Hello All!

Well, here goes, another victim of the light disease adding his own two cents worth.
Thanks to Samurai Jack's constant questions about lenses and mirrors I've been dragged into yet another hobby. Fortunately I too got the spousal "that sounds cool!" tacit agreement.
So here's the plan, and I absolutely encourage all to comment with any sort of advice or snide remark.

The image source will be a PSOne LCD acquired from that infamous on-line auction house.
Also from the same source is a 3M projector lens strikingly similar to the one in "newguy's" plog.

I'm using an unsplit fresnel just before the LCD made from page magnifyers. If all goes well, I will be upgrading this piece of the optics first.

The light source is what I consider to be the most interesting part of project. In my mother-in-law's basement (after she assured me she did not have any left-over projectors lying around) I found two old film projectors. Most likely from my father-in-laws hospital during his tenure as a nurse. These appear to be for 8mm (I'm guessing folks) film or glass slides. The optics are corrected for spherical abberation, and they have completely modular light engines. I'll post some pics below.

So that's what I'm working with. I'm well under way, so I'm hoping that I haven't left anything obvious out. This is an experiment for me so I won't cry too much if it doesn't work. I'm used to building telescopes, so the light is usually going the other way... large to small instead of small to large...
.... OK, the pics will have to wait until I can size them down a bit, seems I left my camera settings too high...

AstroGeek!

[

Hey Hey Hey! Those were "deeply philosophical probings about the nature of light", besides you need payback for helping me back into astronomy...





Sigh...Dude! Did your mother dress you AGAIN? heheheheheeeee!




Experiment? Yeah thats the way mine started too.....heheheheheeeeee.

Good luck my friend! Your light shall shine! Your friends will go "Cool!" ...
...and you can use it to get chicks at parties!

Siriusly, ( deliberate mispell for astronomers...)

Welcome to the club! You have made the transition from "they who lurk in the night" to "they who try to bring light to the night"

This is a seriously fun ride! Enjoy and take lots of pictures....!

SJ

OK, here are some pics: The first one is of some of the basic bits:

AGClick to view attachment

followed by how they will be laid out on the board.


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Let me know if these images are too big for people to view comfortably... I'm new at this.

Now the light box (or light engine I guess) itself:

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From below:

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The light source goes into the unit from below and between a small spherical reflector and a condenser lens. These two pieces are surprisingly small, but seem to be adapted to the size of the filements in the bulb. After the condenser is a piece of what I think is tempered glass. It's got a blue tinge and is quite thick. I'll be leaving this in for now, since I don't have any other protection for my LCD yet. Besides, I've heard that some PSOne's have a redish tinge, maybe this will help correct for that, or not. After the glass is very pretty double convex lens. I'll post pics in the next post.
Like I said, I'll be removing most of these optics so as to use the fresnels and the large 3m projector lens. If those don't work out I can always slap the original equipment back in and play with my focal lengths (believe me, I'm very experienced with trial and error focal lengths...) until I get it to work.

Here are the optics except for the reflector...

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and here's where I am now:

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These are the two sides, with the scrollwork finished, and the panel where the lens will attach with mounting blocks for the LCD to sit directly behind the main objective lens. Given the type of projector is was, the LCD has to reside immediately behind it. I hope I got the distance right! The metal rectangle on the front piece is the frame for the LCD that I'll attach directly to the piece it's sitting on.

The pieces glued to the sides just past the scrollwork are the slots for the fresnels to sit in. I'll be adding a drop of caulk or something similar to keep them at the proper height since I didn't have the fore-thought to stop my cuts before the end of the pieces.

Tomorrow, if time permits, I'll put on the braces for the light engine and if that dries fast enough, I'll give it a test run. I guess we'll all see soon enough if it works!

That's it for now, let the free-for-all begin! (Be nice SJ! )
AG

I REALLY like the scrollwork for the lens holder. Very nice. Are you going to do the PSONE mod?

Thanks SJ.
(SJ Has seen the drawings, but for everybody else, the main objective lens will sit between the scroll work attached to the board with the circle cut-out.)

I haven't decided yet if I want to take a soldering iron to the board. I'm not at all experienced at that sort of thing. I have already done the AG removal though. It came off without any difficulty after about an hour and a half. For those of you who may want to try it, just wet a paper towel and lay it on top of the LCD for at least an hour. Make sure you cover the entire LCD though. I had a stubborn corner that hadn't soaked properly, it came off with a bit of coaxing from my fingernail though.

I'm hoping to have pictures with an active light engine in the next couple of days. That should give me an idea of whether or not I want to do the light mod or not.


AG

Believe me , you HAVE to do the light mod. It takes the PSone projector to a new level. Just solder the 2 points together and if for some strange reason you don't like it unsolder it.

jonjandran, would you happen to have any before and after screen pics of the mod? maybe start a new thread ?

I to want to do it but havent yet.

Sorry AstroGeek for hijacking your thread.

back to your orginal program


Brian kc0kfg

Ooooo Yeah......You have already proven you arent afraid of mucking around by taking off the AG...C'Mon..you know you want to!

Alright already! I'll try it... and hopefully I won't fry anything...

AG (that's AstroGeek! NOT AntiGlare!)

Sounds like it could be a hot-mirror which will cut down on the amount of IR getting to the LCD. Good to leave it in if it is.

Whoawhoawhoawhoa...

Back up there. Light mod? Whazzat?

See here:

http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?s...ndpost&p=105821

Yeah, the call is seductive...

AG, what are the dimensions of the filter slots you have? I think I have something special for you...

Good link, thanks! I wasn't even aware of that circuit writer pen from RShack. I will pick one of those up, it will save me the hassle of solder.

For anyone who's browsing for info on building a PSOne projector, Manshack_one was able to tell me the proper FCC extension, namely the 30 pin .5mm pitch. The FCC off the LCD is very short so the extension would be a good thing to consider.

AG

Here's a link I just came across: FCC Extension. The guy is using a PSOne LCD to mod the front of a PC. A very cool project, he does a fantastic job. He uses an FCC extension from Brainchild in the mod and manages to use the connector provided to get the PSOne FCC to mate properly with the extension. I'm not sure how he did it exactly, but I'm keen to find out. When I order mine I'll take a close look at it and see how it can be done.

AG

I was going to ask you about the light mod for the psone but SJ beat me to it, I have one here I want to mess around with, I am going to do the light mod but instead of soldering a jumper across it I was thinking of putting a switch in there so I could turn off the mod if I need to, any thoughts anyone. BTW, that looks alot like the hot mirror. cool scroll work.

It would work, but I don't see the need. Once you do the mod you won't want to take it off. You can just turn the brightness down on the screen controls to compensate for the mod if you want to go back to the "normal" brightness.

AstroGeek
If that basic filter doesnt work for you, I have a spare slot piece of this...




Its a double coated piece of schot glass with UV and IR filtering...Want me to get it to you?

Hey all,

Thanks for the comments!

In regards to the light mod, I'll either put a blob of solder on the board to jump that component, or try and find that circuit writer pen... that's in the works.

SJ: Absolutely! I'm glad to hear that people think I've got a hot mirror, but I always welcome new bits to play with and if I don't use it in this build...

I'm afraid I didn't get anything at all acomplished on the pj last night. I spent the evening on my other hobby, standing out in the snow finding out how well my 13" scope works. It needs some tweaking, but wow, I've never seen the Orion Nebula like that.

AG!

You've got a 13" telescope? Wow. I used to have a 5" reflector and I though that was fantastic. I used to go out into the backwoods away from the city lights to stargaze, until my telescope got stolen from my car.

Yup. Sure do. It's a pain to get ouside though. It's in its third re-design now, but I think this one's a keeper.

That's how I got into this actually, by having enough access and experience with mirrors and light that Samuraijack started asking me questions that I don't really have the knowledge to answer!
I actually took some pictures last night that I meant to post but went to bed instead. I'll try and get them online from home.

If you haven't tried ATM (amateur telescope making), but you enjoy this group, you should give it a try. No doubt there's an astro group near you. If not, check out my old group (which I miss): www.oaog.ca
AG!

AG...without your answers I wouldnt have gone and redesigned my PJ.
Man, Im glad you dont sell Heroin...

SJ

I still drag my 6" f8 reflector out to stargaze that I made at the Adler planetarium many moons ago.

Nice! Did you do the mirror grinding class? I wish I lived close enough to a planetarium that does that. So far all my mirrors have been purchased, but that's something I'll remedy in the future.

The weekend was productive but I haven't any pictures to prove it yet. I affixed the mounting blocks for the light engine as well as the fixture itself. I've pre-drilled and cut out the mounting blocks for the fan. I've got the wiring started and the main switch and power input fixed in the back panel. I intend to have a single power cord that will go into a standard three-prong plug like you see on most computer equip. I cannabalized it from an old non-functional computer power supply. The wires will go through the main box to a standard wall socket mounted inside the projector box where they will simply pug in. The power for that box will feed from plug mentioned above. It was the easiest way I could think to use the adaptor for the lcd.

Now I just have to find the cable to feed signal to the lcd. I thought I had that figured out but the in I was going to use is actually an out... so back to RShack I go.

I'll post some pics tonight if I can.

AG!

New pics!

I managed to do a bit of work on the project this evening and got some photos to share.
I did run in to my usual measurement errors but all in all I'm calling it a qualified success. I've had to detatch and reaffix one of my light fixture mounts, and I'll have to get some more mdf from the HDespot bargain bin in order to finish the box. Considering I've only spent $1.01 on mdf so far I think I'm doing ok. I also am being held up by my inability to find the proper cable to feed the LCD. What are folks using out there?
Anyway, here are some pics. First is a shot of the way I've mounted the light socket and the fan directly below it. The bulb will actually sit inside the optics box when fully assembled. The mounts for the light box aren't in yet.

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I've temporarily attached the objective lens as well. I'm very pleased with how well it fits. I hand cut the hole since I didn't want to deal with the dust from putting the router to it.

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The electrical socket underneath the lens is where the light engine and lcd will plug in. Power will feed into the box from a socket on the back. It won't be visible from the front when the box is finished.

here's one last pic. It's a profile of the projector so far. I'm going to make it a bit fancier with some detail work when I'm confident that it all works!

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That's it so far!

AG!

thats turning out nice,

Yes I ground the mirror from a 6" flat blank, it was a six week course. I also did the mirror for the 3" spoter scope. too bad they dont offer the course anymore.

I like it too. The scroll work is a nice touch. What do you estimate the external dimensions of your ( I hesitate to call it a box...) ...uhm....carriage are? I remember you saying you were going for compact, but how compact is it?

It's roughly 7" wide by 14" long. I'm not sure of the height... I'd have to measure for that one.

I messed around with the light source this evening. I test fit (no glue or fasteners) the light box seems to fit well as to the mounts I made for it. The only problem was when the light box slipped out of my hands and kissed the back element of the lens. Poop. It did leave a mark, but I'm hoping it won't make any real difference. "Not optically significant" is the mantra we repeat in relation to the large amounts of dust that collect on telescope mirrors. I'm hoping it's the same with this.


AG!

Do you mean the BARCO lens? We can swap out one I have for it if you want. It has a small scratch on the front lens, so we could take out the font lense and use the one from yours to make a perfect lense, no?

( Feed that addiction!)

....Yes.... That would work.... *tents fingers* ... excellent....

AG

Shouldnt you be working and not posting on non-work related sites?

Oh wait! I should be working tooooooo.....never mind.
( waves hands mysteriously)

I was never here ...
This conversation never took place...
You want to pay off my mortgage...

I actually just came up with a backup plan if that doesn't work.
I'm a little worried about the throw/image size with that Barco lens anyway. What I may try is to make a step out for the anastigmat that I ripped off the old projector, add back in the original optics to the light box and run it with those optics. That lens assmebly had a much longer travel distance for focusing anyway. Hmm...

Not that I don't want to try the bigger lens. I always want to try the bigger lens first.
They call it aperature fever.


AG

Yes, I should be working.

So. I got the lamp/fan/switch wiring done last night and affixed the mount for the light box assembly. Plugged it in and had light and fan! Wohoo! Tonight I'll stick the optics back in and see what happens! Hopefully I'll have screen shots to show this evening.
The only hiccup I had was the fan. I mounted it upside-down compared to it's position in the original projector and thought that I could simply reverse the polarity and get the opposite spin direction. I guess that shows my level of experience with electicity. Needless to say that it didn't work, so I manually modified the fan blades (read: "bent"). Now it works the way I want, and gives a nice updraft. I think I'll need to fabricate some kind of cowl to better direct the airflow to the bulb though.

All I've got left is to get some more MDF to finish off the box and cut the hole for the socket. Shouldn't be long now!

AG

Serious progress made tonight. I've got the extra hardware and cables that I needed to complete the projector and have manufactured all but the top panel. That will have to be drilled to make vents for the bulb, and it's late. I shouldn't be handling power tools when I'm this tired.

I've bled on the box, so it's definitely on its way to being done. I cut myself on the head of a brass wood screw. Mind those, they tend to leave sharp strips when you turn them in with a steel screwdriver.

I've also sprayed the interior flat black.

I was actually doing up the wiring and trying to figure out why I wasn't getting any power when I saw that one of the leads had broken completely off the switch. I guess at the age of the switch I shouldn't be suprised. So I called it quits at that and am going to rest until tomorrow. I'll post pics then.

AG

Uhmmmm.....
So where are the pics?

Im very curious to see them!

They are safely on the camera... I just haven't gotten the chance to download them yet.

It's been a bit hectic in the house lately. I did manage to get quite a more done, but I'm worried that I've got the fresnel focal distances wrong. I hope I'm not that far off but I'm getting a circular light path instead of that nice rectangle. If I fiddle with them a bit I can get the edges out of round a bit, but not enough that I'm very comforted. That and I discovered that I definitely need the fcc extension. I was trying to get away without one, but I had to place the order yesterday. So that's one more thing I have to wait on before I can see if I get a good image off that LCD. Blah. I guess that gives me more time to perfect my optics though. I have to open up the top a bit more too to allow for better airflow.
I'll give it my best to get some new pics up tonight after work...

AG

OK Folks. Hiatus over. Here are the promised pictures. First is the box, finished (mostly) and ready for some ventilation and paint:

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Next is the box painted and with objective lens attached:

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...

Now here's the light source in operation:



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and a rear view of the light source in operation


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The back panel of the box is open because I didn't put in enough ventilation. But that's no big deal. The big deal is that I was true to form and mis-measured the focal distance of the fresnels. Didn't I say I had lots of experience with that? Well, now you know why, because I have to do it over and over and over again.
Anyway, so I'll have to step out the objective lens a couple inches to make room for the right light path. Shouldn't be too bad. I hope.

I got my fcc extension yesterday though (thanks Brain!) so no more excuses!

AG!

Very Nice!
Why red? Are you planning a little gold accent later on?

Good call. Yup. I'm planning gold embelleshments. You can probably see the brass hardware already there. It's kind of an homage to the old art-deco theatres with the gold and deep reds. Now if I can get it to work I'll be all set!

AG!

I like it! Im not usually a red guy myself, but it sets off the lens nicely. Gives it kind of an asian flavor. Hows the wife approval factor? Has she commented on it?

So far so good. She seems to think it's nice. She picked the color actually. From things she said today, she seems to be really looking forward to it working.

AG

Looks nice, are you planing to do more with the rest of the sides???

Lookin' good! It reminds me of Christmas.

Not other than to add some detailing. I don't like things to be over crowded.
I haven't quite decided on what that detailing will look like exactly other than it being in gold.

I managed to find a simple solution to my spacing problem for the fresnels yesterday. That's good because I wasn't looking forward to making all that dust with the router and the MDF. I found some nylon spacers at the local hardware store in 1", 3/4", and 1/2" so I picked a bunch up as well as some 2.5" #10 screws. That should be more than enough options to step my objective out to where it needs to be to allow for the fresnels and lcd assembly. That being said, I'm going to sandwich the lcd now. I originally wasn't going to do that, but I think my design calls for it now. So I'll have to cut two pieces of mdf to mount the fresnel/lcd assembly, and will have to perforate my fresnels. No big deal, they were cheap. So I'm back on track, and hope to have it functional within the next few days.


AG!

Well, I do hope it will bring good cheer...


AG

Nylon spacers? Pictures?
Im having a time visualizing this one...