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Hardware Entertainment

DIY Projector Plans Released 233

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the better-than-pay-to-play dept.
vroom writes "Lumenlab, a rapidly-growing website dedicated to the art of building LCD projectors, has just released its guide on how to build your own projector. The guide used to sell for $19.99, along with entrance to the "Premium Forums," where like-minded DIYers work together to constantly push this obsession forward. Not sure if building your own LCD projector is for you? Not a problem anymore. Just download the official torrent file of the guide and you're good to go. If you want to roam with the others in the Premium Forums, however, you'll still need to buy a membership."
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DIY Projector Plans Released More

DIY Projector Plans Released

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  • Official? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by etrnl ( 65328 ) *
    I didn't see anything on their site that they were releasing it via torrent... are we sure this is truly an official release and not someone just tossing it up without permission?

    I see a LumenLab banner at the top of Free2Code's site, but with a referrer link like they're an affiliate.

    Maybe I'm just paranoid, but this doesn't feel legit.

  • Could you please specify? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @05:53AM (#14200819)
    "Minor carpentry and electrical skills are required for this project."

    What do they mean by "minor?" Why can't there be a rating system?

    MINOR (Carpentry/Electrical)
    Drunken Redneck/Three Month Old Chimp
    Middle-Age-Crisis-Ridden Father-in-Law/Community College Electrical Engineering Dropout
    Bob Vila/Uncle Ben
    Jesus/Ben Franklin
    MAJOR (Carpentry/Electrical)

  • easy (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @05:56AM (#14200822)
    Here is the list of basic equipment

    1. lcd
    2. strong light source
    3. lens
    4. case
    5. smoke
    6. mirrors
    7. done
    8. profit

    WhatMeWorry!!!

  • Anyone done it? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by EMIce ( 30092 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @05:56AM (#14200824) Homepage
    Are building these worth these worth it? What is the final cost/hours spent/usability/style/performance of the finished product? Compared to say a cheaper $600 finished projector?
    • It looks like the bulbs alone will last you about 6 times as long as finished projectors, and cost a tiny fraction to replace.

    • Re:Anyone done it? (Score:5, Informative)

      by pelrun ( 25021 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @06:37AM (#14200909)
      It's a lot of work, there is some risk involved, and there are areas that don't come close to a commercial projector. Commercial projectors can pump out a lot more light than a diy pj... but the catch is that their bulbs are rated for only a few thousand hours and cost many hundreds of dollars to replace. Spending half the cost of your projector every year or so to replace the bulb, doesn't sound like much fun to me. Or you could keep it in it's box and only use it once a year to conserve the bulb... but then you're not getting your money's worth then either.

      DIY pj's use metal halide HID lamps that last for upwards of *twenty thousand hours* and cost anywhere between $50 and $150 each. Have the thing on all day every day if you want :)

      And there's no understating the worth of boggling the minds of your friends and family when you tell them you made it yourself :D
      • Why aren't there any consumer projectors out there that, even though it may increase the size of the thing, use this kind of bulb?

        • Re:Anyone done it? (Score:3, Insightful)

          by mikael_j ( 106439 )
          Well, probably because someone decided that there isn't a market for them. Also, why sell a cheaper "better" product that's slightly larger than your expensive smaller model? You'd just lose sales of the smaller model..

          Children, this is why you shouldn't let people who only care about money and greed run the world.. :P

          /Mikael

      • Costco has a $1000 HD projector that has been on 24/7 for 1 year now demoing it. and that price includes a 76" screen.

        I really do not see a commercial projector dying too early. hell my old one on my ceiling is still on it's 1st bulb from 6 years ago. Yes it's at 1/2 intensity now but still useable and brighter and certianly clearer at it's 800X600 resolution than any DIY projector I have ever seen.

        BTW, this DIY projector scene has been around cince the 70's I remember the upside down 13" Tv and the fres
        • Half-intensity? From my experience, they stay just as bright for a year and a half (or so, depending on use), and then explode loudly enough that you almost crap your pants. What kind of bulb does your 6-year-old projector use? It's obviously different than what they're putting in InFocus machines now.
      • Commercial projectors can pump out a lot more light than a diy pj

        I'm no expert - but are you sure? HID bulbs produce more lumens per watt than incandescent/halogen/xenon bulbs. HID vehicle headlamps manage about 3000 lumens from just 35W. A 400W HID bulb should be an absolute monster. And the relatively huge LCD could very well have a higher proportion of transmissive area than a smaller one.

        That sounds to me like a recipie for putting out something like a cubic furlong of photons.
      • Just like any bulb, it's the heating and cooling from turning on and off that kills them, not just pure hours on. I manage several conference rooms and each room has a projector. These rooms have been used an average of 8 hours/day, 2-3 days/week, for 4 years and I haven't replaced a bulb yet. I imagine the published life specs are based on the idea of someone turning it on, doing a 30- or 60-minute presentation, and turning it off.

        Also, low-end projectors are barely usable in a brightly-lit room. (Like a l

    • No. Buy Commercial. (Score:3, Informative)

      by Overzeetop ( 214511 )
      If you are using third world child labor, don't count your time at all, and happen to have all the tools and most of the miscellaneous supplies just lying around ready to be put into the transhcan, I'm guessing you might break even.

      Of coursem that's if you don't mind poor color rendition, and have an enormous space for your projector.

      Don't be put off by lamp life. 2000 hours? My first PJ lasted more than 4 years on its original 1000 hour lamp (it had about 1700 when I sold the house, and still looked fine)

    • I almost did it... (Score:3, Informative)

      by RebornData ( 25811 )
      ...but a number of the drawbacks relative to commercial projectors put me off after I really researched it in-depth. Assuming that you already know that size, noise and heat are inherently worse with an overhead projector, there are some other issues:

      Throw distance / placement restrictions: most overhead projectors are designed to be used a presenter *at the front of the room*, while most people would prefer their front projection system to be located at the back. The el-cheapo overhead projectors have a

    • I've built one (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Solder Fumes ( 797270 )
      I built one. My favorite reference, and probably the largest information collection and most active discussion, is at DIYAudio [diyaudio.com] in the "Moving Images" section.

      Here's two photos of my results:
      http://lserve.homelinux.net:7780/PICT0056.jpg [homelinux.net]
      http://lserve.homelinux.net:7780/PICT0141.jpg [homelinux.net]

      The white bar on the lefthand side indicates one problem you'll have: the internal components of an LCD are very delicate. I can solder 0603 SMD resistors without breaking a sweat, or lift a 208-pin FPGA from a circuit board without

  • Marketing b*llshit filter! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Chaffar ( 670874 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @06:00AM (#14200828)
    The following comments were blocked!
    - For just $19.99, a Lumenlab Premium Membership will show you how!
    - When you build it yourself you save big money!
    - You can do it!
    - If you've been thinking about buying a rear-projection television forget it! A Lumenlab projector blows them away for a fraction of the cost!
    - Build your own custom designs!
    - Your gaming experience will never be the same!
    - Your friends and family will love watching films, sports and television on a giant 10 foot screen!
    - This is a great project for the entire family. Maybe you're looking for a science fair winner? This is it!
    - This project is FUN. You'll have hours of enjoyment building, and YEARS of enjoyment watching your projector. And WOW what a sense of accomplishment!
    - Don't go to the movies, bring them home! The popcorn is cheaper and there's never a line for the bathroom!

    For a 1-page article that's a lot of exclamation marks! Somebody count them! I counted 21 !'s ! That's lot when you take into consideration that the whole article is like 15 sentences ! Seriously it becomes annoying after a while ! Somebody should tell these marketing morons that .!=! !

    • It's just like reading Mary Worth in the comics!

    • It might just be that I spend too much time with various programming languages, but any time I see marketing/ad copy with exclamation marks I mentally substitute 'not' for the exclamation marks. So, the copy you posted would read something like:
      • For just $19.99, a Lumenlab Premium Membership will show you how. NOT.
      • When you build it yourself you save big money. NOT.
      • You can do it. NOT.
      • If you've been thinking about buying a rear-projection television forget it. NOT. A Lumenlab projector blows them awa
    • For a 1-page article that's a lot of exclamation marks! Somebody count them!

      I counted 21. ...

      (Ok, I didn't, I just copied it from the parent poster. Sucker!)

  • I did it... sorta. (Score:3, Informative)

    by arosas ( 904929 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @06:12AM (#14200853)
    My roommate and I actually are going with this route (although we are poor college kids, so obtaining the parts is a slow process). We know a few people on campus that have used this method as well. Coming from an engineering school something like this guide isnt much help to me, but access to those forums have been invaluable, there's just the little things that you just dont quite think of when you're building your projector that other people have done (i.e. keystoning and different methods of implementing it), and plus it's nice to have a big community to help you along with something like this. Stripping down a LCD may seem intimidating, but with some tips from the community, it's something that can be easily achieved.

    Now... /me puts on my flame suit for forking over the $20 some-odd bucks and prepares for a raping.

  • "Just released" ? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Mr Europe ( 657225 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @06:18AM (#14200865)
    Hardly "Just released" ! My personal copy of the lumenlab guide
    says "Copyright lumenlab.com 2003-2004".

    BTW It is a good guide, but the same information can be collected elsewhere.
    http://izzotek.com/index.php?lang=en [izzotek.com]
    http://www.diyprojectorcompany.com/ [diyprojectorcompany.com]
    http://www.diybeamer.ch/portal/index.php [diybeamer.ch] (German, Ahh es macht so gut..)
    http://www.gadaffy.ch.vu/ [gadaffy.ch.vu]
    http://www.gwidijanto.fcpages.com/index.htm [fcpages.com]

    Yet buying the guide allows access to the forums, which by itself is worth the price.
  • Just fgi. http://www.google.com/search?q=diy+projector [google.com]: over 1 million hits for "DIY projector". So why should we be concerned about someone "releasing" its handbook into the free?? And even more, there are tons of free forums outthere concerning DIY projectors, no need to pay for it.

    Looks like the dupe posting was just replaced by more ad-ish articles. *shakes head*

  • how hard would it be to build one from a Slide projector? [wikipedia.org] Bulb and some optics already in place, just the "LCD screen format" (35mm slides) somewhat too small :)
    Any pointers/help?
    • LCDs that size will not be very high resolution. And the higher the costlier. Just think, if anyone could squeeze 800x600 onto a 35mm LCD then they could produce 12000x9000 desktop LCDs. 160x120 LCDs in that size range arent too hard to find, and you might get your hands on something that can do 320x240, but thats about it.

      • Re:I wonder... (Score:4, Informative)

        by Vo0k ( 760020 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @08:02AM (#14201224) Journal
        Just think, if anyone could squeeze 800x600 onto a 35mm LCD then they could produce 12000x9000

        It's not how it works. That's why you don't see wall-sized 12000x9000 screens being just a seamless 10x10 matrix of 1200x900 screens, same pixel size, bigger image size. You can make bigger screens by making bigger pixels, and opposite, tiny screens with tiny pixels, like in the expensive "real" projectors. The problem is the number of interconnections, data lines for each pixel. You can squeeze in only as many while keeping the latencies at reasonable level, and the physical size has little (even if some) to do with it.
        There are tiny XGA displays that could nicely go straight for such a projector, expensive like the hell, but they exist. The problem here is heat, they are way too heat-sensitive to survive it.

        I was thinking more along the lines: Take it apart, change the distances between lenses, possibly add two fresnels or something like this, use normal LCD screen.
    • It's very easy, but the quality isn't all that great. I did it roughly ten years ago using a Sega Game Gear + TV tuner. Stripped out the LCD, put it in the projector.

      There were a number of problems. The image wasn't very bright, and it didn't last long! The heat from the bulb screwed with the LCD and it stopped working after a while. Also, the resolution of the screen wasn't all that high, and you could see the pixels in the image.

  • Tom's Hardware did something similar (Score:3, Informative)

    by Cougem ( 734635 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @06:30AM (#14200894)
    Here [tomshardware.com]
    It's a great tutorial on how to convert a laptop TFT screen and a regular overhead projector into a great big screen! A good read, practical and down to earth.
    'This article was inspired by offers on eBay for home projector construction manuals for around $20 that, on closer inspection, proved to be thoroughly useless.'

  • This looks like a fairly high quality guide to building a projector which is pretty amazing because most I have seen are next to and will result in nothing more than a pile of broken parts.

  • Why Bother? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by gbobeck ( 926553 )
    Ok... this is one of those DIY projects that can be cool to do, but overall its not worth the effort unless you need a very custom looking projector. Quick cost breakdown: You have to buy all the parts - that can easily run over $300. Add $N if you need tools. We are already sitting at $300+N, not counting labor. This project does not appear to be something you can do in 30 minutes or less. And when you are done, you are without any kind of warrenty. Total price so far (best case) = $300 + N + (Hours

    • Re:Why Bother? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by IdntUnknwn ( 700129 )
      These projectors will easily blow away any cheap projector in terms of image quality and will supposedly rival many commercial projectors. That's the whole point.

      There are also things called hobbies. Hobbies often take up lots of money with very little in return except for enjoyment.

    • Re:Why Bother? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Mr Europe ( 657225 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @07:12AM (#14201000)
      Diy projector has some advantages:
      1. Lamp life time (..30 khours..)
      2. Lamp price ($30..$100)
      3. Better resolution (1024*768)
      4. More quiet sound. Can be made almost totally silent. Fans are dia 120 instead dia 40 ..
      5. Cheap. LCD costs $150. OHP:s ( --> lamp, electrics, fan) can be found very cheap, maybe $10. I got mine free since the fan made noise. The lense $50 (OHP lense could be used only for a short-throw beamer = beamer between the viewer and screen).
      6. Can be easily used as computer screen (games...)

      But also some disadvantages:
      1. Bulky size
      2. Work
      3. Risk of doubling the price (brake the lcd..)
      4. Connecting the DVD-player needs DVI connection ?

      • Re:Why Bother? (Score:3, Informative)

        by SteveAyre ( 209812 )
        2. Work

        However, if you like DIY projects then this becomes 2. Fun and gets bumped up into the advantage section.

        4. Connecting the DVD-player needs DVI connection ?
        Not done it myself, but I have heard other people have done it successfully:
        It's possible to convert RGBs SCART to VGA simply by directly connecting the pins between the connectors in the correct order (and possibly adding a cheap £1 chip to decode composite sync into horizontal + vertical syncs). The voltage levels are handily all the same.
    • ...because my beloved wife accidentally plugged a laptop supply into our brandnew 17" TFT monitor, destroying the backlight. Whilst her contrition was real, it hasn't bought a new one. This is a way of making something good out of otherwise expensive scrap.

      Steve
    • Ok... this is one of those DIY projects that can be cool to do, but overall its not worth the effort unless you need a very custom looking projector. Quick cost breakdown: You have to buy all the parts - that can easily run over $300. Add $N if you need tools. We are already sitting at $300+N, not counting labor. This project does not appear to be something you can do in 30 minutes or less. And when you are done, you are without any kind of warrenty...

      You must be new here. Please leave your geek badge at t
  • I wouldn't want it in my living room.

  • Why do lamps cost so much? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by deragon ( 112986 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @06:56AM (#14200970) Homepage Journal
    A bit off topic but regarding projectors, I always wondered why the lamps are so expensive (>$200). Are the filaments made of gold?? (joking). Seriously, I would like to know why manufacturing could not yield much cheaper lamps. Anybody got a clue?

    • Re:Why do lamps cost so much? (Score:4, Informative)

      by pelrun ( 25021 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @07:12AM (#14201002)
      The three things you want in an ideal projection lamp are

      a) very high light output
      b) very short arc length
      c) very even colour spectrum

      The reason b) is important is because the projection optics rely on having a point-light source. Light that's generated only a few mm off the focal point of the first lens doesn't follow the correct path through the optics and gets wasted (or pollutes the light that is going the right way, causing a blurry, washed out image.) Add a) and b) and you get a lot of heat in a very, very small space. Manufacturing a bulb that can do a and b and doesn't explode as soon as it's lit is hard. Add c and things are even harder.

      I'm sure bulb manufacturers make a reasonable profit off their bulbs, but they aren't deliberately limiting the lifespan of these bulbs for the hell of it - it's just you only get two out of "cheap", "good" and "long-lived".
      • not even any two.
        +Cheap, +long-lived, -bad and -Expensive, -short-lived, +good are two best you can get.
        You won't find a good long-lived one nor good, cheap one. Either go for cheap (or expensive, but still bad) long-lived (or short-lived if you're a sucker) halogens, or buy "originals" that die faster than you can say "poof" and cost a fortune, but provide good image quality.
    • Many of them use HID (high intensity discharge) lamps, like those horribly dazzling bluish lights you see on some cars. They use an electric arc in a xenon atmosphere - not a filament - and are very expensive. They generally last longer than a filament lamp and are much brighter per watt.

  • Save your $19.95, here's how I did it: (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Ancient_Hacker ( 751168 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @07:13AM (#14201006)
    • Walk, drive, or crawl to your local thrift store.
    • Go down into the Bargain Basement.
    • Pick out an overhead projector. Personally I prefer the 3M brand ones. They come in tasteful earth colors. Most of the other brands are more garish. Make sure the bulb lights and the fan spins.
    • Go visit your high school A/V department. If they're like most, they have a back room with a stack of overhead projection tablets that nobody uses anymore because they're 480x640. Offer them a box of Mallomars or $5 for the one with the fewest scratches. Remember to get the right VGA cable and power supply.

      Go home.

      Place tablet on projector.

      Plug in all cords into their correct sockets.

      Enjoy!

    • If they're like most, they have a back room with a stack of overhead projection tablets that nobody uses anymore because they're 480x640.

      Was it really the resolution that was the downfall of those devices? Presentations using lcd overhead projection, iirc, were self-limiting in that eventually the image would start to "melt" as the lcd panel became overheated by the projection bulb. It would eventually recover, but the heat/cool cycle was such that at least in my experience full-class presentations were
    • Go visit your high school A/V department. If they're like most, they have a back room with a stack of overhead projection tablets that nobody uses anymore because they're 480x640.

      I wish I went to high school where you did! I think the highest form of technology we had there at the time (10 years ago) was a laserdisc player that had been produced 15 years prior. One VGA projection tablet would have been amazing, much less a whole stack of them.

    • Go visit your high school A/V department. If they're like most, they have a back room with a stack of overhead projection tablets that nobody uses anymore because they're 480x640.

      Gee, how nice. Then you can have a 640x480 image (lower-res than a standard TV) scaled up to 50". I'm sure that'll look great.

      I wouldn't even go for 1024x768. 1920x1080 is the minimum these days, IMHO, otherwise everyone is going to want to upgrade, just a year or two down the road.

      Oh, and you forgot the last step. Attach a coup

  • Free DIY LCD Projector Guides (Score:3, Informative)

    by wehe ( 135130 ) <wehe@tuxmobRASPil.org minus berry> on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @07:14AM (#14201009) Homepage Journal
    There are many more guides about building your custom made LCD projector around. From my experience it can be difficult to find them with Google. But here is a starting point for more and free practical guides to do-it-yourself DIY LCD projectors [repair4laptop.org]. There are also guides for building projectors from old dia projectors and tutorials to build overhead projectors yourself. You may even use a display from an otherwise broken and unusable laptop.
  • Just click here: http://www.lumenlab.com/ [lumenlab.com]

    It doesn't cost a thing, except for 3 seconds of your time. You may wish to try again at a later time.

  • A wealth of guides already available (Score:3, Informative)

    by ignoramus ( 544216 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @08:32AM (#14201380) Homepage

    Not sure why the release of this particular set of plans is news, really. There are a ton of guides for DIY projectors, that go from simple fresnel based systems, through LCD + overhead projector, all the way to building the whole thing yourself.

    FYI, see:

    And there are many more, just a g00gle away...
  • I've looked seriously into the diy projector projects before, but one thing that always put me off was the 4:3 aspect ratio. Has anyone found a good screen and supplies with which to do a 16:9 projection?

    I know that most of the newer non-diy projectors do that, but still the best price I can find on one that does xga is at least $1K.
    • The entire point of DIY projectors is that they are CHEAP. As soon as you say 16:9 you instantly make it EXPENSIVE. Any 16:9 panel will cost more than a 4:3 for the forseeable future.

      Because 16:9 panels are expensive, the projector will become bad value compared to a commercial one, so you might as well just buy the commercial one which is far smaller, guaranteed and generally much better quality than the DIY ones.

      You can obviously still project 16:9 pictures via a 4:3 display - it's just that there might b

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Informative)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @08:52AM (#14201496)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Why would you want to buy a refridgerator when you could just buy an esky and dump some ice in it? Why would you want a TV when you could cut up some paper, draw images on each piece, then assemble them into a flipbook? :D

      An OHP with an LCD on top is going to be ungainly, fragile and is going to dump a lot of waste light around it, washing out the image. DIY projectors aren't infinitely bright; controlling the ambient light is an important consideration.
    • Do you mean a projector panel LCD made for overheads? That's what I have, and it has served me well. But the color and contrast is pretty poor compared to anything you can buy new. I've been on the lookout for just the LCD element with VGA connectors but they don't seem to exist. I wouldn't mind stripping out a monitor if I knew it was going to be easy... but I've read plenty of horror stories of how they can be hard to disassemble. That, and most LCD screens are too big and tend to overlap the lighted area

  • Easy (Score:2)

    by xchino ( 591175 )
    I've been in the DIY projector scene for awhile, and I've never heard of lumenlab.com, or a "for sale" guide. This guide seems to be fairly in depth, but this is one of the more complicated designs. My favorite design is the most simple, and AFAIK the cheapest. Just grab a decent quality projection panel from Ebay [ebay.com], and then grab an overhead projector (just like th eones you used in school) also cheap and readily available on Ebay [ebay.com]. You can get this setup for $200-300 and the replacement bulbs are cheap. Ver

  • Damn (Score:4, Funny)

    by eno2001 ( 527078 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @09:18AM (#14201654) Homepage Journal
    What the hell kind of question is, "not sure if it's for you"? Why is that even being asked on Slashdot. This is supposed to be the place where DIYers congregate and talk about technology. But I see that ever since the sheeple have been admitted things must have gone downhill. You wouldn't have seen this kind of thing on Slashdot in 1957. Back then it would have been a bunch of guys with nicknames like "Buzz", "Jupiter" and "Mousemeat" working on a project like this. And they would have been happy to share the info just for the sake of how cool it is to share instead of profit. And they would have all been members of the ARRL (American Radio Relay League to you greenies who don't know anything about REAL technology) who were excited about their QSL card collection. THAT was the REAL geek. None of this namby-pamby "for a fee you can join our club and get access to the good stuff" tack that these people are up to. Truly a sad day and age we live in. The 50s were much better. At least every kid knew how to build a crystal radio set and knew what a "cat whisker" was.

  • Projector Mount (Score:3, Informative)

    by kvandivo ( 207171 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @09:41AM (#14201860) Homepage
    Once you've gotten your spiffy projector built, you might as well attach it properly to the ceiling. I didn't build my own projector, but I did build my own projector mount. I have pictures and more details [omnux.com] available. I've built the mount for a couple of different types of projectors, but the design can easily work for just about any projector. Total cost ended up being 2 or 3 bucks for the hardware. I had a couple of old pieces of wood lying around, so I didn't have to buy that.

  • My LumenLab experience (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Scot Seese ( 137975 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @09:42AM (#14201877)

    The users in the LumenLab member forum are the real reason to buy the plans. Their experience is invaluable and they are amazingly eager to help you.

    Brain, the guy who operates LumenLab.com is highly accessible, both in forums and LL's IRC channel. He's an interesting character. He and his wife built a biodiesel car that runs on hemp oil, a DIY home CNC machine, among other things.

    I highly recommend browsing the LumenLab free forum where users post pics of their finished projectors. Hundreds of success stories. Look for my friend PyrettaBlaze, his finished PJ is amazing.

    The finished result with the LumenLab kit is siginificantly sharper and brighter than the overhead projector/LCD panel kludge - Approximately 1800-2000 ANSI lumens at 1024x768 with the ability to throw anything from your PC to the screen (or other sources through adapter box.) The LL guys are using quality optics and have a fanatical support community behind them.

    Check it out.
    • Just as an offtopic aside, the entire procedure for running hemp oil in your average older diesel (like a VW, or a MBZ) is to introduce heated oil into the system once it warms up, and to stop doing so when it cools down. My MBZ in particular has an inline bosch fuel pump up front that can be used to pump the oil, so all you need is a switchover valve, a tank, and some fuel line. The most sophisticated conversion kit is only $1100 or so (plus shipping from Germany) and includes an injector refit kit, new gl

  • Lumenlab (Score:4, Informative)

    by Pyrettablaze ( 936886 ) on Wednesday December 07, 2005 @09:45AM (#14201910)
    I know that many of you will belive this to be a scam just as I did when me and a friend found it about 2 years ago. I plunked down the 20 bux at the time and then started reading the protected forums looking at the different ideas. After a month or so of gathering a list of things that I should get( basically what was most popular with many of the other builders) I decided that I would give it a shot and see if I could actually make it work. The build process was not very hard at all. I took my time building and measuring everything in about 2 weeks. When I first turned the projector on, I was waiting for it to not work and me to look like a fool to my wife. Much to her and my surprise the first projected images of Shrek where absolutley jaw dropping. Now, when ever we have a party or gathering at the house, everyone always wants to check out the gaming/movie projector as I sit there with a smug look on my face saying "Yea I built that for under 500 bux" Anyhow, here is a link to my finished working projector that has been running for over 1.5 years and is still great. http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showtopic =1576 [lumenlab.com] If you truely want a home theater, do not just blow this off as a scam. Putting a TV in a cardboard box to get a 120" picture that is crystal clear and high definition is a scam. This is true science. And you will be very pleased with what you come up with after you are finished with your DIY projector.
  • I know the idea is to get light emitting from a tiny point, hence the super expensive bulbs... but couldn't that be solved somehow, using a different configuration for the optics or focusing the light, etc.. It would be so much cheaper to just plug in maybe 6 100 watt regular household light bulbs. Possible?
    • Note: I have been researching building my own DIY projector for a couple of years now - I am pretty well knowledgable about what goes into one, I have browsed LumenLabs and other site forums extensively, and I have looked into a number of options for lighting. What I don't seem to have enough of is time.

      First off, the bulbs used in LumenLabs (and other DIY) projectors are not expensive - not when compared to similar (though smaller) bulbs used in commercial projectors. The expense for the DIY projector bul

  • For truly enjoying projected images, you will want really solid blacks in addition to the brightest whites - the contrast ratio of the panel will determine how "washed out" the image will look.

    This is why most portable projectors these days use DLP/DMD "light mirrors" - because they can generate true black, and the DMD "light valves" can handle more heat than small LCD's that would otherwise be used in a portable projector.

    The other thing to keep in mind is that cheaper LCD's have a slow pixel response time
  • I was able to scrounge a little information last time lumenlabs made /.

    That said, I wanted to wait a bit because the hiccups in trying to do this project with an LCD that could support 720p or 1080i were large enough for me to pass on it (not to mention I didn't know where to play the thing in the room I'd use it...plus heat generated by it was a concern)

    Has any progress been made in this department? Last I knew was that there were problems with the picture getting blurry around the edges, hot spots, and g
  • This project is pointless... add up all the time scrounging parts, building boxes, finding space to put this huge thing... for some people it's just not worth it.

    I picked up an Optoma DLP projector for $999 that does native XGA and has every input under the sun. It's small enough to fit in a backpack, super quiet, and gives excellent performance.

    The bulbs are expensive, yes... but with the purchase of an 3-yr warranty that costs less than a replacement bulb and still covers bulbs, I can leave the thing on
  • Behold, The Warper [noah.org]...This once secret recipe for home projectors is now your for free and made possible with only a frensel lens, cardboard box and some duck tape. Warning - I made one years ago in my dorm room. You could only make out shapes but it did the create cool colors on the wall.

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