[dougy]

Hi, im fairly new to this forum, looks like I made it just in time for the group buy.

If there is any body from Australia reading please use this thread to say hello and hopefully we can also exchange sources for parts locally!

I'm a little unsure about the MH400U bulb in Australia. I'm told that unless I get a bulb that is self ballasted I will need an ignitor. I'm also told that self ballasted bulbs are aprox. 3 times the price of the already rather expensive bulbs. So it would seem that buying a ignitor seperately might be a cheaper solution.

So is the MH400U listed in the guide a self ballasted bulb?

The first store I went too was a suposed wholesaler but I found out latter that their prices are not that good.

Here I was quoted for the following parts:

1. Ballast 400Watt M/H $79 AUD
2. Ignitor $61.80 AUD
3. Lampholder $69
4. Lamp 400watt M/H E40 $132 AUD

$132 AUD is approx $99 US so i was a tad disapointed by these prices

luckily I dropped by some smaller lighting speacilists and found a better quote on the bulb but have to check back tomorrow for pricing on the other parts. They were nice enough to photocopy a page from their suppliers book for me so I have some specs.

The supplier of these bulbs is NELSON Lamps Australia. The bulb we think is correct has a code of NMHT 400/U.

Watts: 400
Lamp Lumens: 36000
Ave Rated Life: 20000
Colour: 4000
CRI-Ra: 65
Lamp Volts: 133
Lamp Base: E40

what is CRI-Ra?

and the best bit, price is $70 AUD, or approx $55 US. I'm told they will be a lot cheaper in the US because of the numbers sold.

So what do you think Brainchild? is this bulb suitable, and do you really get self ballasted bulbs for $15US?

[Nelson]

I can't speak about the numbers. But if you can't find any good deals there maybe I could buy them here and send them to you. We would have to check the shipping costs.

[brainchild]

Hi Dougy, That bulb sounds good.

About CRI: Color rendering index (The higher the better)

A figure of merit, on a scale of 0 to 100, used by manufacturers of fluorescent, metal halide and other nonincandescent lighting equipment to describe the visual effect of the light on colored surfaces. Natural daylight and any light source approximating a blackbody source (see color temperature) is assigned a color rendering index (CRI) of 100.


To determine a CRI value, observers view 8 standard pastel colors under the light source being rated and under light from a blackbody source (such as an incandescent lamp) having the same color temperature. The CRI is calculated, roughly speaking, by averaging the observers' estimation of the extent of the differences in the appearance of the colors under the two lights. Although the CRI is intended to apply only to the visual quality of light, photographers have also used it in choosing light sources.


The CRI can only be used to compare two light sources that have the same color temperature. A 5000 K, 80 CRI light source is not necessarily superior to a 4000 K, 70 CRI light source.

[oog]

Dougy,

I can help you with the lamp base for sure, even with postage to AU I'm sure it'll come out to less than what you were able to find.

check here: http://www.lumenlab....p?showtopic=128

[griff]

Hi i have just down loaded the pdf and am still going to find a screen before i commit to building the box.

I am also an electrician in australia and can help with any questions about the lamp you may have.

You might find it cheaper to buy a hi bay (used in factory lighting) light from an electrical dealer like l&h or Rexel or maby Cash Converters and pull the parts out of it. Sometimes its cheaper to do that than buy seperate parts. You would have everything base, lamp, ballast, three pin cord and ignightor. Do not buy a self ballasted lamp as it uses a incandesent winding to start and would give a warm white colour not a pure white, also make sure the lamp has U in the number this means it is unversal mounting so it can be sideways upside down or any way you like. If you buy the wrong one you may find you dont get the life out of it.

Also would like to know where you got your screen from?

[dougy]

hi griff

great to hear Im not the only Auzzie!

I seem to have found a good deal on the lamp setup. A small local shop has got hold a a complete unit for me. These normaly sell for $450+ AUD. This one is missing the glass but is otherwise complete and brand new. He says I can have it for $170 AUD plus freight. Im going in this afternoon when it turns up to check it out. Thanks for the info!

I priced tempered glass yesterday. The thinest I could find was 4mm, is this ok or do I really want 3mm? This should cost me less than $20 AUD but will takes two weeks to order in.... apparently it can't be cut and has to be formed to size.

As for the screen... I might experiment latter with some of the laminations that are mentioned in the specific thread... but for starters I think the 'blackout' cloth will do. I went looking for this yesterday. The term 'blackout' dosent seem to be big in Australia either. In the end I found what I think is close. It has a whitish colour on both sides but there is a black layer inside. The 3 layer stuff is rated at 95% blockout. From what I can tell they take a white piece of material, put a white layer on it, put a black layer on it, then put another white layer. I was told the reason for this is that is stops you seeing the black on the backside, but I'm asumming that it provides a better level of blockout as well. The 3 layer stuff comes in 120cm or 137cm wide. It was less than $12 AUD metre and came in some brilliant white colours. But you need to go to a curtain shop, not just a material shop. I know I can get that cheaply so I'm not going to worry about that untill I get the projector at least started. Let me know if you have any other ideas.

[griff]

dougy i would love to know what lcd screen you are using and where you go it. That is the first big hurdle for me then it should all be go go go. $170 sounds like a good price for the lamp and control gear. $450 is way to much im getting each part for around $70 globe $70 ballast but that is trade still it shouldnt be a huge difference. I quoted you wrong about the globe i just assumed it was a self ballasted globe not a internal ignightor globe, personaly i would still go for an external ignitor as there is less to stuff up in the globe. Make sure the globe is clear not covered in phosper as this wont work in the projector. You dont live in Adelaide by any chance could save on shipment of the lenses with only one shipment.

Good Luck

[brainchild]

4mm tempered glass is fine. Oh yeah, make sure you tell them you don't want the glass marked, etched, stamped or embossed with the 'safety glass' symbol. They don't all do it that way but I was surprised to get a piece of glass that had it, and it was in the light path.

[dougy]

I'm in Griffith, NSW... out bush. So I'm guessing it wouldn't save anything on postage to order together.

Thanks for the advice on the lamp. Must admit I havent fully decided on a LCD yet. I found this guide the other day. Wasn't planning on beginning the project imediately but I figured It would be wise to join the group buy. I rang around today and couldn't find anybody who could supply the projection lense, one speacilist estimated about $200 AUD for the fresnel. So as soon as they fix the order form for international orders I recommend ordering!

I only meant to price the lamp setup but decided to grab this offer as it would cost me a reasonable amount more latter.

I saw a cmv1515 on ebay.au last night with an hour to go priced at $380 AUD. Other than that I have seen a lot of benq's around the $500 AUD mark, but from what has been said in the forums you need make sure you get the correct model, which I dont think is seen as often. I wont be able to afford the LCD for some weeks now. let me know if you come up with any good sources.

As for the screen, have you decided to use the blockout cloth at least for starters?

[dougy]

I picked up my lamp setup today. Was a little suprised that the bulb is a clyinder rather than the more bulb shaped ones I have seen in the pictures so far. It looks a lot like a 400w HPS bulb I used once.

The model written on the bulb is HIT400W/U/EURO/4k, which all sounds good.

puting in my group lense order this morning has got me all excited so I rigged up the lamp to check it out. It's a lot whiter than the HPS ive had experince with and it's really bright

how's your progress griff? did you decide to go with the blackout cloth for starters, and if so did you manage to find any?

[griff]

Hay dougy, im trying to bid on e bay at the moment for a 13.1 inch lcd screen that has the resoulition i need and also has tv and s-video inputs as building one that would only run off my computer would be a waste of time for me. And im not going to pay more than $320 for the lcd so it may take some time. If it dosn't pull apart or fit right ill use it in the bedroom and keep looking. When i first asked about the screen i ment the lcd screen not what to project onto but thanks for the advice. Sounds like you got the right globe but be careful i suffered bad flash burn when i was an apprentice by working over the top of only a 150w MH lamp for about 2 hours. I dont advise long stints with the lid open my eyes took two days with no light and droops before i was allowed to take the tape off.
I tried to order my lenses but my credit card is expired in two months and pay pal wont let me purchase anything so i have to wait untill the new one gets sent out. BUGGER. Do you have a digital camera to take photos when you build it?

Goodluck hopefully you can tell me all the things not to do when i build mine

Griff

[griff]

Dougy

Try to use V105 or silicon cable in you lamp assembly as normal cable will get to hot and the insulation will become hard and break off after a while.

Griff

[dougy]

thanks griff, ill be careful with the lamp. I noticed my eyes were a tad unhappy after just glancing at it a few times whilst it warmed up.

It's strange that paypal won't accept your credit card. my card is a ST George debit card that functions as a VISA. It expires next month. I'd never used Paypal before finding this site, but ive had no problems, touch wood.

ive got a really horible web cam but it'll be a while before i have any pic's. I dont want to build the casing till i have a stripped LCD so I can make it all fit nicely. but its going to be a while till i can afford one

[mspwpgs]

G'day lads,
Another Aussie here. I'm sure we'll be chatting soon - MS

[oog]

Some credit cards (and debit cards) don't work with paypal and other online pay services. I've run into that trouble in the past with my Visa debit card. According to my bank there's nothing they can do about it. According to those pay services it's something the bank has to activate on the card. I guess with some banks and pay services certain cards offer a no-win situation..

[dougy]

hey oog, musta replied to you in the wrong thread... sorry to hear about your paypal issues, i think i had trouble the first time i tried to use it months ago... but all's good now.

hiya mspwpgs, good to hear from you. what part of Australia are you in?

So you guys had any more thoughts on what LCD's to use. The samsung mentioned with the built in tuner and all the inputs sounds really good. only down side is LCD TV's seem to start at like $1000AUD here

[griff]

hay Guys all good with pay pal now i had the wrong expiary date on the pay pal site so i have payed for lenses.
Just purchased one of those lcd tv off ebay for $306 AUD its only 13.1 in but has the right resolution and tv inputs. Ill post a note if i can pull it apart all right as there are heaps on ebay. If its crap ill let you know so no one else buys one. It arrived on friday but i wasnt home so monday should be the day.

Later

[Skip]

Howdy All

Another aussie here. Really keen to get started but want to find a decent LCD panal first. Let us know how you go with the 13.1". I tried finding a bit more info on the moniter but I couldn't find all the specs on it.

I'm also spewing I missed out on the group buy. Did any of you guys find somewhere in aus to get the fresnals or lens cheap. Everywhere I look they want top dollar. How long to the next group buy???

[brainchild]

Ordering more lenses this week.

[griff]

Hay Skip welcome to another Aussie

Just got my 13.1in lcd took the back off and all looks good. Long cables going to the control buttons, works with s-video, rca, antenna and pc. Cant tell if the refresh rate is fast enough though but for $356 deliverd to my door its good enough. I am using it as a tv at the moment but you will have to wait awhile untill i get the lenses then ill start building. I would say buy a monitor as in the list if you want to run just your pc but i only want to run dvds out of my home theater so i think it will do for me. Sorry cant say anmore but if you want one just hold tight on e bay and bid at $312 Max and you should get lucky after a couple of weeks as they are sold every 2 days or so.

Griff

[Skip]

Hi Griff

I have seen heaps of those 13.1" moniters on ebay and sent an email to the seller asking for all the specs but he just replies with a web link that doesn't have the info that I need. :angry:

I have a bid on a CMV1515 but if that falls through I might have to give the 13.1" a go. Would be good to have a slighty smaller box and seeing as I'm only going to use the projector for DVD and TV hopefully it should be the ticket. Keep us posted on how you fair with the beast.

Cheers

[Squirrel]

G'Day ALL

One more Aussie here. I've had over 10 years as an electronic and PC tech. I'd have to say this is the most exciting project i've done in a while.
If anyone needs help wiring or stripping there LCD and ballast let me know. (in Sydney).
I will also be designing a lamp cool down timer. I'll try to keep it simple and post the circuit when finished so others can copy it.

Cheers..........

[brainchild]

Welcome. Looking forward to your circuit design.

[Squirrel]

Brainchild,
If there are any other variations of circuits you may find useful for these projects please let me know and I shall do my best to help out...

[dougy]

hiya Skip and Squirrel

seems there are a few of us now!

griff, did you have a model for that LCD and have you progressed yet?

It might be a while till I can afford a LCD now, just splurged out on wireless broadband cause untill now it was only dialup were I live. Downloading at 20k/s and web pages still load fast... i'm in heaven