At some point, such a different or low-stimulus life craves variety, and then there's usually a desire to watch a movie.
TVs, in my opinion, are aesthetically unpleasing. A black screen stares silently if there's no image. Moreover, they consume a lot of power, which is limited on a boat, and especially on a sailboat.
I haven't had a TV for over 25 years. My computer has taken care of TV watching for me, recording over 3000 movies and series from TV over the past decades. I watch them at home when it suits me, projecting them onto a 100-inch screen with a projector. And now, I wanted to implement the same concept on the boat. Minimal installation and maximum screen size so that when the home theater is not in use, it can be stowed away in a small space. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro is really convenient for everything on the boat, but the screen size is not enough for a movie experience when you're used to a 100-inch screen at home. This is even more pronounced if the movie watching is intended to be shared among multiple viewers.
So, a portable projector, a portable screen, and a portable Soundbar are needed.
It sounds easy, but it turned out to be another tricky project, just like everything else related to the boat.
The image source is the 12.9" iPad Pro, and the content comes from either streaming services or a memory card, in this case, a 512 GB MicroSD card. This tiny memory card, the size of an anonymous fingernail, can hold about 500 movies, so there's no shortage of content on this boat.
First, I had to choose a location for the screen and measure its size to find a suitable screen for this use. Two natural places were found for a 40-inch 16:9 screen, so I started looking for a screen that would fit this purpose.
Next, I had to find a Soundbar with an internal battery and USB charging, with at least Bluetooth and 3.5mm plugin compatibility.
And finally, but certainly not least, a portable LED projector with an internal battery and USB charging.
It sounds easy, but it turned out to be just as challenging as everything else related to the boat.
So, a portable 40" 16:9 screen was found from a Hämeenlinna-based online store with a two-week delivery time even though the product was in stock :)
A portable Soundbar was found from CDON, and these, along with the screen, were easy and successful purchases.
The projector turned out to be the first real headache. Portable LED projectors are not mainstream products that you can go and touch in stores, even in a city the size of Helsinki. There is practically one here and another there scattered throughout Finland. Unfortunately, all the information available about these devices has gone through the marketing and sales organizations of the sellers and manufacturers before reaching the internet, so instead of accurate specs, there are only vague advertising speeches. In the end, I decided to buy three LED projectors in a row and return each one to find out if the projector had the necessary feature or not. I started a series of disappointments with Philips Pico projectors, and they turned out to be downright useless creations. The image could be somewhat projected wirelessly or with a cable, but there was no sound. Despite the HDMI, it lacked HDCP support, meaning that the encrypted sound of services like Netflix/HBO/Prime would not come out of the device. A complete failure as a product.
The portable LED projector that finally did the job was Viewsonic's M1 Mini Plus. The next problem was the placement of the projector relative to the screen. These projectors have a fixed focal length, which means that they do not have zoom to change the image size within certain limits. The image size is adjusted by placing the projector at the right distance from the screen, so the position of the screen and the projector became fixed. The projector has a strip that acts as a lens protector, allowing the projector to be placed at the right angle on a table. Since the boat rocks and sways, the table is not the best place for the projector. So, I wanted the projector on the ceiling, and for that, a small bracket was needed on the ceiling to which the projector could be attached. Such a bracket adapter was found in a camera store, as well as a ball head to attach the projector at the right angle to the ceiling mount. The next problem was that the M1 Mini Plus projector did not have a bracket to which this camera/flash adapter would fit. So, one had to be drilled and threaded into the strip to which the projector is attached to the ball head.
The internal battery of the M1 Mini Plus projector lasts for just over an hour. So, a little less than a movie :). The projector needed power, so in addition to wireless signaling, an HDMI cable was required so that the projector could watch movies and series that use HDCP encryption. A thin HDMI cable is still relatively easy, but the power supply became roughly a lesson in electrical engineering. The power for the projector is taken from the boat's "fun batteries." The batteries (2 pcs) are 12V and 100Ah. The USB voltage is 5V, so this 12V voltage of the batteries needs to be reduced to 5V. This happens in the boat's electrical panel's cigarette lighter USB adapter. Usually, these ten-euro adapters are 1.2 or 2.4 A in output power. M1 Mini Plus projector's power supply/charging uses a USB C connector. The projector needs 20 A, so a basic 1.2/2.4 A USB adapter is practically useless. I had to buy a really expensive 30 A USB C charger, which was so smart that it refused to give any amps to a device it didn't recognize. Fortunately, Verkkokauppa.com's return process works excellently, and I was able to exchange the charger for another one with a 20 A output from the USB A port. This is enough for the projector, and you can watch the movie to the end without interruption due to the projector's battery charging. You might think there were enough sticks to one thing, but no! The power cable between the USB charger and the device also takes into account how many amps of power flow through it. This is also related to the length of the power cable. In practice, there are no power cables over 3 m long for sufficient power. Fortunately, three meters were just enough for the power cable from the projector to the USB adapter on the electrical panel.
Problem solved? Not quite. The increased power demand drained the two-year-old fun batteries so that they came to the end of their journey. In any case, they were wrong for this use, but at the same time, a completely new renewable power system had to be rebuilt: a wind generator, solar panels, and their hybrid charger. The old wind generator continues its life with the next owner, and the exploration of utilizing the wind continues in the next post as empirical experiences accumulate to be valid and attract attention :) In any case, 100 W solar panels will multiply for next summer, as Bimini's roof will have 3 and 2-4 more 100 W panels on the side panels. Charging was renewed at the same time as replacing the wind generator. We moved from old technology to MPPT technology, which is up to 30% more efficient in charging batteries. In addition, the charger burns excess electricity in a separate resistor, for example, in a storm. This resistor is located in the toilet, so the toilet warms up from the waste heat of wind power in a storm. The charger also has internet connectivity, so you can monitor statistics live online.
Capt. Simma
Dictated but not read.
