I ordered a Lift-Tech model with a self-concealing top. It looks very cool.

Unfortunately, I'm in Canada, and the stupid trucking company and customs brokers are chasing each others tails at the moment and I haven't been able to get the damn thing in my store for some "play" time. Its in a bonded warehouse 30 mins from my store.... lol.... but its been there for a week...

Think I finally got some progress today, but spent a couple of hours on the phone trying to coordinate other people's jobs.... rediculous.
Hope to see it soon, and I'll report in once its installed.

Daniel Gilstrap builds custom pneumatic lifts, they are raised and lowered by air..compressor is mounted away from the area...in mech room, garage...ect and are quiet. They are a bit more but if no noise is what you want this is the way to go
http://www.dghpts.com/ email daniel and get more info

we had him spec one for us to go between 2 floors and hide in a wall on the lower floor...was around 14k...it was concealled in a wall on the lower floor, then lowered a few feet to be used in the billiards room then raised to the upper floor in the living room...the living room had just a small slot in the floorand plasma was to raise to a top height of 50". would have been way cool but homeowners decided to go with a drop down screen in each area instead

Hey all. I spoke with Jesse from electro kinetics today. Really nice guy. By the time I got back to my office this afternoon, he had already emailed me a detailed drawing.
Question though? Jesse sent me this note:TYPICAL CONTROLS FOR THIS TYPE OF MECHANISM ARE:Dry Closure Maintained ( 24 volts AC provided by our control box )
opens mechanism;Mechanism closes when closure is removed.
Again, this is my first lift. To utilize the Universal MX-350 to control the up and down, what else will I need? I'm trying to finish my quote for the customer... Thanks again guys...

Xantech make some dry contacts that I have use before and they work flawlessly.

Thanks Yeti. I'll check it out.

Hello My Name is Jack. I knew a very silent motorized brand of Plasma & Lcd TV Lifts. They are made in Germany and the Brand is called Flatlift. U can see their lifts at http://www.flatlift.com They have all kind of sizes up to 85 inch and bigger, including remote control. They use a kind of lineardrives especially made for them. The quality of their lifts is outstanding. All is made of aluminium. Plug and Play. For ceiling flip down and cabinett pop up (with swivvel 360 degrees) and more. The Tv´s are protected against dust when mounted in the ceiling and the TV will shut down when the lift is in closed position. I think this is a good alternative cause the quality i knew from germany is very good. See their cars.....

This message was edited by Liftprofi on 11/13/05 05:10 ET.

Grammar quality is good from Germany I know because self is referenced third person and endorsed by me.

Double Ditto on Eric from Electro-Kinetics. I called them for help on a job I inherited with a 10 year old lift (lifting a tryptych out of the way of a large rear projection screen). They were able to go into their archives and retrieve photos of the exact custom built unit, and sent me a replacement part with no hassle.

Update. Electrokinetics called, the lift is ready. That was quick. I just found out today that the cabinet maker has never built a cabinet for a lift. Jesse emailed me the specs, and I fowarded them to the cab maker.
I have also never been involved in a lift, so here goes a stupid question. I have searched hi and low online for some pics/info, but found nothing.
I understand the layout of the lift itself, what is the cabinet maker going to need to do?
Is it a finished wood frame that is bolted to the lift? Does the cab maker put a back on it for mounting the plasma?
As I stated, I have looked at tons of pics of finished lifts, but cannot tell how the plasma is mounted.
If anyone has any pics, like start to finish plasma lift projects, I would love to see them. If you want, you can email them too me.
[email protected]
Thanks in advance, Bobby...

Electrokinetics is the best for the custom stuff. The lifts I have installed are all powder coated steel frames with exposed gears,wires,etc.

It is usually up to the client, the interior designer and the cabinet guy to work out what it looks like(notice how I left the av guy out ;).

Can you send the lift to the cabinet shop before it goes into the clients home? That way all the bugs get worked out before you have Mr. client looking over your shoulder. Here is a website I found that may give you some ideas....[Link: cabinet-tronix.com]

Oh, and all the electrokinetics stuff I have used is contact closure, just short the two terminals together. Xantech makes an IR to relay box that would automate this.

I have installed a pop-up Liftsystem from www.flatlift.com , they have a easy to handle solution to mount the TV at the lift. Flatlift has a linear pop-up system which is mounted into the cabinett all in one, inclusive TV! They give you exact information about standart measurements so the cabinett guy can work just in time without any problems. They have also a system called SecuritySense, which watches while moving up and down, so ya didnt get jammed. Website is german but they speak US mouth! ;-)

You can give these guys a look, we have used them over the years and really have had no problems!

[Link: displaydevices.com]

So which companies make a flip down for a 50"?

LCD only, or can I do this with a plasma? Does "this side up" on the plasma box mean what it says?

Thanks guys. I still don't understand how the t.v. is attatched to the lift?
Also, how does the cabinet maker attach the top piece of trim to the plasma?
Thanks..

"This side up" is only for shipping and handling. I spoke to several Plasma Brands including Loewe Opta and Panasonic. They told me if you have a controlled linear movement, nothing will happen to the panel. The problem they had when shipping plasmas from China was that the plasmas had torns on the panels. This is the main reason why "Handle with care" and "This side up". It´s for insurance....cause they won´t pay for mistakes of others...

Flip down lift for 50" you can find at www.flatlift.com

Top piece you can attach at the plasma mount with a metall angle that is long enough to fix at the main TV / lift mount. So you have that Top piece done. For TV mounting you must tell me what kind of lift Brand you have! U can Email me the specs and I will see how i could help!