DIY Projector on the Cheap

Step 1 Materials and Initial Disassembly

Materials:

LCD Monitor, any old one will do, the backlighting is going to be ripped out anyway. In my case, 14" was perfect, larger would have gone outside the border of the overhead's window.

Overhead projector, like from school. I'm no expert at these, and living in Taiwan, it was nearly impossible to find, but I know there are loads on ebay for cheap.

Document protector, used for housing the power and settings strip of the monitor.

Cork. Self explanatory.

First, get the LCD glass out of the monitor by carefully unscrewing, dismembering and prying. Be careful around the wires and you should be fine. One handy thing is that on mine, the display cable was detachable from the motherboard, so that made it easier. It's helpful to have a second pair of hands for this, in my case, I used my girlfriend's.

Comments

[Whales]

 okay, so to make this "cheap" projector i have to buy an expensive one? kinda defeats the point of it in the first place. unless you're talking about a different projector than i'm thinking.

[squiggy2]

The projector you need to get (I stole one from school) is an overhead transperancy projector - one of those ones that are a big box of light with a mirror on top and you print on a piece of perspex then place that on top and can write on it with whiteboard markers.
they're a fraction of the price (if they cost anything at all) of a data projector which plugs into a computer and can project moving images

[downgrade]

If you followed the project you would see they made a video projector with an overhead (or "transparency") projector.

[mad magoo]

I looked on ebay, and if you do it right this whole project could run you under 150 USD. Old (but good--there is really no design variation between old and new basic overhead projectors) overhead projectors can be found on Ebay for around 50 USD, sometimes less. LCD monitors are generally around 80-100 USD. That's cheaper than replacement light bulbs for some commercial projectors.

[cody777]

i got my over head for free i just went to a school and asked if they had an extra they gave me a pile of parts and i just had to assemble it

[squiggy2]

same here. I even got a fully assembled one :P
and I got an LCD monitor from the IT department because the backlight didn't work - perfect!
= one data projector ASOLUTELY free

[bennyj92]

Whales, the overhead projector is like a big box, that shines light upwards, through a transparency, which can be written on. Then the light is reflected forwards and focused by a lens, and projected onto a wall/screen.
The difference is that it has no screen, and has no input for a video device (or any capability of such.)
They are pretty much old technology, i just finished High School and they dont use them anymore, but they did when I was in primary school!
they should be pretty cheap nowadays!