Here is a screen shot. I am very pleased with the results of this projector.

My wife and kids are also happy that they get to watch big beautiful movies in our house and are ready to forgive me for neglecting them for a month to do this project in my spare time.

The camera is on a tripod with a shutter speed of about 2 sec. at f 3.5 and manually focused.



Nice! Isn't it?

A couple of Nemo pictures:

Nice Pictures, I think you have done a really good job on your projector.

(?) - thanks for the focusing pics -

what are the four blocks for on the inside of the focusing box?

That is just the way I glued the lens board to the sides. The lens board was a very tight fit in the frame and so when I got it in place I didn't want to take it out and smear wood glue on it. I also didn't want to use anymore screws on the edges which would be sliding next to the velcro. There was probably a better way to do it but that's what I thought of at the time. The blocks have plenty of surface area that when glued on all four sides, hold the lens board securely. I plan on removing the lens and painting everything in there black but I wanted to take pictures first since flat black elements don't photograph very well.

Thanks, Joe. Everything I know about this I learned from you guys who are so active in the forums. I owe my success to you.

Looks great, man!

Beautiful.

Wow.

Hey Jones Rush, you see this one? Even Jr would be impressed, maybe.

What is your screen size, and what camera did you use?

Is the far right side of the images slighty fuzzed? There doesn't appear to be a crisp black border there.

kjudki, well done, I've enjoyed following your progress, and your results are fantastic.

The last nemo pic has set a new standard for detail reproduction

Now go and watch a film, you've earned it

Seems like the moderator has been doing some moderating. Lots of missing posts on this page. Seeing the deleted post on page three tells me why, I believe.

Sure hope I didn't offend...not my intention.

Missing???? hmmm i don't notice anything missing or am i missing something?

Hey kjudki, have you encountered any problems with your pj yet? I hope not, but a lot of people find some stuff at this stage that still needs work.

The screen size is about 8' wide. I am using a Canon EOS Digital Rebel 300D. It is nice because it has manual overide on all the settings. That way I can manually focus it in the dark and set the apeture and shutter speed for optimal results.

My fuzzy edge may be an out of focus shadow cast by the framing around my field fresnel. It is also possible that I didn't get my LCD perfectly centered in it's frame. I'll see what I can do about it. I hope to build my blackout cloth screen with a flat black border. If I can't fix my fuzzy edge I can at least hide it.

Thanks for the great compliment.



I have some detail work to do. Here are some tasks ahead:

1) work on some light leaks and some air leaks. Joewerb's work is very inspiring to me.

2) a projector cart with wheels

3) organize my rat nest of wiring inside the projector. Biotom's neat wiring is beautiful.

4) Work on my fuzzy right edge.

5) I may replace my DC fan with an AC (higher volume) fan so I can get rid of the wall brick (Less is more) and really cool things down.

6) Gut my box. Fill extra holes. Sand. Paint. Add hinges.

7) Build a screen

8) Wire the room for sound

9) Design a better device to tilt the PJ up ward. (right now I'm using a dictionary and a roll of duct tape.

That's about it. I have about 12 hours on the lamp and everything seems fine so far.

your out of focus on the rt. side may be the projection lens not bein parallel with screen.....

Haha, do I see here a compliment , I have to give you a compliment too. Those Nemo pictures are the best I've seen here!!! When my result is just as good then I'm very happy. Very Nice work!

Tony please read: http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1022

kjudki: I will clean your thread again soon.

here is my screen if ya like to look at it and maybe get an idea not the best but atleast something.

http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?s...c=645&hl=screen

yea i know my camera sux... lol

Nice screen Joe. I hope mine turns out as good as yours. Thanks.

kjudki, How did you hold your Norpro bowl in place? Is it just sitting tight enough on the stand holding it or did you make holes to screw it on to the stand? I'm trying to figure out the best way to mount mine once I get it without doing the later.
Thanks

I made this cart by cutting down a $49 shelving unit from Home Depot and adding lockable casters to the legs. On the cart along with my PJ, an old amplifier and new Yamakawa DVD player with VGA output.

I know this isn't a huge screen (7 foot wide). But this shows good detail, brightness and flesh tone color (from the movie "Chocolat"). I can't say this enough---I am VERY happy with the way the Lumenlab projector turned out.

japlasma wrote

I just drilled a hole, dead center through the 1/4" flat spot at the bottom of the Norpro. I then inserted a 10/24 3" round headed bolt with a washer. See drawing.
It is plenty sturdy and can be adjusted if I want my lamp arc to be in a different spot.

Very nicely done; your projector shows a lot of attention to detail and planning.

Sweet! thanks man, that makes it a lot simpler - I take it that the bolt in the center does not interfere with reflection given your picture look excellent - you're another inspiration to me. I also like the stand you have there. Are you going to tweek your PJ some or is this it for you? I wouldn't.
Thanks again for the diagram.

I'm glad my rough drawing helped.

There is always some tweeking to do. Scroll up a few posts. I made a list of things I am working on. I especially want to cut down on stray light with some louvers. I don't plan on doing much else with the the optics. You know the saying "If it's not broke then don't fix it."

My family gets a little frustrated with me. They just want to sit down and watch movies. I would rather tinker with the projector. Tonight, they can watch a movie while I work on building a frame for my projection screen.

kjudki,

Great job with the projector your results are stunning.

Cheers,
Lee

...I'm not suprised looking at your results. I'm jealous

I understand you when you say you just want to tweak it, I'm keeping mine under wraps until it's excellent for that reason. I haven't been able to watch a film for 30 seconds without wanting to fiddle around inside my box!

HI there awesome projector and Great work. I just wanted to know what dvd player and model # you are using. I am using benq 567 v2, i belive you are using the same monitor. Is that dvd player is comapatible with benq monitor. Hows the resolution from the dvd to monitor. Thanks for your help.

Falcon,

I'm using a Yamakawa. It costs $60 and seems to be just fine. It works well with my projector. Since it has VGA output, there is no need to use a converter.

Time to build another one (all your own )

"boasts a built in Dolby Digital Decoder and the ability to attach 6 analog outputs for Home Theatre Systems..."
Is that true? Does it have rca jacks for each channel, or does it cheat and only have the coaxial and optical outputs?

tonytemplin,

I don't think it separates channels like a HT receiver for each speaker. I might be wrong on this, but I would say no.

Cheers,
Lee

kjudki,

Did you polish the norpro?

what did you use if so?

I didn't polish it. I just wiped out the grit and dust from cutting off the rim. It has a good finish on it already.

About the Yamakawa;
Yes it does have outputs for the HT channels. front Right/Left, Center, surround right/left, and Subwoofer. The manual says that these outputs are provided for "convenience and cost concern" but that you should really hook up to an amplifier. I use an optical cable to carry all the audio to reciever and then will split off to the HT speakers from that.

A few more pictures. I painted my box and built a 7'6" wide screen with a 1x3" pine frame painted with flat black and blackout cloth, from JoAnns fabric, stretched and stapled behind the frame.

Still using the dictionary to tilt it up.


Another view of the projector and cart.


View of the PJ in the room where it will be used the most.
http://www.thejudkins.org/pj5/room.jpg

Awesome.

Nice job kjudky, that's the best looking PJ box I have seen thus far! I see your're matching the PJ color to the floor color- impressive! What paint did you use here? Did you spray paint it or did you use something else- just curious.
Thanks.

kjudki,
if Lumenlab decided to do a pj oscar ceremony, I think you would have won all categories, hands down.

May I ask what do you do for a living ?.

He is Professor K.Judkins, of LSU.

That's just a guess, based on his email address...

And I ag.. I ... I agr... I can't say it. I just can't say "I agree" with Jr. I too applaud your efforts! Ha! I did it!

Thanks for the compliments.



My previous career was graphic design. I had my own business for a dozen or so years and designed a lot of CD packages for a jazz record label. I also taught graphic design at a community college. Five years ago we moved to Louisiana where I work with faculty at a medical school to help them use technology in teaching. I still get to do some design but it mostly on the web and not for things that are printed on paper. My design background makes me care a little too much about the way things look. I spent an hour choosing a color for my PJ and then at the last minute painted it the color that you see here.
It is just a brushed on, Glidden interior semi-gloss from Home Depot. The color is called "Copper Coin 70YR 19/432"

I wasn't really trying to match the color of the floor. The floor is a wood parquet, dark brown and the projector is more of a burnt orange or rust color. Using the flash on the digital camera makes everything a similar color. The dog, the floor, the projector etc. I was actually trying to match a color from some of the furniture in the room. I will leave it there since this isn't a forum on interior design.

I appreciate the compliments but am open to criticism as well. I enjoy reading JR's comments. He makes us all better builders and designers. Back when I was in art school we would hang our designs on the wall for a critique and have to defend why we did what we did. Sometimes I would end up starting a project over and other times I was nudged in a more positive direction. Constructive criticism is usually more beneficial than a bunch of compliments for the sake of being nice. I tend to give a lot more weight to comments by those who have actually shown us what they can do (building projectors and making innovations) than by someone who just hangs around the forum and makes lots of comments. For those who are mostly just talk, I look forward to seeing your creations as your budget and projector parts come together.

Peace.

Kjudki, I have an idea for you.

You are still using the Dictionary, and the cart is permanent, right? If so, read on.

Find the balance point of the projector, and mount it in a yoke, like the telescope?

I'm not sure the term applies, but you could have a Dobsonian mounted projector.

Tony,
That's a good idea. I wish I would have thought of it first. Thanks.

Wow! Brain must be telepathic. As I was composing a note to suggest a clean-up of OT on this thread, he was cleaning it up. That's why he's the man.

Here is my low tech solution to replace the dictionary as a "tilt-up" device --TUD . I salvaged a clear plastic (acrylic?) thing out of the trash that used to be a monitor stand and cut one end off to use as a new TUD. Perhaps I should start a TUD thread.



Move the TUD back to increase the angle of projection (Is this called a projectory, as in trajectory?

Kjudki,

Since you have been kind enough to visit my posts I thought I would check out yours. Wow I am totaly impressed, the finished product looks awsome. I hope mine turns out that cool.
To answer some of your questions about my project it seem my cooling solution
didn't work out quite the way I planned. My fan mounts in the lower rear corner of the box like your's however, the fan I purchesed from Micro Center sucks the first one didn't work at all and the second dosn't move any air (it claims 80 CFM @ 35 db) "NOT". So I'll be needing a better fan. You asked if my flashing is in the light path. I don't think so however I admit I still have some tweeking to do.
I shouldn't be in such a hurry to post photos of incompleat phazes of my project but, it's fun to see you work in the form.
Keep checking my progress.

SACK4000