A weakness of XM Radio is the reception. Here in Seattle we have terrestrial repeaters so reception is not terrible, however, if your equipment (tuner) is in a basement, like mine, you might have reception troubles which translate to either no audio or drop outs. To combat the problem, I ordered a Terk XM6 outdoor XM antenna. The installation is very simple. I have a near flat roof and all my roof based antennas are in one central location (see picture) so it was extremely easy. All the antenna calls for is a RG-6 cable between your tuner and the roof. When I built my house, I ran six RG-6 cables to the roof for this type of use.


The kit includes a F-Connector to XM antenna connector (SMB) which just screws to the end of your terminated RG-6. Then that just plugs into your antenna jack.

Before this upgrade, I had one to two bars on my XM tuner. Now, it reads full strength and have not experienced any drop outs. If you are experiencing XM reception problems, I highly recommend getting the Terk XM6 outdoor XM antenna.

Mavromatic reader, Michael, recently had all his windows and doors replaced in his house and it was during that process he decided to redesigned his den which required him to replace the blinds in there. That’s where all the fun begins…

Michael writes:
Never shopping for blinds before, I did not know what to expect. Checking out the major retailers I came away unimpressed. The quality of the shades and lack of ‘modern’ designs available left me without an answer. Until, I stumbled across an advertisement in Home Theater Magazine for Lutron’s motorized shades. Checking out the website I fell in love with simplistic design and modern take on a shade (the motorized keypad was also a plus). After ordering samples to match the walls and specs on the system, I knew this was the way to go.

What I got
I ordered 2 motorized QED shades, 1 manual shade (for office), 2 IR receivers, IR remote, 2 power supplies (for motor and keypad), 6 button keypad and white metal fascia (to cover rollers and motor unit) one shade is a standard Lutron QED motorized shade (Roller 100) 67w x 75h. The other is a Sivoia QED in line Coupled shade 105w x 75h (each shade being 33 1/2w x 75h). What’s special about this shade is only one motor is required to power all three shade. They are connected in a pin locking system and move in unison. The keypad is a 6 button layout in a Satin Black finish with OPEN CLOSE PRESET labeled buttons for each shade. This allows me to operate both shades individually or set different Presets.

The remote along with the IR plug ins allows me remote access (raise/lower) of 25 feet. Sitting on the couch or away from the keypad I can control the shades. The two power supplies are standard AC to DC, I stuck with Lutron units to not violate the warranty.

Install
The install took a full week with 2hrs a day on and off. I had to move furniture as well (not factored in) I had to cut the sheet-rock in 6 places to guide wires I also had to retrofit an electrical outlet with a six port frame (pic A17). The outlet and 2 power supplies are hidden behind the couch. Seven 16-20 AWG wires are needed to power the units and connect to the keypad (for each shade). I used 16 gauge solid core, you can use CAT 5, but your run length is limited. To level the brackets for the QED roller shades I used a laser level. This allowed me to get an accurate mounting point on a long length.

Note on install - I recommend anyone trying an install to plan ahead. Have a detail plan of where you’re going to put the power supply, run the wires and keypad type/location that best suits your need. I laid out my shades complete on the floor (brackets and all) and re-measured the given dimensions. This gave me a more accurate length to plot my brackets and a ‘snugger’ fit for my shades. Also you must have some electrical knowledge, be able to cut / repair large pieces of sheetrock and ability to run wire in tight places (running wire on exterior walls is a pain in the butt) I recommend a wire snake, right angle drill, drywall saw, laser level, wire strippers, and multiple screwdrivers.

Conclusion
The shades came out great and really are an eye catcher (especially in action) The shade color is Cream 311. The type is Translucent II, which allows some light in but not enough to shine on the TV or see from outside looking in. The motor units are also top notch, run very quiet, and move the shades up and down with ease. I am so happy with the outcome that I am thinking of doing my other rooms.

A+ on LUTRON SHADES

Total cost: $3250 (includes shipping and tax)

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Michaels next project is a water feature for the pool. Four jets will stream into his pool, control will be remote (RF all the way) with an electronic actuator for on/off. I’m looking forward for that write up!

I have made huge progress on my filmscreen masking controller. The PIC code, complete with independent controls/sensors for the top and bottom masking is done. The system has been working accurately for a few days now, but I still need to be 100% sure it's perfect, so a little more testing is required before I finalize on the PC design. The current board design allows for 4 presets, 1.78:1, 1.85:1 (which is very close to 1.78:1) and 2.35.1. My screen masking goes up to 2.60, but I have yet to find a movie that sports that aspect.

Next steps are getting final boards made which will enable control via ethernet, RF as well as adding curtain control so the masking control can happen before the curtains open (or vice-versa) or controlled independently. If you are interested in my masking controller feel free to contact me.

Here are a few more photos of the prototype board for your viewing pleasure:

Yikes, I just realized it is almost two years since I first blogged about my retractable roof! It has taken me that long to complete all the other areas of the house... I have the sickness know as Perfectionism :). Most people would do everything at once, but I didn't... I wanted to be able to focus on this one room, by itself, which is one of the primary reasons I built the house... The Theatre. I'm a few short weeks from total completion (carpets, mounting the screen and projector) but it's all now starting to come together.

Fun Facts

• Over 11,000 feet of fiber optics will have been used
• There are over 350 constellation stars using .75mm fiber
• There are over 600 milky way stars using .50mm fiber
• The virtual sky is 10'x12'
• 36 .75mm fibers make up one shooting star and travels over 12'
• It took over 40 hours to pull & thread all the stars (to the 1/4" MDF panel and to the light unit matrix)
• It is a September sky (my birth month)

Construction
If you are thinking about installing a fiber optic sky ceiling you really need to plan for it, otherwise, you will have a difficult time making it look good. During construction I placed 4" conduit from where the light unit would be mounted to the front of the ceiling. You want the light unit to be as close as possible to minimize fiber length (for cost). The custom fiber optic illuminators from FOSI use a 39w PAR 30 Metal Halide bulb and a very quiet effects motor, so placing it behind the stage was possible. Some less expensive illuminators use Halogen bulbs which heat up, requiring loud fans.

Because I don't have access above the ceiling I decided to use three 4'x10' 1/4" MDF panels (special order). We first fitted the panels and then I painted them using BEHR Midnight Sky (available from Home Depot). Two coats, with the final after the ceiling was installed. With the two coats applied and dried, I then laid out the panels on the floor, as they would be mounted to the ceiling and rolled out the September sky template that was provided as part of the kit from FOSI. I first drilled the milky way stars using the drill bit FOSI provided. I drilled on the finish side so I wouldn't have any bumps or chads... I wanted a clean hole. After I drilled the milky way I lifted the panels and on the back side, using my finger tips (as one would to read braille) I found the holes and marked them with a blue sharpie pen. I repeated the process for the constellations, but this time with red ink, and the shooting stars in black. This step allows you know which hole is which when threading from the back side (non-painted). The whole process took about 3 days.

Installation
After all the hole are drilled and marked, I then began pulling the fibers from the illuminator to the holes on the panel. I counted how many constellations in a 4'x4' square and bundled that much of the .75mm together. Since the .75mm fiber is single stands I had to make my own bundle. The .50mm fiber is in a PVC jacket bundle containing 32 fibers. I prefer single strands because you can control the waste better. I had a friend come by a couple days and help thread the holes. I miss calculated how much fiber I needed so while I waited for more fiber to arrive, I would make up for lost time threading the fibers to the illuminator matrix panel.


In the above photo you can see the back panel fully installed. If you look closely, you can see a wooden strip running through the ceiling at every 4'. Those are 1/4"x1 1/2" spacers which drop the ceiling 1/4" so the fibers won't get bent when the panels are attached to the ceiling. The strips also act as a place for the nails to attach.

The End Result
Well, I'm not quite there yet... I ran out of fiber again. Another 1500' should be arriving on Monday. The second panel was installed last night and it looks great, the two tie in nicely. I highly recommend a "true" night sky ceiling for any home theater. Because it is a true night sky, with proper star characteristics, it doesn't look gaudy or goofy. It actually really makes the room... plus, if the movie sucks, you can just look up and gaze at the twinkling constellations and dimmed back milky way... just waiting to catch that shooting star.

UPDATES:

6/5/2006 -- I have uploaded a couple more photos. One is of the custom FOSI illuminator and the other is a close up of the fibers. The fibers protrude about 1/4". They can be pushed in further but I haven't since I still might need to touchup the paint a bit.


Closeup shot of the protruding fibers -- they are not noticeable with the amount of normal light in the theatre. The only way I have been able to see them is with a 500watt halogen work light or a 48" four light fluorescent shooting light up and then you see them because of the fiber shadows. When the fibers are lit, you only see the point.


The FOSI custom illuminator -- this unit houses a 39w Metal Halide lamp with Effects Wheel. The different zones control the twinkling constellation stars, the shooting star and ND filtered Milkyway. The unit runs cool and is very quiet.

6/7/2006 -- Here is a photo of the finished ceiling. I will try to get some video of the shooting star posted soon. The room is too dark for my digital camera movie capture to pick up, so I need to get out my camcorder that has more settings. You can kind of see where the shooting star is... look at the diagonal line in the lower left of the photo. Since this was a long exposure photo, it picked up the shooting star... a video will actually show the effect.