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My DIY Sanyo PLV-Z1 LCD projector mount... (1 Viewer)

Max Leung

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Cool! What did you use as a mount? And where did you find the parts?

I'm rather annoywed with the non-existent lens offset. I would either bang my head against the projector, or I'd have to raise my screen (and increase neck strain), if I ceiling mount the thing.
 

Jim A. Banville

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Jun 20, 1999
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I used a 12" x 1.5" 'threaded nipple'($1.50) and two 1.5" 'threaded flanges'($7.00 x 2). These are heavy gray PVC. These three parts with screwed together and mounted to 3/8" thick pieces of oak plywood on each end. One was cut to about 8" x 12", with rounded corners. I drilled three holes in the plywood to match the screw-points on the bottom of the projector. I used three 3" long M6 bolts to suspend the projector from the plywood mounting plate. The other 3/8 piece of plywood is about 24" x 12". It rests across the top of two 2x6 ceiling joists and supports the weight of the 6 lb. projector. The holes in the flanges are very big. I used 1" long, 1/2" wide bolts with nuts to hold the flanges to the plywood. The component video cables (which are actually 25' long Radio Shack RG6 coaxial cable with f/pin-to-phono plug adapters on the ends) and power cable were snaked through the 1.5" nipple.
 

Jim A. Banville

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Jun 20, 1999
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I bought all parts at Lowe's except for the M6 bolts. I got them at Ace hardware. The lens shift is great! It allows you some wiggle room where you would normally have to have the projector mounted in the "perfect" position. For ceiling mounted use you can't position the top edge of the image any lower than the center of the lens if you keep the projector level (no tilting), which is the same for just about every other projector out there. The center of my lens is about 10" down from my 8' ceiling. I use lens shift to adjust the picture up about 2" from where it would be if I didn't have lens shift. You might say that I could've just used a shorter mount, but I like the idea of being able to shift the image around, especially since I am only using a white sheet for a screen while I await the arrival of my 92"x53" DaLite roll-down screen to arrive and get hung on the wall. And with lateral lens shift, I don't have to sweat it when it comes to hanging the screen in the "perfect" position left-to-right.
 

Jim A. Banville

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Jun 20, 1999
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Naa. It only took a few minutes to cut the plywood to size on my table saw. A minute or two longer to round the edges. Another minute to sand it smooth. I drilled the 4 holes in each piece of plywood for the flanges and used a hole saw for a 2" hole in the center to run the wires. I bolted a flange to each piece of plywood and painted them. I attached the 12" nipple to the flange mounted to the larger piece of plywood and inverted it down a 2" hole I cut in the ceiling. While I was in the attic I ran the cables down through the 12" nipple. Once back in the living room I put the cables through the other flange/plywood mount and threaded it onto the bottom of the nipple coming down through the ceiling. I then held the projector upside-down while I put the M6 bolts through the 3 holes plywood mount and screwed them into the projector. I then plugged the cables into the projector and was done! I could've done the whole thing in under an hour if I didn't have to wait for paint to dry or if I didn't have to run back to Lowe's for a longer nipple (first one was 8"). I was also delayed by having to cut out a section of 2x4 that was lying perpendicular to the ceiling joists in the exact location I needed to mount the upper (in-ceiling) part of the mount.
 

Jim A. Banville

Supporting Actor
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Jun 20, 1999
Messages
630
I did do some teaking after all the heavy work was done. I had to run some caulk around the hole in the ceiling. I placed some washer under the heads of a couple of the M6 bolts to bring the projector into perfect "level".
 

Neil Joseph

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Jan 16, 1998
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Neil Joseph
Great work.

I modified my Sony mount so that it could drop my pj down by 2' but I did not have the right tools. It was a major pain to do...

 

Max Leung

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Sep 6, 2000
Messages
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Cool stuff!

One thing I miss about the NEC LT240 and HT1000 I liked was the nice lens offset they had (but people with screens reaching to the top of the ceiling hated them). An 84" screen would need to be placed about 18" from the top of the ceiling if the projector was flush-mounted. That is perfect for my 7'4" high room. :)

But alas...I'm stuck with the Z1 for now...maybe in 18 months those newly announced 3-chip consumer DLP projectors will drop in price...DPI has announced a 1280x720 HD2 3-chip DLP projector for the mid-range consumer market. It'll probably be $20K US. Next year I hope it'll be $10K...yeah...right. :D
 

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