mini retro tv for playing av-enabled atari.

[+rbairos]

Just finished this project I started over the holidays, and thought I'd share.

Instead of continually taking over the living room TV to use the A/V inputs, thought I'd make a proper display device:
 

 

[+McCallister]

Excellent work! Looks super cool!

[ComputerSpaceFan]

Shut up and take my money!

Seriously I've been looking for a solution like this for years.

[Kris1977]

That's awesome! Nice work.

[+rbairos]

Thanks. I have more pics + parts list here:
https://github.com/lodefmode/minitv

But it got kind of pricey, though I went with nicest looking ingredients throughout.
 

[ComputerSpaceFan]

19 minutes ago, rbairos said:

 it got kind of pricey, though I went with nicest looking ingredients throughout.
 

Darn, how pricey? As much as this one?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001111978478.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.72aa4c4dqCdVL4

 

[+rbairos]

7 minutes ago, ComputerSpaceFan said:

Darn, how pricey? As much as this one?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001111978478.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.72aa4c4dqCdVL4

 

Yah around there.
Biggest expense was the 3d printed face (around $95 CAD after shipping).
In colour would have been about $400 if I recall, so I got it plain white, and watched a bunch of youtube videos on miniature model painting, and it didn't turn out too bad in the end.

I list all the prices in my github link above.
I could have gone cheaper, but wanted it to look as genuine as possible with metal pilot light holder, metal volume knob.
clicky on-off volume pot, etc.

One thing not caught in the video, is the original 3 menu selection buttons on the car video monitor were re-routed through the front of the TV and are still operational.
 

Edited January 26, 2022 by rbairos

[+Stephen]

That's really cool!  Now I want a miniature of this that doesn't weigh 20 pounds!

 

[+rbairos]

What I think would be a cool direction to take this, would be mimicking a curved CRT tube.
At first I thought some acrylic plastic lens placed overtop, but in that case the image would not sit on the surface and would look wrong.
It would need some mini projector inside, projecting onto the back of a thin curved surface, like a laser pico projector or something.
That would just add another $400 or so ?

 

[+pboland]

4 hours ago, rbairos said:

What I think would be a cool direction to take this, would be mimicking a curved CRT tube.
At first I thought some acrylic plastic lens placed overtop, but in that case the image would not sit on the surface and would look wrong.
It would need some mini projector inside, projecting onto the back of a thin curved surface, like a laser pico projector or something.
That would just add another $400 or so ?

 

The problem with that idea is the distance you need between the projector and the curved surface. I know because I went down this hole for arcade monitors. It can be done, but you need mirrors and some space/distance to make it work. I was looking into this for a classic Star Wars arcade vector like display. The only other thing I found was a guy that used epoxy and curved lens on an LCD to make it look like a CRT (optically clean epoxy I believe). Unfortunately I can't find it anymore. I think he removed it.

 

 

[+rbairos]

3 hours ago, pboland said:

The problem with that idea is the distance you need between the projector and the curved surface. I know because I went down this hole for arcade monitors. It can be done, but you need mirrors and some space/distance to make it work. I was looking into this for a classic Star Wars arcade vector like display. The only other thing I found was a guy that used epoxy and curved lens on an LCD to make it look like a CRT (optically clean epoxy I believe). Unfortunately I can't find it anymore. I think he removed it.

 

 

Yah that's why I was thinking laser projectors, not led optics. Technically they are always in focus and rely on a quickly vibrating mirror and laser point of light instead of conventional optical lens to focus. Though it would have to be something custom for 2" of clearance. Hehe

 

As for the epoxy lens I still think it would look slightly off as the image would be below the surface of the glass not on it like a real CRT

 

Do you have pics of your final result? Sounds very cool.

 

Cheers

 

Edited January 28, 2022 by rbairos

[+Stephen]

2 hours ago, rbairos said:

Yah that's why I was thinking laser projectors, not led optics. Technically they are always in focus and rely on a quickly vibrating mirror and laser point of light instead of conventional optical lens to focus. Though it would have to be something custom for 2" of clearance. Hehe

 

As for the epoxy lens I still think it would look slightly off as the image would be below the surface of the glass not on it like a real CRT

 

Do you have pics of your final result? Sounds very cool.

 

Cheers

 

I appreciate the realism you are going for, but consider this.  With such a small screen, and a small lens, I think the "under the glass" issue will not be near as noticeable as the fact you are still viewing an LCD screen, not a CRT.

[+pboland]

13 hours ago, rbairos said:

As for the epoxy lens I still think it would look slightly off as the image would be below the surface of the glass not on it like a real CRT

 

Do you have pics of your final result? Sounds very cool.

 

Cheers

 

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures. I do remember the use of "optically clear (I stated clean but meant clear) epoxy" was used to bring the image to the surface of the lens. Now that I think about it, he just used the optically clear epoxy and cast it in the shape of a CRT lens and buffed it out.

 

Yep, looks like he took it down but I did find these images (one from the way back machine)

 

 

and this one buffing the homemade lens:

 

 

Here's what is left of his project page (I think he move a lot of it to twitter but I couldn't find this project):

 

https://hackaday.com/2021/06/16/fit-your-lcds-with-lenses-for-that-vintage-crt-look/

 

 

 

[+rbairos]

13 minutes ago, pboland said:

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures. I do remember the use of "optically clear (I stated clean but meant clear) epoxy" was used to bring the image to the surface of the lens. Now that I think about it, he just used the optically clear epoxy and cast it in the shape of a CRT lens and buffed it out.

 

Yep, looks like he took it down but I did find these images (one from the way back machine)

 

 

and this one buffing the homemade lens:

 

 

Here's what is left of his project page (I think he move a lot of it to twitter but I couldn't find this project):

 

https://hackaday.com/2021/06/16/fit-your-lcds-with-lenses-for-that-vintage-crt-look/

 

 

 

Great link thanks.
I was able to find a video of his on twitter:
 

 

[+rbairos]

For the laser projector route, found this new-ish entry:
 

Amazon has them for $229 USD + $50shiping, but states minimum throw is 50 cm.
But one reviewer adds:  "One cool thing is that is has no minimum distance. So you can project on a sheet of paper a foot away from the projector (in front or behind). Meaning it can be the main display for e.g. a raspberry pi. Good for an embedded application. It does have a threaded tripod mounting hold on the bottom."
Bet it could be smaller.
 

Edited January 28, 2022 by rbairos

[Flojomojo]

I've been toying with the idea of getting a little TV like the ones that were designed for RVs, but I like your handmade one better. 

[Video]

Pretty sweet little tv. Awesome job on it.

 

I don't really have anything against LCD, from the screen side of things (being flat with set resolutions and that) its just modern one have really crappy, or non existant analog tuners, making them janky to non functional for old consoles, especially the old 2600 with its uber weird, non standard resolutions.

 

I thought of making a simulated cart, molding sheet plastic (lexan, plexiglass, some other) to a curved crt shape, sandblasting the inside side, and using a projector to put an image on it.

[+rbairos]

Just an update:
Decided to keep going with this, still lots to go: