Awsome $50 diy projector (well for me)

I been searching the internet on the vast subject of "DIY Projectors" I I finally built a "successful" one. Here is a quick list of supplies I used.
1- portable DVD player w/ input (free broken laser eye hence the "input")
1- photo copier lens ($5 on surplusstore.com)
3- page magnifiers ($1 x 3 = $3 local dollar store)
1- piece of tempered glass (spare form old spot light)
1- 500w halogen light setup ($10- $15 at harbor freight)
1- soup ladle ($1 dollar store)
2- sheets of MDF wood ($8 x 2 = $16 home depot)
3- pc fans (free, I build computers so I have some to spare)
1- black heat paint ($3 home depot)
1- condenser lens ($? I got mine out of a collection of lenses)
I Think thats about it.... page 2

Step 1 Gather the supplies

by this time you should be looking for a portable dvd player mine was free but you can get one at Radioshack *NEW* for about $70 but you can check Ebay ect for used or broken ones. When I say broken I mean the laser eye is bad but it still has a input to connect dvd player, xbox, ps2,or Dreamcast (cause it rocks) . FYI the better the resolution the lcd panel is the better the picture will be. Dont ask me specs on my lcd cause "I DO NOT KNOW" all I know is I'm getting an awesome picture. Sorry I dont have any pictures "in the process" but I only have the "end results" pictures. but this is my lcd glued and ready to go.

Comments

[Abhineo]

does the 4.2" mp4 player lcd work?

[CedricAnne97]

But, how big is you're LCD?
It's kind of important!
thanx

[slimguy379]

7"

[shonray]

hey nice work ...must say .... but jst wanted to ask will a laptop lcd panel do for this project ??

[TheTrustedOne]

This is a great design for an on the cheap DIY projector, I have been building a bigger version of these for awhile, Those that are looking for in depth detail in regards to the physics of the projector and how to build a 1080p version of this projector that honestly rivals the really expensive projectors with bright bulbs that are $20 instead of $300 (commercial projector) should check out the site http://www.lumenlab.com, there is an entire community of people building projectors there.

[TheTrustedOne]

http://lumenlab.com, sorry no www on the link

[AF-Geek]

Looks like Lumenlabs has gotten out of the projector biz.  Still some stuff to be found on their site, though:

Nice pdf guide here: Lumenlab_DIY_projector_guide_v2.0.pdf

Projector building forums here: LumenlabForums

[AF-Geek]

The link has a comma at the end that is causing your problem.
Click here:  http://www.lumenlab.com

[vistal]

your link leads nowhere repost it .

[fishofsword]

ahahaha comon guys

http://micro.lumenlab.com/

[xanxor]

THUNDER CATS HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[porkypinekiwi]

that looks hard to extend the wires

[porkypinekiwi]

i made one of them and i didnt use the second magnifier after the lcd i just went
light-Fresnel-lcd-magnified glass

[TK3k]

it looks like you glued in the the lcd?

[slimguy379]

yeah a bit of epoxy will work wonders. the alternative is like screws which made me feel a little skeptical.

[ScubaSteve]

could i possibly make a mini-projector with a battery-operated TV that has inputs?

[slimguy379]

no you say tv as in CRT monitor not lcd. lcd is the only type of monitor used for this application.

[ScubaSteve]

No, its an LCD. Im sure i can do it, just scale evreything down.

[slimguy379]

oh yeah sorry my bad. that will work.

[GreenD]

Cool dude, I'm still confused - how do you use a broken dvd player, and also - what is the power supply to the LCD monitor? What is that hooked up to, just a wall plug? Thanks for the sweet project - Going to try and customize it for an xbox if you see where I'm goin with that.

[ScubaSteve]

the broken DVD player is the monitor..

[slimguy379]

its a portbale dvd player. research them its not just a regular dvdv player. usually the power supply is just a 12 or 9v plug in. and its just a regular 120v plug in the wall.

[GreenD]

What do you mean the portable dvd player has an input?? Why does it not matter if the laser eye works or not?

[slimguy379]

the reason why you would want a dvd player with a broken eye is because there cheaper. with a dvd player without an input you can only play dvds through the actual dvd player, but with an input you can use it witha  out side source such as an xbox.

[bombmaker2]

firstly, awsum project im working on one now.
second, how big is your screen and the piece of wood you used

[slimguy379]

the screen image is/was somewheres around 70" and as far as wood, idk. I know that i bought the MDF in sheets at homedepot fo $8. and they all come in one uniform size.

[bombmaker2]

i meant how big was the lcd itself diagonally

[InvaderDig]

Okay, last two questions (thanks for your patience) - How did you wire the PC fans into working? I've been thinking about drills ventilation holes because I know absolutely nothing about computer components and their wiring needs.

Did you notice any difference between a 500 Watt bulb and the 250 Watt when it came to picture quality?

[slimguy379]

the fan is simple you cut off the conetion of the pc fan so you have bare red and black wires.your red is  + and your black is a - or ground. you pc fan is run on 12v. so for me i used an old cell phone charger or any charger for that matter that knocks 120v to 12v. if you see any writing, engraving or stickers on the charger they should have a listing for "output" granted 10v to 13v will do but typically youll find 12v oututs. then just cutoff the end of the charger, strip the wires, and locate the wire with dashes on it compared to the other wire with no markings. the non marked wire is you -, or your black wire. so now obviously the marked wire is +. so just connect that to your red. solder the wires.cover them over with tape and plug it in. hopefully if done right she'll spin.

but yes  there was a difference in the image brightness, and over all quality. some guys upgrade to over head projector bulbs. or ever metal haloide.not sure if i spelled it right. Later on though i will try using a a mercury vapor bulb. just the brighter the better i guess. ik of guys who have use high power LEDs in arrays. i tried that but was a new kid on the block to LEDs, soldering, and arrays so i had no success. but it illustrates the idea that theres tons of light sources available, just a matter of what you can afford. hence why i used a cheap halogen light LOL

[InvaderDig]

 How far away did you place your light source from the LCD screen? Also, surplusstore.com doesn't seem to be around anymore - do you know of any other surplus websites off hand?

[slimguy379]

http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l3132.html idk seemed to work for me. but to a mockup and play with the components without a box, get it to optimum quality then measure everything out then build a box. my demensions wont surve a purpose since evryboys project will be different just to some messing around with it

[InvaderDig]

Thanks mate! cheers! :D

[InvaderDig]

so you're telling me that I can add back lighting to an LCD screen just by isolating the screen and throwing a light behind it?

and where do I place the page magnifiers? I'm a little confused where they go. Do you have a diagram available?

[slimguy379]

yeah you can when the backlight is taken away the LCD becomes transparent. but read step 4, the page magnifiers come before and after the LCD one to maginfy and spread the light as the other sharpens it so the lens can pick it up i do have a diagram which is in step 4 you have to put your cursor over the boxes to see what is what.

[mcastles]

Nice projector.

[mhkabir]

Any way how to increase the 'warmth' of the projected picture??

[slimguy379]

no sure what you mean by warmth, but my LCD screen has settings of contrast ect to be changed. also a bigger better bulb will help with a better projected image

[petar k]

can you tell us what is the temperature of the light i Kelvins and what are the temps of the bulb after few hours working? have you try to put multiply lamps, would it make problem since it is not pont light even in case that there is only one light source?

[bobbyc0117]

I am wanting to do a backyard theater application of this, do you have any idea of the max screen size this would work for?

[Roflolommo]

If your talking light wise these guys have a chart showing how much light you need depending on how big a screen youll want and in what ambient light conditions. I dont know how accurate it is but it gives a good general idea.
http://www.projectorpeople.com/resources/lumen-guide.asp