[MKaram]

Recently my church acquired a small Epson powerlite projector. It works fine for our needs the only problem is the noise (worse because we have to run it in high-altitude mode).


I wanted to build a hushbox for it so not only to silence it but to keep the projector in a box where people wouldn't stress the wires, inadequately cool it or be confused by whatever else.


This is my hushbox build.


The plan is to add intake and exhaust fans with filters, which will move air through baffles and the projector.

The projector will be in a center cavity which at least one air gap between itself and the outside on all sides (except top and bottom, but I have used thicker MDF sections along with felt and foam for this.

Materials

3/4 MDF (Home Depot)

Black craft felt (Wal Mart)

Assorted craft foam (Wal Mart)

Spray on adhesive

Wood glue

Power strip

VGA cable

HDMI cable

1.5 inch torx screws (Home Depot)

2x single-gang low-voltage drywall mount boxes (Home Depot)
VGA Wallplate
HDMI Wallplate
Wireless IR extender
2x 4.5 inch anti-reflection glass windows
3x 120mm Fan Filter and Grill
2x 4-pack 120mm fans (used 6 only)
Molex adapter
multi-fan adapter



Started by cutting all the MDF into sizes I thought I wanted to use

Plug in all the fans, make sure they run!

This is my general drawing of how I want to lay it out:

Measure from the bottom where the screws will go for the sides, then glue and screw!:

Of course, clamp all glued surfaces... I wanted the outer sides to be fully dry before doing anything internally so this was the last for this day:

Lack of foresight!! I didn't check to make sure the throw of the projector would be ok through the MDF (didn't account for the thickness!) so I drilled the hold and test... everything was good.

 

[MKaram]

This is the general layout, nothing glued, just setting things up so I make sure everything fits like I think it should:

Slight oversight again... I need to make the lens baffle removable so that I can clean the glass if needed... here I am gluing in some guides.

MDF sides are dusty and suck up paint, so I "painted" them with a mixture of woodglue and water to "seal" them... dry them with a heatgun because I am impatient:

Tada, front and rear removable sliding baffles!

Now just double check to make sure I'm not clipping on the minimum throw for this lens.... good:

Drill holes in both sides for the fans:

Then test fit them:

 

[MKaram]

also cut out rectangles for the source boxes, then prime it

then paint it (this is just some dark color that was in the discount mis-tint bin at home depot. I had the guy add a bunch of black so it

I didn't think ahead of how to mount the glass.... I decided I would make strips of felt then pinch the glass in place... this way the glass is removable:

add little feet to it:

then begin the annoying process of gluing felt to all surfaces:

Next time, glue to all flat surfaces then cut as needed when you want to put it together....

Mount the surface boxes and faceplates and fans

Because there are no baffles on the top or bottom, I am lining it with foam, then felt:

blurry pic of felt overtop of foam:

The projector will sit on a pedestal inside the box which has foam where the projector will sit for grip, and felt on the bottom (for grip against the felt lining). This should provide enough vibration and sound dampening:

Here it is with the pedestal inside and mostly lined in felt:

I didn't like seeing the brown MDF through the outer window, so I painted the insert black:

To top of the box is lined with foam, then felt:

The projector sits inside of the box. On top of the projector, I have an MDF block covered in felt and foam.... this will gently pinch the projector in place and I can position is to open or restrict the air passage from the fans.

 

[MKaram]

I will finish and test it all tomorrow and take pictures of the block so you can see what I'm talking about.


I also need to temp-test it to make sure the fans are adequate (but if not I can easily upgrade them)


Feedback?

 

[Cableguy711]

I applaud your effort box looks well constructed.


I have to ask tho, isnt the purpose to quiet the noise from the projector?


with all those fans doesnt that kinda of defeat the purpose? I understand 120mm fans are normally quieter, but thats quite a few fans

 

[airscapes]

smaller photos would be a big help .. not sure where you plan on putting this.. what does it weigh??

 

[MKaram]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Cableguy711 /forum/post/19578661


I applaud your effort box looks well constructed.


I have to ask tho, isnt the purpose to quiet the noise from the projector?


with all those fans doesnt that kinda of defeat the purpose? I understand 120mm fans are normally quieter, but thats quite a few fans

The fans are silent, or at least cannot be heard over ambient room noise.

 

[MKaram]



Quote:
Originally Posted by airscapes /forum/post/19579343


smaller photos would be a big help .. not sure where you plan on putting this.. what does it weigh??

For now it goes on the "AV cart" but it may ultimately be mounted in the sanctuary (and probably repainted)


The box weighs about 30 pounds I'd guess.

 

[superleo]

Just stumbled on this thread... very interesting. Do you have any updates of your hush box?


Any temp measurements?


I'm interested in the final results.

 

[suffolk112000]

This might have been better off in the HT Construction forum.

When I built my hushbox, I angled the glass so that no light would reflect back to the projector. You have no issues with this??

Looks very nice...!

 

[shane2943]

Nice job!


Here's a question as I create plans for my own hushbox: how does one switch the fans on and off with the projector? Is there such a thing as a load sensing relay that can switch power on to the fans when it detects a load from the projector?

 

[shane2943]

Found a couple maybe's. Anyone tried something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/i-socket-110m-.../dp/B001BSL1BM


or

http://toolmonger.com/2007/04/16/20-...ollection-vac/


I wonder if the source has to switch completely off and provide absolutely no load through the outlet for the switchable feature to work. My projector, like the rest of them, draws a very very low current when turned "off."

 

[shahram72]

That's not a hushbox, it's a muffler! Look at those chambers! That is the most advanced hushbox I have seen. It's amazing, for years I have been withstanding the loud noise from my NEC LT150, now I just got a new Optoma and it's so quiet on eco mode, now my blu ray player is the problem!!! I thought it was broken the first time I turned it on!

 

[Dennis Erskine]



Quote:
how does one switch the fans on and off with the projector? Is there such a thing as a load sensing relay that can switch power on to the fans when it detects a load from the projector?

You do not ever want the fans to power off with the projector. Your fans should be controlled by temperature inside the enclosure near the projector's exhaust port.


There are many current sensing devices available on the market. ( www.smarthome.com )