Meant to be Seen

I did buy those credit-card fresnels at one point to try to mod the VR920. However I was attempting a non-destructive mod and seeing if I could just add the fresnel on top of the existing optics. As expected, it didn't work at all. Plus, those credit-card lenses are really cheap and blurry, not the same quality as the page-magnifier fresnels like I have used with CRTs to good effect.

For screen material have you looked into etched glass? DoF adapters for video cameras (to allow small-sensor video cameras to get 35mm DoF with 35mm lenses,) use some sort of etched glass to project the image from the 35mm lens onto.
Another thing to look into (though the prices will probably be too high, and might not go large enough, roughly 24x36mm at largest) is focusing screens. Most have a lot of printing on them, but 'clear' versions are out there.

skrubol wrote:For screen material have you looked into etched glass? DoF adapters for video cameras (to allow small-sensor video cameras to get 35mm DoF with 35mm lenses,) use some sort of etched glass to project the image from the 35mm lens onto.
Another thing to look into (though the prices will probably be too high, and might not go large enough, roughly 24x36mm at largest) is focusing screens. Most have a lot of printing on them, but 'clear' versions are out there.

Hey, yeah I'm looking into this, as well as Neutral Density Filters - both have the possibility of working. Could you link me an example of the ones you have seen?



In the mean time, I am stuck stuck stuck trying to get the high density PCB extension cables made up

I can't find a single company that can do it for me:


I think that they are these:
http://www.molex.com/molex/products/fam ... connectors


Photos of the connectors are here:

http://www.wastedspace.co.uk/hmd/DMDCon ... 020193.JPG

http://www.wastedspace.co.uk/hmd/DMDCon ... 020197.JPG

http://www.wastedspace.co.uk/hmd/DMDCon ... 020192.JPG

http://www.wastedspace.co.uk/hmd/DMDCon ... 020196.JPG

I don't have any real etched glass links, it's something I've just come across in my travels. Googling DoF adapter will get you started. ND filters are completely different, they're just dark glass, similar to what's in sunglasses (though without the color tint sunglasses usually have.) You can't project onto an ND.

I might suggest the Canon EG-S Focusing Screen http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/5 ... Matte.html coupled with a small cell phone vibrator motor. The EG-S is very fine grain, although it loses more light than the EG-A standard screen. The vibrator shakes the screen enough that the remaining grain becomes invisible. Together they make a dandy miniature rear projection surface.

Part 11 - yet another update tangent is here: http://www.wastedspace.co.uk/cms/2011/0 ... 93part-11/

Tone - missed that post - great - thanks and Happy New Year to you !

Interesting. That looks like complex stuff, wish you the best of luck.

Part 12 is now here: http://www.wastedspace.co.uk/cms/2011/0 ... t-part-12/

Again, sadly, not much progress. Just not enough info / documentation around. I have blown one of the Proviews and am saving the controller board in the other one until I get something solid to work with. In the mean-time I want to fit the LCD's into my V4 and be done with that. I then aim to concentrate on the pico project with the proview shell.

I feel your pain. Commercial companies generally all have revolving door of staff and zero interest in supporting anything they aren't currently selling, but even so it blows one away the amount of ignorance of their own products. Maybe try the vitrolight guy from ebay as he sells lots of lcd's and driver boards he may know something.

Good luck and don't give up.

Sucks man. Not too surprising though. Its not like there is any money to be made from releasing documentation to the hobbyist community. Especially for old EOL products that weren't mainstream even when they were new. The original engineers are probably long gone and whatever documentation there was is withering away on some tape storage. The best bet is trying to find a source for modern parts, but I guess there is not so much action in the micro-display field.