Selecting, checking and replacing a projector lamp

Projectors - essential part of our life. Retro lovers watch them filmstrips and amateur cinema. More recently, video projectors have become widespread. Various official events, entertainment shows, home theaters cannot do without them. This technique needs timely maintenance. Replacing a projector lamp is a serious technical procedure. This article will help projector owners do it themselves.

The lamp is the most important element in a projector. It creates a beam, a luminous flux, with the help of which the image is projected onto the screen with a significant increase. In old film and slide projectors, incandescent lamps were used, as a rule. Some of them were capable of producing a very bright beam. But this technique is now falling into the field of antiques, although lamps for it can still be found on amateur sites. Replacing a movie projector lamp is not particularly difficult as long as you follow the most general precautions. Access to it in such a technique is usually simple, fastenings are elementary (this is a cartridge or a socket).

Lamps for video projectors are another matter. They are gas discharge, high power. A lamp with associated equipment is a rather complex unit, or lamp module. This unit is usually suitable for a strictly defined series of projectors from the same manufacturer. There is no unification here.

The lamp life for a projector is measured in hours of operation. Lamp resource for a conventional projector (office or home) averages 3000 hours. It usually lasts for several years. Lamp resource for multimedia projector, which has to work for a much longer time in extremely difficult conditions - from 4000 hours. It all depends on the intensity of use, on the frequency of switching on and off, on the ventilation of the room.

If the lamp does not light up, you should make sure that the reason is precisely in it. This will be indicated indicator light on the projector body and an indicator of the residual resource in the settings. In addition, a lamp that has exhausted its resource will "declare" this by a noticeable weakening of the light beam, darkening the image.

Lamps for projectors must be purchased in strict accordance with the instructions for the device... There, as a rule, the part catalog number (or article number) is indicated. Old cinema and overhead projectors allow for some variation in the power and light characteristics of the lamps. Video projectors do not allow such liberties: exceeding or decreasing the parameters prescribed by the instructions can lead to serious damage to the apparatus or even fire.

If the manual does not indicate the article, then you can remove the lamp module from the projector cabinet. It is necessarily indicated on it. Many projector owners order parts from various sites. There is often a connection with sellers, from whom you can get the necessary advice on applicability and interchangeability. It should be remembered that a lamp module for a video projector is a rather expensive unit - it costs from 6,000 rubles and more. And frivolity in this matter is unacceptable.

The debatable question is about the manufacturer.Should I buy the original or not? It is believed that the original part "will not let you down", will work well and will last a long time. This opinion is somewhat outdated at the present time. The original brand is usually nothing more than packaging. The part is most often made in China by no means the most famous manufacturer, but sometimes it costs several times more than the "non-original". So, buying a lamp for a projector, in a sense, you have to act at risk. The main thing is that the store provides a guarantee. but you should not be seduced by too low prices: such lamps are often very short and will soon have to be spent again.

Potential buyer lamps for a video projector, it should be borne in mind that it is impossible to check its performance in a store in the same way as household lighting lamps are checked. The lamp module will only work when installed in the projector.

Some stores have semi-disassembled projectors for this, with the help of which sellers check purchased lamps for a fee. But this is not always possible: the variety of brands of projectors is great, they are all of different designs, and this procedure itself is questionable from a technological point of view. Besides, most buyers purchase such equipment through online stores. Therefore, the main emphasis should be placed on the external examination of the goods and the conditions of purchase.

1. Package... It must be whole, original, sealed. Inside the box there must be additional packaging that protects the product from impacts and direct contact with air.

2. On the body of the new lamp unit there should be no damage.

3. On the package there must be marking, article and (or) catalog number products. It must match the part number of the lamp being replaced.

4. On the bulb and lens of the lamp there should be no dust, grease stains, scratches.

5. Shop guarantee and conditions for the return of defects.

Only after making sure of all this, you can start replacing the lamp.

To begin with, we note that the manufacturers of projectors and parts for them assume that lamp replacement should be done in specialized services. But this, firstly, costs money, and secondly, these services cannot be found everywhere. That's why many projector owners change lamps themselves. This procedure is simple, you just have to keep in mind that if the lamp is installed outside the service, the store may refuse the warranty.

Change the lamp unit in the projector in strict accordance with the instructions for the device and observing the safety precautions. Before starting work, make sure that:

• the projector is disconnected from the mains;

• the lamp has completely cooled down.

Further actions will require screwdriver, suitable in size and configuration. One screwdriver is usually enough: the screws can be of different lengths, but the slotted part of them is the same. To remove dust, you will need a special napkin or a can of compressed air. To "bait" the screws, just in case, stock up tweezersto exclude possible contact of fingers with the optics. If you still have to touch the bulb and the lens of the lamp, it is better to do this in gloves. Oily finger stains are very harmful to the lamp.

In a generalized form, the process of replacing a lamp module is as follows:

• remove the lamp compartment cover by unscrewing the screws securing it;

• remove the thermal insulating gasket (if any);

• remove the protective metal screen;

• we unscrew the screws securing the lamp unit and remove it from the projector by disconnecting the inlet connector (if provided);

• remove dust and dirt from the lamp compartment;

• we install a new lamp module and assemble in the reverse order.

Some projectors provide for replacement of the lamp itself, a “bare bulb” without a lamp unit. This is a cheaper, but also more time consuming option. The procedure is the same, only you have to remove the lamp from the module. It is usually secured with a few small screws. They will need to be unscrewed, disconnected the contacts (it is advisable to mark their location), remove the lamp and replace with a new one. In this case, it is important not to touch the bulb and the lens with your fingers, work with textile gloves and have wipes on hand.

After completing the work, turn on the projector and check the operation of the new lamp. Do not forget to reset the resource hour counter.

As you can see, there is nothing feasible in replacing the lamp in the projector. It all depends on the accuracy and care. If you act calmly, confidently, in strict accordance with the instructions and with the observance of precautions, the process will be successful and bring the desired result. If there is no confidence in your own hands and memory, there is no "technical streak" and after repair there are often "extra" parts left, then you need to contact a special service.

In the following video, you will learn how to replace the lamp in a projector.