizarre geometrical shape with the slightest out-of-plane adjustment of a four-point mount. I can imagine wacky focus artifacts impossible to resolve if I turn my mirror surface into a parabolic shape or something similar. Now a computer-controlled 18 point mount something like elken described . . . ummm . . . yeah, I think I'll go with that instead!!

I've not handled the mirror much - at least not while actually thinking about it - and am really surprised at how thin and flexible it is.

Three points is the best. Thats what I used for my reflector mount and it works great! Nice to see progress there DC!

Since the mirror is so flexible, do you feel you might have to reinforce it or possibly glue a rigid back to it?

I was thinking about that last night while drifting off to sleep. I wonder if I have to worry about different expansion coefficients? What type of adhesive to use? I'm certain I recall at least one member gluing a FS mirror to something else. What material to use for stiffener strips? CF? Argh!!!

I think I'll just see how it looks after testing and initial tweaking and then take it from there. I hear these ebay FS mirrors peeps are talkin' 'bout are roughly twice the thickness of the one I've got so maybe that's a good option/next step if I'm not happy with the one I've got.

Lessee . . .

1. mount fold mirror
2. reassemble and install triplet
3. connect all wiring
4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OMG . . . I THINK I'M THAT CLOSE TO A TEST PROJECTION!!!

Of course then come all those final touches . . .

• control panel
• install my special remdaddy fasteners
• finish exterior of enclosure
• buy a nice recliner chair in which to grow fat and soft fatter and softer
• purchase several different mice and keyboards to find that "special" one
• get a new panel
• upgrade the HTPC
• buy games, games, games
• etc., etc., etc.

I am interested to see how your mirror holds up and if you have any focus issues from the 3 point mount. I am also considering other mirror mounts, but my latest iteration may work.

I glued my LL mirror to a slab of 1/2 mdf, I then put screws into the mdf. I know the screws can cause bulges in the mdf, since I am only supporting mine in the middle I am wondering if the mdf in sufficiently structurally rigid over time. (you know how those cheap shelves can sag over time) I would recommend something other than mdf as a backing.

BUT fire that puppy up! you can always add a backing later.

rearden

Yep, this is like having a chronic illness.

Been thinking about this a while since I might have to do a little hardening of a FSM. You could use rigid "L" brackets to brace it up in combination with high strength contact cement. The contact should still have a little give and take to it even after it cures. I think you would have to rough up the glass first to get a good stick. I was thinking about a suspension like this for mine. Basically take the square of glass divide into 9 like a tic-tac-toe board and use a 4 corner 'L' bracket shape to stiffen it up with the mounts for adjusting in the fram itself, so as not to risk bending in the glass...like so...pardon the really bad MSpaint sketch...

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I kinda like that but it gives me another idea. Dang you!

Instead of cutting a window and mounting the mirror like I did let's say you take three pieces of fine all-thread and rig some kind of ball joint on the ends. There should be something available out there. These ball joints would have fairly large plates affixed to them for mechanical adhesion to the mirror back. Just spring mount them through three holes in a backplate. Does that make sense?

Sketch (way worse than yours):

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Plate is mirror. Only drew one piece of all-thread. If ya space the glued-on plates just so it should alleviate and strain on the mirror just by virtue of a balanced tug of gravity. Maybe . . .

Yes, Its an illness...

What size hole do you have cut in your light engine? It looks like 4"x6" with your iris to make it smaller as needed. I"ll probably have to cut a larger one in mine as my light engine is closer to the rear fresnel sinse I'm using a 220mm fresnel
Do you plan on using a commercial screen or blackout cloth? I know LL quit selling the cloth.

Maybe a l'il somethin' goes a l'il somethin' like this?

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On a completely different subject, and in the immortal words of Alan Shepard, "Go ahead and light this candle!"

You're doing a great job

I'd have to measure it but mine was originally based on a 220 rear. I made a scale drawing and then oversized the hole suggested by the drawing. Also, I tested it by cutting a rectangle in a piece of aluminum foil prior to cutting out the real top for my lightgate.What I really hope happens is in the coming months Lumenlab gets a shipment of manual 100" 4:3 screens and I'll buy one of them. Initial testing will almost undoubtedly be with a bedsheet.

I agree. I played around a little more with the floating mirror concept last night. It wont be ready for mine but you can certainly have at it. To make the mirro less prone to vibration and jump, you will want to mount those in a triangle pattern with two points being at the top end of the mirror. Using these as a height adjuster, you can then change the angle with the bottom one. The key to making this stable will be to angle the rods out a tiny bit, say 15 deg. That way the mirror's weight will always try to settle to a fixed plane and it will be less likely to move from side to side. Sort of like an upside down tripod. My sketches say it should work quite nicely. If you used a circle, you could mount the rods before using it to stiffen up the mirror and improve the surface area for the adhesive

Here is another really primative drawing...Hope it makes sense.

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I actually toyed with the idea of multi point mirror attachment. The initial idea was to fix pinushioning and focus on the then un-modded pro triplet. I was contemplating attaching 16 or more threaded rods to the back of a mirror and individually adjust them for a custom curved mirror. The amount of adjusting, of course, would have been very small, too much and the mirror would break.

DJ

My R/C helis and planes use these:

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I wonder if I'm gonna wind up going this route or sticking to my original, partially completed design? Hmm . . .

Extended the wires for the HTPC control panel stuff (boneyard score from above).

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I shoulda known better, I have my mirror in my 6" reflector on a three axis mount to center it in the eyepiece. I forgot there are other things out there besides projectors, illness you know. I get my FS mirrors from the same manufacturer that makes them for RPTV's. they are slow drawn 3mm thick and very smooth and solid. I dont have to worry about them flexing. these are very high quality optical FS mirrors. I havent had any weird effects from them, any one looking for FS mirrors let me know, I can get them. I mount them in my frames and then make pivots for them in the enclosure. now you got me thinking about a three point mount. I wonder if we could do a three point mount for the field fresnel too?

You sound like you are really close to being done, could it be? nah, we will never be done. the minute I finish one up I think of some way I would have redone it better.

My pro field fresnel was slightly bowed out of the box, and under heat I've found both to be floppy, so I have had no choice but to box them in on all sides (unsplit straight-shooter). Still, top hanging the field fresnel obviously works very well, as gravity will do the work. Why complicate it?

Maybe we could borrow DJ's 16,000 mini linear actuators and see if we can control the ultimate shape of the field fresnel to eliminate out-of-focus corners issues. Use some more on the collimator to get rid of hot-spotting

I think what we need is a largely organic, nano-technology-type projector which adjusts to all conditions and has a full bio-feedback loop to please the viewer. Little thermo-stable bacteriums with teeny mirrors on their backs which align perfectly for optimal reflection, etc.

Trimmed my mirror mounting plate a bit to make it more suitable and should be able to install everything except the triplet this coming weekend. Gotta paint the guts flat black as well. I'll set up my laser pointer (as instructed by DAZZZLA) to ensure all my components are very well-aligned and then will have to make some extra cooling circuit cutouts here and there. If all goes well I should have a test fire within two weeks.

Subsequent to that I'll be finalizing my HTPC setup and putting on final touches for probably a fairly long time.

it seems building these are more fun then watching them! I'm having lots of fun. who am I kidding, watching is fun too.

Fell asleep early last night. Actually, it was a good thing. I almost fell asleep at work yesterday afternoon!!

Mirror mount in place. Hope to black-out my guts tonight.

The top (lid) to my enclosure will be removeable BTW.

Sharp-eyed viewers will note (may have previously) I copped out and used some finish nails to put this together. Much as I hated to do it I have only so much time to work on this dang thing and if it ain't at least running by warm weather it may not get there prior to next winter. Expeditious and ugly is okay by me especially if I can cover it up later.

The ugly glue line on the OSB is PU glue. If you've used it you'll understand. I just cut that plate snug and ran a bead of PU glue to anchor it.

I'll be testing this with cover panels off so cooling will be less critical. After some tweaking to determine final component locations I'll cut in (out?) final cooling circuit paths.

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There's an image I wont soon forget....




Looks pretty nice there, DC!
I would put a rigid frame on those fresnels too.
How do you think you will do with the heat? Given any thought to the adjusting of the triplet?

Good point. There's a whole lifestyle philosophy buried in that statement.Saaaayyyyy . . . haven't you read and memorized my whole plogd? Remains to be seen. I'm taking this as it comes.Triplet is fixed. Everything else is adjustable.

Blacked out the guts.

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As for the fixed triplet - I do have an "out" in case I need to shift it around a tad but hopefully that won't be necessary.

Minor setback. I made a really boneheaded mistake with my mirror mount plate placement. I must remove and reseat the plate or alter the mounts. I think the lesser of two evils will be modifying the aluminum mounts. Dangit!!! Measure twice, cut once just got revamped to the NASA version - measure thrice, not twice!!! Argh!!!!! No worries - made it this far and I ain't stoppin' fer nuthin'.

NASA former administrator promised the president 'Better, Faster, Cheaper'. NASA engineers told the administrator that he could have any two he liked, but not all three.

You're doing us proud, D-man. It all started with your wife going away for the weekend and you thought you could get a couple of hours in before bear and rattlesnake season grounded you for another year. Can't wait to see it fire up

My target for full WAF compliance is 1 March for the first round of the Australian V8 Supercar series Can you beat me?

EDIT: Measure thrice is a good idea for NASA. They measured twice with that Mars probe they built with the French a couple of years ago. But the French measured in metric (ie properly) and no one realised the discrepancy until after it crashed.

Certainly not in the WAF category! I should dang sure be wasting electricity by then though.