My DIY Projector....for all you non-believers

Yoodaa · 5th April 2005, 9:26 PM

Heres a few pics from my DIY projector. YES it really works. Im not able to specify how it was made, but i can tell you the plans can be bought from lumenlab.com, and the projector can be made for about $600 Australian. If any of you have looked into this and though...."thats a load of", well this proves you wrong. I was originally going to go for a overhead projector setup like on toms hardware, but this is much more adjustable, and the results really dont compare. The globe lasts 30,000 plus hours!! and only cost $60 aus. Thats years of entertainment for only $60. The image I am looking at is about 12ft. The pictures are really hard to take, but the image is as clear as anything in real life, as most of the screenies show you, accept the world of warcraft one which i have trouble taking photos of for some reason. It really is the best thing ive spent my money on. This was the way games/movies were meant to be watched/played. Anyways, enjoy guys.....cause i certainly am. Feel free to pm me with any q's on the beast.

Thraxeh · 5th April 2005, 9:35 PM

isnt this just one of those $15 magnifier things from ebay ? or what ?

edit: btw it looks very good!

Yoodaa · 5th April 2005, 9:57 PM

Ahhh.......no its not....like i said it cost about $600 aus to build, and it uses a few high qaulity lenses that need to be bought. Please.....do you think some $15 e-bay crap would look anywhere near this good? No...its not a crappy gimmick....

puls3 · 5th April 2005, 10:34 PM

more photos, i love eyecandy.

edit: how long did it take you to build?

pippin88 · 5th April 2005, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoodaa

Ahhh.......no its not....like i said it cost about $600 aus to build, and it uses a few high qaulity lenses that need to be bought. Please.....do you think some $15 e-bay crap would look anywhere near this good? No...its not a crappy gimmick....

Telling us what's in it would not be breaking copyright or anything.

Elder · 5th April 2005, 10:41 PM

It looks bloody fine to me, even ignoring any camera shot degrading.

Can you give some more photo's of the actual unit? the pic doesn't show much
were most the parts ordered from overseas?
what lcd?

I'm very interested in making one of these. I have family and friends on the lookout for a overhead projector at the moment but the improvement you have is pretty obvious.

alxx · 5th April 2005, 10:47 PM

Yeah details please!

What lenses ? what controller ?
where did you get the parts ?

whats the specs , scan rate etc

stuff we would need to build our own please

sciencewhiz · 5th April 2005, 10:52 PM

Any chance of a picture of the projector so that we can get an idea of it's size, please?

whitetoeddog · 5th April 2005, 11:02 PM

looks cool,

checked out the site lumenlabs.com, I'm guessing thats 19.95 USD that you paid for the plans?

as mentioned, some dimensions of the box would be great

Yoodaa · 5th April 2005, 11:04 PM

I sourced all the parts in Australia which is good for us aussies. I think i was the first to do so actually!. Got the bulb and stuff from middy's, and the electronics to control the globe from hydrostore.com.au. The lenses are bought via lumenlab store. Bassically brainchild, the creater of the guide and projector plans has sourced lenses that are compatable for this project. I think he actually gets them manufactured!. They are a high quality acrylic lense, not some flimsy ebay crap....i investigated all possibilities! The LCD is a CMV 520D LCD 15" monitor (1024 X 768) that is pulled apart and stripped down to the bare lcd glass component and electronics. The quality is amazing. I have looked at many projectors in stores and seen none, apart from the 6k plus ones that compare to the quality of this. Its about 2.5 foot long, a foot wide, and a foot tall. I have pics of the unit on my camera, but havent had a chance to offload them yet. If you are interested, and serious about building one, just take my word and buy the guide, its only $30 Aus, and you also get access to the forums which provides endless help and support. It really will be the best $30 u ever spent! Im not trying to sell this, its just out of respect. I really dont want to say much more about the design cause brainchild helped me many times with the project and i respect him enough not to ruin his business. I will have a pic up soon guys of the actual unit.

thrillhouse · 5th April 2005, 11:19 PM

Hey nice work there with the DIY, looks like a great image.
The text in the WOW picture looks pretty blurry, but I guess that would be attributed to the photo degradation.
Another OCAUer made his own projector. http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...0&page=1&pp=15

Thats his thread, plenty of pics.

Elder · 5th April 2005, 11:20 PM

Hm very tempting, dunno about buying instructions though even if its only $30. Will have to do some research.

Yoodaa · 5th April 2005, 11:31 PM

Yeah he is using the lumenlab plans. Im sure you can probably get the guide somewhere on the web...but...if you ask me its the forum access thats the key. Sure you could get the plans to build it, but when something goes wrong, or you need to ask a question...who better than the guys who build em!!!. Clever on brainchilds behalf if you ask me. And good luck to him. It took about 3 solid weekends to make, including the 4 day easter weekend, and a heap of planning/replanning....Elder....if your interested...just buy the dam guide! Its only $30....it wont kill you. You could try DIYprojectorcompany.com which offer another method of build. Howerver, i belive they are not as good as the lumenlab build, quality wise, and construction seems more difficult. As for WoW...its absolutly perfect in real life. Like i said i have real trouble getting those shots to come out correctly.

hlokk · 5th April 2005, 11:55 PM

I'm looking to do this myself (had to wait since jan to get the funds though

). Can you provide a link to the site u got the bulbs from and more info about the bulbs (power, temp, etc). www.hydrostore.com.au isnt loading (least for me).

Also, for everyone else you can get the plans online for free and help from forums and such, but i guess one of the advantages with the lumenlab guide would be that the guide is setup in a really easy to read format (not snippets on individual pages) and it would also be exactly tailored to the lens's (plus you are helping people out).

s.Neo · 6th April 2005, 12:08 AM

Considering the size of the vga plug, that wooden box looks massive!

5th April 2005, 9:26 PM	#1
Yoodaa Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,090	My DIY Projector....from 15" to 12FT in 3 weeks. Heres a few pics from my DIY projector. YES it really works. Im not able to specify how it was made, but i can tell you the plans can be bought from lumenlab.com, and the projector can be made for about $600 Australian. If any of you have looked into this and though...."thats a load of", well this proves you wrong. I was originally going to go for a overhead projector setup like on toms hardware, but this is much more adjustable, and the results really dont compare. The globe lasts 30,000 plus hours!! and only cost $60 aus. Thats years of entertainment for only $60. The image I am looking at is about 12ft. The pictures are really hard to take, but the image is as clear as anything in real life, as most of the screenies show you, accept the world of warcraft one which i have trouble taking photos of for some reason. It really is the best thing ive spent my money on. This was the way games/movies were meant to be watched/played. Anyways, enjoy guys.....cause i certainly am. Feel free to pm me with any q's on the beast. __________________ Great trades:Pepito, THELTD, yon2004, ic0nic, falun, GenoCyber, iAl3xi, Shood, dabell, bakz, MrvNDMrtN, DarkStyle, Zacros, Bigtosser, nuxie1, unixyk, AFireInside, dabell, TerminalVeloCD, jtsmorris, cyanpixie, resonator, Quazza, spacecabbage, wackywheelz, Brax, beesa888, seadog, Tasty_Vito, jinxhavoc and many... MANY more. Last edited by Yoodaa; 1st September 2005 at 1:24 PM.

5th April 2005, 9:35 PM	#2
Thraxeh Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Sydney Australia NSW Posts: 3,725	isnt this just one of those $15 magnifier things from ebay ? or what ? edit: btw it looks very good! Last edited by Thraxeh; 5th April 2005 at 9:36 PM.

5th April 2005, 9:57 PM	#3
Yoodaa Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,090	Ahhh.......no its not....like i said it cost about $600 aus to build, and it uses a few high qaulity lenses that need to be bought. Please.....do you think some $15 e-bay crap would look anywhere near this good? No...its not a crappy gimmick.... __________________ Great trades:Pepito, THELTD, yon2004, ic0nic, falun, GenoCyber, iAl3xi, Shood, dabell, bakz, MrvNDMrtN, DarkStyle, Zacros, Bigtosser, nuxie1, unixyk, AFireInside, dabell, TerminalVeloCD, jtsmorris, cyanpixie, resonator, Quazza, spacecabbage, wackywheelz, Brax, beesa888, seadog, Tasty_Vito, jinxhavoc and many... MANY more.

5th April 2005, 10:34 PM	#4
puls3 Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Adelaide Posts: 211	more photos, i love eyecandy. edit: how long did it take you to build? __________________ ANTEC/CHIEFTEC CASE OWNERS/MODDERS MEMBER #178 Last edited by puls3; 5th April 2005 at 10:35 PM.

5th April 2005, 10:52 PM	#8
sciencewhiz Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Canberra Australia Posts: 2,523	Any chance of a picture of the projector so that we can get an idea of it's size, please? __________________ Life can be tough, it can be a lot tougher if you're stupid...... [#] Overclockers Australia Forums > User Control Panel For sciencewhiz > Edit Options> Show user's signatures in their posts? = NO

5th April 2005, 10:41 PM	#6
Elder Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Brisbane Posts: 557	It looks bloody fine to me, even ignoring any camera shot degrading. Can you give some more photo's of the actual unit? the pic doesn't show much were most the parts ordered from overseas? what lcd? I'm very interested in making one of these. I have family and friends on the lookout for a overhead projector at the moment but the improvement you have is pretty obvious.

5th April 2005, 10:47 PM	#7
alxx Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Northern Beaches Posts: 433	Yeah details please! What lenses ? what controller ? where did you get the parts ? whats the specs , scan rate etc stuff we would need to build our own please

5th April 2005, 11:02 PM	#9
whitetoeddog Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: By a Lake in WA Posts: 593	looks cool, checked out the site lumenlabs.com, I'm guessing thats 19.95 USD that you paid for the plans? as mentioned, some dimensions of the box would be great

5th April 2005, 11:04 PM	#10
Yoodaa Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,090	I sourced all the parts in Australia which is good for us aussies. I think i was the first to do so actually!. Got the bulb and stuff from middy's, and the electronics to control the globe from hydrostore.com.au. The lenses are bought via lumenlab store. Bassically brainchild, the creater of the guide and projector plans has sourced lenses that are compatable for this project. I think he actually gets them manufactured!. They are a high quality acrylic lense, not some flimsy ebay crap....i investigated all possibilities! The LCD is a CMV 520D LCD 15" monitor (1024 X 768) that is pulled apart and stripped down to the bare lcd glass component and electronics. The quality is amazing. I have looked at many projectors in stores and seen none, apart from the 6k plus ones that compare to the quality of this. Its about 2.5 foot long, a foot wide, and a foot tall. I have pics of the unit on my camera, but havent had a chance to offload them yet. If you are interested, and serious about building one, just take my word and buy the guide, its only $30 Aus, and you also get access to the forums which provides endless help and support. It really will be the best $30 u ever spent! Im not trying to sell this, its just out of respect. I really dont want to say much more about the design cause brainchild helped me many times with the project and i respect him enough not to ruin his business. I will have a pic up soon guys of the actual unit. __________________ Great trades:Pepito, THELTD, yon2004, ic0nic, falun, GenoCyber, iAl3xi, Shood, dabell, bakz, MrvNDMrtN, DarkStyle, Zacros, Bigtosser, nuxie1, unixyk, AFireInside, dabell, TerminalVeloCD, jtsmorris, cyanpixie, resonator, Quazza, spacecabbage, wackywheelz, Brax, beesa888, seadog, Tasty_Vito, jinxhavoc and many... MANY more. Last edited by Yoodaa; 5th April 2005 at 11:07 PM.

5th April 2005, 11:19 PM	#11
thrillhouse Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: sydney sydney sydney Posts: 1,809	Hey nice work there with the DIY, looks like a great image. The text in the WOW picture looks pretty blurry, but I guess that would be attributed to the photo degradation. Another OCAUer made his own projector. http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...0&page=1&pp=15 Thats his thread, plenty of pics. __________________ TenBuckTees Digital \| Screen \| Vinyl \| Embroidery \| Printing on tshirts and more \| PM me Last edited by thrillhouse; 5th April 2005 at 11:20 PM.

5th April 2005, 11:20 PM	#12
Elder Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Brisbane Posts: 557	Hm very tempting, dunno about buying instructions though even if its only $30. Will have to do some research.

5th April 2005, 11:31 PM	#13
Yoodaa Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,090	Yeah he is using the lumenlab plans. Im sure you can probably get the guide somewhere on the web...but...if you ask me its the forum access thats the key. Sure you could get the plans to build it, but when something goes wrong, or you need to ask a question...who better than the guys who build em!!!. Clever on brainchilds behalf if you ask me. And good luck to him. It took about 3 solid weekends to make, including the 4 day easter weekend, and a heap of planning/replanning....Elder....if your interested...just buy the dam guide! Its only $30....it wont kill you. You could try DIYprojectorcompany.com which offer another method of build. Howerver, i belive they are not as good as the lumenlab build, quality wise, and construction seems more difficult. As for WoW...its absolutly perfect in real life. Like i said i have real trouble getting those shots to come out correctly. __________________ Great trades:Pepito, THELTD, yon2004, ic0nic, falun, GenoCyber, iAl3xi, Shood, dabell, bakz, MrvNDMrtN, DarkStyle, Zacros, Bigtosser, nuxie1, unixyk, AFireInside, dabell, TerminalVeloCD, jtsmorris, cyanpixie, resonator, Quazza, spacecabbage, wackywheelz, Brax, beesa888, seadog, Tasty_Vito, jinxhavoc and many... MANY more. Last edited by Yoodaa; 5th April 2005 at 11:33 PM.

5th April 2005, 11:55 PM	#14
hlokk Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: WA Posts: 3,223	I'm looking to do this myself (had to wait since jan to get the funds though ). Can you provide a link to the site u got the bulbs from and more info about the bulbs (power, temp, etc). www.hydrostore.com.au isnt loading (least for me). Also, for everyone else you can get the plans online for free and help from forums and such, but i guess one of the advantages with the lumenlab guide would be that the guide is setup in a really easy to read format (not snippets on individual pages) and it would also be exactly tailored to the lens's (plus you are helping people out). __________________ Oh, for the love of science!

6th April 2005, 12:08 AM	#15
s.Neo Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Darwin, NT, Australia Posts: 342	Considering the size of the vga plug, that wooden box looks massive! __________________ If you fail to anticipate the unforseen, or expect the unexpected in a universe of infinite possibilities we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorised or easily referenced.