Simple Fresnel Lens Enhances 3D Gaming Experience

This is how I managed to upgrade my 17" monitor to a 30" monitor for under $10.00! (This can be applied to any size monitor.)

"Your fresnel lens screen enlarger took some serious heat on /. but I decided to give it a shot anyway. FANTASTIC!!! I spent a grand total of $8.09 to take my 15" monitor up to a 28" (est.) monitor with the added benefit of 3-D effects. My image quality did not suffer either. So much for the naysayers." — Walt Schroeder, via the internet

(Try this with A.I. Wars (The Insect Mind) in 3D Mode!)

Materials

About Fresnel Lenses

A Fresnel Lens has the same properties as a normal lens. Fresnel (pronounced fre'nel) comes from its inventor — French physicist Augustine Fresnel (1788–1827). Fresnel lenses got their start in lighthouses in 1822 and are found today in truck rear windows, traffic signals, car headlights, and overhead projectors.

A Fresnel lens is a flat lens that obtains the magnification properties of a regular lens using stepped geometry — many rings originating from its center, each with a slightly different surface angle. The overall effect is a flat, cheap, lightweight lens.

How to Build It

Materials: cardboard, Fresnel lens, black paint, cutting blade, tape or glue.

1. Get about one square yard of cardboard.
2. Get a Fresnel lens — look for "Full Page Magnifier" at a bookstore.
3. Use cardboard to cut and fold a box that will surround your monitor.
4. Paint the box flat black to reduce glare from the screen and surrounding light.
5. Mount the Fresnel lens inside the box using cardboard corner mounts or tape — the mounting method depends on your lens (floppy lenses can use tape; thick/heavy lenses need sturdier cardboard mounts).
6. Mount the Fresnel Lens Box on the front of your monitor so the lens is about 6 inches in front of your screen. Position it so you can look through the lens and see your entire screen.

Note: For best results, turn off the lights to reduce external glare reflecting off the lens. Cut an opening in the bottom of the box to let monitor light illuminate your keyboard if needed.

Results

To see your entire screen, place your face close to the Fresnel lens and peer at your monitor — it will appear very large, with the illusion of looking through your screen into 3D space, with your eyes focusing about 5 feet in front of you.

Assembly diagrams:

WARNING: Some users report dizziness and headache — use at your own risk. If normal 3D games make you sick, this will too.

WARNING: Once you start using this you will never be able to go back to your boring 2D flat monitor again!