THE LYNXXX BARCO CEILING MOUNT ADVENTURE

On the 12th of August it was the big day!. Dratsabylgu and Dennis dropped by to assist with the ceiling mount of my Barco Data 800 CRT projector. After a short check a few weeks earlier, we had figured out pretty fast that it would be a difficult task to mount the projector to the beams supporting the floor of my upstairs neighbour. Aside from problems due to my lowered ceiling we also faced possible projector damage due to kids running and stomping around one floor up.

We then considered fixing the projector to the beams supporting the lowered ceiling. These beams appeared stong enough but we were unsure whether they in turn were properly fixed to the walls :). I didn't want to risk both projector AND ceiling coming down, so in the end we thought we might as well design an alternative construction :) Tradition dictates that that would have to be an industrial strenght solution heheh. Below you will find the pictures. If you have any questions feel free to mail me at: barco@lynxxx.nl

If you want to know more about CRT projection, I suggest visiting my projector links section on this site.

Old setup - projector on top of SKB 19" flightcase

The new setup will have two main beams. One will be fixed directly to the wall. The other will rest on two metal supports that are bolted to the side walls. in between we mount two smaller beams in a 90 degree angle that have Walraven Rapidrail screwed onto them. With these rails en gliding bolts you can adjust your projector with utmost precision :).

Closeup of the mounting piece for the transverse beams. These have been fixed with screws both on top as well as on the sides. The beam that you see here cannot be obtained at most regular DIY stores due to the lenght (4m). However, the better woodshops do carry them.

closeup of beam suppirt. The transverse beam with the rapidrail/strut fits EXACTLY in this metal support piece.

Beams with rapidrail/rapidstut fixed on ever screwhole. The rail itself also rests in the metal support. Because i had to use relatively narrow metal rail, i used these beams to keep them from bending

Fixation of main beam to wall. This beam measures 4 meter x 20 cm x 6.8 cm. The support has been bolted down with 4 expanding bolts of 60 mm lenght.

Lynxxx busy with the main beam supports. On this side it turned out I had a METAL I-BEAM in my wall. Hmmm.. no wonder the drill was behaving so strangely :) After we drilled and tapped two holes into the I-beam, we finally fixed the main beam very very well with M10 imbus bolts heeheee.

The total ceiling construction together with one sideways rapidrail for weight test and mounting of pulleys. The rear main beam has been fixed to the wall with 5 huge bolts.

Pulleys for hoisting the projector. Two on the Barco (left and right), two on the rails. Resulting in a total of 8 loops. Using this i was able to lift the projector up to the ceiling.. on my own! After that however, we ended up with two people supporting the projector while i tightened the nuts on the glide-bolts.

closeup Barco mounted to Walraven Rapidrail (=Rapidstrut/Powerstrut)

Tadaaah! There it is :) Due to the heavier weight of the front of the projector it has been fixed using two rapidrails there. The wooden beams are holding up fine. The entire setup moves only 1mm down in relation to my ceiling.

I've been planning for some time to lower the ceiling below the beams and put in some halogen light.. Hmm when that is done more pics will follow.

Links to mounting rails manufacturers:

Walraven

Powerstrut

One of the commercial people at Walraven send me an email some time ago telling me they were pleasantly suprised to see that their products were used for home theater purposes :) They were very willing to offer information on their products and sales points. Contact them to find an official dealer near you.

I got the Walraven Rapidrail from Aircovent in Rotterdam who were happy to provide me with a smaller-than-usual amount of rails. Note that most installation material suppliers including Aircovent require a Chamber of Commerce registration prior to accepting you as a customer.

On a related note: The sales people at Technische Unie (another Walraven dealer) apparently are only interested in selling large amounts at a time. But instead of simply telling me that they had to act like a bunch of extremely rude, retarded !&*@#%&!@%#! on the phone and belittle me when i politely asked them a normal question. I suggest you steer clear of them unless dealing with retards is your profession and you really, really like your job.

Barco Data 800 from below	closeup lenses
closeup lenses	It works!
Rear side fixed with additional chain as insurance :)	The result
Barco	Vague pic of my livingroom with the screen