What is this?

[beauregaardhooligan]

Originally Posted by classicman

and light emits through the colors? I believe the lenses are missing from the image. . . Am I even close?

Ex*treme*ly close, classicman.
The colors you see are not relevant to the function.

[Pie]

inkjet printer?

[classicman]

Originally Posted by beauregaardhooligan

Ex*treme*ly close, classicman.
The colors you see are not relevant to the function.

The worst part is.... I know I've seen that i the past and because of my misspent youth I cannot remember what it is. The memory is there, but I cannot grasp it firmly.

I have no recall left - just recognition.

[glatt]

the thing to the far left looks a lot like a CCD. Is the clear (full of spots) hunk in the middle a prism? It almost looks like it has a diagonal seam in it for splitting a beam. If it works with lenses, it must be part of some sort of scanner, like a photocopier.

[xoxoxoBruce]

A video projector.

[beauregaardhooligan]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

A video projector.

DingDingDing!
We have a winner!

That view is of the business end of the heart of a 3LCD projector.
The corner of one of the LCDs is visible with the orange ribbon connector coming out the top.
Here is the full size photo.



glatt came close with the CCD and the diagonal seam.
It's actually two prisms joined to make a cube.
The color blotches are from the glue/epoxy used to attach the mount to the cube.
The angle of the shot accentuates that, but it does not interfere with the function.
Here are some shots of the stripped down cube.
It also has a di-chroic coating which makes for a really eye-catching bauble to put in a sunny window.









These shots are of the same cube at different angles.
In the second shot you can see a double reflection of my camera lens.

The company I work for installs and services audio/video equipment, and I took apart a dead projector to remove the circuit boards which are considered hazardous waste and can't be thrown in the trash.

There were also lots of lens, mirrors, and pieces of filtered/polarized glass in the "light tunnel assembly" as it's called.
A lamp sends light through the tunnel and probably a dozen lens/mirrors/filters before it is sent through the LCDs which actually form the image.
The image then comes out the open face of the cube before going through the focusing lens which projects it onto a screen/wall.

{Honorable mention to classicman, you almost had it!}

[LabRat]

I call dibs one of those cube thingies if you ever get a chance to take another one apart!!

Cool!

[xoxoxoBruce]

I'm confused, did this one project in three directions?

[beauregaardhooligan]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

I'm confused, did this one project in three directions?

Nope, other way around.
The light tunnel split the light beam into 3 sources with {I assume} different qualities, then through the LCDs.
The double prism cube joins the 3 image sources into one which comes out the open face viewed in the 1st shot.

LabRat, I'll let you know if one comes available.

[glatt]

I thought it had one diagonal seam, but it looks like it has two seams. It makes much more sense to me now, considering the paths the 3 light sources must take to combine onto the screen into one image.

[glatt]

Thanks, beauregaardhooligan, for a great "what is this."

[beauregaardhooligan]

Nice diagram, glatt.
As for the seam, I'm pretty sure there's just one.
You can see it pretty clearly in the 1st and last nekkid cube pix.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Ah, now I got it. I wonder if the first dichroic mirror is different from the second, or if red does indeed get twice the light of the other two colors?

[beauregaardhooligan]

Originally Posted by glatt

Thanks, beauregaardhooligan, for a great "what is this."

Thank *you* sir, and everyone else, for riding theCellar.org amusement park.
Please keep all appendages in the car,
and feed the toad.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by beauregaardhooligan

As for the seam, I'm pretty sure there's just one.
You can see it pretty clearly in the 1st and last nekkid cube pix.

I think there have to be two seams, otherwise one of the 3 colors won't make it onto the screen. One is very clear in the nekkid cube pictures, but there is a faint hint of another. Maybe I'm just imagining that I see it, but I'm 99% certain it has to be there, so I think it is.