HID Hut is a source favored by hydroponic gardeners because we offer superior quality indoor gardening supplies at the best prices. We also have available a full range of electronic products, including grow lights and grow bulbs, many of which operate with an electronic ballast. Grow lights and ballasts can be used for other purposes besides indoor gardening, however. Home theatre do-it-yourself enthusiasts also come to Hid Hut for our selection of electronic equipment that works equally well for constructing your own high-definition projector. Imagine playing your favorite computer games or watching action movies on a huge screen, in the comfort of your own home. You could also watch big-screen movies outdoors with this type of set-up. Although commercial projectors are still rather expensive, you can build your own simple version for a couple hundred dollars. Hid Hut offers light bulbs, ballasts, and bases that work well in this type of unique application.

The way it works is to place a very bright light behind a LCD that is sandwiched between two Fresnel lenses, and in front of this is a projector lens. An LCD, or liquid crystal display, can be found in televisions and computer monitors. The rear Fresnel helps maximize the light's output going into the LCD, and the front Fresnel helps focus the light on the lens. To increase the brightness even more, a reflector is placed behind the lamp. All of these electronics are placed in an enclosure, and a fan is used within it to keep the electronic parts from overheating. Cables are used to connect the projector to your computer.

Choosing the right grow bulb that will meet your specific need is a major component in this project. Grow bulbs are designed to meet rigid specifications for lighting and integrate well with this project. Many have had success using metal halide bulbs. This type of grow light is one of several options offered at Hid Hut. Metal halide lamps offer several benefits for your home projector. They offer a high color rendering index: the colors will be a true representation from the source. It also offers perfect color temperature, referring to the color of light the lamp produces. Light is placed within a spectrum, with red at one end and blue at the other. Color temperature is measured in the Kelvin scale: candlelight registers at 1850 K while daylight measures 5000 K. A good lamp for this project is a 400 watt metal halide bulb with 6500 K, which Hid Hut offers. In general use these efficient grow lamps last a long time, up to 20 times longer than the bulbs used in typical commercial projectors, and these grow lights are also much less costly to replace.

You will also need an electronic ballast for your metal halide lamp. The ballast helps control the electrical current flowing through the grow bulb, and the type of ballast you need depends on the specific grow lamp you are using for this alternative appplication. Electronic ballasts supply very regulated electrical current to the lamp, which helps lengthen your bulb's life. They also run much cooler than early-model ballasts. Your lamp will sit in a Mogul base socket, an inexpensive component that Hid Hut has available.

With a full range of metal halide lamps, electronic ballasts and other hydroponic systems, Hid Hut not only provides indoor gardening solutions such as electronics, but also offers the home theatre enthusiast with lights as well.

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