Guide: Building a 100 inch LCD Projector (DIY-Self Made)
All this within the price of a 15 inch Lcd
Hello Everyone
. This is my first attempt at writing a guide. Im not particularly good at it. Isnt as nicely written as some of the others here but its a start. Not too much to explain as the links explain it all.
I was on the lookout for a cheap 22 inch LCD (Aoc or the Acer AL2216) but then, came across these links which, i found to be quite interesting........
DIY Projector Guide - Lumenlab
Lumenlab -> Projector Builder
diyAudio Forums - DIY Projectors
LCD Projector, XGA, Self Home Made, Long Throw
How-To: Build your own HD projector (Part 1) - Engadget
How can a 22 inch LCD stand up to a 100 Inch Image???????
After reading through some of the posts and some made by people from India, found their results to be impressive, had to try it and so.........
I decided to take the plunge and build one myself.
Searched the market and found out that most of the components are readily available for this specific project.
Here's the list of components needed/used along with their prices that i paid for them:
1. 15 Inch LG LCD (Max. Res. 1024x768.) from TE itself. Rs.3700/-
2. Fresnel Lenses (217mm and 343mm FL) and a Triplet Lens (317mm FL) from Lensel Optics. Rs.2200/-
3. 400w Metal Halide Lamp (Radium Brand) with Ballast and Mounting Base. Rs.1500/-
4. Plywood and Wooden Blocks(Free). MDF Recommended as it is easier to work with (~Rs.800 a Sheet).
5. 2x 220v 4 Inch Fans (Second Hand - 125 Each) Lammy.
6. Steel Ladle (As a reflector) Rs.50/-
7. Assorted Screws,Nails,Glue,Double Sided Foam Tape,Black Paint etc.
Power Tools: Drill Machine
Hand Tools: Saw, Hexo Blades, Files, Screwdrivers, Cutters etc.
Total Cost till now: Around 8k.
Can be made even cheaper if used components are used.
Here is the basic design and component placement of the projector.
DIY Projector Guide - Lumenlab
http://lumenlab.com/wiki/images/1/14/Diy_pj_Fig1.jpg
FocalCalc is a small app developed by a member at Lumenlab which acually calculates the distances between all components and helps one design the projector accordingly.
link:
Focal Calculator II - Lumenlab
Actual Pics of my Projector (Taken from my Cellphone Camera. Will have to arrange a digicam - The result is much better than these pics seem to show. Some pics are from the earlier stage of building so look messy)
Further tweaking will improve the output.
Still have to put some finishing touches (final wiring and painting) and have to ceiling mount it.
UPDATED PICS:
Large Pics:
More Pics:
Money well spent. 100 INCHES and very viewable. Amazing results. Well worth the effort.
The build process is what i enjoyed the most. A great learning experience and very rewarding results on the whole.
This can be made HD simply by using a HD lcd Panel.
Update: (Typed on a P990i. So.......)
Component descriptions.
The Lcd:
The Lcd is the primary component around which the actual projector is built. It is what forms the image on the screen. The lcd needs to be as small as
possible with the maximum possible resolution. Smaller lcds make the enclosure smaller and small size helps us get better corner to corner brightness and
focus.
The most nerve wracking part of the build is stripping the lcd to its panel and carefully handling the FFC ribbon cable that connects the glass panel to the
controller board. Utmost care has to be taken while handling this as one wrong pull and the lcd is history.Higher contrast ratio lcds are also preferable. WS
15 inchers are not recommended as the sides may fall out of the fov of the projection triplet making sides dim and out of focus.The best option would be to
use a car lcd. I have seen a 'super' brand chinese 10 inch screen which does 1024x768 and seems to be perfect for a build. )I bought a used lcd from te
itself. Its a 15 inch lg 1520b. Dismantled it in a matter of minutes. Didnt remove the lcd panel until the last moment.
Some people remove the Anti Glare Coating (Film) on the front of the LCD. This results in a brighter crisper output. The process is risky. The film has to be
soaked for 10 to 12 hours using paper towels and distilled water then pulled out. I dont intend to remove it now as im quite satisfied with the results for
now.
The lamp:
Our project needs a very bright point light source which provides max lumens and minimum heat emission.Metal halide lamps are perfect for this application as
they provide max lumens (light output) vs heat generated. They also generate a high colour temprature (k-kelvin) and a high CRI (colour rendering index)
output similar to white daylight. Mh lamps use a ballast (5 kgs. Very heavy) to step up mains voltage which is applied across a glass arc filled with gases.
This excites them resulting in light radiation.
EXTREME CAUTION SHOULD BE EXCERCISED WHEN WORKING WITH MH LAMPS. THESE OPERATE AT VERY HIGH VOLTAGES AND PRODUCE HIGH LEVELS OF UV IF THE OUTER SHELL IS
BROKEN. PLEASE TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS WHILE HANDLING THEM.
I bought mine from a local electricals shop. Available everywhere. You can see them everywhere - shops/malls display boards etc. I got a 400w Lamp (radium
brand - chinese) and a matching ballast (priya make - 400w with warranty) along with the bulb holder (mogul base). Total amount paid : 1500. )Should have
got Osram (German). Better brightness and colour.
Also, a reflector needs to be used in collabaration with the lamp to use tne unutilized light from the back of the lamp.i have used a simple ladle (50 bucks)
as a reflector. )The reflector needs to be spherical and must be mounted such thats its focal length must be in line with the lamp arc. )These amps do
produce some heat and need cooling. I have used 2 220v 4 inch fans . One for the lamp and one for the lcd. Iv cut a slit below the lcd which allows cool air
to pass around the lcd and exit through the fan at the top. )Cooling the enclosure is essential as the box has to be sealed out and can get very hot. Also
wood is used so....
Fresnel lenses:
A fresnel lens is a flat acrylic plastic lens used in ohp projectors. Have you seen a page magnifier? It is a fresnel. I wont go deep and describe its
working here.We have used 2 fresnels on our build. The first one is a 217 mm focal length which is used as a collector. It is placed between the lcd and
lamp. It collects light from the lamp and focusses it through the lcd.
The second fresnel (the Collimitor) is a 343 mm fl lens placed between the lcd and the projection lens. It focuses the light coming from the lcd to the
projection lens. Both sourced from Lensel optics, pune Precision Glass Optics, Plastic Optics, Magnifiers, Opto Electronics India
The Projection lens (Triplet):
The projection lens is a combination of 3 different lenses made out of different materials. Each material(flint,quartz,pyrex etc) has its own unique optical
properties( refractive indexes etc). 3 different lenses are so chosen that they cancel out the chromatic abberation that is produced when a single lens
(singlet) or double (doublet) is used. Only one fl is available here so we have to design our projector using this 317 mm fl triplet.
Sourced from lensel optics pune. Total cost of 3 lenses shipped to mumbai Rs. 2200.
Building the box:
Mdf is the preferred material for building the enclosure. I had wood lying around so used it. Mdf is easier to work with and is cheaper too (800 a sheet 8ft
x 4ft. I built the box on my own but one can get it built by a carpenter if he/she finds it difficult or does not have all the tools.
How it works:
The following diagram shows the placement of components in our system.
The first fresnel is placed close to the lcd panel (10 to 15 mm) and focusses light from the lamp arc to all sections of the panel. Fresnels have a property
that they require a point light source to operate effectively. That is the reason why mh lamps are used for this purpose. Other light sources like cfls do
not have a point source and are hence useless for this task. The lamp arc is placed at the focal length position of the fresnel ie 217 mm. This focussed
light passes through the lcd and to the second fresnel at around 10 to 15 mm from the Lcd between the Lcd and the Projection Triplet. The reason for using
such a bright light is that lcd pass only 15 to 20 percent of the light that hits on one side of the panel. The lamps we are using are extremely bright. The
second fresnel focusses this lcd image to the triplet which then focusses it on the screen.
Accurate component placement is vital for a crisp projection. Hence, i used focalcalc for determining distances between various components. Excellent
tool.It also calculates the final output size of the projection.
Some tips:
1. Before starting the build, decide where to mount it. My projector is 2ft x 1ft x 1ft (quite large) and projects 100 inches at 8 ft distance. Component
availability is limited and so anyone building one will most probably use the same components.
2. Keystoning is also an important issue i forgot.Keystoning is used to get a level image if the projector is mounted at an angle to the screen. If at an
angle the image will be trapezoidal without adjustment. The front fresnel has to be kept parallel to the screen in order to get proper projection. Around 15
degrees of keystoning is achievable . No more. One can also use nvkeystone which is a part of the nvidia driver app. Good for movies but crappy text.
3. Get all components before starting. Plan the build accordingly. I started early and made the box a bit small. Had to extend it to accomodate the fresnels
later. Use the 400 w Osram lamp. I got a 150 w one but image was not bright enough. Got it replaced. There is a 250 watt one also available.
Ceramic Metal Halide Lamps may be available at Lohar Chawl (Osram Powerball Series). Much better Colour Temprature and brightness.
123.skp - - BADONGO
123.skb - - BADONGO
Updated with a Google Sketchup Model (Not very detailed though)
Some Videos:
YouTube - cs
YouTube - vc
All this within the price of a 15 inch Lcd
Hello Everyone
. This is my first attempt at writing a guide. Im not particularly good at it. Isnt as nicely written as some of the others here but its a start. Not too much to explain as the links explain it all.I was on the lookout for a cheap 22 inch LCD (Aoc or the Acer AL2216) but then, came across these links which, i found to be quite interesting........
DIY Projector Guide - Lumenlab
Lumenlab -> Projector Builder
diyAudio Forums - DIY Projectors
LCD Projector, XGA, Self Home Made, Long Throw
How-To: Build your own HD projector (Part 1) - Engadget
How can a 22 inch LCD stand up to a 100 Inch Image???????
After reading through some of the posts and some made by people from India, found their results to be impressive, had to try it and so.........
I decided to take the plunge and build one myself.
Searched the market and found out that most of the components are readily available for this specific project.
Here's the list of components needed/used along with their prices that i paid for them:
1. 15 Inch LG LCD (Max. Res. 1024x768.) from TE itself. Rs.3700/-
2. Fresnel Lenses (217mm and 343mm FL) and a Triplet Lens (317mm FL) from Lensel Optics. Rs.2200/-
3. 400w Metal Halide Lamp (Radium Brand) with Ballast and Mounting Base. Rs.1500/-
4. Plywood and Wooden Blocks(Free). MDF Recommended as it is easier to work with (~Rs.800 a Sheet).
5. 2x 220v 4 Inch Fans (Second Hand - 125 Each) Lammy.
6. Steel Ladle (As a reflector) Rs.50/-
7. Assorted Screws,Nails,Glue,Double Sided Foam Tape,Black Paint etc.
Power Tools: Drill Machine
Hand Tools: Saw, Hexo Blades, Files, Screwdrivers, Cutters etc.
Total Cost till now: Around 8k.
Can be made even cheaper if used components are used.
Here is the basic design and component placement of the projector.
DIY Projector Guide - Lumenlab
http://lumenlab.com/wiki/images/1/14/Diy_pj_Fig1.jpg
FocalCalc is a small app developed by a member at Lumenlab which acually calculates the distances between all components and helps one design the projector accordingly.
link:
Focal Calculator II - Lumenlab
Actual Pics of my Projector (Taken from my Cellphone Camera. Will have to arrange a digicam - The result is much better than these pics seem to show. Some pics are from the earlier stage of building so look messy)
Further tweaking will improve the output.
Still have to put some finishing touches (final wiring and painting) and have to ceiling mount it.
UPDATED PICS:
Large Pics:
More Pics:
Money well spent. 100 INCHES and very viewable. Amazing results. Well worth the effort.
The build process is what i enjoyed the most. A great learning experience and very rewarding results on the whole.
This can be made HD simply by using a HD lcd Panel.
Update: (Typed on a P990i. So.......)
Component descriptions.
The Lcd:
The Lcd is the primary component around which the actual projector is built. It is what forms the image on the screen. The lcd needs to be as small as
possible with the maximum possible resolution. Smaller lcds make the enclosure smaller and small size helps us get better corner to corner brightness and
focus.
The most nerve wracking part of the build is stripping the lcd to its panel and carefully handling the FFC ribbon cable that connects the glass panel to the
controller board. Utmost care has to be taken while handling this as one wrong pull and the lcd is history.Higher contrast ratio lcds are also preferable. WS
15 inchers are not recommended as the sides may fall out of the fov of the projection triplet making sides dim and out of focus.The best option would be to
use a car lcd. I have seen a 'super' brand chinese 10 inch screen which does 1024x768 and seems to be perfect for a build. )I bought a used lcd from te
itself. Its a 15 inch lg 1520b. Dismantled it in a matter of minutes. Didnt remove the lcd panel until the last moment.
Some people remove the Anti Glare Coating (Film) on the front of the LCD. This results in a brighter crisper output. The process is risky. The film has to be
soaked for 10 to 12 hours using paper towels and distilled water then pulled out. I dont intend to remove it now as im quite satisfied with the results for
now.
The lamp:
Our project needs a very bright point light source which provides max lumens and minimum heat emission.Metal halide lamps are perfect for this application as
they provide max lumens (light output) vs heat generated. They also generate a high colour temprature (k-kelvin) and a high CRI (colour rendering index)
output similar to white daylight. Mh lamps use a ballast (5 kgs. Very heavy) to step up mains voltage which is applied across a glass arc filled with gases.
This excites them resulting in light radiation.
EXTREME CAUTION SHOULD BE EXCERCISED WHEN WORKING WITH MH LAMPS. THESE OPERATE AT VERY HIGH VOLTAGES AND PRODUCE HIGH LEVELS OF UV IF THE OUTER SHELL IS
BROKEN. PLEASE TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS WHILE HANDLING THEM.
I bought mine from a local electricals shop. Available everywhere. You can see them everywhere - shops/malls display boards etc. I got a 400w Lamp (radium
brand - chinese) and a matching ballast (priya make - 400w with warranty) along with the bulb holder (mogul base). Total amount paid : 1500. )Should have
got Osram (German). Better brightness and colour.
Also, a reflector needs to be used in collabaration with the lamp to use tne unutilized light from the back of the lamp.i have used a simple ladle (50 bucks)
as a reflector. )The reflector needs to be spherical and must be mounted such thats its focal length must be in line with the lamp arc. )These amps do
produce some heat and need cooling. I have used 2 220v 4 inch fans . One for the lamp and one for the lcd. Iv cut a slit below the lcd which allows cool air
to pass around the lcd and exit through the fan at the top. )Cooling the enclosure is essential as the box has to be sealed out and can get very hot. Also
wood is used so....
Fresnel lenses:
A fresnel lens is a flat acrylic plastic lens used in ohp projectors. Have you seen a page magnifier? It is a fresnel. I wont go deep and describe its
working here.We have used 2 fresnels on our build. The first one is a 217 mm focal length which is used as a collector. It is placed between the lcd and
lamp. It collects light from the lamp and focusses it through the lcd.
The second fresnel (the Collimitor) is a 343 mm fl lens placed between the lcd and the projection lens. It focuses the light coming from the lcd to the
projection lens. Both sourced from Lensel optics, pune Precision Glass Optics, Plastic Optics, Magnifiers, Opto Electronics India
The Projection lens (Triplet):
The projection lens is a combination of 3 different lenses made out of different materials. Each material(flint,quartz,pyrex etc) has its own unique optical
properties( refractive indexes etc). 3 different lenses are so chosen that they cancel out the chromatic abberation that is produced when a single lens
(singlet) or double (doublet) is used. Only one fl is available here so we have to design our projector using this 317 mm fl triplet.
Sourced from lensel optics pune. Total cost of 3 lenses shipped to mumbai Rs. 2200.
Building the box:
Mdf is the preferred material for building the enclosure. I had wood lying around so used it. Mdf is easier to work with and is cheaper too (800 a sheet 8ft
x 4ft. I built the box on my own but one can get it built by a carpenter if he/she finds it difficult or does not have all the tools.
How it works:
The following diagram shows the placement of components in our system.
The first fresnel is placed close to the lcd panel (10 to 15 mm) and focusses light from the lamp arc to all sections of the panel. Fresnels have a property
that they require a point light source to operate effectively. That is the reason why mh lamps are used for this purpose. Other light sources like cfls do
not have a point source and are hence useless for this task. The lamp arc is placed at the focal length position of the fresnel ie 217 mm. This focussed
light passes through the lcd and to the second fresnel at around 10 to 15 mm from the Lcd between the Lcd and the Projection Triplet. The reason for using
such a bright light is that lcd pass only 15 to 20 percent of the light that hits on one side of the panel. The lamps we are using are extremely bright. The
second fresnel focusses this lcd image to the triplet which then focusses it on the screen.
Accurate component placement is vital for a crisp projection. Hence, i used focalcalc for determining distances between various components. Excellent
tool.It also calculates the final output size of the projection.
Some tips:
1. Before starting the build, decide where to mount it. My projector is 2ft x 1ft x 1ft (quite large) and projects 100 inches at 8 ft distance. Component
availability is limited and so anyone building one will most probably use the same components.
2. Keystoning is also an important issue i forgot.Keystoning is used to get a level image if the projector is mounted at an angle to the screen. If at an
angle the image will be trapezoidal without adjustment. The front fresnel has to be kept parallel to the screen in order to get proper projection. Around 15
degrees of keystoning is achievable . No more. One can also use nvkeystone which is a part of the nvidia driver app. Good for movies but crappy text.
3. Get all components before starting. Plan the build accordingly. I started early and made the box a bit small. Had to extend it to accomodate the fresnels
later. Use the 400 w Osram lamp. I got a 150 w one but image was not bright enough. Got it replaced. There is a 250 watt one also available.
Ceramic Metal Halide Lamps may be available at Lohar Chawl (Osram Powerball Series). Much better Colour Temprature and brightness.
123.skp - - BADONGO
123.skb - - BADONGO
Updated with a Google Sketchup Model (Not very detailed though)
Some Videos:
YouTube - cs
YouTube - vc
