Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lenses.

Tutorials on how to create your own rigs, pics, movies, and everything that has to do with S-3D at home!
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lenses.

Post by will1384 »

I have wanted virtual reality ever since I watched "The Lawnmower Man" as a kid, my first attempt at virtual reality was the VictorMaxx Stuntmaster in the 1990s, LOL, yea it was bad, next was Elsa wired shutter glasses, a Nvidia card, and a CRT monitor, that was early 2000s, worked well but gave me headaches, and did not play well with my prescription glasses, after that I gave up, everything that worked well was to costly, and everything that was cheap was not worth using, but then not to long ago, I kept hearing about the Oculus Rift, and I wanted one, but even at $350.00 its a little to costly for me to buy unless I save up for a few months, so I decided to try DIY, and to keep the cost low, around $100.


Parts used:
Two 5X Pocket Loupe Magnifier lenses from eBay
7" 1024x600 LCD monitor, mini hdmi, model RX-S702 or TKH702S, the one I got has a aa0700023001 LCD
Some 3D printed parts from http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=18035
Welding Helmet Headband and Mounting Hardware
Aluminum Carpet Edging Trim
Plexiglass
Foam
Hot glue
Velcro cable ties
1/4 bolts, washers and wing nuts
3mm screws and lock nuts

Image

Image
Unreal Tournament 1999 - Facing Worlds

Image
Both the LCD and circuit board are hot glued to plexiglass pieces.

Image
Velcro strips hold the 3D printed parts up against the LCD

Image
This is the aluminum carpet trim, the center of the adjustment holes are one half inch apart.

Image
This is a Plexiglass piece I never used because its slightly off, but it shows how I bent the Plexiglass, the size before the bends was 4x2 inches, each bend was a half inch from the edge.

Image
This is what I used to shape the plexiglass pieces, its a home-made sheet metal brake, I heated the plexiglass with the torch then bent it with the sheet metal brake.

Image
Inside of the RX-S702 or TKH702S monitor I used, this is a nice monitor, I hated tearing it apart.

This setup does work, and its light enough to use for about an hour or longer without to much discomfort, I am not sure how much it weighs but it feels around the weight of a regular welding helmet, I tried using a fishing scale to weigh it but it barley moved the scale.

My three big problems are, its low resolution and the pixels are huge, it does not work with most of the stuff I want it to, and I often have to take it off to select or change menu options.

I am going to save up for the Oculus Rift.
Last edited by will1384 on Mon May 26, 2014 12:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
cybereality
3D Angel Eyes (Moderator)
Posts: 11406
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:18 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by cybereality »

Wow! It works!
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

cybereality wrote:Wow! It works!
Yea I was shocked to :D , right now I am trying to figure out how to get the edges to be sharper, or at least to see more of the screen, at 1024x600 I only have 512x300 for each eye, and from what I can see, with the lenses like they are, it looks like only the center of that 512x300 is used, so I am guessing I am getting 256x150 for each eye, I am thinking about getting a cheap air/gyro mouse for head tracking later to see if that helps any, right now I can only get Unreal Tournament 1999 working, and watch a few side by side videos on YouTube, from the videos I have tried to watch, real video looks way to pixelated, but computer generated video looks acceptable.
Sid
One Eyed Hopeful
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 9:33 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by Sid »

Awesome, looks sweet.
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

Sid wrote:Awesome, looks sweet.
Thanks.

I put in an order for an Air mouse today should be here later this week, I found out that when using Vireio Perception that the Oculus Rift settings seem to work better than just side by side, the Oculus Rift settings let you see more of the game, one problem I have is that some of the hot glue holding the LCD to the Plexiglass has came lose, but it should be an easy fix, the Plexiglass may not have been clean enough or might be to slick, I will clean the Plexiglass with alcohol and then rough up the Plexiglass a bit with sand paper before hot gluing it again.
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

I redid the hot glue, and I think that the aluminum carpet trim was pulling on the Plexiglass pieces to much, so I bent them with a curve an cut out a slot for adjustment on each piece of carpet trim, this seems to put less stress on the hot glue and Plexiglass pieces.

Image

Image

Image
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

I had ordered this $15 air/gyro mouse called "TOMTOP RF 2.4G Wireless Mini Air Fly Mouse Remote Controller for TV/PC/Android/Google TV Box"

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CD2E9T6

I works very well, at first it kept acting funny and the mouse pointer moving on its own, but I found out that you need to keep the air/gyro mouse still and level for a few seconds when you push the air/gyro mouse button, I believe it does a calibration when you press that button.

Image

This air/gyro mouse mouse can act like a multimedia computer remote or air/gyro mouse, when you switch between modes is when I think it does the calibration.

I tried using it in Unreal Tournament 1999, and it worked, but the mouse is also how you aim and fire, so I have to use both the air/gyro mouse and regular mouse, its kinda strange LOL.

I have been looking for demos or anything to play with and have been pretty disappointed, most seem to not want to work or go into VR mode because they fail to detect the Oculus Rift :cry:, but I did have some luck, the older version of Project64 N64 emulator along with a DX9 plug-in works with Vireio Perception.
User avatar
cybereality
3D Angel Eyes (Moderator)
Posts: 11406
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:18 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by cybereality »

Nice. Glad to hear Vireio actually works for somebody.
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

I wanted to be able to adjust the lenses, in an easier way, so I cut two golf tees down and hot glued then in the holes on the side of the lens holders, makes it a lot easier to adjust the lenses.

Image


I was reading this post

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=17927

and decided to try the white bag, I did not like the affect, it seem to degrade the image to much, so I tried this:

Image

I cut out a piece of paper the same size as my screen, taped it to the sheet protector, and cut it out.

Image

I then covered the screen with the piece of sheet protector, at first it was hard to notice a change, but when playing a real video like one of the Oculus Rift GoPro movies on YouTube the image is improved, it is a very small improvement, but I like it, reminds me of an old 1980s CRT TV, LOL.

Here is an image showing the affect, right side is with the sheet protector, left side is without.

Image

Next I tried

Image

Before, with nothing on screen.
Image

After, with one side of a laminating pouch taped to the LCD.
Image

And Unreal Tournament 1999 - Facing Worlds, with one side of a laminating pouch taped to the LCD.
Image

I like this a little better, its got a film on silver projection screen look to it :D .
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

I was able to flash my EDID using info from

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=17054

and

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=18316

using this file - this EDID file is made from info found in this forum

https://infotomb.com/jolzw.bin

and now it works with Quake II VR over at

https://github.com/q2vr/quake2vr

but I still cant get other Oculus Rift programs running, so I decided to try something like the STM32F3, I found info about it over at:

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=106599

and how to emulate the Oculus Rift head tracker using the STM32F3 over at:

http://yetifrisstlama.blogspot.com/2014 ... verse.html

I should have a STM32F3 later this week :D

UPDATE

I tried one of the EDID files I found at

http://yetifrisstlama.blogspot.fr/2014/ ... -edid.html

I used the file "FoculusEDID1.dat", and my screen went dead, but I was able to re-flash with the one I made up, but it kinda scared me, LOL, ALWAYS MAKE A BACKUP, later this week I am going to make up another EDID that works just for my LCD and see what it does, and not just use a copy of the Oculus Rift EDID, I am thinking all you need is to change a few values to fool the Oculus Rift software, and leave everything else alone in your original EDID.
Last edited by will1384 on Mon Jun 02, 2014 3:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
cybereality
3D Angel Eyes (Moderator)
Posts: 11406
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:18 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by cybereality »

Nice work.
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

I got the STM32F3DISCOVERY board in the mail and programed it with the instructions at

http://yetifrisstlama.blogspot.com/2014 ... verse.html

and it works perfect :D

Image


Image

I used a 3D printed case from

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:53178

but I had to cut another hole for the second USB port, so this other one might work better

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:275020

but then I ran into a problem, my LCD would not stay programed with my custom EDID, every time I cut power to the LCD it would revert back to the factory EDID, that BTW was not even correct for the LCD :lol:, so I decided to make a EDID spoofer, I had tried making a few up but they never worked, I found out that I was not getting enough power on the +5V line, so I had to use an external power source, this is what I did:

Image

I believe the resistor values can be different, its just that I have used them like this before, and I used a 24c32 chip, but I believe many 24cxx chips can be used, be sure to double check you work, also I am no expert, and this may not be the correct way to do this :!:

I also made up a chip programmer:

Image

have a look over at at this page for more info:

http://www.riccibitti.com/quickdesigns.htm

and this was the EDID spoofer I made:

Image

I used an HDMI Swivel Adapter, DIP Breakout Board, Dip socket, 24c32 chip, and two 47K resistors,
then I put it into a small project box, and used JB weld to glue the HDMI Swivel Adapter parts in place, BTW I had used some tape to keep the JB weld from gluing the top closed.

Here is the finished EDID spoofer:

Image

And now I can run the Demo programs and oculus rift configuration utility :D

Image

I like my DIY Rift a lot, but its got a few shortcomings, its heavy, and its low resolution, playing older games like Unreal and Quake are amazing, but trying to watch video is just awful, and some games like GTA San Andreas don't fair so well with the low resolution, its a mixed bag.

I think there is a place for a cheap low resolution version of the Rift, and I know it can be made at the $100-$150 price range because I made one, the question is how low a resolution can you go and it still be usable, I think the 1024x600 LCD I use is the bottom limit, and I think 1280x720 or 1280x800 is the lowest "acceptable" resolution for something factory made.

After using my DIY rift I cant wait to try the real Oculus Rift :D
User avatar
Fredz
Petrif-Eyed
Posts: 2255
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2010 2:06 pm
Location: Perpignan, France
Contact:

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by Fredz »

What was the cost of the display + controller board ? Maybe the cost can still be acceptable with a dual panel setup ?
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

Fredz wrote:What was the cost of the display + controller board ? Maybe the cost can still be acceptable with a dual panel setup ?
It was a $50 car LCD that has a Mini Hdmi, have a look over at this

http://www.maxwin.jp/content/ondash/tkh702.html

that looks exactly like the monitor I used.

I have been having problems with the HDMI Swivel Adapter I used, its so fragile that if the cable attached to it is moved the wrong way some of the pins short out, and some of the wires were not soldered very well, so I have had to fix it multiple times, I am thinking about getting rid of the HDMI Swivel Adapter and using an HDMI to DVI cable.

I also found a used factory made EDID spoofer cheap, it a ConnectPRO DVI-EDID-KITU1, its a little box that sits between a PC and a monitor that can record an EDID, and then keep sending it to the PC even with the monitor disconnected, I am going to see if I can program it with my own EDID and use it in place of my EDID spoofer.
User avatar
Fredz
Petrif-Eyed
Posts: 2255
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2010 2:06 pm
Location: Perpignan, France
Contact:

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by Fredz »

At $50 I'm not sure the compromise is worth it. You can find a 1280x800 7" panel with a controller board for $70 here :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HDMI-VGA-2AV-Re ... 1145243253
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

Fredz wrote:At $50 I'm not sure the compromise is worth it. You can find a 1280x800 7" panel with a controller board for $70 here :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HDMI-VGA-2AV-Re ... 1145243253
I would have loved to get one, but my credit card will not work for overseas orders, but I can buy stuff through Amazon thats from China, not to happy about the month long or longer shipping, but I can, I had that $50 screen with only two days of shipping, that's why I got it, it was quick and cheap, later I might upgrade to a better screen, but I kinda want to wait for the consumer version of the Oculus Rift, and I hope it comes out at the end of the year, or sooner, but I think I remember something about 2015 :( , if I find out that the consumer version of the Oculus Rift wont be for sale until next year or later, I will start working on an upgraded version in a few months, I would love to get a 5.6" LCD "cheaply" and use my 3D printer to make one of the nice headsets on thingiverse, but the locally available 5.6" LCD and driver kits are about $150, and I don't think its worth that, thats almost half the cost of the real Oculus Rift.
User avatar
Fredz
Petrif-Eyed
Posts: 2255
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2010 2:06 pm
Location: Perpignan, France
Contact:

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by Fredz »

In which country do you leave ?
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

Fredz wrote:In which country do you leave ?
America, I can go to a local store and buy a money card for about $5, then put money on the card, then on-line I have to register the card and give them my name, address, birth date and Social Security number, the government wants to know were the money is going and what it is used for, then I can transfer that money to PayPal, then I can buy stuff on eBay from China, huge pain in the butt :x
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

I got the ConnectPRO DVI-EDID-KITU1 in the mail today, its small, and seems well made

Image

Image

Image

Its got a lot more to it than the DIY EDID spoofer I made LOL, I am using it right now, unfortunately it does not seem to like being programed from the computer, and would not copy the EDID from the DIY EDID spoofer, maybe it needs something I don't know about to work with the EDID spoofer, it will copy the EDID from a monitor with no problem, and I was able to program my LCD with the modified EDID, then use the ConnectPRO to copy that EDID.

The ConnectPRO does help me because its better made than my EDID spoofer, and unlike my LCD that loses the custom EDID after it loses power, the ConnectPRO will store the EDID until you press its DDC button, I just wish it was easier to program with a custom EDID, I may keep an old junk LCD around just to flash with my custom EDID so the ConnectPRO has something to copy it from LOL, another option "might" be that the EDID chip on the ConnectPRO could be programed directly with something like PonyProg, I did see a 24LC02B on the bottom of the ConnectPRO.
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

I was able to get a 7" 1280x800 IPS Screen and controller for $70 on Amazon over at

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JOY5PGM

I believe its the same LCD and driver as the one used in

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=18035

cant wait to try it :geek:

I also updated the EDID spoofer diagram:

I never had any luck with it like this because my video card was not putting out enough power for the chip I was using.

Image

I had to use external +5v from USB to power the chip.

Image

Always double check any of the diagrams or circuits I make before you use them, ;) , I have a bad tendency to miss obvious mistakes.
User avatar
Fredz
Petrif-Eyed
Posts: 2255
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2010 2:06 pm
Location: Perpignan, France
Contact:

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by Fredz »

will1384 wrote:I was able to get a 7" 1280x800 IPS Screen and controller for $70 on Amazon over at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JOY5PGM
Nice find, that's the cheapest I've seen.
will1384 wrote:I believe its the same LCD and driver as the one used in http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=18035
The reference is given at the bottom of the page, it's a N070ICG-LD1.
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

I got the LCD and controller in the mail today:

Image

I like that they left the IR receiver unsoldered, I may later solder it directly to the controller board.

Image

the only thing I dislike is that it came un-programmed, it does not have any EDID programmed, and will not work out of the box on a computer, you will have to program it using something like this:

http://yetifrisstlama.blogspot.fr/2014/ ... -edid.html

or make an EDID spoofer.

I tried it out on my EDID spoofer and it worked, but scaling was wrong, so I made up another EDID file from the info here

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.p ... start=1040

I uploaded it here:

https://infotomb.com/ovl28.bin

Its just a direct copy of the DK1 Oculus Rift EDID, I have used PonyProg to flash it to my EDID spoofer and it worked 8-)

I printed a second copy of the 3D printed parts because I had modified the original parts too much and also used some more aluminum carpet trim, BTW I got an 8 foot long piece of aluminum carpet trim for $7, I looked at flat aluminum stock, it was double the price.

Image

From what I remember, I used M3-6MM screws on the LCD, and M3-3MM screws on the controller board.

Image

Image

After using it a little, its much better, but the screen door problem is back, but its something I can deal with, but I do wonder if I should have applied some laminating pouch to the LCD before I put it together, I worry that removing the screws from the 3D printed parts to many times will strip the holes out, it's a large improvement over the 1024x600 LCD, and videos are just good enough to watch now with the 1280x800 LCD, I wish I had started with the better LCD.

I am still not happy with the EDID spoofer that I made using a HDMI Swivel Adapter, I will likely re-make it using just a HDMI to DVI cable.
nah89
One Eyed Hopeful
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:00 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by nah89 »

How much of a difference has the upgrading resolution made in your opinion?
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

nah89 wrote:How much of a difference has the upgrading resolution made in your opinion?
Well, its not 100% better, I know I went from 512x300 for each eye to 640x400 for each eye, but it feels about 50% to 60% better, it seems strange to me that just a few more pixels makes that huge of a difference, BUT there is a difference in LCDs however, the new LCD seems to have more LCD ghosting, the new LCD also has "some" rainbow effect on different objects and text, so its not perfect.

BTW, last night was the first time I ever felt any motion sickness with the DIY HMD, and I only used it for about an hour, and I don't get sea sick.
nah89
One Eyed Hopeful
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:00 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by nah89 »

That could be do to an increase of latency. Interesting
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

nah89 wrote:That could be do to an increase of latency. Interesting
I have tried many more games and the LCD ghosting only seems to be in a few games, not in all of them, but the rainbow effect on bright white text I have seen on most games, not sure whats going on, might just be software, also some games work well with head tracking, others seem to have a drift, or they always seem to have a lean, maybe another software problem.

I tried to fix the head tracking buy replacing the Velcro and using zip ties on the head tracker mount

Image

it made no difference.

BTW I used this enclosure for the head tracker

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:275020

I decided to remake my EDID spoofer, same circuit, but this time I used an HDMI to DVI cable, I used a cheap 6 foot cable:

Image

When I removed some of the black plastic insulation, and then the outer shield and foil, I found that all the wires I needed to use were separate from the signal wires, the signal wires were in there own foil and plastic wrapped bundles.

Image

I did have to extend the "gray" ground wire, and I used a crimp connector to reconnect the shield wire, the shield wire was aluminum in this cable.

Image

The wire colors were

RED = DVI-PIN-7 = DDC-DATA
YELLOW = DVI-PIN-6 = DDC-CLOCK
GRAY = DVI-PIN-15 = GROUND

The colors will likely be different inside different cables.

I used a printed project box from, I think.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:28608

Image

It looks like this case uses M2 screws, but I don't have any, so I used 3-48 screws.

The EDID spoofer seems to work well, and I no longer have the problem were moving it around makes wires the wires break from the solder joints, I don't yet see any interference, but I could use a metal project box if that happens.
nah89
One Eyed Hopeful
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:00 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by nah89 »

What improvement did you have from going to a HDMI to DVI than just an HDMI? I'm planning on doing a spoofer as well.
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

nah89 wrote:What improvement did you have from going to a HDMI to DVI than just an HDMI? I'm planning on doing a spoofer as well.
My video cards all have DVI, so I have always had to use ether a HDMI to DVI dongle or HDMI to DVI cable to use HDMI, there should be no difference in video quality.

I have yet to cut open a HDMI cable but I "think" it should be similar to the HDMI to DVI cable in that the signal wires are in separate foil and plastic wrapped bundles, and the wires you need to use are on the outside of the bundles and easy to reach.

I was having lots of trouble with that HDMI swivel that I used to make my first EDID spoofer, one wire was cut in half by the case from the factory, and a lot of the solder joints were poor, and I quickly found out that the wire they used was hair thin and broke way to easy, I could just move the HDMI cable attached to the HDMI swivel and break wires inside of the HDMI swivel, so it had to be replaced, also the solder pads on the HDMI headers are very small making it hard to keep fixing it.
nah89
One Eyed Hopeful
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:00 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by nah89 »

That makes a lot of sense. Is this the cable you got by any chance?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002CZHN6/ref ... S5C15S9BMR

If not could you link me yours? I'd like to use one that I know works well. Also what EEPROM did you use?
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

nah89 wrote:That makes a lot of sense. Is this the cable you got by any chance?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002CZHN6/ref ... S5C15S9BMR

If not could you link me yours? I'd like to use one that I know works well. Also what EEPROM did you use?
I tend to have lots of cables and parts for years, and I am not sure were I got my cables, I know they were cheap, and I know I got at least two of them, I know they were not from Amazon, they might have been from Monoprice, the cable looks like this,

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=1 ... 1&format=2

or

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=1 ... 1&format=2

except my cables don't have the ferrite cores, ferrite cores are the black lumps near the end of the cable, they help stop interference.

The EEPROM I used was a ST-Microelectronics 24c32 8-DIP, and 8 Pin IC Socket, again I am not sure were I got it, I have had it for years, likely DigiKey or Mouser Electronics‎, many 24cxx chips should work as long as they have enough storage space for the EDID.
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

To edit the EDID, download Deltacast E-EDID Editor from:

http://www.deltacast.tv/products/softwa ... cards.aspx

Download an Oculus Rift EDID like this:

https://infotomb.com/ovl28.bin

Open Deltacast E-EDID Editor and use Deltacast E-EDID Editor to grab your LCDs EDID from the Windows registry.

Image

Select your LCDs EDID from the Windows registry, with the old 1024x600 LCD, it was this one.

Image

Don't worry about this.

Image

Your EDID will look something like this.

Image

Now save the EDID.

Image

Save the EDID as something you will remember.

Image

Open two copies of the Deltacast E-EDID Editor, and open both EDIDs, your LCDs EDID, and the Oculus Rift EDID, I had the Oculus Rift EDID on top.

ImageImage

This is what that will look like.

Image

Now the fun part, copy the info from your LCDs EDID to the Oculus Rift EDID, except were I have said not to.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Now save your custom Oculus Rift EDID.

Image

I think that covers editing the EDID, next up is using PonyProg to flash the 24Cxx chip.
Last edited by will1384 on Sun Jun 22, 2014 2:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
nah89
One Eyed Hopeful
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:00 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by nah89 »

Could you tell what the need is to edit the EDID? Do you have to do the above steps or can you just flash the bin file straight from the dk1 to your EEPROM? This is just to insure maximum compatibility?
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

nah89 wrote:Could you tell what the need is to edit the EDID? Do you have to do the above steps or can you just flash the bin file straight from the dk1 to your EEPROM? This is just to insure maximum compatibility?
The 1024x600 LCD I first used, used different settings in the EDID than the Oculus Rift EDID, if I had used the unedited Oculus Rift EDID on the 1024x600 LCD, it would have had the wrong scaling, refresh rate, colors would have been off, stuff like that, the 1024x600 LCD will not work properly with the unedited Oculus Rift EDID.

The N070ICG-LD1 1280x800 LCD I use now works just fine with the Oculus Rift EDID, no editing required, but from looking on

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Oculus+ ... down/13682

it seems that the Oculus Rift DK1 is using a CRD070TI01-40NM01 LCD that has slightly different specifications.

The CRD070TI01-40NM01 LCD General Specifications:
from: http://1000eb.com/km56 --- PDF download, not sure how safe the web page is :?:

01 LCD size 7.0 inch(Diagonal)
02 Driver element a-Si TFT active matrix
03 Resolution 1280 × 3(RGB) × 800
04 Display mode Normally Black, Transmissive
05 Pixel Pitch 0.039(W) × 0.117(H) mm
06 Active area 149.76(W) × 93.6(H) mm
07 Module size 161(W) ×107(H) ×2.5(T) mm
08 Response Time 15/20 (Typ.)(Tr/Td)

The N070ICG-LD1 LCD General Specifications
from: http://www.panelook.com/N070ICG-LD1_Inn ... 12723.html

01 LCD size 7.0 inch(Diagonal)
02 Driver element a-Si TFT active matrix
03 Resolution 1280 × 3(RGB) × 800
04 Display mode Normally Black, Transmissive
05 Pixel Pitch 0.117 (H) x 0.117 (V) mm
06 Active area 149.46(W) × 93.3 (H) mm
07 Module size 161(W) ×107(H) ×2.5(T) mm
08 Response Time 14/11 (Typ.)(Tr/Td)

So the N070ICG-LD1 LCD may not be an exact match, but it's close, I still may have to edit the EDID later, like the color settings or timings, but for now the N070ICG-LD1 seems to work well with the Oculus Rift EDID.

Something I want to add, the RX-S702 / TKH702S automotive monitor I got the 1024x600 aa0700023001 LCD and controller from had the wrong EDID from the factory, it was using an EDID from a regular desktop monitor, but it worked, scaling was pretty good and colors were nice, so you don't always need the correct or perfect EDID, just one that works.
nah89
One Eyed Hopeful
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:00 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by nah89 »

The CRD070TI01-40NM01 LCD General Specifications:
from: http://1000eb.com/km56 --- PDF download, not sure how safe the web page is :?:

01 LCD size 7.0 inch(Diagonal)
02 Driver element a-Si TFT active matrix
03 Resolution 1280 × 3(RGB) × 800
04 Display mode Normally Black, Transmissive
05 Pixel Pitch 0.039(W) × 0.117(H) mm
06 Active area 149.76(W) × 93.6(H) mm
07 Module size 161(W) ×107(H) ×2.5(T) mm
08 Response Time 15/20 (Typ.)(Tr/Td)
It's interesting that that LCD is so much cheaper than the defacto one used for the diy rifts. Even without the controller board the N070ICG-LD1 LCD comes out to around 50. I wonder if anyone has done a build with it?

Also I have some questions on the schematic for the EDID spoofer (sorry this is pretty much my first foray into electronics and such).

Image

When looking at it I understand that the HDMI pin 17 goes straight to A0, A1, A2, and VSS, pin 16 goes to SDA and VCC with the 5v coming from the USB to it with a 47K resistor connecting it to the cable coming from SCL and then also has another resistor between SDA and VCC. Pin 15 goes to SCL and then is also connected to the cable coming from pin 16 with the resistor. Right? Also why does the box mention pin 18 for 5v if it's not connected to the spoofer circuit?

Sorry if this didn't make sense I'm just trying to totally understand the schematic before I make one.

Also is this EEPROM good?

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/STM ... vkh%2f303W

Sorry for all the questions. :|
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

nah89 wrote:
The CRD070TI01-40NM01 LCD General Specifications:
from: http://1000eb.com/km56 --- PDF download, not sure how safe the web page is :?:

01 LCD size 7.0 inch(Diagonal)
02 Driver element a-Si TFT active matrix
03 Resolution 1280 × 3(RGB) × 800
04 Display mode Normally Black, Transmissive
05 Pixel Pitch 0.039(W) × 0.117(H) mm
06 Active area 149.76(W) × 93.6(H) mm
07 Module size 161(W) ×107(H) ×2.5(T) mm
08 Response Time 15/20 (Typ.)(Tr/Td)
It's interesting that that LCD is so much cheaper than the defacto one used for the diy rifts. Even without the controller board the N070ICG-LD1 LCD comes out to around 50. I wonder if anyone has done a build with it?

Also I have some questions on the schematic for the EDID spoofer (sorry this is pretty much my first foray into electronics and such).

Image

When looking at it I understand that the HDMI pin 17 goes straight to A0, A1, A2, and VSS, pin 16 goes to SDA and VCC with the 5v coming from the USB to it with a 47K resistor connecting it to the cable coming from SCL and then also has another resistor between SDA and VCC. Pin 15 goes to SCL and then is also connected to the cable coming from pin 16 with the resistor. Right? Also why does the box mention pin 18 for 5v if it's not connected to the spoofer circuit?

Sorry if this didn't make sense I'm just trying to totally understand the schematic before I make one.

Also is this EEPROM good?

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/STM ... vkh%2f303W

Sorry for all the questions. :|
I listed the Pin-Out info just to be helpful, some video cards may put out enough power for the EDID spoofer, my video card did not, thats why I used power from USB, others may have better luck getting power from the video card, if so, they can use the power from HDMI Pin-18, and not worry about using any USB stuff.

Here is the image I found back in the mid 2000s, using a 24LC21 chip for a Sony PSone LCD, it might help you understand a little better, back then people were trying to use the Sony PSone LCD in cars, for computers and video projectors, but it was not designed for that, so people hacked it

Image

it's were I got the idea from.

That chip from Mouser is a surface mounted chip, its smaller and may be harder to work with, might try something like this

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/STM ... %2fhmifBiL

or

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/STM ... P57L82ENOi
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

Did another diagram, might be easier to read.

Image
nah89
One Eyed Hopeful
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:00 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by nah89 »

Thanks, it sure does!
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

Here are some screen shots with the 1280x800 LCD

Unreal Tournament 1999 - Facing Worlds

Image

Quake II VR, I don't notice any ghosting in this game.

Image

Dumpy: Going Elephants!, I notice a fair amount of ghosting in this game.

Image
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

I found some info that might be useful :?:

https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/v ... f=26&t=386

it talks about running the Oculus Rift at a higher refresh rate, I am going to give that a try, I will post later with the details.
will1384
Cross Eyed!
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Another DIY HMD, cheap build, 7" 1024x600, 5X Loupe lens

Post by will1384 »

will1384 wrote:I found some info that might be useful :?:

https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/v ... f=26&t=386

it talks about running the Oculus Rift at a higher refresh rate, I am going to give that a try, I will post later with the details.
I got it to work by editing the EDID in the EDID spoofer, like this

Image

but then ran into problems, first was that 75Hz was giving me discoloration, but 70Hz worked just fine, the second problem was that my main display would only do 60Hz at 1280×800, and for most stuff I clone the displays, when you clone displays it uses the lowest refresh rate, so I was back to 60Hz, then I tried Steam, the Steam games like Half-Life 2 use an extended display setup for VR, showing the game on the extended display not the main desktop, but Steam kept switching displays in VR mode, showing the desktop in my DIY HMD, or a blank screen, when I tried running Half-Life 2 and selecting VR mode in game it said the VR hardware was not detected, but the Oculus Rift configuration utility shows everything plugged-in, not sure what's the problem.
Post Reply

Return to “Do it Yourself!”