CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Fujifrontier]

Well, after much trial and error I found that some of the geometric problems I was having were due to incorrect projector placement and angle. I lifted the projector a few inches higher, so it sits about 45in off the floor, and tilted it up 2-3 inches or so. Now the picture is reasonably square but it still has a small degree of keystone.

The only thing is now, it's a bit hard to get a crisp clear picture like I did previously. After being on for 3 hours, the picture developed a noticeable flare in the upper 1/4 of the screen, like a flared pipe bell.

[jkruger]

That sounds like a board level problem, likely one of the components overheating. I would look it over really good for something that looks like it has been getting hot or a bad (cracked) solder joint.

[Fujifrontier]

Prolly because I'm happy this is my first PJ and I mostly got it working, and after reading the guides and lurking on the forums I expect that after following most of the steps I'm going to get a fantabulous windowlike picture, but I guess I have to come back to reality and realise that it's a 22 year old projector and certain things may never be perfect, and I have to be happy with what I can get out of it. This doesn't mean of course I won't try and wring blood from stones I bet a lot of the people reading this thread have wondered when I'd see the light.

In reference to the component overheating, there are green resistors that sit on the board with the adjustment pots, those always get hot. I'll leave the PJ nekkid the next time I use it and see if the problem develops again.

I think I'll wait until I have a HD-capable projector until I attempt a ceiling mount; I bet if I stuck the Stony on the ceiling it'd crap out the moment I hung it

[AnalogRocks]

Well it would if you hung it with a noose

[AnalogRocks]

Well it would if you hung it with a noose

[jkruger]

I have seen a very nice D50 (fresh tubes) for sale in San Diego for a reasonable price that might be worth considering.

[scdg124]

The last high end store around here finally took down their demo D50 and hung a digital VW100 in its place. They offered it to me for a grand...I passed. If anyones interested I could pick it up for them.

[AnalogRocks]

I just picked up my D50 tonight. Needs a little TLC.

[AnalogRocks]

I just picked up my D50 tonight. Needs a little TLC.

[Sonynut]

AR, why a D50? Just curious as you already have a 1252, basically the same league of machine. Although the D50 is supposedly brighter..

[Nitmoe]

I have owned a 1041, three 1031's, a 1270, 1271, and a 1272. The 1041 is the closest to yours, but it is different. Its' a video only unit like yours, but the controls are set up a little differently. My first pj was a 1031, and I went through a lot of the same stuff you've been going through. First of all, make sure you have read all of the information available here on Curt's site, how I wish I had known about it then. I loved my 1031, despite the dim image, analog convergance, and less than stellar image. I was very upset when I came home one day to find that a leak had developed in the roof. The convergance board was fried, and I spent weeks trying to chase down fried boards. Anyway, to my advice. From what I can tell from your pictures, the deflection yoke is out of alignment on the red tube (see advanced procedures) which is why your top left will not converge. Also, the closer the pots are to dead center, the less convergance drift you will get as the machine runs. As for the sucked in picture, that is the pincussion adjustment. )( There should be a knob for that which represents somehow that it controls all of the colors. This should be located near the keystone knob /\ Also, I noticed that the top left of your image is lower than the top right. There is no reasonable way to correct this, so don't bother trying. I would say that you're better off making your screen frame the same shape, so it's less noticeable. Also, with the screen frame, it helps to use bracing on the back side. |__|__| Put a board in the center as my picture shows, and triangle chunks of plywood in the corners. This will allow you to make the screen tight, to get rid of the ripples. As for the blue horizontal size issue, refer to the boyztoyz site, there are three coils to control this. Of coarse, as you know they have a 1031, but your machine should be similar. You will need a plastic allen wrench to adjust that. As for the scan lines being obvious, there may be a knob for that also. Either on the convergance board, or on the board under it, if it has on, look for a knob labeled V Inter - This is the vertical interlace adjustment, and can be used to make the lines run together a little. Also, these sonys don't allow control over what they call lens flapping. What this means is, as you tilt the projector up or down, it will be increasingly difficult to achieve corner to corner focus. The ring behind the lens is where this adjustment would have been, instead you get presets for 72, 100, and 200. The same is true for aligning blue and red to the vertical green center line. The lens toe is only adjustable with three stock spacers for 72, 100, and 200 (unless you do the spring mod). If you can get these to line up fairly close with the adjustment knobs centered, your convergance drift should drop dramatically. Try the spring mod if you can, it's the best way. Otherwise, set the centering controls for the center, then move the projector back or forward until they meet in the center. Of coarse, this will change the size of the image, so you will need to either make a bigger screen (good) or make the image or raster smaller (bad). Either way will work, but moving it back makes a dimmer image, and using less phosphor will make it even darker yet. These usually came standard with 100" spacers, which are okay from 80 to 120 (approximately ) The best to have are 72" spacers, which will go as small as 60" (full screen) and produce the brightest image, and leave the least amount of viewable gap between the scan lines. As for changing this to a ceiling mount, it should be similar to the other 10xx pj's, and the procedure is outlined in the service manual, available here also. Don't worry about differences, just make sure that everywhere there is a wire that could be plugged into two sockets, they are switched (should all be in groups of three (RGB)) and then there should also be a switch for ceiling or floor mount. Other than that, projecting from a ceiling is the same, only upside down. My brother has my old 1041 in his bedroom, and uses it all of the time. I agree with him when he says "no point in worrying about burning the tubes, by the time that happens I'll be ready for a new set anyway" Of coarse this wouldn't be the case if it was an HD capable machine, but it's not, and as of February 2009 all signals will be HD, all analog broadcasts must stop. Also, most new DVD players are progressive scan. What this means is that they are capable of internal line doubling. They take the standard 480i and upscale it to 480p. There is a world of difference between the two, and there is no going back. This is what the empty spaces between your scan lines are. The progressive scan fills those gaps with more lines, making a much nicer image. It also reduces or eliminates jaggies (when there is motion the image within each scan line becomes distorted / like this / Moving to a machine capable of producing a 480p or greater image is a necessary step. Once you do this, find a way to put the 1020 in your bedroom, and use it until it dies. This way, you don't have to worry so much about falling asleep with a movie playing. Hope something here may be of help to you. Good luck with your adventures in the world of CRT. As for your upgrade (when you are ready) You need to know about size. These 7" sonys like yours are some of the smallest sets you can get. Going to the 12xx series is a huge increase in size and weight (worth it though) But if you cannot deal with a machine that big, you may consider finding a 7" set capable of HD. Although the 1031 is able to produce 1080i, it is certainly not the best choice out there. It is barely capable of doing this, it's a little fuzzy, and it needs a negative sync signal. If you are going to go with one of those, I would say your best bet is to use an HTPC for movie viewing, and run powerstrip. I actually think that the best image a 1031 can produce is at 720i, which is not a real signal option, but it can be produced by powerstrip.

[ecrabb]

Yeah, that San Diego D50 is only $300 - a nice projector. Of course, unless the OP were in the mood for 4 days of driving, he'd have to ship it to TX for another $150-200. If you're patient, I bet you could find a nice Sony 12xx for under $200 - perhaps even $150.

The bottom has really fallen out on these older ES-focus projectors. Of course, some people haven't gotten the memo because I still see some totally stupid prices on craigslist. Oh, sure - I'll jump right on that $1400 1044 or the $850 1252!!! Seriously...

SC

[ecrabb]

Sonynut, the D50 is a considerably much newer machine than our 12xx's - it's a much more modern design. Think of it as almost a G70 with smaller ES-focus tubes. Newer design, newer tubes, more stable convergence, more compact chassis, more input compatibility (HD component) and it's quieter.

SC

[Sonynut]

All true, yes . I guess I am itching to upgrade to an 8" EM(at least) too much

Only bad thing I have heard is that the D50 is a tube-toaster due to smaller tubes than our 12xx being pushed to output more lumens..

[Fujifrontier]

WOW! Thanks nitmoe for that great post!!!! I haven't been able to find plastic allen key, which is why I haven't played with the coils yet. I kind of wanted them to be a last resort. Do you know of any way to adjust ROTATION?

I found the pot labeled "PIN MAIN" but twisting it back and forth only manages to affect the innermost 80% or so of the picture, with minimal effect on the concave sides and top. Today when I fired 'er up I saw the keystone had gotten worse, even with lifting the PJ 2-3 inches from the back. I'll look over the pot board one more time and see if i can find the things you mention; I've fiddled with every one on the board, nothing really affects it.


For H CENTER, should a white bar be showing on either side of the convergence grid, or should it be centred neutrally? I did manage to convince the red to converge in the corners, just had to adjust the VKEYS adjustment (R/B). Also, for a projector this old, is it reasonable to expect to be able to set it up with the pots mostly centered?

[macgyver655]

I pulled out my 1020 again and did a quick setting to show you what you should be trying to accomplish. Your main concern should be on the green first, useing the top 2 rows of pots. See if you can get it to look like this.

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[Nitmoe]

I haven't looked for a plastic allen key, so I don't know where ro get one. According to the other site, they can be had at Radio Shack, but I can't confirm this. The rotation is what I was referring to when I said the deflection coil is out of adjustment. Turning that rotates the image. Be sure you read through the information before attempting this. It took me a long time to get up the guts to do this, because there is two-sided tape under it, that holds it in place. You have to break it free of the tape, and I was afraid I would shatter the tube in the process. http://www.eboyztoyz.net/index.php?ncat=145 Read the part on raster leveling, this is the rotation adjustment. I would say, let the pj run and get nice and warm. Then shut it down and unplug it. Let it sit at least 10 or 15 minutes, then loosen the clamp. Use a good glove, like a close fitting gardening glove, or a leather glove, and grasp the deflection. Rock it back and forth until it starts move fairly freely. Get a piece of wood or something non-conductive, find something like this that you can rotate the yoke a little with. Once you feel like you can make the adjustment, plug it in and turn it on. First, make sure all of the convergance pots for the color you are adjusting are centered. Then carefully use your wood to level the grid. Of coarse, make sure the projector and the screen are level first, so that you will never have to do this again. The two knobs labeled H Pin and V Pin should fix the sucked in image, but before adjusting those make sure all of the pots labeled Bow are centered. The pot labeled H Keys should fix the keystone. If doing either of these doesn't work, there is something wrong, probably the convergance board, but I am no expert.

[jkruger]

Even if you do get hit with a little zap, it's not as much as a spark plug on your car. It will definitely get your attention but there isn't enough juice left in a pj with the power off to hurt you. C'mon, grow some balls. Hell, I had a girlfriend that liked to hold on to an electric fence during sex. If she can handle it so can you!

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[jkruger]

She smoked sausage on her knees while I held on to the fence.....

[AnalogRocks]

OK TMI

[AnalogRocks]

OK TMI