My Latest Ebay Review

You can see many of the various Media  Projectors here on E Bay  going from as little as 99p upwards, let me tell you they are a good deal if they only want bulbs. However if there is more wrong with them then you need to think about what your buying, if you can get two of the same type you think I can make one out of two, good idea except that if it's a stock fault ( something this model is known for ) then the same fault might be on the other  also  but do not despair here is a simple guide to help you in what you should look for .

Dead units .   Power supplies can be notoriously awkward to fix, not because you can't find out whats wrong with them, but because many manufacturers make it difficult for technicians who are  not registered  agents to mend these units. They do so by making parts that are unmarked and a near impossibility to obtain circuit schematics.  So unless you are a fully qualified engineer steer clear of dead sets, saying that I have had the occasional set that only needed a fuse or a new Bridge rectifier . So you see you can sometimes get lucky but you do need to know your way around a circuit board. If you should need a schematic then suggest http://www.eserviceinfo.com/ their diagrams are free and exstensive.

Blurred or colour patch pictures. This can be caused by several things the most common is the video engine is worn ( This is the three LCD displays mounted around a prism that gives you converging pictures to make  up a complete chroma signal on the screen.) and if this is the case then you may as well bin it or if you can afford it replace the engine. With DLP projectors the most common fault with them is a broken colour disc or colour disc  motor failure. And finally blurring can sometimes be caused by a contaminated lens . Usually they have been left in a damp or cold place and it has allowed the lens to be infected with a type of fungal contamination , that blurs the image this also damages the coating on the lens so mere cleaning will not allways solve the problem .

Then of Course you have the ones that only need a bulb, some lamps cost more than the projector was new?. so take care in the type of projector you bid for check out the lamp price first. It may save you having to take out a SECOND MORTGAGE to buy  a new lamp.
sometimes the lamp is ok but the fault is in the ballast system, these usually require replacement in that case as they can be damaged quite easily.
But there is a way around that, all you need to do is find the Lamp control circuit and fool it in to believing the lamp is alight, then you can remove the ballast ( if free standing type ) and replace with a High Power LED lamp the best projector I have found to do this with is the C1 to C6 range by ASk / Optima and I show the method in my video on You tube  Vortash2  in easy to follow instructions. 

So be careful what you buy  look online to see what other people say about the model for sale and what faults they have had with them,  then
decide for yourself and good luck to you. Rowkesh 43 years Electronics engineering experience .