CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

seewolf · Joined: 01 Dec 2016 Posts: 9 Location: MI, USA

It's been a while since I've spent time planning a theater. About 15 years ago I acquired a nice Marquee 8501 wit the intent of installing it in a dedicated theater room. Fast forward to now - I have two kids, a different house and a very large projector that still needs a dedicated home.

Now I have a little time and money to build the dedicated theater and would like to ask some of you guys some questions to make sure I'm getting the most out of the projector. I've dug around the forums trying to find the answers but haven't found what I'm looking for yet - forgive me if the answers are there, I really did look first. I realize that the 8501 is the 8500 with ACON so I did my searches for 8500.

I have an ACON module for the projector but it needs some repair work. First - is it worth getting repaired or should I just plan on manual convergence? Second - if it is worth getting repaired, who could do it? Not exactly a common item even when these projectors were in production.

Also, is it possible to upgrade the 8500 series to 9" tubes? If so, is it a huge job and are there parts available to do it? If it's been done, what is the cost/benefit of the upgrade? I'd love to have the best picture I can get but not willing to take out a second mortgage!

I plan on getting the board upgrades (Marquee HD Mods) and adding the HDMI board - any feedback from people who have done those is appreciated too.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

racerxnet · Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 362 Location: Illinois

You may want to make sure the projector still functions as it should, and then move forward from there. Your lenses will determine the distance from the screen vs raster usage. So if you are going to upgrade to a 9 inch unit, make sure to consider that. Curt has listed for sale the mounting brackets needed for the upgrade. He can probably supply you with everything. The Acon is not needed, but can be a nice addition otherwise. Here is a starting list.

Brackets and associated hardware.
Lenses. And possibly colored C elements
3 - 9inch tubes.
MP mods to neck cards, VIM, and Moome card.
Glycol for LC chamber.
Bellows if they leak or used.
A good understanding of the tuning process, or considerable patience.
Lots of research and questions here.

Figure on 1500.00 or more to upgrade to a 9 inch machine. You may be better off buying a good used projector already assembled if you don't like a challenge.

On another note, I have upgraded my 8500 to a Ultra with MP mods, HD 145 colored lenses, Moome card, Flat Black paint on lens brackets and sealed off the light bleed between tubes. It throws a nice picture and the 145 lenses help with color. Hope that helps.

MAK

seewolf · Joined: 01 Dec 2016 Posts: 9 Location: MI, USA

Thanks for the quick reply racerxnet!

Now I have more to look for digging around the forum.

It looks like the MP mods you mentioned are part of the mods Draganm offers. It looks like my next step is firing the old girl up and contacting Curt to figure out what he has to help me out.

By the way - I don't mind digging around and making adjustments. If I did - I would just go digital! Very Happy

cmjohnson · Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 5180 Location: Buried under G90s

The tough part today is going to be finding really good condition 9" tubes at a good price. Oh, you can get them, but prices on them seem to have increased recently due to dwindling supply and steady or maybe even increasing demand.

Curt recently got something like 17 Marquee 9500LCs pretty cheap and he can probably sell you a complete 9500LC for less than
what it would cost you to buy all the parts for the 8" to 9" conversion separately, and you'd start with a chassis that is at least 10
years younger to begin with.

It might be more cost effective to buy such a unit from him, complete with GOOD tubes, for about what you'd pay to upgrade your
much older 8500.

The parts list to upgrade from an 8500 to a 9500LC is upper and lower tube mounting plates, 9" LC tube assemblies, lenses,
and probably a new set of video neck boards as they ARE different in a few minor but important ways from an 8" to a 9" machine.

For the same money Curt would probably sell you a whole new chassis that's 10 years younger and more up to date with less component ageing on it. A better unit.

seewolf · Joined: 01 Dec 2016 Posts: 9 Location: MI, USA

Thanks cmjohnson. That may be the best bet - I will contact Curt.

I'm trying to think about the conversation with my better half. "You know that big projector we've been dragging around with us for 15 years? We are going to get an even better one!"

racerxnet · Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 362 Location: Illinois

Mike modify s the Neck boards, VIM, and Moome card for a direct couple chain. It is not the same mods as Daganm.

MAK

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 11:42 pm Post subject:

Forget about the ACON. The $1500 is about right for upping an 8" projector to a 9" tubes (add about $200 for lenses, unless someone here has some GT17s for cheaper), but with the surplus of projectors I've got here, I may as well throw them into a set, and just sell you a 2002/2003 vintage MArquee 9500 Ultra less lenses for $1500 plus shipping. Keep your 8500 (or strip it down) for parts, as most parts will exchange into the 9500 Ultra in case of failures. While you gain about 70 lbs in weight, the projector size stays the same.

Oh, and if you're doing less than a 72" screen, I can throw in a set of HD10L lenses for free. Bigger than 72" screen, and you're going to lose a bit of sharpness in the corners, although I know a bunch of people have pushed 90" plus with HD10L lenses, and they report no issues.

So just a thought.

cmjohnson · Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 5180 Location: Buried under G90s

ACON is neat to see it in operation but honestly you don't need it, and after it does its thing you still have to go back and manually
touch up the convergence anyway because it is NOT a perfect system. So don't worry about that.

But, the ACON system from your 8500 can be transferred to a 9500. It's just two components, the camera, which is very simple, and the ACON control board which is accessed by removing one of the blank grey panels on the back side of the projector. Unplug the board, swap it over, move the camera, and it's done.

ACON is useful for quickly setting basic convergence after doing major work. But it saves you, maybe 10 minutes?

I like it, I like my projectors to have it, but honestly it's nothing you have to have.

What is more important is to be sure that Curt at least performs the vertical squeeze mod on the projector if you choose to
buy one from him. It will ensure that you can easily achieve a proper widescreen aspect ratio while preserving your ability to fill a full frame 4 by 3 ratio screen if you want to.

But I think he does that mod as standard on all Marquees he sells? Is that right?

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 12:31 am Post subject:

THe Ultras already squeeze down low enough to do 2:35, but I verify that before I ship. There was one a couple of months ago that I modified, as the V range wasn't quite to 2:35..

seewolf · Joined: 01 Dec 2016 Posts: 9 Location: MI, USA

I appreciate all the information (and that you aren't making my questions seem stupid!).

Can anyone tell me how much of an improvement I will see moving from the 8500 to the 9500 Ultra? I'm sure some of you have done side by side comparisons. At one point in time I had a good idea of all the differences but the price of the 9" systems was so high I couldn't consider it, and that was a long time ago.

If I do get the 9500, is there anything I should consider adding to it or will I be good to go out of the box?

I feel like I am way out of the loop at this point since I haven't been following the progression on these since the advent of HD and so much has moved on. I'm trying to catch up and be intelligent in my decisions without driving you guys crazy with questions that have been asked and answered a dozen times.

cmjohnson · Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 5180 Location: Buried under G90s

You'll get a very good picture out of an 8500 if the tubes are in good shape and the alignment is done right.

But many of us started with an 8000 or 8500 and upgraded to a 9500LC and I can assure you, not one of us has ever looked back
and wanted to go back to an 8500. The jump in picture quality is considerable. While an 8500 can look good, a 9500 brings a "WOW!" factor to the image that isn't achievable with an 8500.

You get immediate improvements in picture brightness for the same screen size, or the ability to go to a bigger screen at the same brightness, and higher resolution capacity for the simple reason that there's room for more pixels to be drawn on the larger CRT face.

An 8500 can't resolve 1080p. Oh, it can display it, but it won't be very sharp. A 9500 does a much better job. Properly set up, a 9500 resolves 1080p very well indeed.

racerxnet · Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 362 Location: Illinois

seewolf · Joined: 01 Dec 2016 Posts: 9 Location: MI, USA

Racerxnet - I'm in the Grand Rapids, MI area.

Right now I am just getting ready to pull permits for a complete basement finishing job so I have some time to figure out what I'm going to do in the end.

cmjohnson · Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 5180 Location: Buried under G90s

As for actually planning out your home theater installation, the projector installation should be planned with the Marquee installation manual in mind.

But I'll give you a shortcut for that.

I originally had an 8000 and projected it on an 8 foot wide screen. Distance from center lens face to screen is 120 inches.

When I switched to a 9500LC with HD10GT17 lenses, all I did was swap out the projector and didn't touch the installation geometry. Same exact screen, same exact projector mount. It worked out perfectly, I'm using pretty close to ALL of the available raster width, which is what you want, and yet I'm not using so much that I have any edge focus issues.

So use that ratio of screen width to distance from center lens to screen. 8 foot wide screen, 10 foot distance. Multiply screen width by 1.25. That is right for any Marquee using the most commonly used lenses in home theater applications.

If you need a smaller screen, you might want to use HD10L lenses.

If you need a larger screen, I don't recommend it because with the larger image it must be dimmer and driving the tubes harder to compensate just reduces tube life.

I say that a screen between 6 and 8 feet wide is the sweet spot for a Marquee. I've always been happy with an 8 foot wide screen.

Another advantage of setting up with a larger screen (in that range) is that as you increase the distance from the PJ to the screen, you need less geometric correction on the screen. You always want to use less correction rather than more, when you have the choice.

The amount of geometric correction required is inversely proportional to the distance to the screen. Less screen distance, more geometry correction needed.

seewolf · Joined: 01 Dec 2016 Posts: 9 Location: MI, USA

Thanks cmjohnson, any planning advice is well received.

And thanks to the rest of you who responded, I know I have a lot to learn but am very happy I found someplace with people who understand what I'm trying to do and have experience doing it!

I picked up my building permit today and now get to start the long road to completing my basement project. The theater is one small part of the 1200 Sq. Ft. I will be finishing, and it will take some time since I will be doing the bulk of the work myself. I know I will be trolling the forums for the best ideas as I proceed. I'm sure you will be hearing from me a few more times as I run into challenges I can't imagine yet!

racerxnet · Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 362 Location: Illinois

seewolf · Joined: 01 Dec 2016 Posts: 9 Location: MI, USA

Thanks racerxnet, I may take you up on that. By the time I'm ready to hang this bad boy up, we should be well through the pain of another great lakes winter.

Where can I go to see the screen shots you mentioned?

cmjohnson · Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 5180 Location: Buried under G90s

http://www.curtpalme.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5318

Right there.

seewolf · Joined: 01 Dec 2016 Posts: 9 Location: MI, USA

Nice. If I get something that looks like what you are getting out of your 8500, I will be nothing but happy.

greg9518lc · Joined: 19 Apr 2016 Posts: 360

I am located in Fort Wayne,Indiana if you want to see a properly setup
and D6500 calibrated 9518LC Marquee. There are mods then there are mods done right and my machine has been done right. More is not always better
and if you get a 9" machine there are a lot more to it and popping boards in thinking you will get a great image. I will be more than willing to help you sort out your projector if you decide to upgrade. Pm me if you want to arrange a time for a showing. I do not sell any mods but will be glad to share what to look for and what boards you will need to take the marquee to the next level.
Maybe JBmeyer will chime in as well.