How to make a projector with your own hands at home

Modern projection equipment quietly competes in picture quality with TVs, and some advanced digital models even with computer monitors. Medium-sized projectors are most often used to organize a home theater or visual demonstration of any material at presentations, lectures and conferences. It is almost impossible to assemble a full-fledged projection device at home. Here it is necessary to set up a competent synergy between mechanical, digital and optical elements. However, it is quite possible to recreate a classic projector with the help of improvised gadgets.

What is needed for this

To begin with, we will analyze the principle of operation of the equipment of such a plan. The main structural elements are lenses and a lens. It is on them that the quality of the distribution of the light flux on the large screen depends. The main thing is to set the right angle. In the absence of initial technical data regarding the lens and lenses, it is possible to set the correct distance between the elements through trial and error.

The image source in our case is a liquid crystal matrix. You can use both a part from a monitor and from a smartphone. In the first case, the image will be much clearer and better in general, because the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe matrix is ​​critical. The best option is a FullHD scan — 1920 by 1080 pixels.

The brightness of the projection lamp plays a significant role. The brighter it is, the more area it covers at the output. Roughly speaking, this is an indicator of the final screen size.

The simplest smartphone projector

The projector out of the box, focused on the phone, belongs to the category of homemade projects that are easy to do yourself. To make it clear to every reader how to make a projector from a phone, we provide a step-by-step manufacturing algorithm, accompanied by photographs of the process. To make a homemade video projector, you will need a simple set of tools, consisting of an old shoe box, a magnifying glass with a 10x magnification, a sharp knife, a marking pencil, electrical tape and a smartphone.

As a magnifying glass, use a standard loupe or Fresnel lens, available at any home improvement store.

1. We carefully cut out the window for the lens, having previously determined the center at the end of the box — this is a very important stage, because the magnifier must stand right in the center.
   
2. Now you need to fix the lens in the hole made — electrical tape is useful for this, but you can use other options for reliability and aesthetic perception: silicone or strong glue.
   
3. When a projector is made from a smartphone, the main task is to properly install a sturdy cardboard stand for the phone. The transmitting device must be placed in a certain place in the box, fastened rigidly so that the image on the screen does not twitch.
4. In the room, you need to draw the curtains, turn off all light sources, and do testing in the dark — determine the desired location of the device so that the image on the screen is clear.
   
5. Now you need to install on your smartphone special applicationwhich will flip the image, because the lens rotates the image by 180 when projecting⁰. It’s easy to do this — in the search bar, type «application for rotating the screen on a smartphone» and choose any to your taste.
6. Now an equally important point — you need to make a small hole from the back end of the lens at the bottom so that connect charger for smartphone.
   

A home-made projector for a home theater is ready, now we check its operation, determine a specific placement and invite family members to watch videos. There is a great video to help the masters.

Tablet or laptop based projector

If you decide to make a projector for your home with your own hands and want to achieve a better image, then you should use a tablet as a transmitting monitor — the screen resolution is much higher than that of a smartphone, which means that the quality of the transmitted image is many times better.

For a laptop, these parameters are even better, but the projector itself will turn out to be bulky — here you already have to choose, given the dimensions of the room for showing films.

box, to build a home device based on a tablet, choose a larger size: its length should be at least 50 cm, and the end side should be slightly larger than the tablet screen. To increase it is better to buy a large magnifying glass Soviet production, then the quality will be excellent. An example would be a device for full-page reading of books, the cost of the lens will be within 8 dollars.

At the end, using a knife, we cut a hole that will be slightly smaller than a magnifying glass, then we fasten the lens with a double-sided adhesive tape, with a corrugated surface inside the box.

We fix the tablet inside the box, taking into account that the lens flips the image.

Design laptop based slightly different — rectangular holes are cut on both sides of the long end of the box. The device itself is located with the monitor down, and the keyboard on the top of the cardboard base — this helps to get the right image, and not the upside down version.

advanced homemade projector

For assembly, we need a laptop or smartphone with a matrix without broken pixels and other problems. Carefully remove it so that the equipment works in disassembled form. Features of disassembly should be described in the technical instructions for the device. If there was no such documentation bundled with the gadget, then you should look for it on the official website of the manufacturer.

Required details:

• LCD matrix;
• a pair of Fresnel lenses;
• lens;
• magnifier;
• lamp and fan control board;
• 100 watt lamp.

The manufacturing process can be understood from the video:


We assemble the projector following the steps indicated in the video instructions. If everything is done correctly, then an image should appear on the canvas.

Slide projector based device

There is a simpler solution for organizing screen projection. If a projector for slides was at hand, then the task is noticeably simplified. The equipment is equipped with all the necessary optics, it remains only to complete it with a display source.

Overhead slide projector

If we are talking about a classic A4 office slider, then a laptop matrix will work perfectly with it. While on small projectors you can easily place a similar part from a smartphone.

We lay the matrix on the projector with a 5 mm gap and organize ventilation using computer coolers. The slider lamps get very hot, so high-quality all-round blowing is necessary to avoid damage.

How to improve image quality

To increase the quality of the final image, it is necessary to set the maximum settings on the monitor of the product from which the broadcast is carried out, to exclude the penetration of light into the room where the viewing is organized. The distance to the screen also affects the quality: the closer the homemade projector, the better the quality, but the smaller the picture.

All these parameters are easy to adjust in advance and achieve a quality that will completely satisfy you. There are separate requirements for the screen on which the image is projected: the canvas must be of high quality, without seams and defects.

Important! If you paint the inside of the box with black paint, eliminate the “leakage” of the light flux through the slots, then the quality of the picture on the screen will improve significantly.

original solutions

Similarly to a smartphone-based device, you can make a home 3d projector with your own hands or construct it from improvised means, for example, CD boxes, a home-made laser projector for displaying holograms, only these options are more labor-intensive, and the costs will be from 8 to 15 thousand rubles.

For 3d devices a special-sized plastic pyramid is needed, the dimensions of which can be found on websites on the Internet. For example, this option: height 45 mm, the inlet truncated hole is a small square 10×10 mm, and the lower part is 60×60 mm. Then we place this original design on the smartphone exactly in the center of the screen and turn on a pre-selected video.

Before you make a projector with your own hands, you need to clearly define the purpose of its use, the chosen type of construction will depend on this.

1. If you want to surprise not only the younger family members, but also the older generation, then do holographic projectordownload various YouTube videos to your smartphone and show magical holograms.
2. On the basis of a mobile phone, you can make an original design and play cartoons in the children’s room at any time.
3. When you really want to watch exciting films, like in a cinema, but there are no material resources for this in the family budget, then make a projector according to the second option — surprise with a home theater in your apartment.

To make a home theater from a smartphone, you can do even easier: buy a ready-made box with a lens for your smartphone. Such a miracle of technology is sold on Aliexpress, an overview is presented in the video below.