so i was wandering around in the local thrift store, and came across an old slide projector... it had all the lenses still and was in good condition, for 10 dollars i couldnt pass it down. so my next thought was "what could i do with this?", my first thought was to make a projector, but where to start? i found an awesome instructable on here by newtonn2 https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-small-Diy-LED-Projector/ . so i decided this was the best investment for the slide projector.

Step 1: Get Your Stuff

so first thing is getting your parts, and getting your ideas all down to know what you are going to need

personally, i went the route of buying a high powered LED and a 2.5" portable media player from ebay

your also going to need a projector case (you could make one, use the one it came in, order a box)
i ordered a LUX case for an oscilloscope, it was a free sample(which most of the stuff is) which i found with help from other
instructables

Free Electronic Samples
List of free sample programs for electronic components
Free electronic samples
How To Get FREE Electronic parts

your going to need something for thermal management, so a fan and a heat sink. i got my fan from an broken home theater system
and the heat-sink was another free sample

POWER, you need this for it to work... depending on what you are using for the LED and the screen, your going to be on your own for that one, unfortunatly. since the specs on my LED are 4.2V @ 5A and the PMP is 3.7V @ 600mA its roughly 25W needed.

orginizational things, because you want to have it nice and clear inside so its easy to clean when the beast gets full of dust.
cable clips, PCB boards, momentary switches for the controls

Step 2: My Stuff

LED

so for my LED, i chose this high powered LED from dealextreme (great site, free shipping)
SST-50 1200LM LED Emitter 8000K White Light Bulb (4.2V)
- Bulb type: SST-50
- 1200 Lumen output
- Working voltage: 4.2V
- Working current: 5000mA
- Color: White (5000-8000K)
- Plate: 20mm

PMP

so for the screen, i went on ebay and bought a 2.5" PMP with SD/Camera/ A/V in and out/2GB internal storage/and expandable SD up to 16GB
eBay

Case
so for the case i used a LUX instument enclosure link , it was a free sample, shipped in like 1-2 weeks

PSU
this was a hard one for me (i shouldnt have dropped outta college heh), i needed something to put out 5v @ min 5A from 120VAC, had a few ideas kicking around in my head, just didnt have the correct idea as to how to go about it. i started out looking for an LED driver for the specific one i purchased but no go, then i thought i could have something powering the LED separate from the PMP, but i didnt want to have to many wires kicking around. then i thought well, im going to be dismantaling the PMP anyway so what does it matter.. first idea was to use the transformer that came with the projector, except its a biggen. next was looking for a wallwart that had enough power...no dice. so i decided to design a PSU for the project. so my next task was to find something small, that would drop the voltage and current to 5/5, and heres where i get more free samples...
i ordered a CTSPWF-620-D transformer from CTParts.com it puts out 5V @ 7.2A from 115VAC
i also ordered a few voltage regulators that put out ~ 5v @ 5 A from ~8-40V. it was another free sample from National Semiconductor heh... LM2679 simple switcher
the data sheet for that also has some other passive components needed for the regulator so i ordered those as free samples aswell
1 x 1nF cap
1 x .47uF cap
3 x 15uF/50V
2 x 180uF/16V
1 x 5.6kOhm resistor
1 x 22uH inductor
1 x 45V 6A schottky diode or equiv

Step 3: Design Time!

so now that you have all your materials, or your ideas in your head, time to put them down on paper...
i have several different designs that i put down on paper, mostly for the PSU since i didn't know what my part list was going to be
i tried to keep it as simple as i could.

Step 4: PMP

so, if you got yourself a PMP, the first thing your going to want to do is TURN IT ON. make sure it works before you take it apart.
then tear the bugger apart.

the screen i had, was made up of a thin LCD panel, and a white blocker panel which made the picture dark.

i removed the white panel so i can now see thru the lcd display.

next you might want to extend your buttons depending on where your putting the controls

my PMP has av in and out, it came with a 3.5(1/8")mm to RCA adapter, i removed the ends and attached RCA female plugs so i can attach them to the case

Step 5: STILL a WIP

as the title says, this is still a WIP(work in progress), unfortunately this is one of the things you have to deal with if you dont have the financing to pay for the parts right away and your waiting for free samples. so feel free to rate my instructable if you like it, i am still working on this and am still open for ideas on it.

UPDATES WILL COME SOON

recap,

i have LED
i have screen
i have project box
i have projector guts
i have a dream ;)