Home made projector!

[Chernobyl]

Hi Dan
the bulb you have chosen has a colour temp description of NDL which is 4000 Kelvin. This has some of the blue spectrum missing and/or has too much red and will look a bit yellow (dont do it!).
Unfortunately they dont do the correct bulb on the website.
I would call them and see how much they can get the D or DL bulb for.
Be absolutely sure that they check the colour temp is in the 5000K to under 6000K range.

The bulb you want is described as D or DL (DayLight) which normally has a colour temp of 5100 to 5600 Kelvin depending where you read.

The tray kit sounds quite good.
For this bulb you dont need a capacitor, just a ballast and ignitor.
The kit you have found includes the extra capacitor probably for Sodium bulbs.
FYI this page shows you the parts needed and how to wire them.
http://62.75.177.102/shop2/index.php...oid=54&skat=25

See if they can do a bulk deal on the correct bulb
Check to see if it really does have UV stop.

From Powerstars documentation:
"Lamps with ≤ 250 W also have a UV-reducing outer bulb".
This means their 400W bulbs still do not have UV stop.
It does seem that other suppliers may have 400W bulbs with UV stop.
Be very careful of this as a bulb going cheap could be old and not have UV stop and there is a LOT of B***S*** on the web about bulbs that do have UVStop.

Beware of this site:
http://www.aalighting.co.uk/product_...oducts_id=1730
They advertise their products wrongly. When I last checked with them, they advertised their 400W bulbs as having UV stop but what they sold did not!
As you can see the product they sell was added in 2003 when the 400W UVStop bulbs didnt exist.
They also nearly doubled the price of the 250W D bulb when they found they can be used for projectors!


If you need to search for the right bulb, use this search string in google exactly as I have typed it including the quotes.
Replace the hyphen and slash with a space or remove the UV bit (if stuck) for more/different choices.

"HQI-TS 400/D" UV

[Chernobyl]

Originally Posted by spanielgita

When are you planning on removing your anti-glare??
dan

I'll be doing this next week and am crapping myself lol.

[spanielgita]

thanks for the info again! i thought as much with the colour temperatures, i read your post on it earlier in this forum. i will buy from the german supplier if they ever have stock in. doesnt really matter at the moment because i am short on cash and i cant afford a lighting kit yet!

but i will def be upgrading the lighting system asap! would you say your 250w bulb is bright enough? how does it compare to your original halogen that came with the projector? how many times brighter. i really dont know if its worth me going for the 400watt one!

also i came across this article about upgrading the optics on the ohp

http://www.diyprojectorcompany.com/o...p_retrofit.htm

Another thing, i am working on a material cover with a friend to keep in the light from the projector. it will be made out of black-out material and will cover the entire projector!! (with holes cut for the lense/fans etc). hopefully this will further increase image quality! My friend studies fashion design so she is knowledgable in material construction. I'll let you know how it goes... hoping to have the covering done in the next couple of weeks!

its a busy time for me at the moment, moving flat soon.

[Chernobyl]

The 250W bulb is perfect for me if I had about a 2.8 metre screen.
I'm pushing it a little at 2.95 metres (to fill the screen) and use a minor brightness tweak in movies/TV and games to compensate. Windows always is bright enough.
It looks FANTASTIC!


Things to consider:
My room has fairly dark wood walls which allows me to use the projector during the day at 2.95 metres.
during the day I have curtains closed. The room is by no means dark but it is good enough. I can see easily to type and can see everything in the room clearly. The curtains are brown but not very good at blocking light.
I use a slightly better than average screen for gain.
The fresnel has been split which is more efficient.

Once I have removed the anti glare filter, I think 250W will be good enough for well over 3 metre screen in my environment (given the reported 20% brightness increase that has been reported).
In a bright walled room you may be restricted to somewhere around 2.5 metres screen during the day without removing the anti glare filter unless you can block a fair bit of daylight.

Thats a great article about replacing the light on a OHP with a mirrored cooling layer!
Note they are using the ladle type rear reflector which has cutaways to allow the bulb to sit more or less inside it. Without it, much of the light would hit the fresnel lense directly and will be in the wrong place. Also much more heat would be transmitted to the LCD. A job well done by the looks of it.


I considered a material cover for the LCD a while ago but forgot one major issue. You must have a fan blowing on the LCD which will make the material move a lot. Unless stretched quite tight it can wobble in the way of the light.
Also there is a little bit of noise from the OHP/fans, its not much but as always, the less noise the better. A solid cover will mute the noise more.
I may have the wrong end of the stick if your friend has chosen the material very well. I'm eager to see the results
Good luck with moving house. I bet your new place is designed around the projector lol.

I suggested you get a 400W bulb as the last thing you want is to be disappointed. You are used to a 600W Halogen system and will have a certain level of expectation.
The overall brightness of the 250W MH is slightly better than the 400W halogen bulb that the OHP came with. I imagine the 400W MH bulb will have slightly more light power than your 600W Halogen as the 400W MH bulbs have more lumens/watt than the 250W MH bulbs.
Its very possible a 250W bulb will be good enough for you, you need to make an educated decision on it though and be prepared to do a little more work to get the most out of the bulb as I do.

If electricity didnt cost so much I would use a 400W bulb with an IR/UV filter.

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by Chernobyl

p.s.
Hi admins
I'm not receiving many emails that tell me a post has been made here including the last post by Spanielgita. This has been happening since last year.
I dont use any special anti spam software just MS Outlook and always check my junk mail folder so I dont know why this is happening.
Is it possible to check please?

I also am receiving notifications of thread updates. However, it is worth noting that if there three posts between your visits, you will receive ONLY ONE notification, NOT one notification for each post.

[Chernobyl]

Originally Posted by gizmo

I also am receiving notifications of thread updates. However, it is worth noting that if there three posts between your visits, you will receive ONLY ONE notification, NOT one notification for each post.

Thanks Gizmo
its been working ok since.
It only breaks every so often, it seems when a post has been made after there hasnt been a post for a while.

[spanielgita]

Thanks for more information on your ligthing situation, you have painted a much clearer picture for me

thinking about my 600w bulb, i could NEVER run it in daylight and always had a very dark room before the image was at all usable. i did however project from a good 4.5 metres from the screen so i think this is a major factor.

what i am thinking at the moment is " when i split the fresnel i will need the proj closer to the screen anyway" (if i am correct in thinking this will indeed be the case. so i wont need as bright a bulb. And also " if i take the anit-glare off, then the image will be brighter still" ALSO (lol) i think if the cover system works it will cut out the light produced from the projector!!!! so my room will be ultra dark lol.

with all these factors in mind i think i will go for the 250watt system, it should be more than adequate!

lol - you are bang on about moving house btw! i had the choice of 3 rooms and my 2 other flatmates and i decided it would be best if i got the largest room for the projector. this means we call all sit in on a sofa in my room and watch things! they are most excited about this lol.

i wish there was a way of finding out how much light my bulb gave out! its an old school "DYR 240v 650W" osram fitting bulb. it would help me greatly in deciding what bulb to get. i must say that i am swaying towards the 250w, cheaper to run and the included uv filter.

also i have thought about the material moving. i discussed this with my friend and she said that you can put boning in it! this is a item used to give dresses etc shape and posture. also the addition of velco should be enough to pull the material tight and minimise movement. took a while planning out a design also - and i must say it looks pretty good. i am optimistic about the future results.

Can't wait for you to try the anti glare removal, best of luck! hope all goes well.

Dan

Are you in the UK? i'm in glasgow. cant beleive the lack of suppliers in the UK it really sucks.

[Chernobyl]

lol, what size screen do you have?!!
If you are using a wall, you may want to consider ScreenGoo paint for not only a brighter picture but better contrast and colours.
I failed to get my sprayer working and its not wise to paint this stuff onto cloth. Best results are from spraying but from what I have read it is quite awesome painted as well.

Is this your bulb?
http://www.americandj.com/product.as...1424&cat=Lamps
The fitting for OHP's is called A1/233.
Its colour temp is 3200K at 16,500 Lumens.
http://www.donsbulbs.com/cgi-bin/r/b...650w~ansi.html

My old bulb is
http://www.donsbulbs.com/cgi-bin/r/b...239~osram.html
They are hardly any different so a 250W system should suit you fine.

Please note that the UV filter included with the bulb isnt as good as a proper UV filter. The mild burnin that I get seems to favour the colour blue although it does happen to a lesser extent with other colours.
This suggests it is at least partially due to UV or high end blue spectrum.
My burnin gets worse on hot days so I'm thinking it is due to both heat and UV.
Adding a UV filter to the 250W bulb isnt as practical and I dont want to do it. Maybe I will think differently after removing the antiglare filter and getting the ladle rear reflector.

I so dont want to register with that site that doesnt use HTTPs - to get the ladle reflector as its like a honeypot for identity scammers that can get access.

Yeah I live in Gloucestershire
The bulb supply etc here is poor.

Sweet, I hope the material cover works out well. Keep us up to date.

[spanielgita]

yes that is my bulb! 16,500 lumens! how does this compare to the 250w mh? it doesnt seem to say on the german site what it is rated at?
i may order it tonight if all is good, how long did yours take to arrive after ordering>?


i was reading your previous posts about the screengoo - it seems really expensive.... i know a guy that works for a company who sells projector screens and material so i should be able to get this for trade prices! i'll let you know lol!

i dont know if its worth it with that unsecured site, wouldn't you be better sourcing and making it from a ladel from the shops. there has to be one out there that fits the bill!

[Chernobyl]

The 250 Watt bulb is 21,000 lumens but you dont get to use it all as the bulb centre is much larger and more light goes sideways. This will change for the better with the ladle reflector.

The bulb arrived within a week, I cant remember how long it took soz.

I read that IKEA sell a ladle that will do the job as a rear reflector, I'll investigate. Hopefully it is shiny enough and hard wearing. I can polish it up if needed

[spanielgita]

Originally Posted by Chernobyl

The bulb arrived within a week, I cant remember how long it took soz.

do you mean you cant tell me specifically how long? because under a week is ample time!

i googled "ikea ladle" and it came up with some good results, there are 2 ladles - it even gives the dimensions! i think i will buy a ladle or 2 and see what i can do! how wide would the ladel have to be?


OK i may have found my ladle of choice lol

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/vintage-heavy-...QQcmdZViewItem


ooh there are millions of ladles on amazon lol!

this one looks particularly good
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...tchen&v=glance

[Chernobyl]

sorry to take a day to respond, I blame a mixture of beer and far too much reading about reflectors!

Dan, I cant remember how long it took to receive the bulb kit but it was less than a week. Thats all I was saying


I have a lot of information to summarise and make sure that its correct so wont do it just now but heres the jist of it.

I have read a majorly good but long winded discussion at Lumenlabs about the best reflector to use for the larger bulbs they have.
http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=542
Some highlights that matter to us...

1) Some educated DIYers have discussed that the reflector needs to reflect light back directly into the light source where some of it will come out the other side towards the LCD. They say it is only necessary to reflect light back that follows the direct line onto the LCD panel. I'm not so sure of this for a number of reasons, but if they are correct then there is little point in using anything other than a normal rear reflector.

2) Polished steel is only 60% efficient as a reflector so may not be the best solution. Silver and Aluminium are reported to be around 90% efficient if not tarnished.

3) light reflected back at the light source will definitely raise the temperature of the bulb. Using a reflector that encloses the bulb has a double bad effect of raising the bulb temp a lot and makes it harder to cool.

4) the Ikea Napkin holder
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/store...umber=60062740
seems like a very good solution if your bulb isnt too large and could work for us. It rapidly became the preferred solution for many.
I'm going to try it anyway as its so cheap and compare it to the proper but much smaller reflector I have here.

5) Some DIYers claim that only light focussed at the correct angle on the fresnel lense is forwarded to the LCD, others claim that the fresnel tries to redirect a lot more.

6) there was little mention of the use of a Condensor lense above the light. This is odd because I'm sure it is responsible for capturing a lot more light which is one of the aims of the thread.
I'm pretty sure that a condensor will allow a larger variety of reflectors to give decent results.
More on this later

ps my OHP came with a condensor, hopefully yours has one too.

[spanielgita]

hey no probs on the delay - it was well worth the wait!

well done with the information about the reflectors! i didnt know there was such a big difference between the materials used. The ikea napkin holder does look like a good solution - will def get one of those.

still on the hunt for a big enough fresnel though. i emailed the ebay guy about the 310mm one but its only in one part. this wont be suitable.

unfortunately my ohp did not come with a condenser lense, i will purchase one if they are cheap enough though, esp if it will help.

looking to order the lighting system (250watt) on wed if my pay comes through from my old work!!! i think it's going to cost 67 pounds in total which is not bad at all.

Dan

[Chernobyl]

I'm getting the napkin holders tomorrow (today really but I need sleep ) so will get some info up asap.
I read that polishing them more makes little to no difference so you get almost the best result as they come.

I wish the German guy had stock more often.
It may be worth sending him an email asking for all the things you want (include the condensor lense) to see if you will have to wait long.
His email is
Stephan Stange [webmaster@diy-community.de]

Fitting one of these above the bulb will make a new light source point.
This likely means you need to move the bulb further away from the fresnel lense or move the fresnel. You will want a mount made from metal to hold the condensor lense in place as it gets extremely hot.

You may want to hold off purchasing until I've worked out whether his rear reflectors are better than Ikeas
You will most likely need a new rear reflector, my OHP one wasnt big enough for the new bulb, it had a colour tint also. I ordered the reflector at the same time just in case. Glad I did
If you want to check out what I have, it costs 8.9 Euros and made a big difference
http://62.75.177.102/shop2/index.php...hkat=4&skat=12

Postage for the light kit was 17 Euros 1.5 years ago so it shouldnt be too far off that for you.

Tomorrow or Weds I'll give a full account of the recent findings.

[spanielgita]

Thats cool that you are getting them today! i hope they are in stock.

thanks for that german guy's addy - just sent him an email asking when i could order all my parts togethere. you're right i think its the best idea to wait a bit until things are clearer!

the delivery price is exactly the same lol. so its good to see its still good value.

i'll be check the forum later to see what your results are. hope all goes well!!!

Dan

[Chernobyl]

I've got the napkin thingies, they are quite shiny, not as good as the reflector but much bigger.
My hope is that by placing the light closer to it, less light will escape and light reflected back by the sides of the bulb will be caught by the condensor lense sat millimetres above the bulb.
I have to work out a way to mount it but that wont be hard.

The centre of the new reflector is not quite flat but the flattish part is very small so hopefully wont have an impact.

I'll take some piccies of them side by side.

[spanielgita]

cool man... looking forward to the pics!! going to watch the spain france game but will keep an eye out.

[Chernobyl]

It works but isnt easy to setup optimally.
At the moment the bulb is resting on the lip of the reflector, rather lower than at its focal point. I did want to raise the bulb a bit nearer the reflectors focal point but I cannot get the whole bulb assembly low enough to compensate, the OHP is too small to take it.
The colour tone is good and the light spread is pretty uniform.
I dont think it will be as bright as the proper reflector when setup optimally as it is about 70 to 80% as bright right now.
Unfortunately I cant test it to find out with this OHP.

The picture looks exactly as it did before just a bit dimmer.

Photo 1) is the OHP/projector working with no fresnel or LCD before changing the reflector.
2) what the normal reflector looks like in situ
3) comparison of the reflector sizes
4) the Ikea reflector in situ

I'll do a photo of the whole bulb assembly with the Ikea reflector and condensor lense when I take it apart again (I forgot to take one )

[Chernobyl]

Heres the last picture with the condensor lense in place.
I wish to revise my 70 to 80% brightness figure as it isnt as bad as I first thought. It is about 80 to 90% of the brightness of the proper reflector once the bulb has fully warmed up.

I'm back on the original reflector and it is definitely better.
I am impressed with the Ikea reflector though, I expected far more problems like uneven light distribution and a colour tint. It could also get somewhere near the brightness of the proper reflector if set up correctly.

For the sake of 9 Euros + post, I feel it is worth getting the proper reflector rather than this if you have a small bulb like the HQI-TS

Some time soon I want to get the ladle reflector which surrounds the bulb from the shop in the US.

[spanielgita]

wow - very in depth information there!! thanks

its a pitty that the napkin holder isnt better but you are right, the reflector isnt that much anyways.

i was thinking that you could cut the bottom out of the napkin one and use that as a "surround" to your smaller reflector? this will surely give you some more light!

i was talking to my freind last night and i remembered that his dad is in charge of the lighting for the whole of glasgow!! haha. so he suggested that i should see if his dad could get me the kit. my mate told me today that he can get everything i need - except the condenser lense. so hopefully i will get it all soon and i can start building!! cant wait

have you ever tried the projector without the condenser lense? does it make a huge difference?