CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

JustGreg · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:07 pm Post subject:

I started using the name Enigma waaaay back in the BBS days but so many people started using it that any time I wanted to join a new forum, etc, I'd have choices like enigma1256980 or some sh*t so I abandoned it. I got the name from a book, A Man Called Enigma about WWII nuclear testing and the effects on the troops that were forced to sit and watch test explosions.
You've probably already run into the same thing Enigma. Crying or Very sad

It's rough finding something unique these days; hence my unassuming big-tow-in-the-sand humble handle I use now.

I still want those seats SC! Thumbs Up

All my kids are gone now but I still can't put in the after hours time I used to when I was younger so I know what you mean. Wink

**ecrabb** · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:49 pm Post subject:

Enigma - also the name of the cipher machine that WWII Nazi encrypted their communications with...

I actually like the "JustGreg" handle - so unassuming.

I know exactly what you mean about a popular username, too... Growing up, most of my friends all called me Crabby and most of my current friends still do! My Dad always took Crabby of course (he still has his original crabby at aol address), and I was left to try come up with something. My freelance studio name was Electric Crabb and my domain ecrabb. Apparently, there aren't many Crabbs with an "E" first name because I get ecrabb almost every time I try now. I'll be screwed if some Crabb named Edward or Edgar starts visiting all the forums I try to visit before I get there. Wink

Thanks - I like the chairs, too!!! They were SO cheap - it was almost crazy. They needed to be cleaned up a little (just dusty, etc.) - not dirty - and I had to replace the AC/DC control modules because both of them (only two are electric) look like they had been partially submerged in water. A couple of big ceramic 1W resistors had literally fallen off the boards - the leads completely corroded - as in gone. I can't detect the slights hint of water damage to the fabric or frames, so I don't know what happened. Maybe they were in 2-3 inches of water when a sump quit, were then professionally cleaned, but the original owner never fixed the electronics. I was going to try to fix the controllers, but checked with Berkline and they were only $20/ea. for new ones. They work good as new, now.

SC

**kal** · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:21 pm Post subject:

**ecrabb** · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:17 pm Post subject:

dropzone7 · Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Posts: 1070 Location: Charlotte, NC

What are you going to use to exhaust the hot air?

**ecrabb** · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:51 pm Post subject:

I have a 2.25"x12 (I think) register box in the ceiling. That's connected to about 12 feet of 6" flex-duct which dumps into the adjoining storage room. The register box is located toward the back of the hush box, which is where the 12xx and the G70 both exhaust. Supply air will come form the room around the opening at the lenses. I'm hoping to make the opening large enough to avoid any turbulence noise, but small enough to attenuate the sound coming from inside the box. I'll probably build the box so I can swap out the 'face plate' around the lenses to be able to try different shapes and sizes of holes.

I'm not sure about the fan, yet. I have a cheapy duct "booster" fan, but I think I'll need a real blower because of the static pressure of the box, duct, and 90-degree bends. I have to go back and look at the calculations my engineer friend ran for me on what CFM I needed. I think it was about 150 real CFM to achieve a 10-degree difference between intake air and exhaust air - meaning that if the room air is 78 deg F, then the exhaust will be 88 deg F. It took a huge amount of air - like 300 CFM - to get down to just a couple degrees delta.

I think I'll go talk to an experienced HVAC guy when I'm almost finished with the box to see if he can tell me exactly what kind of fan/blower would be appropriate.

SC

**kal** · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:37 pm Post subject:

**kal** · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:42 pm Post subject:

enigma · Joined: 20 Feb 2008 Posts: 24 Location: Australia

I know using Enigma is not original, but this artist's music has bee heavily involved in the last 17 years of my life. Each album (6 of them & no. 7 in the making) is a chapter of times gone past.

Now on to home cinema, if you are putting a door on your rack, make sure you have enough ventilation. I too have a rack in the wall and have vents at the bottom and fans at the top drawing the air through and out.

I have a processor, two solid state amps, two valve amps as well as dvd, cd, tuner box, turntable and power filter. The amps generate allot of heat, especially the valve amps.

My projector sits on a table top like mount. I haven't finished the mount as yet because i'm working on the projecter. once sorted, i will make a cover that will also act like a hush box and a table to rest drinks on!

The projector sits on a flat base that seperates the projector from the bottom section. Air will be sucked in around the front of the tubes, pass arund the PJ cabinet down the back, and down to the bottom half and out the front of the base which will be ported forward (at the base), have foam lining inside and small fans drawing the air out at the bottom front. The projector (6PG+) has two fans blowing air directly into the bottom section and the top one that mixes air insid the top section. Nice and quiet as any noise left is directed forward towards the screen.

Have you considered having ducting leading out from your hush box at having the fan outside the room at the end of the duct rather than in the box? From your photos i cannot see if you have space inside your ceiling to run ducting.

Brian Hampton · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 1178

I love it. It looks great.

Where is the document in which you explain how to make those acoustical panels?

What is the screen?

-Brian

Brian Hampton · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 1178

Hey,

By the way,... On my PS3 all the trailers have playing avatars. You can start a trailer and then pull up the pop up menu and create custom avatars. I usually wait till the green band plays (first few seconds) and then start from there.

Seeing all those trailers playing at the same time in the XMB is very cool. Smile

-Brian

p.s. I also turned off the RSS feed thingie that I see you still have on. Just sayin.

**ecrabb** · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:50 pm Post subject:

Brian,

Thanks for the comments!!! I need to take some new pics and screen shots with the new G70 hanging in there and running 1080p. It's on the to-do list.

1) Here's how I built my panels: I went online, I added them to the cart, and paid. A few weeks later, FedEx Ground backed up and put two big boxes on my back porch. I installed them with the supplied hardware. Wink

I was going to DIY and had several designs ready, but I couldn't find a fabric I wanted that I knew was acoustically transparent enough and I was already too busy with other projects. I also wouldn't be certain about fire resistance. For the price (<$500) or about $60/ea., the pre-built panels were fire-treated, looked great to me, and most important, they were DONE. I'm glad I went that way, actually. It probably would have only saved me $150 or so to have gone with GoM fabric and DIY panels and would have taken me another couple solid days of work. ATS also has cheaper panels if you don't care about fire treated fabric and you like the 'burlappy' material.

ATS Acoustic Panels with Designer Fabrics

2) Screen is 96x54 WilsonArt DW, mounted on 3/4" MDF (HEAVY!) and 2x4 frame for stand-off from the wall and rope light behind for "halo" effect.

3) I forgot you can do that with the trailers. A couple automatically did it, so I assumed it was something in the file vs. something you could create. Cool! I'll try it.

4) I didn't know you could turn that RSS doodad off - I'll definitely do that.

SC

**ecrabb** · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 7:09 pm Post subject:

Brian Hampton · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 1178

Hey,

Turning off the RSS thingie is somewhere in the menus. It's not hard to find but I don't remember where. It may be in the network config. EDIT- I just went looking for it and couldn't find it... ???

-Brian

Person99 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 4901 Location: Flower Mound, TX

Brian Hampton · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 1178

Dave,

I'm very interested. I don't want to derail or hijack the thread but panels like that are the next thing I want to do and would like to do it on the cheap (that way I can save for more movies Smile

)

A quick google of cheap DIY panels came up with this link..

http://www.angelfire.com/sports/RCcars/acoustic_panels.htm

=Brian

**ecrabb** · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:40 pm Post subject:

Dave, I'm well aware that not everything in my house is fire-retardant. However, most of the upholstered furniture, carpet, beds and even some of the pillows and other furnishings ARE fire retardant. Drop an ash or match on the carpet or chairs in my HT, and it will likely self-extinguish or if it burns, it will burn very slowly instead of spreading quickly.

As for the walls, of course they're not fire treated. Duh. They don't need to be because the gypsum board is a retardant itself. The gypsum serves as both a wall finish surface AND a fire retardant for the framing underneath. If constructed properly, walls impede the spread of fire. A typical 2x4 stick-framed wall assembly with 1/2 gyp board has a 40-minute fire rating. Your typical aluminum- or fiberglass-skin entry door has a 20-minute rating. You want to tell me the wall has no fire retardant properties?

As for installing panels that are treated or not, of course it's your choice. You can put materials in your HT that will spread flames quickly, or materials that are rated to NOT spread fire quickly - just like the furniture and carpet you have in your room.

Here's the deal: The difference between putting combustible and non-combustible materials in our homes is not the difference between having a fire or not. Fires can and do happen. The point of using non-combustible or at least retardant materials and furnishings is to give the occupants time to escape the building safely in the event a fire DOES occur. Since treating the ATS panels was only $5 each when I bought mine, I thought the peace of mind was worth it. The safety of my family is worth more than $40 to me.

As for the acoustic transparency, the "breath test" is certainly valid. I just couldn't find anything I liked at the fabric stores, nor did I want to spend the coin for GoM. I was also well aware of Bpape and the materials he sells, but again chose to spend about $475 shipped to have everything done instead of spending ~$200+ and most of a weekend farting around building panels. They just weren't that important to me. The ATS panels also came with really nice aluminum cleat hangers that made installing really easy.

SC

**ecrabb** · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:53 pm Post subject:

Brian,

Hey, start your own damn thread!

Just kidding. There's a TON of info on AVS in the builder forum on building several different acoustic panel designs using materials from GoM, Bpape, and others. Do some searching over there and you'll find more than you ever wanted to know about acoustic panels, bass traps, reflection, absorption and diffusion.

SC

Brian Hampton · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 1178

LOL,

I should start my own thread. Thing is your theater looks nearly identical to mine except for all the great craftmanship. Smile

-Brian

Person99 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 4901 Location: Flower Mound, TX

SC...chill baby, I was just playin' wit' ya. Smile

I understand all of that. My point was in a fire, depending upon the relation of the theater to your house, the acoustic panels being fire retardant may not matter. But, if it does, you can always treat your DIY ones.

But I do like the fabric on yours better than my plain black discount closeout fabric. The only reason I did not go with a "fun" fabric like that was that I was affraid it would be distracting during a movie if I could see something that busy in my periphrial vision. Any comments on that (as I still think about changing to a more interesting fabric)?