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4 Author: artemff
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Night Billboard
by acidus
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12
Fooling the projector Page 2 of 13
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I will try to give you a general idea how to fool the projector that was designed to squeeze some extra $$
out of your pocket. I will illustrate it with the pictures taken while I was fixing a certain projector but this
model is rare and the idea I want to share with you is general. Sorry, it's not a real 'instructable'. I can't
name the exact steps for your particular projector but the ideology will remain the same for any case. HOME IMPROVEMENT MONTH -
RANDY'S JULY PROJECTS
Disclaimer - you are going to work with the device that has several dangerous components:
circuit board with live terminals, high-voltage power supply unit, pressurized lamp that can blow up if not
handled properly. Think twice and take corresponding precautionary measures to avoid injuries and More Guides
death :)
P.S. As you can see from the comments in some cases the old lamp may blow up.
I never faced with that myself and the bulb in my friend's projection TV is more
than 10,000 hours old but this "statistics" is not enough so "forewarned is forearmed".
The safest (and most expensive) way to avoid this problem is ... to buy a new lamp but this
defies the purpose of this very instructable. The compromise is to study the construction
around the lamp and if it looks weak then one can install a metal mesh screen.
The design is up to you - it should have fine openings and at the same time it should
not hinder the cooling.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12
Fooling the projector Page 3 of 13
Let's assume that you own a projector that says that its lamp is to be replaced.
There can be two reasons for lamp replacement:
1) The lamp really doesn't work because the electrodes are damaged or there was a leak and
the gas inside the lamp has mixed with air or the lamp has blown. These are the real reasons
and of course one has to put some light source instead of the one that got damaged.
Instructables.com is full of various recipes for that. Surely, one can buy the original lamp for
$250-300 but it seems to be a bit overpriced comparing with a projector's cost :)
If you decide to follow one of the instructions from this site briefly read what is written
on the page "Bypassing the control module - 1" below. This will help you to use any light source
while the projector will keep thinking that a new lamp was installed.
2) The lamp is NOT damaged. It's the projector that thinks it needs to be replaced.
Moreover, it tries to convince you. If you remove the lamp and re-install it, it won't start. "How does it
know that the lamp is old? May be it's really worn out?", you think and go to the store. Read the following
pages to find out the truth :)
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12
Fooling the projector Page 4 of 13
In both cases described above the projector won't start since it somehow knows that
we try to fool it either by inserting a "wrong" lamp or by re-installing the old one.
How it can be? I can imagine two scenarios.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12
Fooling the projector Page 5 of 13
grounded, cut the wire and put +5V (assuming this is the logical "1" in your system).
If it is at "+5V", cut it and ground it.
b) Imagine that the high-voltage power supply unit is not that sophisticated and it can't tell a working lamp
from a non-working one. It always produces high voltage and goes through the same ignition
cycle once the Power ON button is depressed. Imagine also that the lamp is still operable but you can't
use the projector since 2000hrs have passed. You want to re-set the lamp counter but one has to
see something on the screen in order to do that (there's a corresponding menu item). It looks like a
vicious circle.
The trick is that some manufacturers add a small (0.1A in the current case) fuse on the lamp housing
(marked by red arrows on the pictures).
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12
Fooling the projector Page 6 of 13
When the 2000hrs period has passed the projector sends a short pulse to this fuse and fries it.
Now your lamp is "dead" though it's still operable.
You can easily tell if it is your case by measuring the resistance of this fuse. In the case shown on the
picture it sits near the lamp on the lamp's housing. One can hide it anywhere but it must be mounted
on the part that is replaced along with the lamp.
If it's blown then the recovery is easy. Find a similar fuse and solder it in the blown fuse's place.
I didn't have anything handy at the moment I discovered it so I used a piece of thin wire. It's not a real
fuse in a sense that it doesn't protect any circuit. It only protects you from saving your money :)
Mount everything back, double check the wiring, and try your refurbished projector.
Good luck!
1-40 of 51 next »
I have taken apart the projector and removed the high power board entirely, but am struggling to find
the octocoupler or feed to tell the projector that the bulb is OK?
Here are some pictures to give you a clue as to what's going on where, I would really appreciate your
help.
Thanks
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12
Fooling the projector Page 7 of 13
flag Reply
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12
Fooling the projector Page 8 of 13
happens if you start the projector with the power board removed? Does it show any signs of life (like
a blinking LED)?
flag Reply
Yes, that was my guess, unfortunately the pictures have been reduced in size on here, but the
other end of that three pin lead connects to the main board and says 'Ballast'.
I have tried the unit with the high power board removed and it still 'works' as before, ie, it starts up,
obviously checks for the bulb and then shuts back down.
The two thicker wires on the top RHS in the first photo are from the high power board to the bulb
itself, but I had already disconnected the socket from the bottom RHS of the picture (above the
blue sleeve).
So, in theory, if I test the voltage of the three pin 'ballast' wire when the unit starts, I should notice
a drop in voltage once it shuts down again?
Thanks
flag Reply
I would have one more questions. I'm trying to replace the bulb of my beamer (toshiba TDP S20), and
was thinking of a high power LED (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx0G-4xfMRc&feature=related)
It seems this projector checks whether there is bulb or not with a high voltage signal. So, let's
suppose I can fool the control system, but what about the high voltage? isnt it going to fry the poor
led? is there any way to get rid of that?
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12
Fooling the projector Page 9 of 13
2) When this part of the work is done, make the LED working, align it properly,
and so on.
flag Reply
Yeah, I understood I have to shortcut certain pins of the optocoupling (which i'm not really sure
what they do, but let's skip that point =)
http://diy-community.de/attachment.php?attachmentid=72211&d=1202499034
http://diy-community.de/showthread.php?14580-Toshiba-TDP-S20-Xenon-Mod
And I understand that I have to shortcut the pins 2 and 3 from the white port. I did but when I
switch the beamer on, nothing happens and a small LED control for "Lamp" blinks. Exactly as
before shortcutting.
So far, the goal is just to make it work... I don't care too much if I have to put an externar
powersource for the LED.
Thanks!
flag Reply
Now I'm just curious about how to get rid of the high power part. Do you think it's a good idea
just to remove the small transformer? without it, everything stays at low voltage.
flag Reply
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12
Fooling the projector Page 10 of 13
ikaros45 says:
Hi again,
http://diy-community.de/attachment.php?attachmentid=72211&d=1202499034
I'll try later if it works without it but uhm, if I had to bet, I'd say it won't. But it could be
good to get extra space yeah.
Do you think it's possible to get power directly from some point of the projector? or I just
better go to an external power supply.
I thought that... normally these projectors are using 130-160W, so I wouldn't have to
install any extra cooling. 50<<<<150W... I'll anyway be really careful on this point.
Thanks again!
flag Reply
Yeah, the easiest way is to use an external power supply. There are some LED kits
that come with a LED power driver that allows you control the light by PWM, like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?
ViewItem&item=110757769115&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT#ht_3542wt_1110
The problem with this kit is that the driver only works till 10W (what a non-sense to
sell it together with a 50W ), so I'm looking for other combinations... preferably directly
from AC. There are cheap powersources but without power control. Any idea for this?
Btw, these high power leds work around 15v or 30v, depending on type.
And... I've seen that some people use this kind of lense together with the LED... I
guess is to make a zoom effect and concentrate the light.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/50W-4-90Deg-Optical-Glass-Projector-Lamp-Led-Lens-
/190586037664?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5fd025a0
Thanks!
flag Reply
I tried either by conecting the two pins by putting a wire between the pins 2 and 3 in the
connector, or just by removing the isolation of the cables and just putting them together "out
of the board".... with no results.
Under a electrical point of view, both things are exactly the same.
This lid safety you are talking about, is a safety system to check that the department of the
bulb is closed? I was checking it with the lid open, so maybe this is the reason.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12
Fooling the projector Page 11 of 13
Thanks again!!
flag Reply
thanks
flag Reply
WHEN PROJECTOR BULBS BURN OUT, THEY ARE PRONE TO EXPLODING, SENDING
GLASS SHARDS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
This is why projectors have the built in counter in them. Apparentally, yours may have a sensor, but
almost all projectors I've seen have a lamp counter in them. The projector manufacturers put this in
place for a reason, to protect its users.
Just sayin.
flag Reply
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12
Fooling the projector Page 12 of 13
My friend is in the av department at our school, and he tried installing an old bulb in a projector. It
ended up blowing up in the middle of class and sending glass shards around the room. Luckily, it
didn't get in anyone's eye or anything, but I don't recommend messing with these things.
flag Reply
Another thing to check is the construction around the lamp: in my projector everything is solid and
even if something happens the parts will remain inside.
Other projectors might have a different build, so - think twice, weight all "pro" and "contra" and
then act but it's typical for many instructables :)
flag Reply
BTW, recently I found that there are extra bright and powerful LEDs available for
reasonable price. For example, Allelectronics had one for $5. It's a single point light source and it's
easy to work with.
flag Reply
After that you can play with the LED source - I think the heat production will be comparable to that
of the bulb so you'll just need a good heatsink. The fan
is already there. But may be you're right and you'll need extra airflow.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12
Fooling the projector Page 13 of 13
Please, write a brief comment here if you manage to get a reasonably bright picture.
flag Reply
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http://www.instructables.com/id/Fooling-the-projector/?ALLSTEPS 20-Oct-12