ccotenj finally gets a projector... :) - Page 4

thanks mate... i REALLY like the salks... i bought them "blind" based upon the recommendation of a few people i trust, and they have not been a disappointment...

i wish i could cram a popcorn machine in here... but unfortunately, there is no room at the inn... although i might be able to do a small tabletop one in the back right corner... as you can tell, space is at a premium in here, the only "bad" thing about doing this project is that i had to get rid of my pinball machine...

just have a big reclining sofa for seating... that's starting to get a bit worn, so i'm not sure where i'm going next with that...

swmbo wants a kegerator next... we'll see about that... that might be a little too tempting...

still need to get the projector on it's mount, but i think that might actually happen this week... buddy of mine is coming over tomorrow afternoon, i'm hoping to get the pj up and mount the plasma on the left side wall...


thanks! i'm assuming you mean the salks... the mains and center are a crotch mahogany veneer, with solid mahogany baffles and plinths... the surrounds are the same crotch mahogany veneer on the front, with a straight mahogany veneer on the sides and solid mahogany rollovers...

at last....

the projector is now hanging from the ceiling!! woot!!!

and it hasn't fallen on my head... yet, anyway...

no pics yet, gotta download them... it's still not done yet... i'm still waiting for a different flange for the ceiling to get here, so it's temporarily screwed into a plumbing flange... which means the wiring isn't routed and hidden yet... hopefully that will get here monday, and it'll be all over but the painting...

been quite a learning experience... for example...

- i learned that the beams that the hold up the upstairs ceilings are 20" on center, not 16" like downstairs... at the same time, i also learned that they did not frame out around the false front closet and chimney... we drilled a ZILLION holes in the ceiling and couldn't find the beam... finally roto-zipped a hole in the ceiling so we could see, and it turned out we had missed the beam by 1"... since the false front wasn't framed out, we should have measured from "inside", not "outside" the notch.... i'm ashamed to say it took us 2 hours to learn this lesson... it was, ummmm, frustrating, to say the least...

- i learned that there are still gas lines (disconnected) running through the ceilings... once the beam was found, we measured out the holes to mount the flange... drilled the first one, no problem... started to drill 2nd one, bit breaks... pry it out, 2nd bit hit something hard and broke... made a small hole in ceiling (hadda spackle anyway because of the beam search), and found they had notched out the beam to run the gas line to the center of the room... at this point, we were beginning to wonder if anything was going to be simple about doing this...

- i learned that amazon was worthless for a defective product if past the 30 day return period... i'll keep the rest of that to myself... lesson learned...

- i learned that pvc works as a drop pipe... albeit not as steady as one might like, at least at 30"... i also learned that it's not easy to paint...

- i learned that for less than 20 bucks, one can construct a VERY sturdy drop pipe using steel pipe nipples and couplers... exactly the length one wants as well... i'm rather proud of this lesson... for not much more than the pvc one i made, it's a MUCH sturdier solution...

- i learned it is MUCH more of a "test of patience" to properly align a projector that is hanging from the ceiling than it is when it's on a shelf... especially when the ceiling is crooked... it's "good enough" for now, i'll get it "right" after i install the new flange and route the wires...

amoungst other little things along the way...

but it's hanging from the ceiling like it "should be" now... i'm happy...

^^^

lol... motorized lift for the plasma maybe... that would be WICKED cool...

re: steel pipe... nope, not copper... that would cost WELL more than 20 bucks... unfortunately, because copper would look awesome... black steel...

take as many of these as you need to get to the correct length... they come in a bunch of different lengths up to 12"... you need 1 1/2" diameter ones...



and couple them together with these cast iron fittings... don't forget that these will add length the the finished product...



and voila, instant drop pipe... easy, strong and heavy... once the flange with the cable management hole gets here, i'll be able to properly route everything...

i'll likely flock it... although i kinda like the industrial look of the black steel pipe...

updates!

some things have changed since september... i acquired a mitsubishi hc9000 pj, a radiance mini 3d (and a meter/software for calibration), a new screen and a 3dbee (which just came today)... new screen became necessary (sadly) because my black diamond didn't play nice with the mits in 3d... it was replaced by a da-lite hphc screen... which works VERY well... can you say "bright"?

pics...

hadn't painted anything black in awhile, so we broke out the paint can and painted the front of the room black...

Edited by ccotenj - 7/7/12 at 6:02am

hung some track lights...





black covers for bass traps... velcroed on... this seems to stick well enough...



new pj and disk spinners...



pj...

Edited by ccotenj - 7/7/12 at 5:59am

some random pics...

Edited by ccotenj - 7/7/12 at 5:57am

some more...

Edited by ccotenj - 7/7/12 at 5:54am

the less said about this, the better...

Edited by ccotenj - 7/7/12 at 5:52am

so...

i'm getting closer to having a "real home theater"...

painting the front of the room black made a big difference... i'm likely going to do further out as well... need to get some black rug for the front of the room... need to paint the radiator (a sucky job, not looking forward to that)...

the mits is great... much better than the vivitek... and the 3d is quite cool, i've become a bit of a 3d addict...

the radiance is the best geek toy ever... have spent heaven knows how many hours in the dark staring into a laptop screen learning how to calibrate and then actually calibrating... the autocal (i'm using chromapure) really helped with the learning curve... now, in 30 minutes, i can recalibrate the whole shebang, including tweaking time...

i'm pretty pleased with the way the changes worked out...

a good point... even with my air purifier fired up on full blast, it can get rather dusty in here during construction...

cautionary warnings are always welcome from you... i've learned more than a few things about a/v from your "gentle instruction"...

smoking probably doesn't help...

^^^

thanks... it amazes me a bit, thinking back to when i started 6 or 7 months ago... i have learned much along the way... and still have much to learn...

^^^

thanks mike... we will have to get you over here for a listening session with the salks...

good point, i need to update the first post... 110" now... can't go any bigger, as much as i'd like to...

yea, it sure beats going to the movies... all the comforts of home, and none of the aggravation of going to the movie theater...

plus we are huge sports fans in this house... probably 90% of the usage has been sports, and it's killer for that... since i got the 3dbee, i've been primarily watching in "made up 3d", and it does not suck...

^^^

thanks!

yup, almost there... i need to make the masking panels next... i have the stuff, i just need to get my carcass in gear and make them...

yea, there's no shortage of bass in here... or in the rest of the house, ftm...

^^^

thanks...

speakers are driven with a denon a100...

finally found me some black carpet for the front stage... plain jane indoor/outdoor stuff, so hopefully it will stand up to my cats...

once again, as with many projects, i sure wish at least one of the walls in my room was straight...

before...



getting the basic fit down...





cut in around radiator...



tape it down...



continued...

Edited by ccotenj - 7/7/12 at 5:50am

molding covers a multitude of sins...



walls are a little scuffed, but they don't look that bad...



trim it out...







continued...

Edited by ccotenj - 7/7/12 at 5:47am

stuff moved back on... ignore the temporary sub cable...







from the driver's seat...

Edited by ccotenj - 7/7/12 at 5:44am

all in all, i'm very pleased with the way it came out... front of room is approaching black hole status (at least other than the speakers)... flocking the subs made them essentially disappear... i used "protostar" flocking material, that stuff SUCKS up the light...

gotta finish up the molding on the walls, and then do one final wiring run once the speakon connectors i ordered show up, and i'm done until it gets warm enough to open all the windows so i can spray paint the radiator...

thanks mz...

even better, she's really into it... anything that makes it better, she's up for...

LOL!!! i can see it now... lost forever in my room...

the "sleeping real woofer" actually isn't too far off... i have a black cat*... he gets up in front, and he blends right in...

* fwiw, black cats really ARE evil...

thanks...

yea, i like the radiator, all of the house has them... this house is almost 110 years old, they were actually retrofitted in after it was built... there were originally gas lamps in here...


$299... for some reason, they were clearing out the silver ones... dunno if they are still available, i know they sold quite a few of them at that price...

updates! i've been irritated by the grungy white radiator and by seeing wires for long enough, so something has been done about it... the wiring project got divided into 2 phases, phase 1 is done....

radiator first... fortunately, we picked a nice day for this and were able to vent the window with a fan to eliminate most of the toxins... a mask helped too... while actually painting, we shrouded the whole area with plastic to keep the spray contained...

nice and primed...



after seeing it with the red primer, i was SORELY tempted to paint it bright red, but cooler heads prevailed...

Edited by ccotenj - 7/7/12 at 5:41am