My house has a large combined kitchen and living room with vaulted ceiling. had always wanted to install a projector and screen but could never decide where it would go.
Some friends brought around a projector for an impromptu movie night and suggested the perfect place that I had never considered.
What followed was a frantic week of obsession to get something setup. I perused Facebook marketplace and found a well priced projector 1hr from me so I jumped on it. I couldn’t justify the extra expense of a proper screen and so I decided to make one. I decided that I would limit myself to only things I had lying around the house.
I mounted the projector in a box I made and screwed it to the joists of the vaulted ceiling. I will varnish this later but for the moment it works. There was conveniently, already a power-socket below it. I may later on, spur off this to bring it to the same level as the box but it doesn’t really bother me. I dug out an extra long HDMI cable to go around the room to the rest of the setup. This will again need to be tidied up later.
Next up was the projector screen. Although I could buy a 150” screen for about €150, I didn’t really want to and I would have to wait a while for delivery. I decided to make one. I ordered a cheap stretch fabric screen from amazon. I was disappointed with the thinness of the fabric.
I cut rails and drilled holes at either end to contain an aluminium bushing to act as an axle on the top ones. I sandwiched the screen top and bottom between the rails
I decided that it would be fun to motorize the screen. I used an old drill and bypassed the trigger and battery. I wired it to an old tv power supply that would have enough juice to power this thing. the axle was a piece of old drum hardware that had a nice bend in it in order to engage with a hole in the top rail.
To control the screen, I used an old light switch and DPDT switch. Janky but it works!
I was very pleased with the results. It was quick and dirty but it al works. There is much improvement to be made both visualy and operationally but for now, I need to get on with more pressing stuff!