IMPORTANT BUILDING TIPS!

For the picture quality, refer to the IDEAL TV Section below. The TV is most important for clarity of picture. For the UPSIDE DOWN picture, refer to the INVERTED Section below:

IDEAL TV: 13" to 23". Has a flat or close to flat screen, has good brightness, has good clarity and is not bigger than 23" in size.

INVERTED:

There are three ways to approach the inverted dilema. FIRST, is to just flip your TV upside down and to ignore words printed on the screen and reconfig game controllers. If color is strange, do this: unplug TV, flip it over, wait 10 minutes, plug it in and turn it on. This fixes the magnetic field(doesn't harm TV). SECOND, you can have a switch installed inside your TV that will invert the image upsidedown and left-right by an electrical expert. PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF! A TV can hold an amazing amount of electrical charge for many days after it has been unplugged. It doesn't cost that much to get a professional to do it. THIRD, you can attach a mirror to the end of the projector at a 45 degree angle and have the TV on its back with the projector facing up in the air. The 45 degree angle mirror will reflect the image as inverted onto a wall or screen.

COLOR/CLARITY:

If you have trouble with the color, brightness or clarity of the picture, generally it is the TV that is causing your trouble. There are a few things you can do to obtain optimal results. First, if it is just a color or brightness issue, try adjusting some of the settings on the TV you are utilizing. Color can generally be adjusted for correction and brightness can usually be increased on most TVs. If you are still having trouble(like clarity issues), you might want to try another old TV. I have found that some older TVs are really good for clarity with the projector device, while others are partly blurry. So, trying another old TV definitely will be worth it if you get one with excellent clarity. Why pay $3000 for a real bigscreen TV, when you can just try another TV and obtain the same results?

GRADE "A" TESTED PROJECT TVs: 20 flat-screen panasonic; Samsung SyncMaaster 15''LCD moniter; <will continually update this list with more>.

SMALL TVS: A 13" will work, if it has high brightness and only a little bit of curvature on the glass portion of the screen.

BONUS LCD & VIRTUAL REALITY PLANS!

LCD Projector Plans: http://www.godrules.net/LCD.htm

VR Device Plans: Basically, you can use these lenses to make this almost real like gaming experience. OK, try this really quick: Load your favorite game on your computer. Take one of the lenses I sent you and hold it about 4 inches from your monitor with the rib side facing the screen. Now, put your head pretty close to the lens and look through. Its really big, but better yet, when you are playing the game, you almost feel like you are a part of it(like a VR world). Once you build the box around the lens(really easy), its even better!

Here is how you can make a device for this use of the lens:

* http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/John_Reder/fresnel.htm

* http://www.rickleephoto.com/rlcoll.htm

* http://www.rickleephoto.com/mosaicfresnel.htm <--------- Similar, but more advanced usage(Boeing adv flight simulation).

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

- How does it work?

After creation of the projector, you place it on the front of your TV. It projector device is at least as big as your TV. The TV is actually turned upside down, because the lens inverts the picture. Some TVs have change of color when turned over. Many times, this can be solved simply by adjusting the contrast and color. This will NOT hurt your TV. Most older TV models have no color change when turned over. The image is then projected onto a blank white wall or a screen (sold separately). You can adjust the screen size, but it should be mentioned that the distance from TV to lens and the distance from projector to screen need to be correlated to bring the picture into focus. In most scenerios, the lights need to be off. The light factor works similar to an overhead projector. If the light is on, you usually can not see much as compared with it off. I would not suggest hanging it on your ceiling unless you really know what you are doing. The materials to build the projector device cost about $35 to $50.

- Do I have to disassemble my TV? Do I need a special type of TV?

No disassembling required. Your TV will not be hurt or damaged in any way. No, but usually older TVs seem to work better.

- What sized TV will work?

The range is about 13" to 30". To make the most use out of my plans, though, I suggest a TV in the range of 15" - 23" in size. The final size of your TV and projector together is about the same size as two or three TVs lined up in front of each other. Of course, it doesn't way that much, though.

- How big is the Device and how far is it from the screen or wall?

The Device is about as wide and tall as your TV, but its side width is about 2.4 times as long as your TV. It sits about 4 to 7 foot from your wall or screen to project a 100" or more image.