Thanks to the folks at Sparkfun for getting me in here. Now on to the matter at hand. Guys I write novels. However an idea struck me while working on the latest book. Now I have some electronics. (I worked on torpedoes for 20 years.) but not the knowledge for what I have in mind.
Here is what I need. I need to make a small lcd operate from a memory card. I need it to weigh as little as possible. I need it to play pictures and video and to change pictures and movies automatically. Oh and I need it to project about 6 inches. I have the projection part worked out.
So if someone could tell me what componants I need and a basic how to hook the whole thig up I would be very grateful.
Is that thing out yet? That is what I a m inded looking for however the project I am working on has a bit of of a different use. I am trying to keep cost and wieght down to the very least.
Don, you didn’t provide too much in the way of specifications, but it does sound like something along the lines of the iPod Nano. Especially so if you are talking about video. I haven’t been able to find an inexpensive pocket photo viewer that can play videos (the sub $100 units, not the portable video players).
Getting back to your original question, you would need an LCD display with driver electronics, a Lithium Polymer battery (light weight and good capacity), some amount of Flash memory (or memory card socket) to hold the media, and some type of processor or FPGA chip that can do some fairly serious processing to decompress the JPEG/MPEG media files. Also, you would need some type of interface to allow the user to interact with the device.
Assuming the screen size is right, the Nano is pretty darn small and lightweight. One option would be to investigate if the device could be repackaged such that the controls could be behind the screen or replaced by some custom circuitry. I haven’t disassembled a Nano so this may not be possible or practical. Cost wise, by the time you gather the components and write the software to manage the media files, the $150-$200 for the Nano doesn’t sound bad.
However, I will defer to others who work with LCD video displays. I’m estimating that the cost of all the parts (quantity one) for a 320 x 240 display could easily be $75 or more, and that doesn’t include writing a program to tie all the parts together. I’m sure it can be done cheaper, but I can’t point you to the way to get it done.
I read somewhere on the net where they are taking old laptops and even older overhead projectors and making projection TVs. What I need to do is to shrink the system in both size and wieght. My plan is to use a very bright set of white LEDs with a reflector, and a pair of frensel lens. The key to this making it light, I mean ultra light. I will encase the entire gizmo in a vacuformed box. Very small and very very light.
If any of you folks are game to jump in with me let me know. If this works look out!!!