Panny AE100 DIY Ceiling Mount...Cheap!

[Paul D]

Hi after being asked by a friend to help install his new Panasonic AE100 PJ, i searched for the best ceiling mount prices etc.
I was suprised to find the going rate was near £200! (inc VAT/Del).
Now this price would be normal for a £2000 and upwards projector, but the AE100 is targetted at the budget end.

I decided to make one for him, and have photo'd the project so far.

The parts include (from B&Q).

One 8" round metal table leg £6.98
One TV mount 300 £16.98 ( can be had cheaper else where)
One can of silver spray £2.99
One nut and bolt to secure screw in plastic thread at the bottom of leg.

Please have a look at these photo's and then read on...

AE100 Photo's

Right! as you can see from the photo's this is a very easy build.

You need to drill a small hole in the bottom of the screw in plastic leg adjuster, so you can attach the TV mount plate.
I will also drill right through the bottom of the leg and put a bolt through, just in case the bottom part of the leg isnt attached to well etc. Ie horizontally across the thread, not the vertical bolt that hold the TV plate on etc.

Once fully assembled i will mark off, and drill the AE100's bottom bolt holes etc(4mm?). I will then spray it silver to match.

This mount then allows 360 deg turning and 3+ and 10- degree tilt.

I will post more pics when i've finished it.

(Note pics from Nokia phone so not the best quality)

 

[RichardH]

Nice work - that table leg was a good find! I'd like to improve my DIY mount, but need to maintain the telescopic action I currently have, so any bright ideas welcome!

Richard

 

[Paul D]

Well that leg also comes in 72" versions!, maybe that would help?.

 

[RichardH]

...to quote John Otway... "headbutts"

 

[Walter mitty]

Hi,

Can`t wait to see it done.

Bit late for me I made one similar to others on here with 4ml MDF base and ceiling plates and large round dowel (2"). £1.25p the lot, and they cut MDF to shape for me from my paper template.

I had to purchase 4M bolts with extra nuts for locking about a £1 I think, ( I bought these ages ago).

I got some white primer spray and some white gloss spray. The
most expensive items of the mount

Dead easy and looks brill. One of the most useful DIY jobs I`ve ever done.

Thanks to everyone with all the ideas, I very nearly bought the Gyrolock, boy am I glad I didn`t now.

I started it as an experiment as it was raining and I was off work, I didn`t expect it to be any good.......How wrong I was.

My advice is... for about £2 and 20 mins, try before you buy, you may be suprised, I reckon I could make a fortune here turning these out he hehh e

 

[theritz]

Hey,

Thanks for the hints and tips, guys,

I had mounted my AE100 on the underside of a shelf which was on steel drawer slides - I thought this was a neat idea - slide out when in use, slide back to safety afterwards - this was in a tall "rack" type unit. Conceptually ok - but didn't look great.

I built a ceiling mount this evening to your recipe - two MDF plates and a wood column between - cost - nothing !!! I do a fair bit of woodwork and recently rescued 4 6'x4' sheets of MDF which had been used as packing in a local supermarket refit ( radiator cabinets for (almost) free - herself nicely pleased !

It will be painted tomorrow - but I am I ever glad to have it up out of the way !

Its in my new dediciated movie room - too small to call a HC - about the size of a garage conversion.

Thanks for the help.


Sean G.

 

[Paul D]

Just a quick update/pictures.

 

[Paul D]

AE100 MOUNT

 

[Paul D]

Notice the bend in the middle of the AE100!

Bendy AE100!

This caused the infamous opposite corner colour staining.
Once the middle screws were backed off and a spacer inserted, the colour staining disappeared!
I wonder if this is what caused other peoples PJs to be sent back?

 

[Paul D]

An early parts shot!

 

[theritz]

Hi Paul,

Very neat - looks better than my all wood affair, but I'm doing my best to resist the urge to tinker too much - just getting on with watching movies !!

I'm interested in the point you made about colour staining - which screws are you talking about ? I had an "episode" of this - it seems to have backed off recently, helped by some ProV tweaking, but I'm sure its still there. I'd really appreciate more detail of what happened, and precisely what you did to get rid of it


Cheers,


Sean G.

 

[Walter mitty]

Thats a nice ceiling mount Fullabeer but can you get the dust filter out easily?

 

[Paul D]

The screws that caused the staining are the ones that are between the grey adjustable feet, looking from the front of the PJ etc.
I backed off both the front and back screws, the two side screws were fine.
If you look at the picture showing the front of the PJ, you will notice the black plastic between the grey legs has about 5mm clearance, that is missing in the middle!.

I had checked the unit in the shop before buying and there was zero staining. Yet once up, the bottom left corner (PJ upside down etc) had a green tinge, and the right top part was very purple!.

The picture is now back to being perfect

As for changing the filter, i assume he will have to unscrew the four screws etc. But i will check to see if it is possible in situ, as there is a fair amount of space around this mount.

Building this mount was very quick and simple. Total build time came to about twenty minutes, plus about half hour to spray.

The adjustment works a treat with 360 deg, and 3+/10- tilt available. It is also very very solid!

 

[theritz]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the details.... I have the projector mounted at a downward angle on the mount, by having the front and side bolts longer than the back bolt, and using extra nuts to allow for adjustability - don't have pictures, I'm afraid. this means about -2 keystone required - the alternative is to have the PJ mounted so low that I would hit my head off it. I don't want to mount the screen any higher up the wall - as you know this is really the art of compromise. I've had a look, and the arrangement with the nuts could be causing some warping - though not as severe as shown in your picture.

I've got approval in principle to alter the layout of my movie room - one end wall adjoins a downstairs loo - this is used only be the kids mostly, and I'm seriously considering mounting the PJ on the other side of the wall at the right height and having a hole in the wall - this would mean no keystone, no pj noise and a very clean look to the insiide of my movie room. I also have approval to mount a rack in the wall, so that its flush with the inside of the room, similar to the stuff the yanks do.

Like I said earlier, I'm trying to resist the urge to mess about with the room for a while - particularly with Christmas coming up, but it'll probably be game on in January !

Thanks again for the details - your idea for the mount is dead on and really well executed.


Cheers,


Sean G.

 

[rooster]

Nice idea fulabeer, Do you think this would do the Z1?.

 

[donmc]

How about this then. I've been the proud owner of the panny for 36 hours and I'm still waiting for my screen

I was going to build my own ceiling mount but then discovered this little beauty.

The downside is you have to buy two of them at a time.

The upside is that they cost £19.22 for a pair !!

 

[donmc]

More info..

They are in fact, UNI-LOK 2000 Side Clamp Speaker Brackets. Available in Silver or Black for £19.22 inc VAT per pair. They are fully adjustable for swivel and tilt single handedly by loosening the knurled knob at the bottom.

They'll support up to 45kg (99lbs) in weight. They are advertised as being able to take from 6" to 12" between the side clamps but the documentation supplied says up to 15" and I would agree!.

They come supplied with rubber pads for the bottom of the rails and the side clamps.

As far as I'm concerned they are great and look as though they were made for the Panny.

I'm sure the black version would suit other projectors as well.

I got mine from CPC in Preston (08701 202530). They are on the web but the brackets don't appear on the web site.

The product codes are:
Silver: ST00440
Black: ST00001

See additional photos below.

Cheers Don

 

[donmc]

And another...

 

[donmc]

last one....

 

[rooster]

Nice job unfortunately i will need ceiling mount. So may go down fulabeers route

 

[Walter mitty]

Wow thats nice .

That was my original plan but my screen wasn`t big enough for me to go further back, I bought the screen same time as my projector .... Had to ceiling mount mine.Pity thats nice too ..well done

 

[rooster]

Hi,
I am looking to build a diy mount for a Z1 , and from the ideas in this thread and one over on the avsforums . I am thinking about attaching a bit painted wood to projector and then using the bracket found in the link below. Maybe one in the centre or since they come in pairs attach both either end of wood and then ontoto ceiling for extra security. Any comments on my plan . Does it look feasible. Brackets cost about £10 from cpc

http://custom1.farnell.com/cpc/prod...catalogue&category_name=&product_id=ST0008166

 

[bowlhead2000]

Like the look of that bracket, rooster, the '30kg' it'll hold sounds more than my ceiling will handle...

Mounting from above seems to be the way to go - it would certainly be easier to wallmount, but you need some space for air to circulate.

Those pictures from Donmc have something like 2 inches of clearance behind the fan at the back. I think the wallpaper is going to get pretty hot, and the system should allow air to blow out a decent distance and disperse, not just come out of the back and hit a wall. I'm not bothered about my wallpaper warping, but I'm very bothered about any overheating on the projector!

At the moment mine's just tabletop, so who am I to talk, but when I attempt a permanent solution I don't want it to be the kiss of death...

 

[jamesrich]

Does anyone know if Dom's bracket would be suitable for the AE500? Does it offer enough clearence from the wall for adaquate cooling?

Or would this one from CPC be more suitable ?

http://custom1.farnell.com/cpc/product.asp?catalog_name=CPC+Catalogue&product_id=266406

Cheers

James Richards

Originally posted by donmc
How about this then. I've been the proud owner of the panny for 36 hours and I'm still waiting for my screen

I was going to build my own ceiling mount but then discovered this little beauty.

The downside is you have to buy two of them at a time.

The upside is that they cost £19.22 for a pair !!

 

[rattlesnake]

A quick question if I may.

When I set my AE100 for upside down mode, the fan speed increases to a level between full lamp mode and low lamp mode.
Anyone else experience this?

Doesn't make any sense




Andy