Anybody want their VR920 upgraded to 47 degree FOV?

[PalmerTech]

The stock FOV is 32, I just got a big box of optics, both glass and acrylic, that can change it to 47. Unfortunately, my VR920 had been incorporated into a monocle headset, and I would prefer to avoid ripping it apart.

Does anybody have a spare VR920/AV920/other HMD that uses 0.44" VGA Kopin microdisplays? It cannot be anything like the trimersion or Myvu crystal, sadly, because those use mirrors normal, and are thus driven as mirror displays. If you pay for shipping, I will do the upgrade for free to the first person who asks, and if it goes well/they review it as worthwhile, I might make a web page where you can pay me a small amount of money to upgrade your headset.

[cybereality]

Interesting offer but I, unfortunately, sold my VR920 a few months ago. I was having trouble getting it to work after I upgraded my system, and Vuzix "does not provide support for 3rd party applications". I wasn't using it that much anyway. But if I still had it, I would take you up on that.

[bobv5]

They the fatshark lenses? Just took my trimersion apart, its hard to tell because the screen is so small, but it looks like it is not flipped. The trimersion optics use two mirrors, so it probably flips it then flips back again. Dont really want to post it to the other side of the planet, but would like to buy a pair of the lenses from you if you will sell me some. Let me know what you want for them, and how much postage to uk would be.

Thanks.

[PalmerTech]

Yes, they are. I have a very large number of the glass sets, and only two pairs of acrylic optics (4 eyes worth of them). The glass optics are more durable and theoretically higher quality, but have more of a blue "fringe/glow" around the image, and are heavier. The acrylic optics are a little bit lighter, and are supposed to fix the edge problem.

I am still looking for my own solution, but I would be happy to ship you some, Bob.

[3dvison]

Hi PalmerTech,

Do you know if this will work with the Wrap 920's and if the optical system is the same on the Wrap1200 maybe that model also ?

A 47 degree FOV Wrap 1200 would be so great.

PalmerTech, if this does work out, will you be able to buy more of these lenses or was it a one time find or a special batch of lenses ?

[Okta]

Sounds interesting i still have my vr920 and another set with the same kopins but shipping will suck from AU. Didnt you do this before with yours and wind up with left than good results?
Pretty keen to try it out if the postage isnt too outrageous and the results are good. Not sure weather to try the spare one first or both.

[PalmerTech]

@3Dvision: I speculate that the Wrap 920 uses the same Kopin displays, since Vuzix would have no reason to switch them out. The 1200 is trickier to say, since they have several options available to them, along with the fact that the 1200 is widescreen!

Here is the more likely problem, though: The Wrap optics might require the LCD to be driven by a mirrored image, which would sadly mean that these optics, which are direct view, would not work. If I could check out the internals of a Wrap 920, I could be sure, but until then, it is hard to say for either the 920 or the 1200.

If this does work out well, I should be able to buy more of these lenses. I could elaborate more, I think, but I need to check (Not sure if I should say how I got them without asking to make sure).

@Okta: Yes, I have tried this before, but those were older optics, on both the glass and acrylic fronts. They should work better now, so I would like to test. How confident are you in your l33t skillz? I would be fine with sending you some glass optics for what I paid for them (Well, their portion of the bulk buy) plus shipping.

[Okta]

That sounds good i will pm you some details. I can try them out on my cheap pair first.

[cybereality]

The Wrap may be using the same panels, but I don't think it is the full Kopin cybereyes module. The Wraps seem smaller than that, so I think its a custom construction. Plus the optics are totally different. And, yes, it is using mirrors. The actual display is around your eyebrows, facing straight down.

[Okta]

Hey Palmer any updates? I pm'd you my details a while back but i know your very busy so let me know if you get a chance cheers.

[PalmerTech]

Sorry, I accidentally missed your PM somehow! I sent a pair of optics to bobv5 a few days ago, I will do the same for you. International shipping will come out to about $13, and the lenses cost about $20 (That is about what I paid per pair). Sound good? If so, I will probably have your package out on Tuesday.

If anyone else wants some, let me know!

[Okta]

Cool just send me your paypal addy and ill fix you up cheers.

[Unclebob]

Hi

just started to get back into this after a break for 2/3 years and managed to pick up some iwear vr920s of ebay.

Very interested in increasing the FOV and have some home brew experience.

Do you have any optic sets that would work?

How difficult is the upgrade to perform?

Thanks in advance

Pete

[bobv5]

Received my lenses.

Not had chance to test properly, and I am comparing to trimersion optics, not vuzix like most of you have, and of course everybody’s eyes are different.

Here are my first thoughts on the glass fatshark optics.
The larger image is very nice. Still a little on the small side, but it's "hmm, I would still like that bigger" rather than "yuck, too small!!" To put it another way, the fatsharks feel on the small side of ok,but still ok, and the trimersions feel TOO small. (Trimersions are about the same fov as vr920) Or to put it yet another way the 30 fov lenses feel like a 17 inch crt, and the 46 feel like a 21 inch crt. (Yes, I still use crt's, and yes they are small. But I sit rather closer to them than others usually do.)

The image appears closer than with the trimersion lenses. It is difficult to judge, but it feels 3 or 4 feet away with fatshark, compared to about 8 with trimersion. It is also brighter, clearer, and easier to see. I suspect this is due to the one way mirrors used in trimersion, probably not an issue with vuzix gear.

There is a significant blue fringe around the edges of things at the edge of the screen. (Does that make sense? I don't know how to explain better.) Noticeable if you are looking for faults, but not a real problem. It also has moderate pincushion. Again, not a problem, but noticeable.

Ultimately, I would recommend using these, but they are not perfect. Also, I have tested them only on my htpc, not with games. I have no idea how small text will look.

[PalmerTech]

@Unclebob: Yes, I have optic sets that will work! It is actually a pretty easy modification. All you need to do is take the LCD/backlight module, unscrew the new optics, clip it in, then screw it back together! The hardest part will be mounting the new lenses, you will need to slightly modify the VR920.

@Bobv5: Glad to hear the tests are going relatively well! Let me know how the acrylic optics work out for you. One thing to mess around with is using layers of thin paper over the black plastic around the LCD, so as to adjust the exact spacing between the front surface and the optics. I have found that you can adjust the focal length to appear further or closer away (I actually prefer closer, 3 or 4 feet, since I am a little bit nearsighted).

I have a HMD on the way to me that should be using Kopin 0.44" displays, can't wait to properly try these out myself.

[Unclebob]

PalmerTech

"The hardest part will be mounting the new lenses, you will need to slightly modify the VR920."

Ok so its a could of screws and a jimmy to separate out the pieces but how much modification is necessary?

Thanks

UB

[PalmerTech]

I am not exactly sure, I have not had my stock VR920 shell together in ages. The only modifications would be to the outside shell of the VR920, you would need to remove the plastic lens covers, and widen the holes a bit. You might also need to mount the driver board at a different angle.

[bobv5]

I will try to do at least a quick test with the plastic lenses in the next few days. Been distracted with a different project for a while. Made the mistake of borrowing a motherboard from the missus. Now I'm getting whipped. Apparently a command line over ssh is not an appropriate interface for a htpc?

[bobv5]

Still not managed to test the plastic lenses as making an enclosure to hold the naked lenses is taking more time that I had hoped. I believe I have found a workable solution, using the top of the enclosure I received as the bottom of the missing one, then moulding new tops by hand from "friendly plastic". Not difficult, but time consuming to make sure I don't damage anything. (Not a problem with the glass optics, as they come supplied with an appropriate housing)

Mounting the thing to my head is also going to be a bigger job than with the vr920, but that is not relevant to this thread.