X1 DIY Mount [Text View] - Page 5

mandarax

10-29-04, 05:05 PM

Bobby... I guess thanks for the opportunity to explain the DIY. The first one I did was a post for one that was quite horrid compared to these.. I was asked by many to make them one. As the first one was made in a machine shop by hand and just spray bombed I certainly didnt have the time to do this. I actually do sell these now outside AVS and it is not advertised anywhere. There is no charge in the cost for my time doing the drawings. Making test plates.. and the models that are not generating as much interest. Making templates. Making fixtures, and quite a bit of other activities surrounding this service for AVS'ers.

Upon receiving the requests I asked for permission from one of the owners of AVS and he gave his blessing to it. On the profit side of the equation.. try pricing out the cost of cnc machining arms.. cnc laser cutting the plates,,, getting cad drawings made up, professionally powder coating it, making tooling and fixtures. Procurement, Precision assembly for powder coat, Packaging for the retreaval of powder coating, Disassembly, Packaging for the courier,, Shipping by courier (price that out from here to California by courier)...International Invoicing.. answering email.. paying a chunk for the money transaction to paypal. The complete hardware kit including the bit and alan wrench..using some of the most expensive hardware,, doing the administrative paperwork involved.. paying for a testing facility. The masking .. tracking down shipments.

To CNC laser cut one plate.. how much would that be? Just for the plate.
any idea.... I also sell other manufacturers mounts. I do make a profit on these. The fact that the best processes and best materials are used with the best finishing techniques by marquee companies in this field and offering them to fellow members and attempting to do it at cost and that it bothering you now and in the past is something that I will never be able to assist you with.

Profit... What profit? The reality is that since the dollar has fallen dramatically in the last little while it has created a loss actually by a considerable amount. A fact that may make you happy and content.

So really Bobby.. what you do is none of my business. If it offends you that this service is being provided and AVS members like it, then I'll keep doing them. I made a commitment that I would have some alternative plates to those that purchased when they upgraded. I tend to live up to my commitments. You seem to be motivated in some other way that has nothing to do with mounts. I sell it outside AVS for over double the price offered to AVS members. It remains an item that many people want and I think that people are thankful especially those that want custom, quality and ease of assembly and esthetics. I think you came into a post for the Z2 mount quite some time ago trashing it.. I seem to remember a gun. Maybe I am wrong.. but in any event hopefully this answers the question of why it started off with the "DIY" The first one was a bunch of pics of the one that I made up special for a customer and really had no intention of making them up. It is fun. If it did not offend an owner of AVS ... why then does it offend you? If lets say this continues to be extremely popular .. then in fact if the volume dictates I will just become a sponser. Any idea of how many mounts to pay for being a sponser. Anyway thats my goal. The small profit that was realized much earlier went to a worthwhile cause related to this site but thats really no ones business.

Get me those numbers on all that profit Bobby. Someone paying just over 60 bucks for the product.. of this calibre..packaged plus shipping. The rate I pay for the cnc machining 75.00 per hour. The rate for welding... 65.00 per hour.. The rate for one plate just the projector plate... is 95.00 with a autocad drawing for one. The minimum charge for a box of powder 450.00. Get a grip on those digits. People are not donating their time and resources to give these to me. They cannot be individually made. If you look at the Z2 mount.. the BenQ .. the NEC.. the Epson you will note that it is impossible to cut steel like this without the use of a cnc laser cutter. Even a plasma cutter will not do the job. Some people do not want a pipe fitting and some other contraption in their theater room .. Honestly Bobby .. I would be guilding the lily if I stated that I think you are here for an explanation.. but if not,, hopefully I cleared up your wondering and you can sleep well tonight knowing that in the long run I lost money.

Good luck on your screen venture.

I don't wish to get into a flame war about this.. Parts of the thread related to it being a DIY is within the scope of the content on this thread. Repeatedly actually if anyone cares to read it. Since the thread is over 52 pages in the interest of brevity I revised the first post to only having updated information on actually ordering it. Having no idea if one batch was going to go out the door or two or whatever I didn't start a new thread for it... But there it is... If anyone knows how to change the name of the thread once it starts let me know. I will change it in a heartbeat.
In an event Bobby .. Go do whatever it is you want to do... but don't come on here talking about profit. These are not even at the Shootout events I host for AVS members. I don't charge for these events either Bobby.. Weird eh.. They do cost quite a bit of money tho. If you knew how much scratching kicking and hard work was involved in offering these to fellow members Bobby and keep making changes to improve it and keep having to renegotiate and keep others interested in putting in their production runs you really wouldnt be here speaking of profit. I could offer a pipe fitting or even a carbon copy of an original mount if interested. Thats not what I am interested in. If it is junk or looks like it should be hanging off a warehouse factory ceiling I don't want it. Dont care for it.. don't want any part of it.. All of these parts are made to suit the projector.. not some crap picked up at a home depot and glued together. I have two other designs that sitting on a shelf. I have a motorize ballscrew lift design that is about 1/3 complete. A motorized PLC controller for an automated screen. A host of other stuff to work on .. and the immediate thing all this month was trying to do whatever is necessary to keep the price down with no loss of quality. The fixture that is at my gratus for the welding operation and so the welds are invisible is huge .. It saved 18 cents on each weld.. Note Bobby that if I did a spider mount or other generic mount with stamped plates with slots in them .. it would cost a far less. Its already being done. Theres guys on Ebay pushing junk.. Try and put a 22 lber on these and see what happens. Bobby I gave you the best possible answer complete with every permutation.. I have absolutely zero else to offer you.. and will not spend any further time on it. I am on the phone while writing this and the call is done. Sorry for typos ...etc.. as I drift into two trains of thought. I actually thought the explanation was on the very first page in the first post on this thread..

Even sorry in advance if what my gut is telling me the lily is being guilded is in error. I just remember a prior post and have a memory of someone yeilding a screw gun. If it bothers you still. Send me an email so I can better understand it.

But do it in an email.

over.. done .. ..the end.. finale... .. finito .. conclusion .. terminating further discussion here and hope you capeche..

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Jay... The mount has the PSI strength to hold up my motorcycle and beyond. If you look at the pic of the BenQ 8700 config.. you will note that it is within your weight stated and it has no issues with it. It surpasses the weight load of actually any projector that is out there ... How long have you had the X1??
I thought you just received it. I also just cut one fricken plate for a Yamaha 510 as the person thought it was going to be the same as the Epson 500 ... so that is now finished along with the others..

I have not actually load tested with european drywall for those toggle bolts. They are vastly superior than using an anchor. I only throw in the extra toggle bolts for those that would otherwise only use an air stud. I prefer studs and joists and only recommend these.

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On a side note there was a problem with those t handles that come out of Italy this week and they will be here on Monday. Man we have to do something to shore up that U.S. dollar. Many suppliers of new projectors, audio gear, etc etc etc. are in quite the quandary about how to establish pricing. Every currency has increased for every supplier I have outside of the USA. Some are actually waiting till after the election to set pricing.
Sorry for any delay.. it only affected the ones for the last couple of days and the balance will go out on Monday. They are actually a US company but has a division in Italy that actually produces them.

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I have been getting flooded with requests about long extentions.

I think there is a pick showing the ceiling plate... On many occasions I will take two Ceiling plates.. the one above the ceiling being used as a type of vise and the rod going through it.. This process reduces deflection.. and it can actually used with three plates ... the one actually acting as a toggle bolt of its own on the other side of the ceiling.. A pipe actually hanging off a fitting say will deflect more than a solid piece of nc steel.. when say you slam a door in the room. The more the drop the less it takes to make the deflection happen.. I did have one gentleman that had quite a bit of room in the upper attic where it was installed.. and when he went away he actually screwed the projector up high in the ceiling where it could not be reached if a thief came in.. They tend to like to get in and out fast.

I actually have also had guys that just used the mount without the cnc machined pieces and only a threaded rod.. They actually only watch movies occasionally and just screw it up into the ceiling when not in use.

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mandarax

10-29-04, 06:00 PM

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Jay.. I am posting a pic of the BQ 8700 which is the the range of your mount weight and is a bit of a mess as far as weight distrubution being even. Took me less than 5 minutes to put this on from scratch level it out and adjust to screen and take the pictures.

mandarax

10-29-04, 06:07 PM

Jay .. here is another pic to show you how it adjusts that weight .. no sweat.. Projector in the pic being adjusted forward and tilted at the same time.

mandarax

10-29-04, 06:26 PM

These are for you Bobby..

How does a AVS member cut a piece of 12ga CRS into this shape. How does he do it without a weld showing? How does that AVS'er do it to within 1/5000 of an inch to the hole locations?

It is not some cheap piece of pipe and fitting or some plastic that is going to go brittle with heat and crack and possibly fall on someones head.

This is not a piece of wood mitered at the corners with a coating of paint on a surface that my 11 yr old daughter could make disguised as a real screen.

Robert

mandarax

10-29-04, 07:48 PM

Take a look at this plate that fits the Epson 500.

12ga steel crs. Can the average AVS er make something like this with his drill or saw??

Now one could say that it is nothing more than what a manufactured one but a lot cheaper .. but Bobby thats where you are wrong or at least I disagree with you. I don't see manufacturers doing this for a product or a finish this good at any price. Thats correct I said ... ANY PRICE.. and the most expensive items are the arms that are solid cnc machined and drilled arms.

Not pipe fittings.. not a board .. not some spare parts picked up at a junk bin.. hardware is all black alloy capscrews.. as is the knee joint piece. snap caps for conceiling the hardware on the plate.. Not some can of spray bombed paint finish or bottle system.. not two shelf brackets with a board..

I couldnt make these by hand, powder coat finish them without the million dollar equipment.. I think they are cool .. they are fun.. they look great ... work great.. Hopefully you can see the difference between cnc laser cutting and and cnc machining and drilling and the lathe work.. vs making up a screen with paint. Certainly won't stop having fun because of an unknown agenda of one since March of 2003.

These other plates just fit onto the regular plate and can be swapped out.. Back Wall, Side Wall, Ceiling, Sloped ceiling, on a beam, on the joist, on the side of a joist, short drop, long drop, extended long drop, flush.

I have to thank my good friend Bobby again for having the opportunity to explain it and show some other pictures to help visualize that they are more a labor to serve. If they werent for AVS members I would not brand them. Give them a great shape. Weight balance them.. etc etc etc.

If you only knew what I get for a seriously expensive projector and personalized it like this in 12 GA steel with my time in for designing it and doing the Cad drawings.

Robert

jay_madrid

10-31-04, 09:48 AM

Hi Robert - Thanks for your messages. I've had my X1 for quite a while, but I recently got married and needed to upgrade my homemade mount with something a bit more discrete. I was planning on upgrading to the IF 4805, but I couldn't pass up on the AVS offer for the Benq 7800 which is perfect for Europe. Of course, seeing that you have done plates for the 8700 means that I should probably ask you for a quote for a new plate and also a long extension as I'll want the image to hang down a bit more than what I have now... I'll send you an e-mail. Thanks!

mandarax

10-31-04, 12:18 PM

Thanks Jay..

I really like the 7800 .. I think you will be ticked with the upgrade and the AVS deal is a great one for what you get. Even if not in Pal land it is a great piece. It was in fact the first projector that made my Sharon stop and take a second look and ask a few questions about it. It is a bit of a monster size wise but when you consider that most of the guts of the unit are the same as the 8700 including the build quality etc.. it is quite a good piece that I am sure will be a great upgrade. The chassis is identical to the 8700 plate you see in the pic btw.. and it is that same piece that spins onto the existing mount pieces. You will also note the attention to detail and the cutting of the plate and the plate size itself is quite a bit larger than the X1 or SP4805 by necessity due to the venting on the bottom of the unit. The Projector plate portion is also thicker. I will also send you the capscrews which are different from the X1 capscrews that go into the projector.

Robert

mandarax

11-01-04, 05:12 PM

T-handles came in today ... at 5pm..

Therefore all orders will ship tomorrow.

Sorry for the delay. Scooped 230 of them so should be ok for a couple of weeks . with another order on the way from Italy..

Cheers

Robert

mandarax

11-02-04, 06:17 PM

Every mount is shipped that was received prior to 4pm today..

Robert

jvos

11-03-04, 11:08 PM

I've searched this thread but can't seem to find the answer. How can I adjust yaw? I am using a ceiling mount. I can use the bolt to swing back and forth and of course the t bolt for pitch (up and down) but what about yaw? Right now the projected picture is serious trapezodal left to right. My mounting surface is pretty darn level too.

obheng

11-04-04, 02:16 AM

Robert,

I must say that I admire your simple and highly effective designs, not to mention the finishing details you seem quite obsessed with. :)

Got a question for you : Have you done something which fits a projector with ONE screw hole; in my case the Dell 2200MP. Or something 'universal' which fits anything under the sun, well maybe not quite so....

mandarax

11-04-04, 11:03 AM

Originally posted by jvos
I've searched this thread but can't seem to find the answer. How can I adjust yaw? I am using a ceiling mount. I can use the bolt to swing back and forth and of course the t bolt for pitch (up and down) but what about yaw? Right now the projected picture is serious trapezodal left to right. My mounting surface is pretty darn level too.

jvos... just loosen the joint ... align it to any angle you need to adjust and retighten.

mandarax

11-04-04, 12:58 PM

obheng... Thanks ... its pretty much all fun related. No fun making something that looks like crap.

I have given a universal mount some thought but always dismissed it as this is taking up quite a bit of my available free time as it is. Still fun but the quantities required now due to the increases in steel, hardware, shipping etc.. and keep the price unchanged is now really the biggest challenge. Making a universal one would be easier .. but right now I don't see it as being of any particular use unless I have to segregate myself out of it and just let someone else do all the work. If at some point it sucks up too much of my time or becomes less fun I will just spill them out there commercially, revise the pricing to reflect reality of what they should be priced at and disappear or preferrably if they can stand on their own just become a sponser here on AVS and do it on a larger scale. That too would make the price go up as well to pay for the advertising... but it is an option or a goal that I have had for some time. The quantities being made now are the most economical so I can't change the price.. As it is I am going to have to cease with the better Robertson screws for the USA and go with philips to cut the price out of the driver bit that is now provided. They are only a 80 cents each but you would not believe how tight this is now. I have been adding and adding to the design which I love doing and want to continue to make it the best I possibly can.

Sorry I can't help you at this time on the Dell..

Robert

jvos

11-04-04, 02:33 PM

just loosen the joint ... align it to any angle you need to adjust and retighten.

Robert -

Hmm, I don't get it. There are only 2 axis of freedom, right? I can use the joint for vertical adjustment (Y) and the rod itself for horizontal adjustment (X), but how can I adjust the Z axis? My imagine seems to indicate the pj is too low on the left versus the right.

Am I missing something?

Kram207

11-04-04, 07:14 PM

That's where a wall mount flat panel TV mount comes in. It can adjust in in every direction. Can move forward or back a bit too, mounted on ceiling or wall. Cool.

mandarax

11-05-04, 10:26 AM

Originally posted by jvos
Robert -

Hmm, I don't get it. There are only 2 axis of freedom, right? I can use the joint for vertical adjustment (Y) and the rod itself for horizontal adjustment (X), but how can I adjust the Z axis? My imagine seems to indicate the pj is too low on the left versus the right.

Am I missing something?

Changing the orientation of the joint itself will determine which way it swings. If you look at this pic which is the Z2 mount BTW.. you will note that the swinging action will be side to side. Vs. on a vertical plane like in the next pic I will post.

All those movements are not static... There is enough thread to move it 180 degrees without a problem. You will note that depending on which way that knee joint is oriented it will swing in the desired position.

If the ceiling is off a bit.. you just adjust accordingly. Normally not needing all that much adjustment... I usually start off with the t-handle on the side where it would swing up and down vs. side to side. Then adjust from there.

Robert

Robert...

mandarax

11-05-04, 10:37 AM

Here is a pic again with a ceiling mount config ... showing where the t-handle or the joint itself is just oriented different...

This is a great question jvos .. btw..

You will note that the only thing that is different is ... well the drop is different but the joint is oriented differently where the the T handle is located and locked down sided to side where the projector now would swing vertical.

This again is the Epson 500 mount.

Robert

mandarax

11-05-04, 10:42 AM

Generally the distances drops allow for the most common required drops for all standard ceiling heights.

You can get even the lowest 4.5" to be less if you do this.

mandarax

11-05-04, 10:49 AM

If you have a drop ceiling ... many have the mount then with the wall/ceiling plate on the side of the joist or on some bridging between the joists on the ceiling. and do this..

Note that when this is done the diagonal adjustment is then with the first cnc piece that goes into the plate ... adjustment made and locked down with the nut.

mandarax

11-05-04, 10:56 AM

This pic is showing the diagonal adjustment with a wall mount..

Note also that many people have L shaped rooms and they simply use the wall mount config and just turn the projector sideways and lock it down by simply again turning it and locking it down.

Robert

mandarax

11-05-04, 11:03 AM

That last pic showed the use of two handles being used rather than one.. a female and male instead of the black alloy cap and allen wrench..
..

If you make your last assembly where the knee joint is all the other adjustment should stay intact when you drop it for cleaning etc.. Once you insert the black alloy capscrew the projector will free hang.. just make sure you put it through all the way.. limits any arm fatigue for those heavy projectors and even the lighter ones ... once up you can reorient it to suit..lock it in and finito..

Robert

mandarax

11-05-04, 11:10 AM

Almost forgot to post the pic of how the threads can actually go through the ceiliing plate...

In reference to the above noted pic with the EPson 500 and the tape.

Hope those pics help..

If not send me an email..

Robert

mandarax

11-05-04, 11:14 AM

Since so many pics in one small area ...

Here is the current look of an extention.. with the sleeve on it for those high ceilings.

The extentions are done through specific requirements and are priced according to the extent of the extention required and how much extra the shipping will be.

Robert

mandarax

11-05-04, 11:20 AM

You will note that the mount from the perspective of a universal mount that although one could go with a spider arm type mount and this would cost far less to do... ie make up sliding arms with slots in them that would reside in the mount it would look like crap compared to these.. cost less sure.. but I just prefer to make them up to suit what I think is best for the projector. Also it is much harder if not impossible to weight balance the pieces to actually want to hang fairly balanced on the heavier units. Some projectors are weight distributed extremely uneven.. Custom means I can consider this in the design and put the welding location to suit the projector to make it much easier for the person not handling thier baby in an awkward manner ..

rollercoaster

11-05-04, 02:30 PM

Robert,

Have you used this mount on a cathedral ceiling? Do you have any pictures? I believe it would be as easy as mounting the knee at the ceiling plate.

mandarax

11-05-04, 10:04 PM

Roller coaster ..

There is quite a few of them out there on a cathedral ceiling.

and with a number of different ways including two short pieces with an extention..

Depends on the pitch and drop required. Actually hasnt been a installation that did not work yet.

Have done many extentions on the wall config as well.

Robert

jvos

11-06-04, 11:31 AM

Robert -

Thanks for all the examples. I get it now. Adjust in both axis at once would provide yaw adjustment. I'll give it a try today.

mandarax

11-06-04, 02:32 PM

Thanks for the question.. It was excellent.

The pieces are not static... If it was static I would only put in a threaded rod have it ride and down through the ceiling plate and adjust the fine tuning with the cap screws with control breaks on them so you could only go out so far... I have done this as well.. I think I mentioned a couple installs where a person had a expensive projector and just wanted it up and out of the way when he left his baby for long business trips and actually we just simply allowed it to travel up that high ceiling and spun it to the top ... NO Extension ladder ... No Projector for the theif.. A motorized ball screw would do this great but I don't see a lot of guys wanting to spend that kind of money and there is not that many high ceiling HT rooms.

Robert

ultraming

11-07-04, 12:57 AM

Hello Robert

I send you paypal for a x1 mount. My email address is hmlskc@aol.com. Let me know if there is any problem. Thanks.

gravldo

11-10-04, 05:27 PM

Do you have a model for the x1 for suspended ceiling? Can you attach a picture and pricing?

zehnd

11-12-04, 09:07 AM

Hi Robert,

I sent you money via Paypal for the X1 Mount last week.

I was wondering if you have a shipping date?

Thanks,
Donald

mandarax

11-12-04, 03:13 PM

Every request for the 4805 and X1 is gone and shipped. There was a delay on the adapters.. I received a few bad ones and did a random test and a couple were faulty.. I shipped those back and received another batch of em..

They are the Infocus adapters.. btw..

Zend you should have received yours by now... its weird but it costs almost twice as much to ship to Sask.. I never checked but was that an area that is in remote Sask .. I didn't think so.

Robert

mandarax

11-12-04, 03:23 PM

many of the guys I know with suspended ceilings will attach to the joist or bridge between the joist and change the orientation of the mount accordingly.. Have the mount as a ceiling mount through the suspended ceiling.. and or the same but in this fashion in the photo..

Robert

zehnd

11-12-04, 06:48 PM

Hi Robert, I am about 80 miles west of Saskatoon, so I wouldn't say a remote area of Saskatchewan :)

Was it Fedex you sent it by? They are at my office on a regular basis.

I understand items moving west from the east is always more than west moving east. :(

Thanks,
Donald

mandarax

11-13-04, 09:50 AM

It went via UPS..

Shoot me off an email and I will give you the tracking number..

Robert

zehnd

11-14-04, 02:02 PM

Email sent, thanks.

cesto

11-15-04, 11:06 PM

hello all first post ;] . i recently purchased an X1 and am now looking for a mount. from the amount of replies & requests I am interested in having a mount made as well. however, what difference does your mount have versus some mounts i may obtain on ebay for about $35-$40? (anyone can feel free to reply to my question). Thanks in advance.

mandarax

11-16-04, 07:55 AM

Cesto... my hardware kit would cost more than the entire mount you see on ebay. Using a plastic ball piece and attaching it to a plate or a T with some drilled holes in it.. Try getting one and load the projector on it. To be ULC approved it has to handle 4 times the weight... The weight is riding on a bolt inserted through the plastic that looks to be less than 1/4". The plate looks like a spray bomb finish or no finish on a plate that is either stamped.. but actually looks like it was cut with a saw. If you are going that route I would just recommend that you buy the ball piece for less than five dollars and make your own.. even a lay person should be able to coat it with a spray bomb can and cut out a plate like this.

Robert

cesto

11-16-04, 10:19 AM

Originally posted by mandarax
Cesto... my hardware kit would cost more than the entire mount you see on ebay. Using a plastic ball piece and attaching it to a plate or a T with some drilled holes in it.. Try getting one and load the projector on it. To be ULC approved it has to handle 4 times the weight... The weight is riding on a bolt inserted through the plastic that looks to be less than 1/4". The plate looks like a spray bomb finish or no finish on a plate that is either stamped.. but actually looks like it was cut with a saw. If you are going that route I would just recommend that you buy the ball piece for less than five dollars and make your own.. even a lay person should be able to coat it with a spray bomb can and cut out a plate like this.

Robert

thanks for your reply robert. Pardon my ignorance, but it seems you were giving me instructions of how to make my own? I have no problem giving you the business, I would just like to know what benefits your mounts provide which justifys the price difference. Thanks again.

mandarax

11-16-04, 10:52 PM

Cesto...

All the plates are cnc laser cut... the mechanical arms are cnc machined.. finish is a powder coat finish. Hardware is all black alloy. Load bearing strength is greater. It isn't a piece of tripod attached to a plate... spray bombed and cut in someones garage.

Robert

cesto

11-17-04, 02:18 PM

ok then, you have yourself a sale. I'll send the money via paypal to your account tonight. how long can i expect until i receive the item? (this is in the US, New Jersey. thanks.

cesto

11-17-04, 11:59 PM

looks like payment will be delayed 3-4 days. my paypal account only had $19.00 in it. At any rate, I do want one and would still like to know when this product would be shipped out....few days, weeks, month? after i send the money? please let me know...thanks rob.

mandarax

11-18-04, 07:51 AM

Cesto ... Usually ships same day or next depending on when payment arrives..

Cheers

Robert

cesto

11-18-04, 01:25 PM

just sent $83.00 for the X1 mount. I'm interested in purchasing the adapter, however are there any alternatives that would allow me to have my dvd player and computer connected at the same time? I don't like having to unplug the monitor cable from the back of the projector each time i want use the computer or play the DVD player

mandarax

11-19-04, 09:28 AM

On the X1.. you can use the svideo to component adapter and also use the VGA to component or just the VGA to the computer. The faroudja chip is bypassed on the VGA .. so you have to determine which is the better way to go based on what you are connecting. I do have these adapters in stock so if interested let me know. It just assists people on the shipping side for a simple adapter to have these go out with the mount when needed.

Robert

cesto

11-19-04, 09:49 AM

you can ship the mount for now...i need to do more research as to which is better. i may even use a kvm switch depending on what actual setup i use. thanks, and hope to see the new mount soon! ;]

mandarax

11-19-04, 07:32 PM

Good because I dropped it off at the warehouse this afternoon.

Robert

slider0035

11-20-04, 03:13 AM

I would like one of your X1 mounts. $83 via paypal? Please pm me with the information you need. I'd also like a breakdown of the extensions you have available for the X1. I've gone through the thread, but I beg your pardon it's a big a$$ thread.

mandarax

11-21-04, 10:50 AM

slider all the information is on the very first post.

Whenever there is a change about ordering the mount I post it on the very first post.

email robert@digital-visions.ca if you have any questions.

mandarax

11-22-04, 09:23 AM

UPS is on strike ..teamsters union... Will advise alternative later this morning ...

Robert

kenmwu

11-22-04, 10:16 AM

Robert, I sent you $83.00 thru payapal. Not sure if you got my email. What are my options for extension? I have a 9 foot ceiling. From ceiling to top (white) of the screen is about 22 inches. Thanks.

mandarax

11-23-04, 07:42 AM

Kenmwu..

The standard options for the drop from ceiling to projector plate are...

4.5"drop , or 10", or 15.5"

Other longer drops are available but are done as specials. You can adjust vertically on the above standard by going into the ceiling plate with the cnc piece... aprox 2".

Robert

mandarax

11-23-04, 07:45 AM

Will be going back to Fedex during the strike and eating the extra cost. If the strike lasts for an extended tenure then will have to adjust the price to facilitate. Fedex has a host of extra charges for home delivery...etc.. If you can have it shipped to your work address this will help keep the cost down.

Robert

jvos

11-23-04, 02:09 PM

I'm having a bit of a problem with slipping. I positon my pj (sp4805) to properly fit the screen and then tighten the T handle. After about 15 mins of watching, the picture has dropped about 4" on the screen. Anyone else experience this? Do I simply need to tighten more?

mandarax

11-24-04, 08:05 AM

JVOS

Tighten it with the supplied wrench..

Robert

mandarax

11-24-04, 08:08 AM

UPS Strike is over.. so will resume with UPS. Phew..

Robert

atsang

11-29-04, 06:04 PM

Hi Robert, I bought your mount for my 4805. The build quality is great. After setting it up, I noticed that my M1->DVI adaptor sticks out too far (so that it almost touches the wall). My dvi cable won’t fit between the projector and the wall. So I need a longer arm for the mount so I can fit my DVI cable in the back. Is there a way I can get a slightly longer arm? Maybe 4 inches (10cm) longer?

mandarax

12-01-04, 08:11 AM

atsang

Please email me robert@digital-visions.ca.

I can accomodate this no problem.

Robert

Duwaan

12-02-04, 05:05 PM

Hi Robert,

Your X1 mount is great! What do you suggest I do to check if my wall mounted projector's lens is perpendicular to the screen before I permanently put it up.

Thank you.

fern whipple

12-03-04, 04:12 PM

I got a universal black adjustable ceiling mount from projector packages for $85.00

mandarax

12-08-04, 11:28 AM

Duwaan..

First ... sorry for the delay in getting back to your question..

There is several ways to insure that the projector is perpendicular.

One of the tests I would do is to actually measure the image on the diagonal to ensure that it measures the same from corner to corner.

Also you can get a level to ensure that the image is not tilted.

I do not know what screen type you are using but you can put the image on the wall to make sure that the image offset is taken into account for the drop desired. One thing that many don't realize when you get a pull down screen you can add fabric to it to get the image to drop to the location desired as well.

Laser light levels can also be utilized to assist. They have become drastically reduced and widely available. Just don't shine the light in your eyes directly or others and keep it away from kids as they will no doubt do this as an irrestible play toy.

On the wall configuration... for the mount the diagonal adjustment on the mount is with the cnc machined rod that is threaded into the wall plate. The extra nut on the cnc machined arm or leg can be backed off and the nut tightened when it is in position. It is only necessary to hand turn this tight. The horizontal adjustment is on the cnc machined arm or leg that goes into the projector plate. Again back it off .. turn to position and tighten by hand to the desired position. On the vertical ... tilt the projector assembled into position and hand turn the t-handle tight and further tighten with the allen wrench supplied.

The above noted site is getting a lot of heat for whoring on this site. Seems to be a new member fairly frequently that comes on and does a new name. Note that I have permission from AVS to provide these to members.

Again sorry for the delay. Has been very crazy just before Xmas.

I will be going to CES in January and hope that all the mounts go out prior to this event. I will be as usual prepackaging some extras so that there is no delay when I get back.

There is about 31 left from the batch of 400 for the X1 and the SP4805. With another batch of 200 going out.

I am getting my Z3 demo this week or next so should get that one done before the new year.

I will cease with the Z2 mount and whatever is left will be it.

There is plenty of BenQ 8700's and 7800's to go.
There is plenty of Epson 500's..

I will be getting my BenQ 5210 demo this week or early next .. and will be seeing about getting that chassis completed if it pans out to be a good unit.

Cheers

Robert

Cheers

Robert

rootaxs

12-11-04, 11:19 PM

Robert,

I paid you on the 3rd for the mount and have followed up with you on the 9th. It's been over a week and i still haven't heard from you about my order.

Kindly respond or i'll be forced to file a complaint with the payment facility.

Thank you.

sdmike

12-12-04, 11:45 PM

Robert,

Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but do you still have the X1 mount in the original grey (to match the pj) color?

Thanks,
Mike

mandarax

12-15-04, 04:33 PM

rootaxs... I am shipping out tons of these and cannot get back to everyone. If there is any delay I normally will advise prior to the delay to give people a heads up. In any event I am sure that you received it.

SDMIKE... I have a few of them left over but I won't be selling them as they are just kicking around collecting dust somewhere. They would have had little scratches on them and therefore I don't feel comfortable selling them. The black ones are better.

Robert

mandarax

12-16-04, 09:06 AM

I pick up another batch of just under 600 of these today. The tail end of the last batch had some very small scratches on the ceiling plate and I didn't ship them and had them sanded down and redone. The BenQ 8700 mount actually outsold the SP4805 the last two weeks in a row. Many for the BenQ PE7800. I am picking up this AM and going to be prepackaging the bulk of this batch so that there is no delays before the holidays. There was a short strike from UPS that delayed a couple of shipments. Everything looks to be back in order now. I will be at CES the week January from the week of the 4th.

Some changes that were made. For the USA shipments I am using the phillips screws for ceiling/wall plates. If you want the other Robertson screws... ((these are actually called security screws in the USA as no one has the proper bit to dismantle it)) there will have to be an upcharge to supply the bit for this. Also I can no longer supply the toggle bolts with the regular screws. If you need toggle bolts please advise and I will send those rather than the regular screws. Looking at the details of the last batch I was actually losing money on these. The price of steel has gone through the roof and has not fallen back to normal levels as I was hoping. I will be uploading a website that should work to supply the tracking numbers automatically. I just need to decide which website to upload it to and since they ship internationally all the pieces that link to UPS are not working properly. I am hoping that I get some additional time to upload this all in the new year. Have been busy trying to be able to financially justify being a sponser on AVS. At least the exchange rate would help do this but the mounts obviously won't make it happen at any quantity unless there was a substantial price increase. This portion of the business is only done for fun and I am hoping to keep it this way. As it is I can't always get the tracking numbers out to everyone and some obviously find this upsetting ...... so hopefully I can arrange for this to happen automatically without ceasing to provide it just for fun. My goal is to keep the price at the same level as long as I possibly can and keep it fun. I should have taken a pic or two of the last batch and the assembly what it did to the look of my house... :) The girls and I thought it was funny but Sharon didn't care for it too much. Its great exercise tho... I lose about 5lbs on every batch.

Thanks for all the kind words in the past year and the support, it is much appreciated and have a great holiday season. I will be bringing my camera to CES this year and hope to take many interesting pics.

Robert

mandarax

12-17-04, 02:56 PM

Mike if your out there... here is your plate for the Yamaha LPX510...

I will only do these guys if there is quite a few of them.

mandarax

12-17-04, 03:05 PM

I inverted the image on the pics for these so you could see it better.

The cameras do not pick up black too good. In cases where there needs to be an extention or when asked what do I do with a drop ceiling..

Answer is easy.. I usually recommend that people bridge between the joists and supply me with a relevant range of drop they wish to have.

The mount can then be raised or lowered to suit within this range.

Sometimes if the drop is extentsive what I do is put a plate on the top of the bridging and one below. I also do this with people that have large drops and have an additional plate above the ceiling. We are talking some serious drop distances before all of this is necessary. But hopefully the pics will be better than how I can describe it.

reybie

01-03-05, 09:54 PM

Hi mandarax,
I'm interested in the 4805 mount but I don't have the projector yet. I'm trying to get all the stuff I would need ready when I get it this coming end of January.

What information do you need from me when I place the order. I had done some calculation using the 4805 spreadsheet as to height and stuff.

Thanks in advance.
Rey

mandarax

01-04-05, 06:34 PM

Hi Rey..

Sorry for the delay ... have had a very taxing time restraint during the holidays..

All I need is the drop distance from the standard...

Best to use email.. robert@digital-visions.ca

All the mount orders in house have left and are with UPS ... up to and including the orders received today. There was a bit of a delay on the ones with a VGA adapter... I am trying to check the adapter now before they go out as I seem to be getting a run of bad ones from Infocus.. I spoke to the head of Infocus about this as it is very annoying to get a wire that does not work..

Hope everyone had a great holiday..

Cheers

Robert

afiorentino

01-05-05, 08:10 PM

Mandarax,

I am new to the forum. I just bought an Infocus X1 projector. I am looking for a mount and yours looks great. I am installing in the basement which has a drop ceiling. Does your mount have an adjustable post to get me through the ceiling. The joist that I want to attach to is 7.5 inches above the drop ceiling. What is the total cost with shipping for the mount.

Seperate Question: Since I have a low ceiling to begin with (6'11") I am limited to where I can mount the projector without it being in the way. Any ideas on a way around it. I looked at a lift but was floored by the price. I was looking at a under $100 solution? Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Andy

rontron

01-06-05, 12:22 AM

Hi Mandarax,

I placed an order for a 4805 mount on 12/22 using Paypal and have not received it yet. Was mine included with the ones that went out on the fourth?

Thanks for checking on this

Ron Wichin

kenmwu

01-10-05, 10:26 PM

Hi Robert,

I ordered this over one month ago and did not find any instructions in the package. Are there supposed to be any? I'm going to use the coming three day weekend to install this. Appreciate any visual instructions via email if possible. Or if the instructions are somewhere in the thread, please advise.

Thanks,

Ken

mandarax

01-11-05, 09:26 AM

Sorry for the delay getting back responses... I just got back from CES yesterday morning and wanted to get out the orders while I was at CES.

My daughter prepackaged about 60 units while I was gone so it made it quite easy to keep up and get them out.

Andy... with regard to drop ceilings there is a number of ways to accomplish this extremely well with any ceiling height and with height adjustment in a drop ceiling environment. Send me an email robert@digital-visions.ca and let me know the relevant range of height adjustment you think you need or any other questions regarding this.. Many will bridge between joists to get the projector in line with the screen and allow for mid range lens adjustments.

Ordering instructions and assembly instructions are on the first post. The mount is very intuitive to assemble and once you get started it only takes a few minutes to assemble and make all the adjustments.

Ron... yours did go out and should be there by now. I had some issues with the orders with adapters and wanted to check on the adapters received with some testing of the batch received. Some of the adapters received which were the Infocus adapters had some quality issues and were doa which causes some grief. I sent back the batch of adapters I received as when I did a spot check on some there was a high percentage of failure. Ordered another batch to sample test. If it continues I will be forced to go with a non Infocus adapter as this process not only holds up the mount orders but also is costing quite a bit of time to sample test.

I am going to gather up all the photos taken at CES and will be posting some comments on some of what was seen at CES once the dust settles and I get back on track and down res the photos to AVS maximum resolutions.

Thanks for the orders while I was away... and appreciate the understanding and patience of taking a few days to respond to emails and PM's while I was away. Still in great shape to get the orders out same day or next depending on payment time received.

Robert

Snootch

01-14-05, 11:54 AM

Robert, I’d like to order a mount from you.
Sent you an e-mail.

Thanks,
Ralph P.

Johnny Be Good

01-16-05, 07:11 PM

Really wierd,

Robert has been unsually really quiet latly, tried emailing him to no avail, I hope all is fine with him

anyone have any news?

Johnny Be Good

rootaxs

01-16-05, 08:35 PM

He was responding to my e-mails up to Wednesday, shortly after he got back from CES. He's probably just busy with the orders that was on hold while he was out.

FourDoor

01-17-05, 05:49 PM

Yeah I had my brother in law email him to inquire about ordering a new X1 mount and he hadn't received a reply yet. Hopefully he gets answered this week.

reybie

01-17-05, 07:19 PM

Sent an inquiry too... no reply. Time to put a missing person alert :)

rootaxs

01-17-05, 07:49 PM

He's fine. I just got a response from him about an extension question earlier today. :)

reybie

01-18-05, 06:41 PM

I'm lost in trying to get all the things I need together. I've got the screen stuff figured out, and now this mount issue. How long is the standard drop that Robert sends out for the 4805? I'm trying to calculate the placement of the screen using his standard drop.

I have a 100" high ceiling and the screen would be 49*87 to get a 100" diagonal 16:9 frame.

rootaxs

01-18-05, 06:56 PM

Unless somethung has changed, Robert will give you the option of 4.5", or
10", or 15.5" drops with the order.

mandarax

01-19-05, 11:11 AM

Sorry for the delay guys and thinking there was something wrong... I think I got back to everyone.. I am quite fine actually. I had to take care of some of the screen orders and projector orders when I got back as well as ship out the orders for the mounts while I was away. I have to say that many of the emails received had viruses on them and my system just files them... So if you had attachments... that would be the first clue if you didnt get a response. I had the misfortune of losing all of the pics I took at CES... Damn I dragged that camera around for 4 days... I was making another logo to put on all the free t-shirts I got at CES with my company name on the back ... :) and was resetting the resolution on the camera and accidently hit format... POOF.. gone.. Possibly the aftermath of my red veins sticking out of my neck and the ensuing heat wave is responsible for all the strange weather we have been having.

There has also been a resurgence in the Z2 mount of late .... It does in fact fit the Z3 chassis... so these are going out with a high demand again.

I had one lot of BenQ 8700 and 7800 mounts left that I just got back and that will be the end of that chassis. I also will be ceasing on the Epson 500 mount chassis. There has been some serious price drops on that unit but it seems to be slowing down.

I am also trying to decide on a date for the next shootout event. Will keep you posted. There is plenty of new stuff coming out and look forward to seeing some of the buds that I only get to see at these events.

Again sorry about your concerns.... I have been also having a nightmare with all the UPS invoices .... My rep never did get the contract sorted out so that the invoices were properly billed for almost a year.. Now he is gone and I guess in an attempt to sort things out he forged my name on a contract... this just before he left to go on to another career. :).. What a mess. But it is sorted out now and hopefully I can get the software working properly now. It should assist in getting back to people with tracking numbers without having to go through several steps to get the tracking info...

If anyone knows how to get back and unformat a XD memory card please let me know... I had some great pics to share with AVS members from CES..

Also working on an audio rack that will incorporate some cnc laser cutting.

If you ordered a mount ... no worries .... it is out the door..

Cheers

Robert

Snootch

01-19-05, 11:30 AM

Robert, I never received a response from you.
Sent you another e-mail.

Thank you,
Ralph P.

Johnny Be Good

01-19-05, 11:43 AM

Hi Robert,

have tried emailing many times to avail, so perhaps you can answer me here

I ordered a mount from you, real nice mount + fast delivery at a decent price was really happy with it, so much so, i decieded to show it off to the local AV store so that they can order some from you, too make the story short, in the process, i lost the mounting screw kit with the allen key (stupid me) i would really apreciate a replacement to that i can use mount with the pj

if need be, i'll pay for it...

please advise... waiting for a response

Johnny Be Good

maxleung

01-19-05, 05:44 PM

Hi Robert...I would like to order a mount for the Benq 8700 (last batch eh? D'oh!). Well, I dug up your email back in July, so I mailed you a request... I hope it gets through!

sdmike

01-23-05, 01:35 AM

Robert,

Is your mount for the X1 both wall and ceiling mountable? Or do we need to specify whether it's going on the wall or ceiling when ordering?

Also, I know you mentioned you had a couple of scratched mounts in the original grey... Any plans on selling these or making new ones in that same color?

Thanks!

rootaxs

01-23-05, 04:16 AM

sdmike, to answer that question - the mount can be ceiling or wall mounted. Robert includes the necessary screws to make it possible. For ceiling mounts he does offer a backing plate to make it more secure. I went the DIY route for that and put a piece of 2'x4'x1/2" thick plywood on the other side of the drywall and used one of the screws that Robert included in the package.

mandarax

01-24-05, 02:17 PM

Ralph ... I sent out a couple of emails ... including one today as the special length is getting cut today...

Johnny... Re: Sales to stores... I only offer them at this price to AVS members and would actually sell it to a store for more money. Let me know about the screws you need ....

Max.. your order went out for the 8700 same day it was received... should be there shortly..

SDMike... No intentions of going back to the grey or other colors. I actually think the black satin powder coat finish looks the best with all the mount configurations of every brand. It also allows me to consolidate the pieces to the powder coater and get larger batches out with a variety of different projector plates. IE I still have over 100 pieces just sitting that are all cut for the NEC chassis that all of a sudden started to slow down and will likely take the balance of the year to clear out. A hard pill to swallow..
If wall mounting it becomes easier or if ceiling mounting to state what drop you wish. With specials of course this takes a bit of correspondence via email so I understand what you want and or give me a call. Some that have specials make up very simple diagrams so I can understand what they want to try and drop down to or what obstacle they are trying to get around..

Sorry for the PM's I noted today that the PM list has been over 100% for quite a while ... I cleared it down to 15% while doing my Sales Tax remittance... Who said women are the only ones that can multitask.. ??

I will be trying to get on here more frequently ... Just CES put me on the spot being away for a few days .... I want to stay on top of all the orders and get them out the door first and foremost... Luckily my daughter packaged as much as she did while away as it made it a breeze to get them out.... I finally sorted out the UPS mumbo jumbo but it had no effect on shipments in any event.

Still looking for assistance .... If anyone knows someone that wants to work in the field... US and Canada ... let me know..

If anyone has any ideas on a spring shootout let me know because I will be in the planning stages in a couple of weeks.

Cheers

Robert

sdmike

01-24-05, 02:26 PM

rootaxs and Robert, thanks for your replies. Robert, I'm not sure what your preferred method of communication is, but I'll be sending you an e-mail with my set-up to see if you think a ceiling or wall mount would be best. Thanks again.

Johnny Be Good

01-24-05, 06:06 PM

Robert,

I e-mailed manytimes... its been 2 +/- months without being able to use your mount cause i lost the screws
i would need the screws.. dono how to reach you,
without any response ...

this is what i need that little package with the screws to hold the mount to the cieling with the black plactic caps + screws to the base of the 4805 projector
i would need them this week.. have a party at the house

what about the lock washers for the extension rod, are they important, would need them also

waiting for your response

John

maxleung

01-24-05, 07:19 PM

Robert, thanks for the quick response! I hope to receive the mount soon...

Anyways, I forgot to ask what comes with the mount - how long is the mounting pole, and if I need a longer one I can order it from you?

mandarax

01-25-05, 12:55 PM

Max... You get all the hardware you need for the assembly.. including the allen wrench for tightening the knee joint... (unless I provided a double t-handle) I can't remember the size you ordered... It is not a pole ... the arms are solid nc steel that is precision machined... If your project dictates that the standard offered sizes that are made up of two cnc machined arms or legs which form the knee joint don't suffice I can make up specials to fit the desired drop... and depending on the installation this drop can be to a relevant range of drop. Now I probably confused the hell out of everyone but ... the standard drops of 4.5", or 10" .. or 15.5" suffice to satisfy 99. something % of the people with standard ceiling heights.. Note that the ceiling or wall plate does have the cnc laser cut in it as well and so there is some variability to shorten those standard drops by threading into the plate... and I better stop before confusing myself..

The screws... the screws ..... I am getting to the screws... John ... I will send off the parts you lost .... no problem ... its just timing as I mentioned my daughter prepackaged everything I had including the hardware kits and I have to go out and get some additional. Will do my best ... The dreaded Sales taxes were due yesterday so had to deal with that over the weekend. Someone beaned Sharons car in a parking lot and left with no note or report had to deal with this as well..

I have all the parts cut yesterday for all the in house specials.. so they will go out tomorrow.

Robert

maxleung

01-25-05, 01:20 PM

Thanks Robert. :)

Johnny Be Good

01-25-05, 03:28 PM

Im very happy that you will be sending them

thanks a million for understanding,

Johnny Be Good

mandarax

02-02-05, 07:25 PM

Please try and remember to include the telephone number for UPS. Just include it with the paypal info... I also learned today that you do not have to be a member of paypal to use paypal.. Since it is a business paypal account and they take a merchant fee they do accept the credit card payment.. Will find out more details for this.

Some of the emails lately have had virus of some sort in the email. My computer rejects it and burns it. So if you have had some difficulty with this try and PM and or possibly use an alternate email.

Cheers

Robert

Robert

reybie

02-02-05, 07:34 PM

I will try and send my inquiry via PM. I've sent 2 emails w/ no reply so they probably got nuked by the antivirus.

Edit: PM box is full so here it is :)

I would like to order the infocus 4805 mount but I'm a little bit lost on the measurement part.

The room's dimension is 15ft Long X 12.75ft Wide X 8.33ft High

I would be trying to for a screen that's 100" 16:9 diagonal.

The infocus calculator says I need an offset from middle of lens to top of screen of 13.6"

Will the 4.5" drop be sufficient for this application?

If that looks good, please let me know and I'll send payment ASAP. Thank you very much!

Rey

Johnny Be Good

02-03-05, 07:12 AM

Still no screws mandarax...

what is the story with that, mandarax please explain

waiting for your response

dobymax

02-04-05, 10:00 AM

Sent you a regular email in ref. to ordering a mount from you for he 4805. If they are in stock, would it be safe to go ahead and order? I understand that you're busy, so I will wait until I hear from you.

Also, with the order, are there different drop lengths? If so, I need to measure before I order. What is the standard drop on the mount?

afiorentino

02-05-05, 09:36 AM

Robert,

I sent you a paypal payment of $83.00 for the Infocus X1a mount and included the drop needed in the paypal notes. Let me know if you have any questions. If you could please let me know when it is shipped so I can look for it in the mail that would be helpful.

Thanks for everything
Andy

mandarax

02-05-05, 07:43 PM

reybie...

I would think that the 10" drop would be better..

The PM was full again and sorry about that ...

Make sure the email is .ca or cut and paste robert@digital-visions.ca
********************************************************

Johnny ... I sent out replacements for the ones you lost via snail mail... Please dont tell me these are lost too..

******************************************************

dobymax ..... they ship same day or next depending on payment..
all in stock... the standard drop is three options... a 4.5" drop, a 10" drop, or a 15.5" drop.
******************************************************
Andy ... got it and it is going with Mondays shipment..

*****************************************************

If you have attachments to email with viruses or have any type of virus my email will churn it up and spit it out..

Cheers

Robert

reybie

02-05-05, 09:00 PM

mandarax, alright, please include the 10" drop to my order... I sent paypal yesterday.

Johnny Be Good

02-07-05, 09:17 AM

manarax ,

I did not recieve anything by snail mail,
really discouraged about the whole thing by now,

is it such a difficult thing to get some screws, bought the mount back end of november

please mandarax send me the screws

John

dobymax

02-07-05, 12:56 PM

Thanks Mandarax. I'll get a measurement and shoot an order your way. Thanks again.

DigitalFodder

02-07-05, 07:00 PM

hi mandarax. Do you still make the Infocus 4805 wall mounts? and do you ship to the UK? Can i just buy one from you or do you need more details etc...

mandarax

02-08-05, 01:35 PM

DigitalFodder..

affirmative on both... I ship to Europe all the time. Fire me off an email..

robert@digital-visions.ca

give me the exact address and I will provide a landed price.

International shipments go via EXPRESS shipping only... but the discount is a healthy one and it usually only takes two days to Europe.

Cheers

Robert

mandarax

02-08-05, 01:43 PM

Thanks to the guys that sent me programs to try and restore the CES photos... Much appreciated.. Unfortunately no cigar... Once the card is formatted and other files put over them I guess the the program fricka zees the old ones ... Thanks anyway ... and again it was greatly and graciously appreciated that people took their time to try and help.

Robert

Ja Phule

02-08-05, 02:56 PM

Originally posted by mandarax
Thanks to the guys that sent me programs to try and restore the CES photos... Much appreciated.. Unfortunately no cigar... Once the card is formatted and other files put over them I guess the the program fricka zees the old ones ... Thanks anyway ... and again it was greatly and graciously appreciated that people took their time to try and help.

Robert

That's unfortunate, I would've liked to see some pics. How giving us some of your impressions from CES?

afiorentino

02-10-05, 12:19 AM

Robert,

Just wanted to thank you for the quick shipment of the mount. It came in the mail today and I put it up no problem. Anyone out there wondering about the quality of the mount, put your concerns to bed. It is of outstanding quality.

I also give a thumbs up to the service Robert provides. I put the order in on a Friday and received the mount --- nicely packaged on a Wednesday. He was patient and answered all my e-mails and questions that I had (even the ridiculous ones). Much appreciated.

Thanks again,

Andy

mandarax

02-10-05, 08:32 AM

Thankyou for the kind words Andy..

The shipping switch from Fedex has been surprisingly good. UPS is doing a good service. Except for one recent very special mount in a much larger box.. which arrived with the box intact.. but all the parts missing.. UPS seems to have more routes and seems to get there a day or so earlier. Don't forget that a portion of the mount dollars and a significant one is for the courier to actually ship it.

The quality is actually due to the processes employed and the machinery used. My suppliers that cnc laser cut... do the cnc machining on the arms.. and the powder coat finishing business should take the ovation because they have been extremely patient and understanding of how picky I am. These are not made in my garage and it would be impossible to produce without the expensive machinery utilized to get to this standard. The emails are more abbreviated now than they were when I started and less personal unfortunately due to time constraints. My main business is the sale of HT gear.. Projectors, panels, screens, cabling and other accessories so this product does consume much of any spare time I have. But it is one of the most fun and I do enjoy seeing pics and getting feedback on peoples installations of their projects. There is no ridiculous questions BTW.. and I would rather questions be asked that eliminate any anxiety one may have. We all get involved in different aspects of expertise and everyone is not equally mechanically inclined. I built my own house while I was a VP Finance for a large international company and I understand the anxiety phase of any project that is not intuitive or where I lacked the skills to get the job done... Asking questions is imperitive and an intrinsic process to most any HT project. Most of the simpler questions that do get asked stem from the gear side of the HT project. Once someone starts to put the pieces together on the mount it becomes rather obvious of what to do.. I could package the pieces put together .. then wrap it .. but I find that it assists to have all the pieces individually bubble wrapped and force the customer to thread everything together and get a feel for what mechanical adjustments can be attained and how flexible it is and how easy it is to make adjustments.... without the aid of tools .. other than the allen wrench which is supplied for tightening the knee joint. One common area of question is that many think the allen wrench is for the cap screws provided for the projector to the projector plate... these should be simply screwed in by hand. It comes up most often with the Z3 and Z2 mount which use larger cap screws where the allen wrench fits the cap screws for the projector plate and the capscrew for the knee joint.

I will pass on the compliment of the packaging to my soon to be 12 yr old daughter... If it was not for the fun they have been having with these it wouldnt be nearly as much fun. Luckily the support of people that keep buying them help calm the nerves for the rather large commitment I have to make to keep the cost down due to huge increases in the price of steel this past year. I am hoping that the price swings the other way soon... some of the steel companies in North America seem to be hanging by a thread with these increased prices and hopefully they will be able to withstand the huge forces of competition from China and other pacific rim countries. It concerns me that we keep giving financial aid to these countries and they use it to build economic empires of manufacturing and technology that gets deployed and seems to be having an impact on much of the industry. A very good friend of mine is a partner in an accounting firm that just put in a software system for a business run here. The business is made up of products that are clones of North American products ... he selects which ones to clone and then goes to China to have them made... that business has grown from a 20,000 sq foot warehouse to a 350,000 sq. ft. warehouse of these products within the last 4 yrs. It has brought warehouse employees to North America ... but I wonder how many manufacturing jobs with skilled labor it took away. Anyway .. It is good to have something that is made exclusively in North America.. and utilizes the technology and skilled labor here. Sorry about the rant.. :)

I just realized I just polished off a coffee writing this..

Robert

mandarax

02-10-05, 10:23 AM

Ja Phule...

I would be happy to give some of my CES impressions..

First off you cannot see all of the CES in the four days .. It is impossible. I think my friend Andy and I saw about 10% of it in that time frame.

**********************************************************
Biggest dissappointments..
**********************************************************
I was sort of expecting that due to the extreme competition that some of the companies that were making flat panels would be actually setting up their panels and some of the projector companies as well to hilite the product at its best. Unfortunately I would say that over 90% of them were very poorly set up.. The booths were by and large done professionally but the displays looked horrid. I was so tempted to take the Sencor around to the different booths and see what some would look like properly set up. From a technical perspective then it is all but impossible to rate which impressed more or less based on the setup alone. I think that the companies that do not set up properly actually lose some ground in an environment like this as some will compare what they physically see at the event.

The other aspect of the show that was a big dissappointment was the fact that the people at the show that were hired by some of the manufacturers were absolutely zero help beyond the ability to hand out a pamplet or advertising or just have the ability to get a bit of drool going. It is Vegas for heavens sake.. If I want to drool I can go to the Palms Casino at night and drool there or most any other venue at Vegas. I think the companies would be much better served to have there engineering people at the venue instead of the eye candy women employed at the event. Some companies that were breaking into the market with new innovative related products did this and it was refreshing.

The person I deal with at Infocus was unable to attend due to being ill. She is quite an outstanding lady and I missed not being able to connect with her there at the event.

Sony Black Screen... I was expecting this screen to give better results than it did. I marvelled at the balls it took to put this into production this year but I was unimpressed with the overall picture.. The amount of hotspotting and distortion to the picture off and even on axis left me overall unexcited about the prospect to overcome a satisfying experience with ambient light. Part of the image at some relatively high probability of seating or standing positions in a commercial environment were completely washed out..

The Sony HS51 projector ... again I was expecting so much more out of this projector having seen it the first time at CES and was very dissappointed with the image. I saw two images .. the first one granted was with the black screen and therefore it was at a detriment being in an open environment but even on a more appropriate set up in the Sony booth it failed to excite and thought there was much better offerings.

The Infocus booth again was in the open ... and all of the projectors therefore were not looking too good. While in the booth area some guys were poking at the projectors and actually goofing with all the settings and left the projector looking even worse than it did to begin with... Maybe a more controlled environment would be better and it would not take much to pull off. The booth was also not in the mainstream halls with the others and in an obscure spot as well... They did have people that did know the products in the booth tho and that was very refreshing.

NEC... It was good to see NEC at CES this year ... but the booth was not very exciting.. nor did it hilight very well what the projector was .. and what its capabilities were. I was interested in the HT510 but would like to get some time with this model in a controlled environment.

One of the realities of some of the plasma companies that make outstanding products and something that could be understood from some of the poor booth set ups is the fact that many or most of the ones that make the best panels are actually in the process of selling off this part of the business due to not being lucrative due to pressures of companies that have turned the screws of competition and offer panels so much cheaper,, and it shows in the quality of the products being produced. Sure the specs read impressively but the product itself is no where near quality of some of the pioneers in the industry. In one hand it is good to see the prices dropping by 40% in one year... but on the other the products also are not apples to apples so one will see quality offerings being dropped for price compromises and the consumer will not have the better offerings being available and the market for competition will also diminish leaving the manufacturers that pump them out with cheap labor not putting out a product that performs at the same level as those that are parachuting out of the business entirely. In the long run I think that the products will be less progressive and that there will be a more static response to producing more innovative and higher resolution products... but thats just my take on it.

The blu ray and HD DVD offerings that seem to be eminate ... although extremely happy that the players shown and manufacturers ready to pull the trigger... Very gratifying to see all the offerings but at the same time overall it makes one sick to the stomach to know that the war in the formats will ultimately mean a lag in time overall to just get the fricken thing out there and the content to start rolling off. I want it ... and I want it now.. anything less is a disappointment.. All the hyperbole on the two formats is annoying at best. The players by the representative companies all looked great. In the back of my mind tho I was a bit hesitant as to what this roll out will mean for the audio. Some of the companies that still care about the audio will take more time to come up to speed with the big Japanese companies that will be rolling out the products eventually. This lag in technology for the companies products relative to the video side of the equation although understandable is also annoying in most of the upper end audio pieces. I fear that the process will end up making some additional companies fail. People willing to spend the money on higher end audio will go in with a piece temporarily but with the technology always being slightly behind it will always be a push.. pull as to when it will be a good investment... Luckily most companies offer upgradable boards on their gear now to compensate. Even some of the companies like Onkyo with their Integra line are making offerings that are actually build to order and that is a giant step in the right direction.

*********************************************************
most impressive
*********************************************************

The best projector at the event was to my eyes the Fujitsu 1080P... It is an outstanding achievement for an LCD projector. I do not like the esthetics much of the box .. it kind of looks like the engineers just shrouded what they worked with in metal... but I do not really like the projector to look like a Ferrari or Maseratti and stand out in a room anyway. I prefer the box to be black and unabtrusive so it did not lose too many points for this in my view. I would take the images it produced over the esthetics of the box any day.

The Marantz utilized a chip from a company in Canada on their single chip Dark Chip HD2+ .. Of the offerings in this category I thought the projector looked outstanding and it certainly seemed to pay off with the results. Unfortunately the price tag on it when making a financial justification for the difference in price would seem to make for a rather tough decision. IE.. do I anti up the difference for a native 1080P ... I think it would be a difficult piece to pull the trigger on at that price level with the other offerings in the HD2+ camp being not unimpressive and exponentially cheaper in price. A native 720P projector in the HD2+ category will keep most people satisfied for a long enough tenure of time while the prices continue to decline in my view.

Optoma... They had a huge improvement in the way their products were displayed this year. I was impressed with booth set up for their budget H31 and the H77 ... I think this will be a great year for them. They seem to have all their production woes behind them and are coming out this year with all guns blazing.

BenQ.... Although their booth is simple enough it does show the products in a comfortable environment.. utilizing black material to isolate the rooms. I very much liked the changes in the PE8720 which was a working prototype. It does not look like an industrial box any longer. They have made the piece look more esthetically pleasing but would have preferred that they made the piece in black. I don't know why more companies don't bite the bullet and make their projectors fit to a home theater environment. Pearl White is not the way to go with a box shooting light.. or at least I do not like it.. For those that cannot make the seemingly radical move to darken the room I guess they will love the piece in a pearl white. Contrast is up.. lumens have increased and it now has a lens shift.. Pricing to remain in a very competitive mode with this new piece. I liked the competitor to the SP4805 offering by Benq.. but I am hoping to get the NEC HT510, the Infocus SP4805, the Optoma H31, and the BenQ PE5120 in a shootout environment.. At the very least in a controlled environment before passing judgement on them individually. I have seen them all but have not had the time to do a side to side comparison.

Of the LCD projectors in the budget lines I was most impressed with the Sanyo Z3. I think it gives the best quality and the best overall picture for a budget LCD. A marked improvement over the Z2 and well worth the difference in my opinion. I think the Panny 700 although very close to the images produced falls short in the overall quality of the piece... the enclosure actually looks pretty chinsee.. Again that is a personal opinion and I guess the important thing is that the LCD group of manufacturers banding together are drawing their lines in the sand.. and letting everyone know that they are not going to go away without a serious fight. Interesting is also the fact that many of these companies are putting out native 1080P LCD TV's this year... and not projectors.. Extremely impressed with the improvements. Personally I still am a DLP preference but it is exciting to see the gap closing and that smorgasborg of offerings are all acceptable pieces and that one can hit a bullseye on their budget and the pieces available now more than at any time prior and this will just continue to improve. The fact that the LCD camp keeps the improvements coming will also put pressure on the DLP companies to roll out improvements at a faster pace and so its all good.

Given the response on the state of affairs of the plasma and LCD flat panels and the competition dwindling.. It was refreshing to see that some are hiring people like Joe Kane to work on pieces. On the new pending release of the Samsung 800 projector I was impressed with the way the development of the piece is going using the expertise of Joe Kane. I think it will help Samsung make positive progressions throughout the product line of video products.

I quite enjoyed seeing Joe Kanes new Digital Video Essentials disks at work .. Although it will be a WM9 product and therefore will benefit those running on a HTPC moreso than any other practical use. Still very impressive and I think I will be making up a HTPC,, and a Media Centre this year... as soon as I decide on what to do with the audio side of the equation. I can't say which manufacturer because I signed up with them at the show so it would be very biased. There were a few tho that were very very impressive at making attractive cases.

One of the most impressive actually at the show were some products that are starting to roll out to get some enjoyment other than movies with our gear. One of the most outstanding and one that I want to put through the gears asap to get in shape for this years golf season was a product made by a company in Toronto. Again I don't know if I should post the company name as I am getting a skid as soon as I put it through the paces. The product is a golf launch pad... You actually hit a real tethered golf ball with your own clubs.. It gives you the EA Sports Tiger Woods game... and you have all those courses to play as well as all of the Microsoft courses which can also be used... Their own software has a driving range which gives you feedback on your swing to make improvements... Sensors in the pad provide the swing speed .. angle of club etc.. etc. etc. You get a spare pad as well .. Very cool fun... If it works out maybe we can have a game league together on the internet.. and play a real golf game.. on the big screen of course..

Have more that I enjoyed but

Gotta scoot... and get some work done..

Robert

maxleung

02-10-05, 12:01 PM

Nice summary Robert! It should have its own thread. :)

sdmike

02-10-05, 02:54 PM

Originally posted by afiorentino
Robert,

Just wanted to thank you for the quick shipment of the mount. It came in the mail today and I put it up no problem. Anyone out there wondering about the quality of the mount, put your concerns to bed. It is of outstanding quality.

I also give a thumbs up to the service Robert provides. I put the order in on a Friday and received the mount --- nicely packaged on a Wednesday. He was patient and answered all my e-mails and questions that I had (even the ridiculous ones). Much appreciated.

Thanks again,

Andy Couldn't agree more. Admittedly, I was one of the ones with questions I'm sure he gets all the time... "What's the allen wrench for? It doesn't fit!". I was surprised to get a response to that question within a couple of minutes. But, like Robert said, take a couple of minutes and get a feel for the parts and it will make sense to you soon enough if not immediately. My only issue is that the arm need to be about 2 inches longer since my cables don't have enough clearance in the back. Robert, I hope you got my email & pictures on this.

mandarax

02-10-05, 08:46 PM

SDMike..

The clearance can be extended ... no problem.. I have some extra extention parts that just go onto the plate to extend it if the cables bulk out too much... As far as the pic goes ... I have not seen it... try sending it again... But if it does not work ...ie if there is some sort of virus attachment it will not pick it up. Just send an email.. with no attachments and we can sort that out.

maxleung... thanks...

here is some other stuff at CES that was on the plus side of the equation.

I finally got to see the production release of the fabric SilverStar from Vutec and actually meet the president of the company who I have talked to on the phone but never in person... Very charming gentleman,, in person as well as on the phone. I am hoping to get my sample and run it through myriad of tests. It was displayed right out in the open with a JVC HD2k and looked very good considering the amount of ambient light. I felt it was a much better solution than the Sony Black screen.

Stewart Greyhawk RS .. it seemed to be used in many of the display rooms and in particular was very stunning with the Samsung 800 prototype. The majority were still using the Studiotek 130 as their reference screen.

Intel gave us a great music disk from the Blue Man Group.. I found it to be a very entertaining dvd... Coming to Toronto soon... It is quite a setup.. If you get a chance to see it .. it is well worth it.. Went to a private concert and saw Rod Stewart live... Monster Cables put it on.. and I have no idea why I was invited given the feelings about the companies products.. but they certainly have some people bedazzled and buying the stuff.

I was looking for some in wall speakers that don't sound like crap... I am trying to get down to Pennsylvania soon to go and see the Legacy plant.

The Theil Speaker company was using a monster CRT NEC that looked great.

Samsung had a 103" plasma... can you believe a piece of glass that big?? I think it was mentioned that it was over a 100G's It did not look very impressive however.. I have seen budget projectors that would easily outperform the Picture on this piece. It did make the smaller plasmas look good tho. I would love to put a SP4805 and set it up side to side to this 100 G piece..

The Sony Qualia 's were stacked for the demo.. and they looked very impressive... but would have preferred to see just one in action in a controlled environment.

Vegas in general... the women at the Palms.. magnificent..I think they all get their breast implants at a discount because they all looked the freakily exactly the same. ... gambling in the Paris casino allows you to surrender your bets at black jack tables.. and at the MGM ... I found my betting style suited surrendering a lot.. the buffet at the belagio... the "O" show at the Belagio..

Robert

sdmike

02-10-05, 08:54 PM

Originally posted by mandarax
SDMike..

The clearance can be extended ... no problem.. I have some extra extention parts that just go onto the plate to extend it if the cables bulk out too much... As far as the pic goes ... I have not seen it... try sending it again... But if it does not work ...ie if there is some sort of virus attachment it will not pick it up. Just send an email.. with no attachments and we can sort that out.Beautiful. Thank you! Just sent you another e-mail (without pics this time). Let me know if you get it. Again, kudos to your customer support!
Edit: Thanks, Robert, for your quick e-mail reply (as usual!). Looking forward to getting the extension!

newfmp3

02-10-05, 10:01 PM

I ordered mine a couple of days ago. He had it shipped faster then I could pay for it :)

Very nice to deal with so far, and I'm looking forward to getting the mount. I looked around at other mounts but to be honest, nothing else seem to impress mw. yes, the DIY projects are cheaper, and so are some of the universal mounts on ebay, but most looked cheap.

I'm sure I'll be happy with this one as many already are.

thanks Mandarax

Snootch

02-10-05, 10:25 PM

Robert, I just e-mailed you the pictures, let me know when you get them.

R.P.

mandarax

02-11-05, 09:14 AM

Snootch... Nice handle Btw.. Thanks for the pics... Most disturbing ... Someone actually opened this box up ... took all the parts... and left some of the bubble wrap that is taped up around each individual piece... That is truly a first. Snootch received a special long .. long drop ... Can't believe someone at UPS would actually do this... I personally dropped off the box at the UPS depot for this shipment too... so it should be easy enough to narrow down.. all I have to find out is what driver has a Infocus SP4805....... Maybe they thought it was the projector in the box since the box was 9 times the size of a normal box.. At least the extention sleeve was still there as I coated it with a paint to match the mount. No worries I am not waiting till the claim goes through... as I do not think any one is going to fess up to opening the packaging.. and the fact that the box was still intact is incredulous.. The box was actually filled with styrofoam popcorn packing as well. ARGGGGH .. a feel a vein on my neck rising..
The extention is being cut today to replace and all the other pieces are set to go... Sorry about that ... If I find the dink flunk that did this I will let you know.. Truly a first.. I have had two other shipments where the box looked like it got hit with a scud missile and all the contents were still completely intact. It would actually take over 90000lbs of force to harm the cnc machined pieces.. Have to go calm that vein ....

Cheers

Robert ...

newfmp3

02-14-05, 02:14 PM

well, some better news for me at least. I got my package today, and installed it in the ceiling while home dinner time. It took me about 15 mins to open package, figure it out, and drill into the ceiling. Really nothing to it at all.

Nice quality, strong as he#%, and the little touches like black screw head covers are a nice touch. if only renovating the rest of the room was as easy.

Tip for future buyers though. Make sure you take the time to order the right length drop. My room isn't done, and I can't really test it, but in the temp room it's too low (my fault)and I have to keystone a bit. like I said, it's a temp room, and it's no big deal, I'll just get the shorter rod if I need it later.

Thanks Mandarax. Another Happy customer.

sdmike

02-14-05, 04:31 PM

Robert, received the extension today. Thanks! Put it up in 15 mins. Piece of cake. Sent you some pics - hopefully you'll get them.

reybie

02-14-05, 04:37 PM

Got mine today too, didn't have time to install yet. I did get a little confused at first when I saw a fedex box on my doorstep when I was tracking a package from UPS :) (had me scratching head)

newfmp3

02-14-05, 10:58 PM

ups handles fed ex in Canada

Anyways, I got mine installed tonight. I love it, wife loves it, and it works like a charm. Thought it was going to be to low at first glance, but a little tweaking and it was perfect

Highly recommended. I have used a lot of official infocus mounts with all our pj's at work. Don't waste your money on those, they are overly huge, heavey, ugly and way over priced. Get this one, you'll be happy.

mandarax

02-15-05, 03:23 PM

Wow .. thanks for the great comments guys...

The story behind the fedex box is ... they work well.. :)

But it was UPS that delivered it... I had about 600 boxes before I made my major exodus from Fedex.. I still use em... but not for these mounts.

I love getting the pics.. One of you guys has quite a collection of dvd's .. Let me know when I can back them all up.. :)

Cheers

mandarax

02-16-05, 05:54 AM

Just an update on paypal .... apparently you do not have to be a member to process the payment with a credit card. The paypal account is a business paypal account and therefore should be able to process a payment with a credit card.

Cheers

Robert

nathan_h

02-16-05, 08:03 PM

Robert:

I remounted my Z2 recently and managed to lose one of the smaller washers (for the elbow) in the process. Can you PM me the size so I can replace it? Remarkably, things are working pretty well without it, but it makes me nervous that is might slip at some point....

mandarax

02-18-05, 08:01 AM

Nathan... You will be fine without it.. on the cnc machining of the faces you will note that I have them machine circular grooves... Just tighten with the allen wrench and it will be fine without the washer.

Robert

nathan_h

02-18-05, 10:37 AM

okay, thanks.

newfmp3

02-18-05, 02:34 PM

Should be able to get a washer at any home hardware type of store anyways.

mandarax

02-20-05, 11:03 PM

I know you can do it... 1/4 " but again I know you wont need it..

If someone loses screws I didnt mind sending out replacements ... but recently I sent out some in the mail as well and they got lost and I just can't keep doing this for nothing... I try and send it out by postage as it costs the same to ship a screw... as the post office is about 20 to 25 minutes away.. which if you do the math ends up costing me quite a bit in time for sending out a screw..

I sometimes use them with the double T handle configurations where I don't use the allen wrench that I provide with the hardware kit.... just twist the two t Handles at the desired location ... This is what I have being doing recently for some of the installations... I may be going this route in the long term as it eliminates the allen wrench and need for any tools..

Robert ..

nathan_h

02-22-05, 02:10 PM

Yeah, I figured it was overkill to ask you to send me a small, cheap, standard part like the washer.... since I could buy it myself at the local hardware store... hence my question. Thanks!

jcwroton

02-23-05, 02:24 PM

Robert,

I've had my X1 for about 2 years now. I've used a mount that I made myself and it has worked fine. I built it so that I could, fairly easily, take the projector down if I wanted to take it somewhere or do maintenance on it. It's still not quite as easy as I would like, but it works. However, the way I screwed my mount into the ceiling, only two of the screws actually went into the joist that is above the ceiling. The other two screws are just through the ceiling drywall. I maybe have taken the projector down twice a year. The last time, a couple of months ago, when I put it back up, I noticed my mount was loose and it took me awhile to reposition the projector to match up with my screen. So, I remembered your thread and thought I would ask a couple of questions about your mount. I've read the first page and the last couple of pages, but I skipped the 50 or so pages in between, so if this is answered somewhere in there, sorry!

First, I have a very tight ceiling mount. The middle of the lens is maybe 4 inches from the ceiling at most. Will your mount allow me to keep the X1 that close to the ceiling?

Second, how easy is it to take the X1 down and put it back up with your mount?

Third, how does your mount need to be anchored to the ceiling?

Thanks for your help.

John

newfmp3

02-23-05, 07:32 PM

I'll let the man answer most of those q's. But, from another perspective, it takes about 1 min if that to take it down. Just unplug the cables and twist the projector around a few times to unscrew it from the mount and your done. the main part of the mount stays in the ceiling, and only a very small plate is left on the projector and you can just leave that on since it's so small and sits flush

two 4" screws ( or was it 6?) hold it to the ceiling, and they have black pastic covers to hide the heads of the screws.

reybie

02-23-05, 09:12 PM

My setup requires just unscrewing the bolt on the knee joint and you can take down the projector for maintenance. I think most of the setups are like that.

mandarax

02-25-05, 07:50 AM

Originally posted by jcwroton
Robert,

I've had my X1 for about 2 years now. I've used a mount that I made myself and it has worked fine. I built it so that I could, fairly easily, take the projector down if I wanted to take it somewhere or do maintenance on it. It's still not quite as easy as I would like, but it works. However, the way I screwed my mount into the ceiling, only two of the screws actually went into the joist that is above the ceiling. The other two screws are just through the ceiling drywall. I maybe have taken the projector down twice a year. The last time, a couple of months ago, when I put it back up, I noticed my mount was loose and it took me awhile to reposition the projector to match up with my screen. So, I remembered your thread and thought I would ask a couple of questions about your mount. I've read the first page and the last couple of pages, but I skipped the 50 or so pages in between, so if this is answered somewhere in there, sorry!

First, I have a very tight ceiling mount. The middle of the lens is maybe 4 inches from the ceiling at most. Will your mount allow me to keep the X1 that close to the ceiling?

Second, how easy is it to take the X1 down and put it back up with your mount?

Third, how does your mount need to be anchored to the ceiling?

Thanks for your help.

John

John.. With the shorter drop that is standard the drop is 4.5" from ceiling to the projector... This can be lessened by threading through the ceiling plate. THe way I prefer to take it down is via the knee joint.. The mount will free hang at that point and the only adjustment required to get it back up and in the same position is at the knee joint and retighten when aligned ... all the other adjustments therefore will not change. I provide the screws with snapcaps to go into the ceiling...

Cheers

Robert

g0del

02-25-05, 12:20 PM

I'll be picking up my 4805 today, and your mount looks perfect, but I wanted to ask a couple of questions first. My ceiling is vaulted, with about a 7.5 degree angle, and I would need the 15" extension to get the projector low enough. From some searches and skimming of this thread, it looks like I should be able to install the knee joint up by the ceiling mount plate so that the extension drops straight down. Is this correct? If so, I'll be placing an order soon.

reybie

02-25-05, 01:06 PM

g0del, that should work as you described. As soon as the extension is connected to the knee joint it would free hang (perpendicular to the floor) like mandarax described then adjust and secure as needed.

jcwroton

02-25-05, 02:34 PM

Robert,

Thanks. I'll check my set-up to see if I can handle a 4.5" drop. If so, I might be placing an order early next week.

Thanks.

John

mandarax

02-28-05, 10:38 AM

gOdel..

Traditionally with a vaulted ceiling you install the short knee into the ceiling plate ... then the longer knee joint cnc machined piece onto this .. angled straight down... for that drop... what I would do is make up the extention to your specs and actually use two short cnc machined pieces with the extention going to the projector plate ...

Robert

vgs86

02-28-05, 12:41 PM

Where is a picture of mount which will show the flush mount to the ceiling? I have gone through almost all the pages of this discussion and went back to first five pages. Unfortunately all the photos show unit which look like it has 10.5' drop.

Am I confused?

Thanks,
- Vikas

GreenMonkey

02-28-05, 03:06 PM

mandarax -

I emailed you about my X1 extension that we discussed/sent money paypal earlier this month but received no reply. Just making sure that you are getting my emails.

If not you can pm me and I should get that.

Thanks!

jcwroton

03-01-05, 03:22 PM

I really don't think a 4.5" drop is going to work in my set-up. The top of my projector is about 3" from the ceiling now. I could probably swing a 3.5" drop, but 4.5" is going to project the picture too low for my screen or require me to tilt the projector too much to compensate. Do you think I can get your mount that close to the ceiling or do I just need to stay with my home-made mount?

Thanks for your advice and feedback.

John

g0del

03-01-05, 04:57 PM

Originally posted by mandarax
gOdel..

Traditionally with a vaulted ceiling you install the short knee into the ceiling plate ... then the longer knee joint cnc machined piece onto this .. angled straight down... for that drop... what I would do is make up the extention to your specs and actually use two short cnc machined pieces with the extention going to the projector plate ...

Robert Thanks. I sent you an email, and as indicated in that email, I'll be doing some more measurements tonight to see if I'll need a longer extension, or if the longest standard one (15"?) will work.

mandarax

03-02-05, 03:24 PM

Originally posted by jcwroton
I really don't think a 4.5" drop is going to work in my set-up. The top of my projector is about 3" from the ceiling now. I could probably swing a 3.5" drop, but 4.5" is going to project the picture too low for my screen or require me to tilt the projector too much to compensate. Do you think I can get your mount that close to the ceiling or do I just need to stay with my home-made mount?

Thanks for your advice and feedback.

John

John...

In the ceiling plate... when I have these cnc laser cut ... I also have them now cnc laser cut the hex hole so you don't see the welds.. so it is possible to thread the cnc machined knee joint pieces into the ceiling about an extra inch... Alternatively if you are going flush and dont use the cnc machined pieces I would just make one up a drop of one inch.. but it would then not have the diagonal or vertical adjustment ...only a horizontal adjustment..

**********************************************************

Monkey ... sent you a PM... I put in my email address which you should try and cut and paste into the email... robert@digital-visions.ca
Its kind of difficult to relate to Green Monkey to anything so can't help with just this..

*******************************************************

Note that there is an image offset to contend with when doing your measuring depending on how far back you have the projector... the image is not horizontal to the bottom of the lens..(the projector being inverted)

I included a pic I dug up with the Epson 500 mount.. If you wanted just a one inch drop just picture the ceiling plate and projector plate.. and nothing else..

Cheers

Robert

mandarax

03-04-05, 10:04 AM

oops ... my PM was full for the last few days ... so sorry if I didn't get your pms.. it is always better to use email...

Cheers

Robert

vasanv

03-04-05, 07:32 PM

I have looked at the mount and would like to purchase a ceiling mount version for my SP4805.

How do I do that?

E-mail me at vasan@fuse.net

Thanks,

Vasan

reybie

03-04-05, 07:53 PM

Check the first page of the thread, his email and pricing info is there. You would need to let him know what length drop you need.

mandarax

03-05-05, 01:23 PM

Thanks reybie..

vasan I received your email... that is just a coffered ceiling btw..

I am hoping to get my demo Optoma next week ... HS31 and get the mounting plate for this model out soon..

Cheers

Robert

kenmwu

03-08-05, 03:16 PM

Robert,

I ordered the X1 mount a while back and never got it installed. But since then, I've sold the X1 and upgraded to the sp4805. I just realized the drop is too much due to the image offset and would like a shorter extension. Could I exchange with you for a shorter extension pipe?

Let me know. I will do some measurements and let you know the length of the extension I need. I also sent you an email. Could you please let me know by email?

Thanks,

Ken

mandarax

03-11-05, 08:41 AM

Ken..

I answered this in your email.. awaiting your measurements in email..

Its almost time to do another batch..

vgs86

03-11-05, 05:03 PM

Please correct me if I am wrong. There is no multiplication factor to the screen offset drop in the sense that if your projector is an extra inch down from the ceiling (e.g. at 4.5 instead of 3.5) the projected image would be down by the same extra inch. Hence I conclude that a flush mount at 4.5inch is not such a hinderance compared to 3.5inch. This assumes that you want to keep your projector perfectly level in the horizontal plane and do not want to use the keystone correction.

I used to think that extra one inch drop was getting maginfied by the projected distance but that is not the case.

Obviously, if you already have your screen fixed, then you need to be accurate exactly.

- Vikas

mandarax

03-15-05, 08:05 AM

vikas.. the offset, or image offset is factored by the distance back from the screen the greater the distance the greater the offset..

Cheers

Robert

vgs86

03-15-05, 08:49 AM

That is correct but my point was that getting the projector close to the ceiling by an extra inch gets the image up by the same extra inch on the wall. The offset calculations based on the projected distance is independent of that. That one inch is shifting the image by one inch and in most if not all installations, that inch would not make much difference.

If so why are people prefering a flush mount with 3.5" vs 4.5" distance to the ceiling, assuming 4.5" mount has other advantages?

- Vikas

mandarax

03-18-05, 09:45 AM

Vikas ...

That is correct ... the inch would not make any difference... You will also note that for quite some time that the ceiling plate has the ability to have the short cnc knee joint or the long one for that matter go through the plate. So in effect you could make the mount go to 3.5" without any difficulty if that is what you wanted.. This came about when I did not like the look of the welds on the ceiling plate and the projector plate and cnc laser cut the hex shape into the plates so that the welds are done with a fixture that i had built to seat the nut perfectly in the middle and welding is on the rear of the plate and any excess weld smoothed out on the rear of the plates.. It has actually been my experience that if the flush option makes or forces keystoning... people actually prefer not to go flush. Keystoning will cause spherical distortions that will detrimentally affect image detail.

Robert

mandarax

03-24-05, 08:47 AM

I just received part of the next batch back from the powder coat facility and have another partial batch to go in. So we are set for the next couple of months unless there is another buying spree blitz on the SP4805.

Thanks again for your support.

Robert

mandarax

03-31-05, 11:45 AM

Will be @ the Montreal HiFi show so no shipments for tomorrow..

Cheers

Robert

mandarax

04-14-05, 02:42 PM

Completely sold out of the last two batches.. I should be picking up another batch tomorrow and in for powder coating for Friday as well.

I am trying out a 9" arm for those using as a wall mount and need extra room at the rear of the unit.. ie > than the aproximate 2.5" from the wall to the back of the projector with the SP4805 and X1.

On a side note for those doing an upgrade to an Optoma H31 ... one customer recently upgraded and had holes drilled into the existing plate and purchases some m3 screws.. 12 length.. and the existing plate seated with no problem on the support legs of the underside of the H31.

Cheers

Robert

mandarax

04-24-05, 03:16 PM

I have made a couple of changes to the mount design.. The last couple of batches I have been using two T-handles instead of the capscrew .. t-handle combination.. (a female and a male Thandle) During machining I have actually tapped the short knee joint piece with only one handle.. I put up a sample and had it on a diagonal angle of about 30 degrees and virtually hung my body weight off it to see if it would budge... as expected i just hung there with no shifting at all ... I will try and figure out a way to hang a very heavy object off and take some shots.. This new batch should be ready next week... Will have to see what the extra operation of tapping the cnc machined arm or knee joint cost vs the two handles...

Oh and one bud from paypal that owns an Infocus projector gave me a script to make it easier to process... Will attach this to the first page when I have a chance to see some of the numbers from the latest machining... I think the grade of steel used may have left some undesireable results on the cnc tools used...

Some of the new projectors like the BenQ 7700 don't seem to have an image offset .... so if this one is done it will have to hang fairly low... What I might offer for this is a combination of two small knee joint pieces coupled with a rod that will screw up and down into the ceiling plate for height adjustment. Will advise once I get a chance to see if it is a DV mount worthy piece.

Robert

dalum

04-26-05, 11:44 PM

Ok this should be fun :) I recently got married and moved. I have one of the first x1 designs I think. Grey, short arm, long arm, no screw caps, visiable welds on the nuts, no t handles just nuts and alen head bolts. (I'm on my honeymoon so I can't measure my arms I have. It was the stanard at the time). Before I had the projector wall mounted in my bedroom (and boy was the cabeling tight!!!). Now it's going to be ceiling mounted and I'm not sure if it will be low enough. Do you have any of the old long grey arms still lying around or any ideas?

Thanks!

mandarax

04-27-05, 11:36 AM

dalum... First .. congrats on getting married.. I do have some grey arms around ... with the quantity in batches and allowing people to go with two short arms it was inevitable that I would have some of these .. Shoot me off an email after measuring...

Wow.. the X1 in the bedroom .. now married.. probably not going with the projector in the bedroom any longer and it will only be a matter of time before you are looking a flannel PJ's ... Might be time to upgrade the projector... :)

Anyway fire me off an email.... robert@digital-visions.ca

Cheers

Robert

audiguy1

04-28-05, 07:06 AM

Hello Mandarex,

I jumped over from the Optoma H31 thread. I am looking for a mount for my H31. Mystery recommended you.

I would appreciate any info or pics you may have about your mounts. You can PM me. A bit of info for my setup. My basement ceiling is only 7.5 feet high so I will have to mount fairly close to the ceiling. The H31 will be 15.5 feet away from the wall projecting onto a 106" screen. Any recommendations.

Thank you.

I PM'ed you as well.

mandarax

05-14-05, 12:51 PM

audiguy... as stated in the email ... Mystery just drilled holes to fit the H31 on the existing SP4805../X1 plate.. it worked out well for him.. I didn't want to mod the plate for the H31.. and would only do a specific one for that model using the large threaded insert in the H31 case with the three smaller ones... I don't like the case on the H31 utilizing the three smaller threads only..

Robert

mandarax

05-14-05, 01:15 PM

Just finished the latest batch and made a few alterations to the design.

One will be that there is another option to have the wall mount configuration with an extra inch of space between the wall and the projector... leaving aproximately 4 inches from the wall to the back of the projector on the SP4805 mount... This will be 2 dollars more which is what it cost. This will eliminate the need to have an extention for those with heavier cables..

The other change is that the shorter cnc machined arm is now tapped and therefore the T handle will thread right into it.. during testing this allowed for some unbelievable load tests off axis.. on any axis.. I may switch to a rachet lever depending on the cost of these...

Also the variables for ceiling drops are now 4.5" .. or 10".. or 11".. or 14.5" ..or 15.5" ... again you can vary the drop to the degree you can put thread into the ceiling plate..

The tapping operation on the cnc machine did cost a bit more but I am hoping that the cost can be offset with with a revised handle and will alter the price after determining which will be used... in the interim I will keep the same price unless the 11",, or the 15.5" configurations are used which again will only be 2 dollars more.

For the last few guys that ordered ... sorry for the few extra days to ship.. I wanted this new version to go out.. I also had all the pieces re machined to meet the spec of the circular patterns of mating pieces and they had to redo most of them and scrapped about 80%.

Looking forward to getting some feedback on the latest changes.. It makes it a bit more difficult to pre package with the newest iterations but I do find that with the longer arms and those mounting in a wall configuration it will eliminate all the specials that were costing quite a bit more than the extra 2 dollars.

If you get a 4.5" drop ceiling mount make sure you take a look at which side is tapped so you can thread the handle in properly... If you hold it in the location desired you can just turn the handle and lock it in..

For those wall mounting... the adjustments are identical.. diagonal on the wall plate... horizontal on the projector plate.. vertical on the T handle.. Still the easiest adjusting mount in my view as all are independent adjustments..

I should get some pricing this week on the alternatives for the T-Handles ..but again will use the existing ones until I get a feel for what the pricing will be to change... If I get a bit of time will try and provide some pics of the testing weights used... they were ridiculously high.. but I love overkill when I have an object hanging over family members heads.

Robert

Cheers

Robert

basement

05-14-05, 05:25 PM

Hi Mandarax

Regarding the 7700. I'm currently using an X1 on your wall mount configuration. It and the pull-down screen are mounted on drop portions of the basement ceiling. Essentially, the centerline of the projector lens are at the height of the top of the screen.

Assuming a zero offset PJ in the 7700, and if it's mounted in the same position as my X1, the 16x9 image will be rendered with the top of the image at the top of the screen. It's a 92" diagonal screen giving me a 45" image height. With this size, the bottom of the image will be 27" off the floor.

The 7700 image will certainly be displayed higher than the 16x9 image of the X1. Do you think it's too high assuming standard seating? If not then I think that for me, I should be able to replace the X1 base plate with one for the 7700. To make up for the reduced throw on the 7700 I could replace the 8" wall arm with your short drop arm and convert it to ceiling moving it about 18" closer to the screen to get the 92" diagonal image size I'm using.

Is there any chance you're going to support the 7700. I called Benq canada yesterday and spoke with one of their tech support guys. He tells me the machine is starting to make it to Canada and that some distributors may already have them.

I have another thought. The lens to screen distance is currently 12.5 ft. with the seating right under the PJ. Rather than moving the mount closer to accomodate the 7700 for a 92" diagonal screen I could replace the screen for a larger (and upgraded) one. Do you think the 7700 could support a larger image given my seating distance?

Thanks

mandarax

05-14-05, 09:28 PM

Hi Basement..

I will definitely be doing the 7700 ... expect to receive my batch of them soon. I believe that it represents very good value in its budget class. I spend a bit of time with the pieces before making up the design of the plate... The X1 plate was a fairly simple plate to do ... as compared to say the HT1100 plate that needed to be formed and still meet the spec..... my spec of 1/5000 of an inch accurate to the hole position on the projector. See also the 8700 mount or the Epson 500 mount pics... they are quite different.. Even the Z3 plate had to deal with venting.. I also go through a process of weight balancing so the projector wants to hang straight. If you have a chance to look at some of the heavier projectors and pick them up the first thing you will notice is that in many cases the weight is not center balanced... Think of the weight being canti levered on the mount then and you will understand why the standard requirement of 4 times the weight is not really a sufficient standard.. Some guys have some pretty warped ceilings .. especially it seems when they are going over some of the taping joints in the ceiling...

I will actually be goofing around with the 7700 demo unit for most likely till the end of August.

You should be able to go with a larger image with the 7700 if it is going to be in the same location as the X1.. But I wouldnt make it bigger if it is going to give you Marty Feldman like eyeballs... Note also that the front of the lens is the distance to go by.. Also note that I do have some other lengths at times ...and that the short arm of the cnc knee joint can also be swapped out for a longer one... actually the difference you describe sounds like a simple swapping of the short arm.. if you want to keep the wall plate in the same position.. Also note that all the mounts now for this specific reason... people just swapping out the projector plate.... are powder coat finished in a black satin. Keeps it simple ... People do however overspray them in white and other colors... a very fine sanding is usually all that is required .... it may not look like you are doing anything because the powder coat is tough..

Drop me a line in an email .. robert@digital-visions.ca

Robert

basement

05-14-05, 10:05 PM

Great!

If I want a larger screen and the image is too high I can swap out the 2.5" short arm (the one attached to the PJ) for a longer one to drop it an appropriate height. However, Marty Feldman like eyeballs doesn't sound too good :-) The current screen to lens distance will not likely support the 92" diagonal. On full zoom, it's going to be a couple of inches too large. I'll have to move it closer by converting to ceiling mode. To do this I get a shortened arm (the one attached to the ceiling) to keep the PJ at the same height, but now in ceiling mode.

Any idea when we might see base plate support for this piece? End of August?

Thanks again

mandarax

05-16-05, 06:36 AM

When you upgrade I would test out what specific screen is going to work best. Most all the screen manufacturers will make up a screen exact to your requirements in any size.

As far as timing ... I am expecting to receive my demo unit of the PE7700 shortly and will be doing the cad drawings for the cnc laser cutter the same week received. There has not been one set of manufacturer drawings yet that I could use for making the projector plate design. That coupled with the weight distribution, esthetics, and other factors makes it worth having the actual unit in my hands so I can properly test it before welding and powder coating. I expect it will be a matter of a few weeks rather than months. I think with no image offset on this unit and a standard ceiling height of 8 feet you will be fine without having to swap out pieces.. but if necessary no problem.

Robert

mandarax

06-10-05, 07:05 AM

The new version for the wall mount with the longer extention is working out terrific for those needing that extra bit of space ... as is the tapped version on the short cnc machined piece... Thanks for the emails .. and orders..

Cheers

Robert

newfmp3

06-16-05, 02:52 PM

I've been trying to get a hold of you....get my email?

mandarax

06-22-05, 10:37 AM

newf.. Sorry about that ... mother was diagnosed with alzeimers and had to spend a few days with her... meet with in home care givers .. etc. etc.. not a good way to go out I must say... really is a testiment to the fact that one should live it up while they can..

got your email this week and payment on the weekend for the new tapped (threaded) short cnc piece and it went out on Monday.

All orders are going out same day or next depending on payment time. To those that sent emails on the newest mods... thanks for taking the time..

Cheers

Robert

Quaid

06-25-05, 04:10 PM

I am interested in a horizontal wall mount for my 4805. If I understand correctly, that is one of the new styles of mounts you can make. Do you have pictures of these? Could they also be used vertically from the ceiling? Thanks for your time!

mandarax

07-02-05, 11:57 AM

Quaid...

Sorry for the delay... The mount works both as a wall mount and also a ceiling mount ... side mount... lofted ceiling mount... extentions ... vertical extentions... The only recent change relevant to the wall mount was the addition of a longer arm so that thicker cables can be used with a bit more clearance... and a tapping operation on the shorter arm..

Robert

slider0035

07-08-05, 06:31 PM

Robert,

Hopefully you see this and reply, If not, does anyone have any contact info for him other than email and pm? I have been unable to reach him for apprx. two weeks via email and pm. Paid for an X1 mount on June 28th. If you have contact number or info would anyone mind sharing?

Hopefully he's just on vacation. Prayers to his mother. I understand what the family may be going through with the alzheimers diagnosis.

CJK

mandarax

07-15-05, 11:36 PM

CJK...

Sorry ... I was away but no vacation... was away on a training mission in Toronto on audio calibration and out the door at ridiculous hours and returning at ridiculous hours.

Vacation... what dis??

Rob

iwantaht

07-18-05, 12:33 AM

Robert:

I need your help. I originally purchased your mount 11/2004. I bought the 10" rod. I threw it up and it worked great. Recently, I decided to renovate my home theater so everything came out and I moved my screen down about 3". As luck would have it, now, I can not get the image to project high enough. I think I was using the mount incorrectly before. I was using the diagonal adjustment for the horizontal adjustment. When I tried the same thing, I could not get the image to stick. It kept sliding down. I have about 3/4" of thread left on the rod. Can I screw the rod through the ceiling to make the image move up? Will it move up 3"? Are there other options? Please help.

Jon

mandarax

07-23-05, 11:15 AM

Hi Jon..

Sorry for the delay getting back to you. Best to email me as I can respond quicker. robert@digital-visions.ca .

I am having a bit of trouble understanding... you moved your screen down 3" but you want the projector to go up higher. Give me an email so I can understand this better.

If purchased on 11/2004 this is well within the time that the cnc laser cut on the ceiling plate was cut to have the welds invisible and therefore you can drive up into the ceiling the amount of available thread. The second nut on the cnc machined pieces are just for securing the adjustment made. If you are centered over a joist you will have to drill out the area of the stud. Just make sure you know what you are doing...ie wires, plumbing etc. You can also make the projector move on a vertical plane on the knee joint. It is just a matter of aligning it to compensate for the degree of adjustment required. Avoid keystoning if you can.

The other thing that can be done is to go with another short cnc arm.

Drop me a line and we can work out what is best for your situation.

Robert

mandarax

08-14-05, 07:58 AM

Given that the X3 is now on the same chassis I did another batch of these.

I have 3 Z2 or Z3 mounts left. A few Epson 500 mounts.. and about 30 BenQ 8700 or 7800 mounts left.

Hope everyone is enjoying this hot hot summer.

Cheers

Robert

Touchdown

08-16-05, 09:11 AM

I assume this mount will work with an InFocus Screenplay 4800? I believe that is essentially the same projector as the X1

Also, if anyone has any pictures of their setups I'd love to see.

mjoshi

08-16-05, 10:39 PM

Robert,

I sent you payment yesterday for Infocus X1 wall mount, let me know when you estimated time of shipping.

thanks

-mj

mjoshi

08-23-05, 08:52 AM

Robert,

Any update on when you are planning to ship mount ? I've not heard anything back from your side.

thanks

-mj

mjoshi

08-25-05, 08:31 PM

Robert,

Its been more than a week since I sent you payment, I've not heard anything from your side although I've sent you number of emails as well as posted here. I'm not sure what is going on here but I'd like to get atleast some acknowledgement from your side by tomorrow otherwise I'd need to cancel my order.

waiting for your response.

-mj

mjoshi

08-26-05, 07:31 AM

Robert,

It seems either you are not interested in doing business or you dont have X1 mounts, I've initiated dispute thru paypal please refund my payment as I'm no more interested in buying X1 mount from you.

-mj

Touchdown

08-26-05, 02:40 PM

I purchased the mount the same day that mjoshi did and mine just arrived today. Very nice mount.

Much smaller (which is good) than I imagined.

mandarax

09-06-05, 07:38 AM

Sorry Mjoshi ... was on vacation and so just shipped and didnt get to all the emails. When I got back I noticed that the email with tracking etc. was sitting there not sent.

Touchdown .. thankyou for the kind words ... its small but mighty ... solid nc steel at 5/8 that is cnc precision machined is what is actually holding everything together and in place ... not some cheap chinese screw. As good as it looks with the precision laser cutting and cnc machining it still has to esthetically as well as ergonomically fit into the room.

cheers

robert

mjoshi

09-06-05, 09:43 AM

Received the mount it is nice, only two comments, Is there a way to extend it little bit as right now when I use VGA adapter for connecting component cables it is touching wall behind.
Second it will be nice to have one extra hole on top, so that it is firmly mounted on wall. Apart from that everything is great.

Deathwish238

10-03-05, 02:52 PM

I received my mount a while ago. I love it. It's tiny, sleek, well built, and looks nice.

I have one question...I can't seem to tighten the bolts enough so it won't turn left and right by the slightest touch. How do I do this? Also is it safe to wall mount the PJ and have it situated above the mount rater than below the mount?

kam1996

10-09-05, 07:22 PM

Hi:

I have an X1 and my only option is to mount the projector on the wall.
I have heard that there shoudl be at least 18" of clearance for the projector to breath.
is that true?
How much clearance is there with your mount?
Do you still have one for sale?
What is the price?
I can pay PAYPAL as soon as I hear from you.
thank you.

kam1996

10-10-05, 06:43 PM

Still waiting for a reply from mandarax?
Anyone know if he is still around?

slider0035

10-12-05, 09:00 PM

Robert,

Ordered from you back in June. Projector is ceiling mounted and couldn't look any better.

If you're reading through this thread and debating on picking one up because of the quality, I wouldn't hesitate one bit. These mounts are as classic and sturdy as they come. You can compensate for any angle. If you can't move your screen, Just make sure you line everything up before punching holes in the wall.

I'd like to place another order. This time for the new X3. The only thing that makes me hesitate this time around is the spotty communication and turn around time. Robert, please respond and let me know when you can ship one out. I can't afford to wait on this one as I have to have it in hand before I leave on vacation.

atsang

10-14-05, 10:28 PM

is there a mount available for other projectors like the panasonic ae700?

mandarax

10-28-05, 01:01 PM

Wow .. sorry guys .... ailing from a soccer injury has kept me of the computer for a while other than to fulfil orders and answer emails. The mounts have still been shipping as usual and still plenty left from the batch just finished in September.

I will try and answer all the questions posed since my last visit...

Mjoshi .... Extending the arm out from the wall....about 3 or 4 batches ago I started to make an arm that was an extra inch longer for people that did have bulkier cables. You have to specify you wish to have this and it is slightly more than the standard mount. If you need even more than the extra inch clearance I make up extentions out from the cnc arm to whatever spec you need. As far as putting extra holes in the top of the plate .. it is not necessary and the mount has been tested to exceed anything that you could possibly put on it ....

Death Wish... Adjusting the mount The additional locking nuts on the cnc arms are for precisely locking down the position you have when aligned.... it is a 5/8 nut that only need to be hand turned and this will keep it from moving... As referencing the use in a wall mount application... the diagonal adjustment is at the wall/plate... simply rotate on the threads and lock it down..
Horizontal adjustment .. at the projector plate
Vertical adjustment... at the knee joint..

You will note that on the latest units since this summer that the shorter cnc machined knee joint piece is also tapped... which really means that the other side of the t-handle really just becomes a cosmetic to hide the threads on the male t handle .. just make the alignment and tighten it down.. It will take some brutal force to move it..

Kam ... ORDERING INFO all the ordering info is on the very first post. I will be keeping the price of this latest batch the same but will be forced to increase the price on the next batches as I have actually lost money at this point making these up. As you may be aware steel has gone up exponentially and the US dollar has weakened by 31 percent since making these up.

Slider... X3 mount I have shipped many to guys using X3's and it fits perfect.

Atsang... Other models I do make up these for specific models I have endorsed the projectors I sell that have had some quantity to them. I have to have them made up in batches of over 300 to make it worth doing or else the price to machine, weld, cnc laser cut the arms, and powder coat finish would be nuts... There is a few projectors that I do endorse that do have quantity to them but when I see how the chassis are put together it is safer from a liability perspective to just not bother taking the risk. Some manufacturers skimp so much on some very basic designs when it comes to spending a total of likely less than a dollar to put in proper inserts and design the chassis to be secure. Some even have no inserts and have the molding of the case take the threads.. I stay away from these units like the plague and will never make a mount for them no matter what the quantity is

If you have some specific questions or an "odd" installation .... just drop me a line at my email robert@digital-visions.ca .. emails get answered usually the same day. getting on AVS isnt always that easy to due to time constraints.

Again sorry for the lag in resonding

Robert

mandarax

11-18-05, 11:55 AM

Here is a pic of an extention on a lofted ceiling that was just sent.

Note the wires look a bit hairy...

There is a number of ways you can resolve this..

Will post these on another post

Robert

mandarax

11-18-05, 12:09 PM

Sometimes I will use a wire sleeve like the one in the attached photo.

Please forgive the poor quality of the pic to get it on the thread..

These sleeves come in different sizes... One of the things you want to do is make the cuts for the material as clean as possible... Using a hot knife works great.

The sleeve also expands to to allow for any size cable ends you might encounter as long as you ensure you get the proper size.

Navarone

11-18-05, 09:38 PM

Man, where were you two weeks ago :(

I Just got an x1 and got a "less than desireable" mount off of ebay. It has one of those pivoting hinges at the base, like a truck hitch, and I can't get the dang thing to stay exactly where I want it. It is very frustrating.

mandarax

11-19-05, 01:43 PM

Navorone ...

Bin here ... I personally wouldnt touch that stuff with a barge pole let alone have one of my family members under it or walking underneath it. Seriously if you are going to get something like that you can buy that junk in a hardware store.

************************************************************ *****

Note the mount above supplies a solution to a long drop.. If one wished to have the mount adjust to the full vertical length of the extention they would merely have to allow for the threads to drive through the ceiling plate. Longest so far was 16 feet.. and we reversed it so it was movable into the ceiling.. and put on another ceiling plate on the ceiling side to act as a vise and keep everything rigid.

Robert

dustman52

11-20-05, 01:03 PM

Mandarax, before I deliver the paypal funds I just want to make sure you are still selling the 4805 mounts. You can just post on here. I'm ready to order though. So just let me know.

mandarax

11-23-05, 09:13 AM

Dustman.... They are all made up and prepackaged and in stock and still shipping same day or next depending on what time the order comes in. UPS picks up every day.

I don't forsee anytime in the future where they will be discontinued. I am actually really looking forward to some of the new models to be released and put them through the paces to do some new cad drawings of these units. The chassis of the SP4805 has been extremely popular and I am glad that Infocus chooses to put improvements into the software and hardware to make the image as outstanding as possible instead of cosmetic chassis changes over the last two years.

Robert

nathan_h

11-23-05, 01:39 PM

Robert: Any plan to make a mount for the new "Ruby" from Sony? I'm looking to upgrade next year, and would love to use my existing Z2 mount, but with a new plate from you that would fit the Sony.

mandarax

11-24-05, 03:20 PM

Nathan... I might do a few if my buddy gets a ruby// right now trying to talk him out of it ..

nathan_h

11-24-05, 03:25 PM

talk him out of getting a ruby?!?!?

mannyqg

11-24-05, 09:19 PM

Hi Robert,

Looks like the Sanyo Z4 will be the best selling projector now. Let me know if you can make one for this and I am ready to order.

Manny

habbagoodone

11-24-05, 10:17 PM

Isnt this supposed to be a DIY thread? i havent had the time to go all of the way through the posts, but is there anything DIY here, or just something for sale

Quaid

11-24-05, 10:29 PM

Well mandarax DidItHimself and now he sells it to happy people like me! It is a DIY style mount of superior quality than 99% of DIY's could make even if they wanted to. It is also cheap (relatively)!

johnny_marin

11-25-05, 08:53 AM

I'm also a happy customer of Mandarax's DIY mount that he started to make and sell to us AVS'rs that were looking for a relatively cheap but very ergonomic mount. My only concern is when I am going to upgrade will I be able to get a plate to fit my mount!

John

dustman52

11-27-05, 05:03 PM

You've got money, I'm looking forward to getting my 4805 up and out of my way.

mandarax

12-02-05, 09:57 AM

Habbagoodone... The very first post so soo long ago was with one of the first models that I posted and if you read the thread it had pics of the original one made. Again if you read the thread many wanted to have one made and since the first one actually cost quite a bit to produce the only way I was going to offer it to AVS members was to number one get permission from AVS to offer it,, and 2 produce it using different methods than was used to produce the first one. Both permission was granted by AVS to offer it to members and then set out to produce them at a quantity that would allow it to be made where it was possible. The actual plates are cnc laser cut. I do up the cad drawings, test, and have them make batches of aproximately 400 minumum per batch. The minimum that any cnc laser cutting facility would be interested in doing ... Even the hole locations specific to the projector are cut and also the venting.. etc and weight balance of the projector is taken into consideration for the design. I want the projector to want to hang relatively balanced. The ansi spec is 4 times the weight of the projector but does not take into consideration that a projector especially the heavier units like the BenQ 8700 weighs a considerable amount and the weight is not evenly proportioned. The hole locations are within 1/5000 of an inch. This isnt a garage made unit nor is it "cheap", and utilizes the best practices and processes to produce. The first one was the same shape but you will note that in other models like the Z2, PE8700, the NEC HT1100, it would have been impossible for me to produce these by cutting the metal in the same process as the first one was made. CNC laser cutting is quite a bit more expensive than stamping out a plate and bending it. I challenge you to produce even one of the plates for what the whole mount including the hardware and shipping is selling for to AVS members.

The most expensive parts of the mount to produce are actually the mechanical arms. These are cnc machined parts to my specs. CNC machining cost in labor 90.00 per hour. The material is black metal, and is solid 5/8 ... the mount is not held together with little cheap screws. In the first unit made it took me an entire day to make the arms on a non cnc machine. (note I am not a machinist). If I was to simply reengineer one of the existing commercial mounts out there it would actually cost me less to make than one of the arms.

The welding of the mounting plates is done such that the welds are invisible. Welding costs are 70.00 per hour. Welding fixtures have to be made to take the plate and have it line up and height adjusted and then any welding flash ground off.

Finish of the units .... again the first one was just spray bombed.. I run a Video, Audio business as my primary business and I don't have the desire nor the time to spray bomb mounts. The finish is "ok" but elected to do these with a professional powder coat finish.
This isnt the "cheapest" way to finish a metal product.. In fact it is one of the most expensive ways to finish a metal product. It does yield one of the best finishes for metal tho and that is why it was chosen. The mounts have to be assembled meticulously to get the desired effect and to fill the areas of the arm and the faces of the arms that mate have to be shielded so the powder does not fill the faces,, or the threads. Also the nuts are also powder coated and the spacing has to be such that the electrical charge draws in the powder to fill but not lock the nuts.

In any event there is nothing "cheap" about this mount. In fact it likely is one of the costliest to produce.

mandarax

12-02-05, 10:24 AM

Simple cuts ... An example of some cuts ... note this is the plate portion of the mount only.

You will note on the Epson 500 projector the actual name of the projector is cnc laser cut right into the plate. Note every time the cnc laser cutter is cutting it does cost money. Try doing this by hand? Note the cuts for the BenQ 8700 mount and for the Z3 model that conform to the exact dimensions of the case and venting.

I use steel because the gauge of steel used works the best. I discount using plexi glass or other materials where heat will eventually degrade and revise the molecular structure of the product and invite the possibilty of failure.... ie getting brittle over time cracking and possibly falling on someones nugen.

I don't make a generic product because I simply don't believe that it would function ergonomically to the piece. This leaves a quandary of sorts to have inventory of some units that do not become as popular as anticipated.

Some pieces I refuse to make because of the case design from the manufacturer is too weak to rely on.

Robert

mandarax

12-02-05, 11:30 AM

mannyqg.... regarding the Z4... I am eagerly awaiting one of these units for my showroom and having seen the prototype in action am very excited by this piece. I fully intend to make a mount solution to the Z4 projector as soon as I get my demo unit in stock which was suppose to happen last week.

Johnny_marin.. If the piece is one that I endorse which likely may be one on your short list when you upgrade there shouldnt be an issue. I did up a some individual plates for people for instance that went to a yamaha unit and went through the trouble to cad draw the plate and have it produced. There have been pieces that I did not have time to test and the test would have involved actually load testing until the case cracked. Example is the Optoma H31... where there is no brass inserts in the case and the case relies on just the manufacturer threading the plastic case. The screw size that this case uses is also not that great. I am sure the manufacturer did testing on these and they were adequate but I didn't feel comfortable doing these unless I did my own testing. Didnt have the time, patience or money to crack a projector case so elected to stay clear of it. The case itself therefore to take the threads may be considered to be stronger being a heavier gauge to take the threads but if someone cranks one of the black metal capscrews into this the probability of it cracking may also be greater. Anyway I would say that the likelihood is fairly high as long as it is one of the popular units out there and there isnt anything intrinsic to the piece itself that would prohibit me from being interested. Making these up keeps me out of trouble and I still love seeing what AVS members are doing with their theater rooms. The installers I use still demand them so I don't really foresee at this point that I will just quit.

To date I have found most of the people that are upgrading have done so with models that I have by and large. In your case Johnny the 8700 plate is extremely specific and not likely to be used on another model.. However some with X1's and SP4805s have just redrilled new hole locations and used the existing plate.

If someone has a fairly unique projector that want to upgrade to and want to just make one... they can get the cad drawings completed .. autocad can be transformed to be read by a cnc laser cutter. To cut one it isnt likely that anyone is going to be interested but there might be one or two shops willing to do it for $150.00 to $300.00 just for the plate and then take it to a welder and they would likely weld it for the minimum hourly rate of 65.00 to 90.00 per hour. Again the costliest items is not the plates but the actual arms that get cnc machined and drilled. If you get a plate made up it still is going to be a good investment in my opinion.

Alternatively you can always email me. A couple of guys have sent me cad drawings and I have just attempted to tail these onto an existing batch. This has worked out semi OK as I have found that some of the drawings were direct copies from drawings they picked up online somewhere and reproduced. There has not been one manufacturing drawing that has not been adjusted once a sample plate has been cut and tested on the projector.

Since the useful life of the projector is likely to be greater than the upgrade path in all likelihood you would sell the entire mount with the projector... then upgrade. You will likely sell the mount for more than you paid for it. Just show them pics of the alternatives and the pricing and it shouldnt really be a hard sell. The useful life of your projector before a new color wheel is necessary is estimated to be about 20yrs with it being on for 8 hrs a day. These babies are not just going to get thrown in the trash and there should always be an active market for them. I am also a direct dealer for other manufactured mounts in your area Johnny, or can direct you to a reseller in your area for other brands of mounts and or just give AVS a call.

Anyway the short answer is that it is not likely to be a problem to upgrade.

Robert