Simulator Build Plans (All Advice Welcome and Appreciated)

[MitchI]

Hopefully we'll be breaking ground on a house addition in the next couple months. Part of that will be an 18' x 26' basement with 10' ceilings that I am planning to turn into the ultimate man cave and golf simulator room. I've been doing a lot of lurking around here to research and have decided on the following:

Launch monitor: Uneekor EYE XO
Projector: Optoma GT1090HDR
Impact Screen: 9.5' x 17' from Carl's Place
Software: TGC
Hitting mat: Fiberbuilt Player Preferred

A major concern I have that I'm hoping I can get some guidance on is the projector. I really want to fill the room with the screen which is why I've picked that size but doing some reading on the projector it seems like it may require to be 18 inches above the top of the screen? That would obviously not work with the ceiling height I have so looking for some assistance there.

I've attached a picture of my planned layout. Hoping to update this post as the work goes along!

[adilgolf]

My sim layout was more or less the same as yours and i initially was using the optoma 1090 as well.
(https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...imulator-build)

The projector will be sitting behind the eyexo, so you have to lower it to avoid having the eyexo project a shadow on your screen..

As you said, the projector is meant to be sitting higher than the top of the screen, but you can compensate for the lower mounting position by tilting your projector upward, then you can fix the image using keystone...

That worked quite well for me, though i have since then switched to an epson L1490 projector which has nicer colors and doesn't cause any flicker with the swingoptix cameras....

Note also that my projector ended up about 3-4 feet behind where it was supposed to be mounted according to projectorcentral calculations, so you may want to try it on the floor first to ascertain the distance from the screen before installing your ceiling mount...

[MitchI]

Thank you so much this was really helpful! My plan was to run the electrical and HDMI cable right to the 8.5 foot mark and close up the ceiling so it sounds like this advice will prevent a very bad mistake potentially.

[adilgolf]

I don't know if my 1090HDR had a faulty lens, but yes, the projector was definitely over 3-4 feet further from the screen. I assume keystone affects the distance to some extent, but it shouldn't have been that much. As a result, the projector ended up behind the hitting mat, and not ahead of the golfer as i expected (your drawing shows the same as my initial plans, with projector ahead of the tee), but despite that, my head/shoulders don't get in the way of the image and there are no shadows...

Picture was fantastic even with the keystone and lower mounting position, there are some photos on my original thread showing the projected image.

Only reason i switched to Epson was to get rid of the flicker with the hi-speed cameras, Epson colors are also much more vibrant as compared to the Optoma but both are great projectors.

Good luck with your build.
Cheers

[dawms]

I am more concerned about the 10' ceiling height. I am 6'2" and with a 48" driver I decided I could not make it all work with a 10' ceiling. I moved to my attic, insulated and heated it, and was successful with taller ceilings. I spent more time on selecting the location, and choosing a specific lens, of the projector than any other part of the design. Happy now, but went a bit high-end on the projector with EPSON 7500 (simulated 4k) so that I had real horiz and vert lens adjustments.

[adilgolf]

10' works well for most people, assuming the 10' is after all flooring material is installed.

The Epson is a better projector, but it is on a different level cost wise, my ELPLU04 lens alone cost over $2,000, the projector is also much bigger and much heavier, so you need a strong ceiling structure to support it. The Epson ceiling mount alone (without the projector) is heavier than the Optoma with its mount...

The Epson positioning is very flexible due the variety of lenses available and the lens shift feature; you can zoom in / zoom out, move the image up/down or left/right without losing much picture quality.
Fully agree that the higher lumens, the motorised lens shift, auto focus, lens memory and all the other bells and whistles make it a joy to use even in broad daylight, but it is a significant investment ($5-15k)

My only grief with the optoma was the flickering video from the swingoptix camera (DLP technology) and the colours were a bit dull when watching movies, but for use as a golf simulator in a dark enough room, the image was more than adequate and picture/colours were very decent considering the price point...

If your budget allows for a LCD projector, then go for it, the colours are nicer and you won't have any flicker if you record your swings with a high speed camera, otherwise, the Optoma 1090 is excellent value for what you get...

[MitchI]

That thing is a beast! I have the swing optix cameras on my list to eventually invest in down the road so once I do I may get fed up with the flickering. Hopefully at that point I'll be past the pain of the initial build costs and can splurge on a projector like this.

[adilgolf]

I emailed you photos of the beast side by side with an optoma , huge difference in size and weight

[ChrisLinks]

Are you connecting to an existing basement? I ask because looking at a very similar dimensioned addition and want to add a basement that will need to connect to the existing house. Scared to even start bidding this out with lumber prices but thinking the basement dig and wall pour won’t be cheap either.

[MitchI]

We are connecting to the existing basement. For the living room and the basement all in it will be about $125-$130K here in CT. The wife wanted the living room addition and the basement wasn't much extra than a concrete pad given the topography of my land. I'm going to be finishing the basement area myself. For that I have about another $9K budgeted for all of the framing, drywall, sub flooring/flooring, wiring, lighting, etc.

[Brettster]

ChrisLinks - I’ve decided on placing my Sim in a 12’x16’ shed. I had the basement dig quoted at $14,500 for a similar space. The shed was bare structure, no walls, garage door to remove etc., but way less! I’ve done all work myself and probably have $3k-$4k in lumber and insulation materials so far…

[ChrisLinks]

That’s good to know on the basement dig cost. My addition will be bigger than 12x16 but good reference info to compare.

[rangemaster]

I have the eye xo and the gt1080hdr. Hitting zone is about 8.5’ from the screen. The eye xo is mounted on a 9’4” tall ceiling, around 3’ in front of the hitting area (the installation specs say 3.5’ but that is not accurate in my experience, which was frustrating because I planned all my cables perfectly for that placement). The projector is mounted about 3’ behind the eye xo, about 4-5” below the ceiling using a custom adjustable mount I built. I worried so much about the eye xo getting in the way of the projector image but it’s not even close. The projector beam seems like it shoots straight down and clears the xo by a mile. I’m not sure how your 9.5” tall screen is going to work out. You can’t get the projector mounted high enough to get to that height. Digital adjustments will help but it might be tough. My screen is about 8’ tall and the image doesn’t reach the top part of it by about 3”. My ceiling is a bit lower but not that much. Anyway, check out my build post where you might find useful info since we have very similar setups. And I’m happy to help with any questions.

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/355705-just-finished-my-garage-build

[adilgolf]

I’m not sure how your 9.5” tall screen is going to work out. You can’t get the projector mounted high enough to get to that height. Digital adjustments will help but it might be tough. My screen is about 8’ tall and the image doesn’t reach the top part of it by about 3”. My ceiling is a bit lower but not that much.
https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...y-garage-build

I looked at your build post, very nicely done, especially all the ground work to raise the ceiling, level the floor...

your projector is at 9' height, your eyexo is about the same, but the top of your screen is 1' below, which is why the eyexo doesn't cast a shadow on your image, or barely does on the top 3"...

For the OP to get the image to fill his screen, his projector will need to be lower than the eyexo and tilted upward.
It's just a matter of drawing a straight line from the (bottom of the) lens to the top part of the screen and see if the eyexo doesnt get in the way of that line.
One could use a laser pointer for this purpose ?

Based on what you described, your projector is exactly above your hitting zone, that is a very safe spot and the risk of hitting the projector with a club or a ball is close to none even if the projector is lowered further down.

[rangemaster]

Ya, personally I'd go with the screen size that doesn't require a bunch of tilting and keystoning and whatnot but I can definitely see the appeal of the entire wall being covered by the screen. . A 17' wide screen is humungous. 15' looks like it would work without tilting the projector or worrying about the xo getting in the way of the image. The best bet might be to buy the screen after you've determined what works for the projector. I was very surprised at the fact that my projector needed to be mounted pretty significantly differently than what the optoma site said, and same with the XO. A lot of my planning went to crap once I actually had everything in hand.

[MitchI]

Construction of the addition is almost finished! Should be able to start building out the basement in about 3 weeks or so.

[Brownie]

I suggest considering using little pub tables instead of longer bar tables. If gives me latitude to position them depending on how many players I have. It will allow quick access to the hitting area. You will find that movement to the player's clubs and hitting area is fundamental in moving a round of golf along.

[Brettster]

Wow, that's a huge space Brownie , looks great! What are the dimensions? If I could dream about a space that big, it would be immense! Good job. How big is that TV hanging directly opposite hitting area?

[MitchI]

Your sim room looks awesome and appreciate your advice! The plan is to have the bar tops on caster wheels and be interlockable to give me the flexibility to move the room around as I seen fit.

[MitchI]

Was able to have a very productive Holiday week, hoping to be hitting balls by January 15th!

[Brettster]

Awesome MitchI - are you doing all that work yourself? Back-breaking...