Big Blue Sky: July 2008

Everyone has their own way to relax, be creative and do the things they enjoy the most. One of my favorite this to do is to build things. So this week while I was at my parents house I decided to build something for our tailgate. I got to use all kinds of power tools which is cool and I did it all on the cheap. All materials for the screen were under $40. Just some wood and fabric. And I think the overall product came out very well. We're basically upgrading from a 27" CRT TV to a 70" flat screen display.
Everything is portable. Everything is easy. And hopefully once we get the routine down game day set up will be a breeze.

Here's what I did:

1. Make the frame

2. Add the fabric/screen. I used Black Out drape lining. It works like a dream. Blocks light and produces a crisp image.

3. Adding a black frame border on the front

4. Final measurements...

5. Now hanging it in the tent. Hanging the screen is easy. But I really wanted to utilize the dead space in the tent by hanging the projector above instead of sitting it on a table. When the projector is on the table you lose too much floor space. but by hanging it above you gain all the floor space back and you help with the cord management issues as well.

6. Hanging the projector.

I'm not really happy with the bungee cord set up. It is functional and it does work. But I'm sure between all of us we can come up with a better solution. The bungees are functional and it is nice to be able to move the projector at will. I just don't think it looks good and if the tent gets knocked then it moves and shakes as well.