DIY Projector - Completed!

*o* · Post by ***o*** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 11:18 pm

if you want to get rid of the orange tint use a projector bulb they'll give you some white light...removing the orange tint

superdeformed · Post by **superdeformed** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 11:29 pm

*o* wrote:if you want to get rid of the orange tint use a projector bulb they'll give you some white light...removing the orange tint

He said the orange is from his camera, the bulb he's using is a metal halide which are usually pretty white (4000K+ color temperature). And unless you're talking about the $300 and up commercial light assemblies, most projector bulbs are around 3000-3500K color temp, which means they're slightly yellow.

*o* · Post by ***o*** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:39 am

oh ok soory i thought you were using a halogen bulb

Radon199 · Post by **Radon199** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 8:43 am

Ya I am useing a MH bulb, that orange tint is just my camera, prolly because I had to use a long exposure time.

sam · Post by **sam** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 9:50 am

Radon, how much did you pay for everything, total.

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 9:57 am

I've had my eye out for cheap LCDs since this topic started (so far with no luck). I'm thinking of making one more like snesguy's, (since I don't know how to handle the optics of your way) but how much did this end up costing you? all my pricing is closing in on $300...

Radon199 · Post by **Radon199** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 10:50 am

For everything total around $450 CAD, but I didn't do a lot of bargan hunting, It prolly would have been around $400 CAD if I actuly tryed to get a deal on my LCD, and didn't have to pay a truckload in shipping and customs charges...

SNESguy · Post by **SNESguy** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:03 am

Well, my rig is about 95% completed, but the doofus I ordered the IR shield from is taking FOREVER to send it.

This is what I'd call a production delay.

I integrated a fan cooling system into the LCD and placed the small glass filter (from the bad HQI bulb i found) in front of the halogen. However, this is STILL not enough heat removal. I think that the small shield is probably just for filtering UV, not infrared.

Stupid 410W Halogens!! They're more like space heaters than a light bulb!

I will try to get some pics of the newest improvements shortly.

Until then,

SNESguy

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:22 am

you could always upgrade the lighting technology at a later point--that's the beauty of an overhead--and was my plan. I remember from grade school that those tended to get pretty warm, but figured that I could just increase the distance between my screen and overhead projector surface to decrease heat damage. How far up can you go before the focus goes? 2-3"?

also, overheads tend to be a standard size, what's the LCD size that I should be looking for?

Radon199 · Post by **Radon199** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 4:48 pm

Ya, DIY Projector Company has been know to take up to a month to ship stuff, and then they ship it groud so it can take up to another month to get to you, thats the main reason why I didn't buy any thing from them.

superdeformed · Post by **superdeformed** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 5:04 pm

I ordered my IR filter from DIY Projector Company and got it within a week. He seems to be out of a lot of stuff at the moment though: Availability list

sam · Post by **sam** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 5:17 pm

What is a list of item s you need to complete this because I am really looking to do this in the spare room in MY basement.

superdeformed · Post by **superdeformed** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 5:40 pm

sam wrote:What is a list of item s you need to complete this because I am really looking to do this in the spare room in MY basement.

It really depends on how you want to make it. The simplest (and most likely cheapest) way to go would be an LCD screen on top of an overhead projector, in which case all you need aside from the screen and projector is something to use as a frame for the LCD, and an extra fan for cooling.

If you want to build everything yourself, you will need:
An LCD screen that can be arranged to have nothing behind the glass

A light source - something with a small arc length/point source
- Halogen projector bulbs: work ok, but they're usually pretty darn hot
- Metal halides: more expensive, but much more efficient and brighter; you'll probably need a reflector too

An IR filter (depends on how much heat the bulb puts out)

UV Filter (if you are using a bulb that doesnt already have this built in)

An objective lens (for projecting the image)

2 Fresnel lenses with a focal length close to your objective lens' focal length

Fans for cooling

First surface (also called front surface) mirror(s) if you want to make the enclosure smaller

If you're really interested in this, I highly suggest looking at the forums at www.diyprojectorcompany.com and www.diyaudio.com

Radon199 · Post by **Radon199** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 7:03 pm

http://www.lumenlab.com is the site I used mostly, the guide is worth the $20 but whats really worth it is accsess to the forums and the project logs.

Superdeformed basicly sumed it up. I would do a lot of research before you commit to this, it can get expencive if you blow up your LCD...

sam · Post by **sam** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 10:16 pm

Would a psone screen serve the purpose for the lcd?

Also, the objective lens, like on say a school projector?