LED Projector Lamp v.1.0

My first video projector. Ever.

Last year I came across a cheap Toshiba TLP T70M projector on some e-bay wanna-be site over here in Romania. It had no lamp at all but other than that it was operating properly (or so the salesman told me). I traded it for a Shuttle computer I had in my closet and in a few days the projector was delivered. I was surprised that it was in a good condition, I was expecting cracks and scratches, it had none. I turned it on and - predictably - the “lamp missing” LED came on in about two minutes. At this point the projector shuts down automatically. During those two minutes I was able to see the startup screen by looking thru the lenses while holding a small flashlight where the bulb was supposed to be. So yes, it was operating.

I started google-ing all I could find about this projector. I came across the complete Toshiba TLP T70M  user manual (it had none when I received it) and that’s about all. At this point I wasn’t really decided what to do, I was tempted to buy a light bulb for this model and use it as anyone should. On the other hand being horrified by the huge price that projector bulb had it was clear I had to find an alternative light source. Me being a LED addict I started thinking about that. It was the obvious choice but the problem will be the light output. The projector’s lamp had 2000 lumens and in “eco-mode” had 1000 lumens. I was aiming for his lower figure as I won’t be using the projector in daylight anyway. So my goal is 1000 lumens of LED light.

Insert a few weeks of random ideas and pointless calculations here. Lazyness, to be more precise.

Step 1: Parts used

I decided I will buy the most powerful LED I can get my hands on and try to use it as a light source in my projector. All this without being distructive or making irreversible changes to the projector. Google that and it turned out my only choice in power LEDs (over here, in Romania) was a Cree MC-E M, Star, White, 752 lumens output, 4 chips, 110 degree (light beam). I was hoping for a OSRAM OSTAR rated 1000 lumens but the reseller couldn’t provided it.

The original projector lamp had 2000 lumens and 1000 lumens in eco mode. I figured if I get close to that eco-mode it might be usable in my tiny apartment. This LED is rated for 50.000 hours of operation and is considered equivalent with a 75W incandescent bulb. I also ordered a 700mA constant current power supply to power it. This one is rated up to 30V DC output @ 700mA and is powered by grid power (220V AC here). I plan to hide it inside the projector once the project is successful. But enough daydreaming.

Comments

[takeouup]

how did you get the projector to stop shutting down without the right bulb . how does it know the bulbs is bad , is it volt/watt usage of the bulb or the brightness of the bulb . i tried to use 120v 100w bulb it comes on , lights up , but still says replace bulb and shuts off. any help would be appreciated . thanks for your time.

[invisiblelight386]

Most projectors send a logic signal to the main board that tells it that the bulb is either missing or needs to be replaced. Use a multimeter to check the wires that are connected to the board. If there are any labels on the board use those to try to figure out what each wire is for. You will most likely find a wire that is either 5v or 0v when the projector turns on and then switches to the opposite voltage when the "replace bulb" message shows up. How familiar are you with digital logic?

[claudiopolis]

First, I'd try resetting the bulb-hour counter. Some projectors use that as a first layer of protection. Then, as invisiblelight386 wrote, you need to find the wire responsible for shutting down the bulb's power supply. Hook the black lead of your multimeter to a ground point on your board.
With the red probe touch (one by one) the connections of the signal wires. Those are easy to spot as there are 3/4 or five thin wires (or flexible strip) going into the power supply. The power wires are much thicker. Measure the voltage on each wire with the projector on, just before shutting itself down. You'll notice one of them shows 5V before shutting down and as the power supply shuts down, that wire will show 0V. Mark that wire and go find a permanent 5V source on your board (using the same red probe). Usually around the small power regulators. Once you find it, solder a wire there and solder the other end to the wire that goes 0V when shutting down. Having a permanent 5V there tricks the board into believing the projector bulb is on and the boot sequence goes on as normal. Use your 120v bulb to discover you'll hardly see anything on your screen :-). That burnt projector bulb was way stronger than that.

[goldenshuttle]

Nice work Claudio...I have bought a dead Sanyo projector with missing bulb. not sure if it was the bulb or other thing. bulb is costly so im afraid 2 buy it then it turns the problem from other reason....feel like wanna rip all the electronics out and turn it into LED projector.....good work buddy

[Lefrançois]

i have found that on 'deal extreme'
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/prime-20w-2000-lumen-led-emitter-metal-plate-white-16-18v-42572
résult
http://www.dealextreme.com/feedbacks/browseCustomerPhotos.dx/sku.42572~id.84204
for 16,61 € or 20,18$ freeshipping
if this can you help....

[vistal]

Lamp Life: UP TO 50,000 hours

Total Watts: 96watts (32 High powered LEDs fused onto a cell Plate)
2,500 Lum
These bulbs are on ebay . Wonder now if i can get info on a conversion for a reg Projector now.:))

[arnookie]

You can now buy led projector bulbs from ebay.
£36.49 + postage from here is the cheapest I found.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HD-LED-Projector-EXTRA-REPLACEMENT-SPARE-BULB-LAMP-/150591650632?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item230ff63b48

Copy and past that link and you can see for yourself.
I was going to do the same thing, ie buy a used projector with no bulb and make my own, But I decided to buy one of the cheap Abis projectors off ebay.
I was very supprised how good these cheap projectors are.
But be very carefull. I purchased the Abis HDpro for £200 and it has two hdmi inputs, component, composite input, vga and tv tuner input. It handles 720p fine and 1080p with compression 4.3 to 16.9 aspec ratio in all formats. Some other makes don't have all these features. It saved me a lot of hassle trying to make one work the way you have.

But if you are trying leds I would look at the cheap led projector bulbs off ebay.
Lamp Life: UP TO 50,000 hours Total Watts: 96watts (32 High powered LEDs fused onto a cell Plate) and upto 2,500 lumens.

[vistal]

Thats Sweet just what i was looking for . I hate the 2000 hours on a reg bulb i wonder if i can convert my norm bulb to this style.

[butterninja]

Hey all. I too am staring on a projector project and I hope to have it done by Christmas. would people be interested in basic and slowly added instructions, or would it be better to upload them in one large batch? let me know if your interested in a full instructable on this. also any suggestions on what lumen bulb to get would be great.

[claudiopolis]

I always believed a fully fledged instructable is better than adding stuff as you go. That's why I post so rarely :-). My LED Projector Lamp v.2.0 is stalled right now with no real future. I might post the progress so far, maybe someone can take it from there on.

[biolethal]

found something crazy on ebay... a 100w led. supposedly has about 8000 lumens output.  link

[claudiopolis]

Thanks, I saw that one a while ago. Too much heat to get rid of, too much power draw, requiring a beefy power supply. And you don't really need that many lumens anyway. Around 3000 would be enough, I say.

[biolethal]

yep. it would be cool though. http://tesladownunder.com/LEDs.htm#100%20W%20LED

[claudiopolis]

Actually it would be hot. Real hot. 90W thermal dissipation is way more than a PC processor puts out. Imagine the cooling solution needed. Put that aside, just consider the fact that your projector might just melt due to the intense light beam this 7000 lumens LED puts out. You know, projectors are mainly plastic....

[kokyay]

it all depends on the led, most led's don't give out the UV light. it is mainly the UV light that makes the light beam hot.
this causes a lot of problems in some poorly designed projectors and TV's because the light destroys the panels. if you use a white high power led and it should work fine. leds are considered very efficient.

[biolethal]

oh. misscommunication... i meant figuratively cool, not physically cool. :) maybe with a temperature switch and variable dimming of the led it might work.

[invisiblelight386]

I bought the 100w 8000lm LED chip on ebay. it came with a power supply, lens and reflector for about $60. The heat shouldn't bee too much of a problem. the original bulb was a 100w bulb was just as hot. A heat sink is absolutely needed and do not run it with out the fans of the projector on. So far i have not had a heat issue. the picture is not the brightest but it is 100% better than my previous 2000lm bulb. I will be putting up an instructable of my build soon (by the end of the year).

[claudiopolis]

Looking forward for that one. I envy you. :-)

[biolethal]

That sounds awesome!

[invisiblelight386]

I have finished the the write up. Here it is:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Convert-A-Projector-To-An-LED-Light-Source/

[skaur]

Congrats Claudiopolis - I know its been over a year now. I wonder how everything is with your son and if any luck has happened with v 2.0?

Thanks!

[claudiopolis]

Hi skaur, thanks for asking. My son proved to be a much bigger challenge. than we ever anticipated. That's because his medical condition requires almost daily kinetic therapy. So we're back and forth between home and hospital but other than that he's just fine. Hopefuuly he'll be soon in line with the other babies of his age.

As you can imagine v. 2.0 was put on hold and still is. The project is about 50% done but I have troubles focusing the light properly. I may switch to a car xenon bulb setup, it's cheaper and compatible with the shape of the reflector in the original bulb. See www.allinbox.fr for that. Cheers.

[bsilva]

I'm sorry it didn't work out, but it's always useful to see reports of what doesn't quite work.   Sometimes this is more useful education.


Thanks,
Brad

[claudiopolis]

Well, I'm not that sorry! I got to see "Avatar" on a projector! :-) For the first time.
Kidding aside, one learns a lot from failures. And I had lots of them :-))  As it is, I wouldn't consider this V.1.0 bulb a failure, it's rather insufficient. Hopefully V.2.0. will be better. I already started working on it but it'll be long before I'll turn that one ON.

[skaur]

Claudiopolis - Any update on v2.0

[Dan8v]

Hi, to all the DIY workers !!!

I am from Argentina and this is my 1st post in this site.

I working in 2 projectors ( Infocus LP350 and X1 ) trying to make the mod of the allinbox.com website.

They use a 150W HQI lamp and usually the mods are with 4000 / 4200ºK color temperature lamp.

All is going OK with this mods but there are many coments about a tiny low luminosity.

I am ready to mount the lamps and I have the option of the 150W HQI in 4200, 5200 and 6500ºK in the store.

I think that the better option should be the 5200ºK because 6500ºK is a near "blue" light like xenon lamps.

Did anybody here tried this mod and have an opinion about this values ?

Thanks in advance. Daniel.

[mrworf]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-LCD-Projector-install-any-lightbulb/

About fooling projector check here!!!

[frollard]

Greetings! Great ible! I'm about to embark on the same journey for my optoma hd806 projector :)

The bulb is about 1/4 done its life cycle but starting to flicker, so I want to be ready for it. My plan is to use a 3-5000 lumen 100 watt led, but the light source is 180 degree and need to come up with optics that condense that beam to cram it into the dlp light port. I can't wait to see part 2!

Congrats on the baby!

[claudiopolis]

I was considering the same thing but I'm worried about the cooling. Serious modifications to the projector body will be needed. Also, an external power supply (and a bulky one too for that power). Moreover, the condensed lens need a proper mount, a metal one to cope with the heat. You'll also need a reflector to catch that light, the beam is 180 degrees and no lens will catch that. I seriously wonder about the feasability. A xenon car bulb conversion would be easier to make. See http://www.allinbox.com/modding.htm for examples.

[frollard]

Right - I wouldn't worry about the heat too much - My current bulb draws 300 watts...so I'm sure with a reasonably designed heatsink it could handle it. I just need to find the right lenses and reflectors. (I have a question on the go at the moment)

[palombo5050]

Hey,  I have read you project details and I like your persistance.  I think you should look to the automotive industry for the new LED headlights.  You should be able to come up with a bad to the bone light source.  However, you may need an external 12VDC source with the appropriate amp rating to power this lamp.  But it is already focused and super bright.  Good luck.  Jesse.  Let me know [e-mail].  I am the type of person that would do the same thing you are doing.  It is great to know there are others like me.

[claudiopolis]

Thanks for you nice words. The new generation LED headlights are usually "toys" that can be found in car tuning shops. And those are for low beam, at most. You do realize the prices for that, do you? The original projector lamp might be cheaper than those. One viable solution are the HID Xenon bulbs. Those also require a ballast and a beefy power supply. But the light amount is huge. So is the generated heat. I'd be worried controlling that many lumens, the entire bulb casing should be made of metal. And the voltages would be just too high for me to feel safe.

[jpayton]

What about the 100watt LEDs like: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/prime-100w-8000lm-led-emitter-metal-plate-pure-white-42806

The light surface is fairly large. A little reflector around the edge to catch extra light and I bet at only 50% this thing would light your whole apartment. Just a thought

[capridrifter]

The United States Military has started to use LED headlamps, There not "toys" anymore! However you have to live in America and have $500 bucks to shell out on those badboys. I do like the idea of a prism focusing the light from 4 or more high power LED's I bet when its done right you wont have to worry about replacing lamps every 6 months..lol

[-max-]

@ superbrightleds.com, there purrdy cheap!!!

[dhall645]

I don't know if this will work, but here is an HID headlight kit for about $34 US. You could mount the ballast outside and it says it's 3200 lumens. I have purchased other items from them and so far, decent quality. http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info.php/pName/drivers-edge-hid-xenon-headlamp-kit-h7/

[jpayton]

The biggest problems with these HID Bulbs, especally the cheap ones is the arc that creates the light moves. Rather than a filiment an arc is making the light. the projector bulbs are made at the billionth of an ince to be sure the arc stays still. HID bulbs dont really matter if they flicker a little. but in the projector youd think it was lit with a candle. lol. It may be worth a try with the high quality ones but the cheap ones (like I have...) flicker a lot. if im point the headlight to a wall 10' away the light jumps up and down over a foot.

[claudiopolis]

This would work butthe bulb is a little too long, no way of finding a proper reflector for it, light would get lost. But there are many that used this kind with good results. However, the lamp has a short life. And it's not LED-based :-)

[5ergio]

This is great !!!
But no enought practical...because the cuestion about the bridge electronic to avoid alarm .... most people have a proyector with this problem...lamps too expensive.... but without experience in electronics circuits ...and without pics of the "trick"....

[claudiopolis]

This is practical. It's just not for the begginner in electronics.

Anyway, the problem is that EVERY SINGLE projector has different electronics. So my solution would look very different on another projector because the electronic boards are different, the lamp detection mechanism too so no picture would help.

I found some help in this site: http://www.allinbox.com (beware, it's in French) with some examples on how to bypass the lamp detection for some projectors but of course mine was not listed there.