DIY LCD Projector - Part 1

I've been wanting to do this for a while. Even buying a new OHP is only about $200 at Staples...cheaper, I'm sure, if I shopped around or looked for a used one.

The problem I've encountered is finding old 15" lcd screens. It seems like lots were sold since this was the first LCD you could have but nobody tries selling them used....maybe I"ll have to try a recycler or something...

Interestingly these systems have been around for a long time but when they were first released on the market they cost an arm and a leg. Occasionally the come up for sale Ebay for a miniscule fraction of their original price and can be a real bargain. Try doing a search on Ebay for lcd panel projector .

One thing that you will need to watch closely is the heat output of the overhead projector. LCD displays are notoriously susceptible to heat damage and can easily overheat. This is something that is a major contributing factor in the short life expectancy of the LCD bulb modules that are used in the projectors that have flooded the market of recent.

The LCD screens that were around about 10 years ago had a bank of small cooling fans that kept the LCD module from overheating and needed to be run whenever the overhead projector was lit, even when the screen itself was not powered up.

I would suggest that for your system that you add some 12 V CPU cooling fans all down one side of the LCD panel so that there was a good flow of air across the panel.

Here are some links to units that are exactly what you are trying to build on Ebay

• nView Z215 LCD Overhead Projector
• Infocus Powerview 820 LCD Projector Panel
• EIKI DD-1000 LCD Flat Panel Projector

These units sold for between $15,000 and $30,000 when new and have a pretty much unlimited life expectancy. The are also usually well looked after because they cost so much when new and often come with cases to transport them. I wish these were available in Australia because they are all fantastic bargains and I would definitely be biding on them. Another advantage is that the good ones like the one Kodak produced, can take a video input so can be used to display HDTV and give you a home cinema as well as a computer display.

By the way, if you connect them to a flight simulator it will blow your mind, you can actually get people air sick and running to the bathroom to barf. I suggest nicking a handful barf bags from any airline next time you fly and keeping the handy when running flight simulators.

I originally saw this sort of setup on www.tomshardware.com and they left an air gap between the lcd unit and the projector top and then jerry rigged some fans to blow air through to help with cooling.

I have a small fan that blows air over the bulb, but that's it. I haven't had a problem with it over heating, although that was a concern of mine also.

I used a 14" screen I think it was made by kogi, it has worked ok for me. I researched the refresh rate and contrast ratio that I needed. That monitor was the best one I could find at the time that fit the specs that I needed. I know at that time everything was going to 15" and the 14" screens were hard to find. I know once everyone else started doing it they used a 15" NEC monitor. The NEC monitor only has the board that connects to the screen on one side so you don't need to do any soldering.

Hi frankd20,

I must complement you, you have done an excellent job. It's something that I have thought about doing myself but have never gotten around to. The price you can purchase a second hand manufactured models for now is a major disincentive however and if one comes up for sale in Australia I will most likely go down that path.

Hello

I have 2 LCD projector panels that I would be interested in selling. I have a Sharp QA-1650 and a Sharp QA-1200. Both panels are amazing and I use my PS3 on them with amazing HD results. I am trying to gain an Airsoft collection so thats why I am selling my panels, but would like to selll to someone who wants their own DIY Projector. Let me know.

Jeremy Norlander

thewiimaster@hotmail.com

Hey, Years agoe, I rummaged the laptop repair palce behind my apartments. There were a ton of them, many had cracks or black spots but several of them were good. They only had missing pixels or slight blemishes but would work fine for a DIY projector. TRy locating laptop repair places. The screens are no good for computing but may be fine for a movie since you will not pay much attention to the missing dots. good luck!

You may be interested to know that I just purchased this Infocus LCD panel for use with overhead projectors on ebay for the incredible price of AU$5-50 or US$4-30. The great thing about this model is that it can take an S-Video input and can be used to project high definition TV images.

Considering these were something like AU$25,000-00 when new about ten years ago it's a phenomenal bargain. Its going to cost more to post the darn thing than purchase it.

The plan is to mount it from the ceiling in a inverted configuration projecting onto a retractable screen. When I have all the pieces and get around to doing it I will post some images and info on what I have done on this thread.

LCD Module @ AORAN www.cn-aoran.com

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