I finally made the TV projector....results

Yeah I know some of Ure sick of hearing about this thing but I finally made it and just wanted to share my results. I used an old 1980's 19" RCA TV. I did the first design since it was the quickest and easiest one to put together. They said it wasn't a good permanent solution because of its instability as far as focusing goes, but I didn't have any troubles with adjusting the focusing board or the whole thing falling apart. Anyway I was able to create an image that was about 3 1/2 feet high and about 5 feet wide. It wasn't as sharp as it could have been but I got a 2X magnification lens so at a larger size it was a bit blurrier. Though at 40 inches it was pretty sharp. I was actually surprised by it's sharpness at that size. Well I played DOA a bit and it was pretty cool being able to play on such a huge screen. The very outer edges were a bit blurry but that again was because of my lens. The picture brightness was fine, I had no compaints there. I had plenty of gaps in my projector where light would go out but the image still looked fine. If it looked that good on an old TV I can image it would look alot better on a newer 19" or computer monitor. The only problem with the projector is the fact that it flips the image, as a result text is backwords and what not. A mirror would easily solve that problem. I think the projector is worth the time it took. It took me about 2 hours to paint it and put it all together and about 10 - 15 minutes to get it focused and positioned correctly so the image displayed the clearest. I'm gonna look for a better higher magnification lens to get a sharper picture at a larger projected size. I think if Ure stuck with a 19" TV it could definitely be a viable solution for huge gaming and it only costs like $10-$15 anyway so even if ya think it stinks after U make it, it's not like U spent a ton of money. It's worth a try if ure curious. Plus it could make ure friends say "cool" if they didn't know it was possible to do that.

Thanks for the report. I'm glad it worked out for you. Are higher power lenses available?

XD XD XD XD

yea... okay. fallen into the scam known as "100" projection TV"

no thanks, but i already know the results. and they weren't pretty.

WOW it sounds like an interesting project. I was always wondering how it would work ......... but never decided to buy it. But i don't think i'll ever will cause everything is backwards when you look at the screen............ so that means that when you play video games and you wanna go right well you have to go left on your controller............. all the controls are reverse now............ pretty difficult just to play on a 40" tv that cost you 15$ dollars :cool:

I can just imagine how painful it would be to play HALO on that tv.

Cool man. I made mine back when with the 2x lens and a 19" tv as well. It gave me about an 8 foot wide image with the tv'projector' about 5 feet away from the wall. I by all means didn't make the box perfect either. Lots of light leakage etc. I think it is a cool idea for those backyard parties or even shown on a garage wall and have yourself a drivein.

Just as a warning to people planning on doing this with their tv. You will have to flip the tv upside down to get the image right side up and when you do so you might get color bleeding on your tv and if left on long enough you could actually ruin your tv. Or it will at least need to go in to get deguassed(sp).

Hugh_Jass,

They do make the lenses in 4x but they are hard to come by.

Well it definitely turned out better than I had expected. It's not a scam, U don't have to send money to anyone since the instructions are free, and it does work, but results vary depending on your TV. My old TV could achieve a very bright picture which made the projected image look nice and bright. If U can't afford a huge tv and want to see what it might be like then this is something cheap and cool U can do and with a mirror U could use it regularly to play games.

have u made the LED controller yet?

?!?

What's the web site with the instructions to build one?

i cant find the FREAKING lens anywhere.

when i ask people just look at me like im a fukin idiot.

ive tried a major office supplier (no luck)

electronics shop (no luk)

and a camera/telescope shop (no luk)


all i ask for is a fresnel lens or a full page magnifier.

they all look at me like "this guy is a weirdo"

ITS PEEING ME OFF!!! ive made it all apart from the damed lens.!!

Well I asked at my Staples and they said "No." I was in a different city and saw it at the Staples there. I went back to my Staples and sure enuf they had em. U may just have to order it through the internet. If ya do that try to get a higher than 2x magnification if you can.

As far as reversing the image, I used a big mirror I found and it worked great and flipped all the words back the right way.

i tried it with my old 19" RCA tv... well, i did a horrible job making it. lol. but it worked... from a clear 19" image to a blurry ass flipped and mirrored 80" image. i ripped it off my TV and smashed it good...

i used a 8x11 magification i got at staples.

you can also use one of those school projectors to turn a TV into a big screen projection...

or you can find an old office projector and convert it into a TV... you'd get better results, but the price would be higher.