Home made projector!

[Chernobyl]

Great, I hope it goes together well.
I couldnt look up the bulb you are using, the description is a bit broad although you cant get much better than direct advice you got. 5200K colour is fine. For kicks I'm going to try nearer 5700K on my next one.
I noticed the enclosure you have chosen is for a 250W bulb.

The proof is in the pudding, I do look forward to your results

[Krusty]

The lamp I got is this one:

http://www.atlantalightbulbs.com/eca...HI-S400DDUSHIO

Someone at the diyaudio forums suggested this as a good alternative to the more expensive metal halide lamps with electronic ballasts. Guess I'll find out how good it works when my stuff all arrives.

As for the design, it's for a 250-400w design according to the site. As a fellow overclocker, I have no choice but to use a minimum of 400w . All I have left to buy is an LCD display, the socket to attach the light to the ballast, and some aluminum sheet for shielding. I think I'm going to go cheap there and just get some heavy duty aluminum foil though. We'll see when all my parts get here.

EDIT: oops, put the wrong link for plans in there. Here's what I'm making: http://www.diyprojectorcompany.com/designs/mkIII.htm

[Chaz]

I was playing a bit of FarCry today, thought it would be worth getting a photo. The gun looks a bit blurred because it was quite a long exposure shot (1/4 of a second) and the gun wobbles on its own. Still - very nice!
Soon I'm going to build an enclosure around the glass of the OHP, mainly so that the fragile cables arent out in the open and likely to be torn, and so that I dont risk ruining the LCD every time I have to open up the OHP. Chernobyl, is it worth building 'walls' all the way up to the top lense? Surely because any light reflected off these walls hasnt been focussed by the LCD, it would just wash out the image?

Good luck with your projector Krusty!

[Chernobyl]

ahaaar Krusty.
It does look like you have a solid projector coming up !!
I'll no doubt be jealous of your 400Wattedness


Chaz, great photo
The surround walls I made round the LCD to keep light from entering the room are made from cardboard and are not very reflective. I havent noticed any washing out of the image (its truly ace!).
My preference would be a black material, I still have my eyes peeled for something cheap and rigid.

[Chernobyl]

Also worthy of note Chaz
The cardboard walls do not get near the top lense.
This was partially to stop light having a natural route straight off the cardboard into the lense and also partially for convenience (much easier to make it).
Theres a minimum if 1 inch gap from the lense edge to the cardboard wall.

Oh yes, that top lense seems to be called an Objective Lense (edit: in my triplet lense OHP I have a triplet lense there).
The place where I got my bulb has them if you want to sort your edge focus. (edit: splitting the fresnel will make the focus MUCH better - see later on in this article)
Again, I do suggest contacting the guy to make sure you get what you are after.
There appear to be different throw lengths. Dont get one that means the projector has to be on next doors patio to get the right size picture

I'm thinking of getting a shortish throw one just to see what they are like compared to my lense.

[Chernobyl]

This is handy.
A Google translated version of some help from the place I bought my bulb:
http://world.altavista.com/babelfish...mer-Aufbau.htm

It shows the setup of all the lenses in place and demonstrates the use of a 2nd fresnel lense to guide more light into the Objective (top) lense. Hmmmm

[cyrax83]

hey guyz i've been researching the DIY projector for the past week. I've read practically every thread on the internet relating to these, including all 16 pages of this thread (no joke !) lol anyway

i've just purchased (well i will very soon) a 3m 9700 ohp. It's rated at 4300 lumens. Now all i need is a lcd. i was about to purchase the benq 567s on ebay when i noticed your comments about the screen producying yellowish tint so i decided to stay away from it.

i've noticed you guys are all using the iiyama 15" E386 and have reported good results. I've had a look on ebay and even on australian sites (i'm in sydney btw) and the iiyama doesnt seem to be available here. Can you recommend any other 15" screens that would provide high quality as the iiyama ?

Thanks

I'll check back here tomorrow !

[Chernobyl]

Originally Posted by cyrax83

hey guyz i've been researching the DIY projector for the past week. I've read practically every thread on the internet relating to these, including all 16 pages of this thread (no joke !) lol anyway

i've just purchased (well i will very soon) a 3m 9700 ohp. It's rated at 4300 lumens. Now all i need is a lcd. i was about to purchase the benq 567s on ebay when i noticed your comments about the screen producying yellowish tint so i decided to stay away from it.

i've noticed you guys are all using the iiyama 15" E386 and have reported good results. I've had a look on ebay and even on australian sites (i'm in sydney btw) and the iiyama doesnt seem to be available here. Can you recommend any other 15" screens that would provide high quality as the iiyama ?

Thanks

I'll check back here tomorrow !

Hi cyrax
The one I recommend is the Iiyama E380S (not 386).
search for E-380, E-380S, E380, E380-S, 380S, 380-S etc etc.
Spelling errors and funny typos are abound on Ebay.

Why not buy one from Iiyama?


Quality and Spec arent the only issues, the LCD electronics must separate far enough from the screen. If they are attached on 2 sides of the LCD, the ribbon leads will need extending. There is no guarantee it will function if you do this. Its not possible to tell which LCDs are suitable unless someone has checked inside.

I have no doubt there are many suitable LCDs. I'm still open to donations for testing

FYI: The BenQ was quite yellow and the electronics were very fragile. I wouldnt recommend the BenQ screen I had.

[cyrax83]

Originally Posted by Chernobyl

Hi cyrax
The one I recommend is the Iiyama E380S (not 386).
search for E-380, E-380S, E380, E380-S, 380S, 380-S etc etc.
Spelling errors and funny typos are abound on Ebay.

Why not buy one from Iiyama?


Quality and Spec arent the only issues, the LCD electronics must separate far enough from the screen. If they are attached on 2 sides of the LCD, the ribbon leads will need extending. There is no guarantee it will function if you do this. Its not possible to tell which LCDs are suitable unless someone has checked inside.

I have no doubt there are many suitable LCDs. I'm still open to donations for testing

FYI: The BenQ was quite yellow and the electronics were very fragile. I wouldnt recommend the BenQ screen I had.

iiyama dont even ship here i dont think, they dont have an australian site, and shipping would be heaps from o/s. oh well ... i think i may have to bite the bullet and get a good spec lcd from ebay without knowing if its strippable =(

EDIT : chernobyl what do you think of the syncmaster 151s ? i've read on another forum its perfectly strippable, cable is a little short but it doesnt pose much of a problem.

Another DIY's comments on the monitor :

2. SAMSUNG 151S (Samsung LTM150XH-L01 )
Diagonale: 15''
Type: a-si TFT/TN
Pitch: 0,297 mm
Color Supported : 16,7 millions (no dithering)
Brightness : 250 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio : 300:1
Viewing Angle ( H/V ) : 140° / 120°
Response Time (ms) : 30 ms
Montée , entre 5 et 10 ms.Descente, entre 20 et 25 ms
Maximum Resolution : 1024x768: 75 Hz
LVDS

Pro :
Not expensive
easy to take apart, only 8 screw.
LVDS
no need to lengthen cable, (its short but no problem)

Cons:
....


http://i22.ebayimg.com/04/i/04/58/59/ea_1_b.JPG

[Chernobyl]

I wouldnt go near that monitor!

There are 3 areas of concern:
Brightness : 250 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio : 300:1
Response Time (ms) : 30 ms

The brightness figure may not indicate anything, but a low brightness could be due to excessively dark filters rather than a not so bright bulb behind the LCD.
Iiyama E380S brightness = 380cd/m

The Contrast ratio is the difference in brightness between dark and light, the higher the better.
The iiyama E380S has a contrast ratio of 450:1. This is very nice and I dont want for more.

A response time of 30ms is slow. This monitor will be no use for 3D gaming.
The iiyama E380S has a response time of 14ms. Its perfect for me, a good friend says it could do with being a little faster. Ask anyone you know who plays using an 15ms or less LCD what they think. Even better try it

[cyrax83]

i've had a look everywhere, on ebay and on google, i cant find anyone selling a iiyama (its like australias never heard of this brand) or any other decent LCD which has a response <= 16 .

not sure what to do

[Chaz]

Tomshardware has a nice list of suitable LCDs. There are obviously more which will do perfectly, for example the E380S which isn't on the list.

http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/2...jector-03.html

Can you get any of them?

[cyrax83]

i can get the samsung 510N for $299 AU brand new ... a didnt want to buy a brand new monitor since i'll be stripping the damn thing right down but it looks like i dont have any other choice ... it'd be an awful waste of 300 buckz if i stuff the monitor up, which is why i wanted a second hand one

something i also dont get ...

it says the samsung syncmaster 510n is compatible on toms hardware, some sites have the product listed as the samsung 510n without the syncmaster, and some as the samsung syncmaster 510n, one place even has the 2 at a different price. but the specs and picture look the same =/ are they the same monitor or different ?

i.e. take a look at this http://www.computershop888.com.au/pr...3d3f7de7483f1e

i can get the 510n from my local place, i just dont want to get it and find out that i needed the 'syncmaster' because the FFC isnt long enough or something =/

[Chernobyl]

Be careful of the list on Tomshardware.
He tested the LCDs for movie playback not gaming.
A few in the list are fast enough, choose wisely.

He also doesnt say if he opened up each monitor to try using them. His recommendations may be from just specifications. Shame he didnt provide this useful nugget of info.

From the links you provided, the Samsung 510N has 18bit colour! (not 24bit)
Not sure about the different pricing though.
Looking at Samsungs website, they have 2 different spec Black 150n's.
Are you sure you want one of these, samsung themselves dont tell you its 16ms and theres no mention of colour depth on their site.

[Chaz]

Well, it's been over 3 weeks and I'm still running ON THE SAME BULB! Incredible! And there doesnt appear to be any colour loss, or yellow tint, because when I switch to the second bulb it looks exactly the same.

[Chernobyl]

Brilliant

Do you keep a log of hours used/times switched on?
You must have exceeded the bulbs spec by miles now.

[cyrax83]

got my 9700, the thing lights up the whole room i need to make some sort of enclosure to block light

[Chernobyl]

Great stuff!

Have a look at the shroud I made to block light (top post).
Home made projector!

Once it is trimmed and taped together, you can remove it, lay it flat and cut out a single piece from a better material to fit over the LCD.
Much easier to remove when the LCD needs a clean.

To get the right shape for each piece, I held up a bit of card up against where it needed to go and marked the points where I wanted to cut. I did that for 3 sides, you may need 4 depending how you finish mounting the LCD.
Leave enough space for air to flow out of the top as the warm/hot air must escape. You will need to make hole(s) at the base to allow cold air in and fit a fan preferably at the bottom to blow over the LCD. You have no cooling layer so you must cool the LCD. Changing to a metal halide bulb will alleviate this a bit, but I still recommend cooling the LCD with a fan.

The best material to use for the shroud is dark and non reflective.

That shroud ended up being so good, I havent changed it yet!


About 1/2 way to 2/3rds down this page is the fan I made together with a cheap replaceable nylon filter.
Home made projector!

You may get away with one fan.
I havent had to change my filter yet, still as good as new.

[Chernobyl]

Quick!!
http://62.75.177.102/shop2/index.php...kat=5&vskats=1

250W Metal Halide bulb kits are in stock.
He doesnt have stock often and is damn cheap.
400W kits still arent available.

[cyrax83]

ok guys my LCD will be arriving in a day or 2 (i got a CMV 15", good ocntrast and cd/m^2 with 16 ms and i've heard its strippable).

i've got a couple of questions.

1) how many mm should i have the lcd off the top of the projection panel and what do you recommend to do the job ? 4 little pieces of foam or something ?

2) its a brand new 15" and i dont want to stuff it up when stripping =/ i've heard this monitor has no FFC issues so that should be ok, and i will do Chernovyls trick of aluminium foil on cardboard grounded, but i've had no experiece in dismantling an lcd. i've seen a number of pics but not too sure which boards i need and which cables to remove but i'll give it a go

3) i really want to cool this thing so i might use 2 80mm fans, 60mm if i can get away with it. i want this thing to be a bit quiet so i'll have to find some more quiet fans from somewhere. anyway i've seen your guide on how you used the meshing + nelon for the fans, very cool, but how did you actually mount the fans onto the projector ? And did you use a fan controller on your computer to turn the fans on/off or are they on all the time when ur comp is on ?

4) i notice all you guys have your projecter on as well as your computer screen for comparison. Are you guys using a split cable on the single video card or do you guys have 2 video cards in your comp or something ?

5) do you guys have a long vga cable from ur computer to the lcd ? my comp is a bit far from my computer, so i would probably need a cable extension, the minimum i've seen is a 5m extension, combine that with the current length of the cable, would there be any video quality loss ? I dont want to have a good projector loosing quality from the long vga cable

and one more request, chernobyl coudl i please get some pictures of the outside of your projector on the 4 sides ?

sorry about all the questions and being a pain in the ass
thanks