CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Wolf-Strong]

So while being bored a few nights ago, I decided to browse around on Craigslist to kill some time, when I saw a NEC PG6200 XTRA projector for $20! Out of curiousity I looked, and couldn't believe what the thing runs for on ebay, and couldn't believe my eyes! So, today I picked it up, and $20 later, this is sitting in my bedroom....what have I gotten myself into!



Now I have no idea what to do, or how to work this thing, if it is even working. I don't have a video source to plug into it either yet (No cables for S-Video or that weird video connection next to it). All I know is when I power it up all I see is this:



So, any advice or suggestions are welcome. I thought for $20, I couldn't go wrong even if I just resell it. I am very capable in repairing electronics, but I have no experience with CRT projectors. All I got with the projector is the standard power cord...no remote or anything. I read that you do need one to set it up, but I don't know what remote that is, where to get it, or if I am even to that point yet....

Thanks!

[zaphod]

welcome.

great little projector you got there. check out the main site (www.curtpalme.com) to find setup manuals that will allow you to get the lenses focused and converged to a viewable image.

it's all downhill from here

[akajester]

i see a rockband guitar in the background. get that 360 connected to it asap! start with svideo, or get the vga cable and break it out to the 5 bnc's. And like posted earlier. read through all the setup manuals on curt's site.

[Elaine Benes]

It looks like it suffers from the dreaded "scrambled mess".

Maybe not, but hook up a computer to it with a VGA to 5BNC breakout cable and see if it will synch to common computer resolutions before investing any more time(or money...).

Did you get the complete setup remote with it ? You can't do anything without it, but if you have a Pronto, you can do without it and download a couple of decent Pronto .ccf's which work pretty good.

[jkruger]

Hey! I saw that pj on C/L too. Welcome to the forum. You must live in San Diego county.

[Curt Palme]

Great score! Looks like you might have some green wear, by the pinkish menus, but do connect a signal to the set, see if you can get the menus to unscramble, and play away. Even with some wear, it's a good set to learn on , the 'definitive' setup guide on the main site will go through the setup step by step.

[Curt Palme]

Great score! Looks like you might have some green wear, by the pinkish menus, but do connect a signal to the set, see if you can get the menus to unscramble, and play away. Even with some wear, it's a good set to learn on , the 'definitive' setup guide on the main site will go through the setup step by step.

[jkruger]

If you need to borrow some cables or other stuff to check it out let me know, I have a ton of extra stuff around here.

[Wolf-Strong]

[Wolf-Strong]

Ok so I finally found a place for it which will give roughly a 14' throw (haven't measured yet). Unfortunately he didn't have the remote, so I guess I do need the Pronto remote which is a programmable universal remote from what I gather; any specific model I should get? Would a Logitech remote equally as well or am I better off with the Pronto? From what I see, those Pronto remotes see EXPENSIVE, and I am on a bit of a budget here, so if anyone has any solutions here, that would be awesome!

Now being that I don't have computer access in this room yet (computer literally just died RIGHT when I got home today!), I need to download and print out the user manual. Which one of these should I be looking at to set it up?

[Elaine Benes]

The TSU-1000 or 2000 has the greatest compatibility, like this one:
http://snipurl.com/irl8v [cgi_ebay_ca]
Or this one, even better deal, make sure you get the serial cable so you can load the .ccf's to the remote from your computer:
http://snipurl.com/irll0 [cgi_ebay_ca]
Other people may have other remote suggestions.

Don't use S-video into your new projector, it will look TERRIBLE, and that is if it even HAS the video board installed, many didn't have a video decoder board installed...

Use RGB from your computer at 800x600 60Hz refresh to start, see if that will synch.

Don't spend ANY money on stuff until you try your projector connected to a computer at some common computer resolutions, the picture you posted showed signs of a problem NEC's have that is commonly referred to as "scrambled mess". If your projector suffers from it, you *may* not be able to do any setup... See if you can get stable menu's with a signal connected...

[Wolf-Strong]

Where exactly does the RGB connect to on the projector? I see 2 possible connections being 'Remote1' and 'option1' and then those weird RGB H/V connections...never even seen these before or how they are used!

[Elaine Benes]

Those weird connectors are labelled Red Green Blue H and V and are called "bnc" connectors for the type of connector they are. A VGA to 5 BNC cable is something you NEED. It has a VGA connector on one end, which you plug into your computer video monitor output, and 5 separate BNC connectors, RGBH and V which connect to the corresponding RGB H and V connectors on the front of your projector...

This kind of cable, I get them from ebay, usually for about $5.: http://snipurl.com/irm33 [cgi_ebay_ca]

Here's one in the US, cheaper: http://snipurl.com/irm92 [cgi_ebay_ca]

BTW: Neither Remote 1 nor Option 1 are video connectors...

[jkruger]

You have a PM.

[rabies_70]

I can hook you up with a TSU3000 with a rechargeable base and the IR repeater for way cheap. Even get you started with the software. It's not too tough. Actually really easy once you get used to it's quirks. And the Pronto. I hope I NEVER have a theater without one again. I use the 7000 and 7500's though. Might evn work a trade with you for something.

[Elaine Benes]

The only problem with a 3000 is if you ever want to use it for a high frequency IR device, like a Marquee projector, they can't handle the high frequency IR remote signals like the older 2000 and 1000. Weird, eh ?

[Wolf-Strong]

So it finally went dark, and I gave it another go. I tried to do a quick focus adjustment on all the colors (one at a time by covering the others up) and what I discovered is that there is a menu in there somewhere (at the top of the screen) but it seems all scrambled up:


So, yes I know I need a remote and all, but what is the next step from here?

[Elaine Benes]

In order to TELL if your new toy is screwed or not, you must hook up a source to it and see if that menu which is currently scrambled will straighten itself out when you hook up a source....

NEC's do NOT like to be run without a source.

The only TYPE of signal you can be sure your new toy will accept is a signal called RGBHV. The signal from a computer is that type of signal, since you're posting on the forum, we have to assume you have a computer available. In order to get the signal from the computer to the projector you need a cable called a "breakout" cable which has a VGA connector on one end which plugs into your computer monitor output, and 5 BNC connectors on the other end which plug into the BNC connectors found on the front of the projector, labelled RGBHV.

Check the resolution of your computer, shut it down, hook up the cable to the computer and to the projector. Turn the projector on, then turn the computer on and watch to see if the various resolutions which a computer goes through during start up show through the projector. If any computer resolutions do show through your projector, push any button on the back of the projector, like "End" or "Enter" or whatever is there to get the menu's to show and see if you can read them, or if they are still scrambled.

If you can read the menu's WHILE YOU HAVE A SOURCE CONNECTED, then you are likely golden, if not, then your new toy may not be working properly...

[ecrabb]

6-foot Monoprice VGA HD-15 to 5 BNC cable - $6.75 + $5 S/H

SC

[garyfritz]

Wolf, a bit more background: NEC projectors can have a failure mode where the image is all scrambled like that. The technical term for it is "the dreaded scrambled mess." There is no known fix for it, short of replacing the system board -- the major "brain" in the projector. Those boards aren't generally very available, and when they are, they're expensive.

So if your menus still look scrambled when you attach a source, you may find out why it was only $20...

(But hey! Even if the system board is toast, you can still make money parting it out!)

[Wolf-Strong]

Thanks everyone! I am going to aim on hooking it up to a computer this week to see what happens and will let everyone know from there. (crosses fingers)