Ideas on replacing a backlighting on a laptop
Okay I have a T1000SE which now boots on it's original NiCad battery (it's roughly 32 years old). I found out I needed to throw a switch on the battery so the red dot is visible (on the side facing the PC and in the middle of the lever assembly). The fact that it charged the battery and now boots astonished me. The one issue I have is I can barely read the screen. The contrast works and it goes from light to dark screen but the letters are really difficult to read. The second dial does nothing and I'm pretty sure that's the brightness. Has anyone attempted this before? Any hints? Thanks -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies
I'd start by looking at the inverter board. From pictures online, it looks like that laptop uses an blue electroluminescent sheet for the backlight, not a ccfl like more modern laptops. -J On Sat, Jun 2, 2018 at 2:30 PM, Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Okay I have a T1000SE which now boots on it's original NiCad battery (it's roughly 32 years old). I found out I needed to throw a switch on the battery so the red dot is visible (on the side facing the PC and in the middle of the lever assembly). The fact that it charged the battery and now boots astonished me.
The one issue I have is I can barely read the screen. The contrast works and it goes from light to dark screen but the letters are really difficult to read. The second dial does nothing and I'm pretty sure that's the brightness.
Has anyone attempted this before? Any hints?
Thanks
-- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies
-- Jason Perkins 313 355 0085
I have found that repeated use of these old LCD's can occasionally improve performance. In the mean time there may be an external monitor port, I'd have to check mine/similar era unit b On Mon, Jun 4, 2018 at 8:05 AM, Jason Perkins via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I'd start by looking at the inverter board. From pictures online, it looks like that laptop uses an blue electroluminescent sheet for the backlight, not a ccfl like more modern laptops.
-J
On Sat, Jun 2, 2018 at 2:30 PM, Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
Okay I have a T1000SE which now boots on it's original NiCad battery (it's roughly 32 years old). I found out I needed to throw a switch on the battery so the red dot is visible (on the side facing the PC and in the middle of the lever assembly). The fact that it charged the battery and now boots astonished me.
The one issue I have is I can barely read the screen. The contrast works and it goes from light to dark screen but the letters are really difficult to read. The second dial does nothing and I'm pretty sure that's the brightness.
Has anyone attempted this before? Any hints?
Thanks
-- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies
-- Jason Perkins 313 355 0085
On 06/04/2018 09:07 AM, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I have found that repeated use of these old LCD's can occasionally improve performance. In the mean time there may be an external monitor port, I'd have to check mine/similar era unit b
I'll keep trying to use it and see what if it improves. This model doesn't have an external monitor port. :( -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies
On 06/04/2018 09:07 AM, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I have found that repeated use of these old LCD's can occasionally improve performance. In the mean time there may be an external monitor port, I'd have to check mine/similar era unit b
Dang, forgot my manners. ... Thanks -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies
On 06/04/2018 08:05 AM, Jason Perkins wrote:
I'd start by looking at the inverter board. From pictures online, it looks like that laptop uses an blue electroluminescent sheet for the backlight, not a ccfl like more modern laptops.
What pictures have you seen? I've started searching but not come across that yet. I have seen warnings of aged caps that need to be replaced so I will visit that issue and also look at the inverter board. Thanks -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies
I'd start by looking at the inverter board. From pictures online, it looks like that laptop uses an blue electroluminescent sheet for the backlight, not a ccfl like more modern laptops. -J
EL backlighting has a fairly short halflife I believe. Maybe it's possible to get a new sheet of it. Converting it over to use modern LED backlighting systems might be another trick, but I don't know if modern laptops run LED PWD in time to the screen refresh, or if there is room where the EL sheet was. - Ethan O'Toole
On 2018-06-04 09:44, Ethan O'Toole via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I'd start by looking at the inverter board. From pictures online, it looks like that laptop uses an blue electroluminescent sheet for the backlight, not a ccfl like more modern laptops. -J
EL backlighting has a fairly short halflife I believe.
Maybe it's possible to get a new sheet of it.
http://glowhut.com/el-panel/ implies "yes." It hadn't occurred to me that laptop screens could be EL-lit, I've only see it on small alphanumeric LCDs. Still requires a functioning inverter, which I'd guess is the real problem here. Bad caps, probably. (Keenly aware of this after my Thinkpad 600E's backlight inverter gave it up two days before VCF East!) -- Jameel Akari
On 06/04/2018 01:59 PM, jakari via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 2018-06-04 09:44, Ethan O'Toole via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I'd start by looking at the inverter board. From pictures online, it looks like that laptop uses an blue electroluminescent sheet for the backlight, not a ccfl like more modern laptops. -J
EL backlighting has a fairly short halflife I believe.
Maybe it's possible to get a new sheet of it.
http://glowhut.com/el-panel/ implies "yes." It hadn't occurred to me that laptop screens could be EL-lit, I've only see it on small alphanumeric LCDs.
Still requires a functioning inverter, which I'd guess is the real problem here. Bad caps, probably.
(Keenly aware of this after my Thinkpad 600E's backlight inverter gave it up two days before VCF East!) I've got one of those (TP) also boots fine the first time, shows for a minute and then poof gone. No screen (unless you shine a very bright light on it). Dead backlight. That's a project for another day.
-- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies
On Mon, 4 Jun 2018, Neil Cherry wrote:
On 06/04/2018 01:59 PM, jakari via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 2018-06-04 09:44, Ethan O'Toole via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I'd start by looking at the inverter board. From pictures online, it looks like that laptop uses an blue electroluminescent sheet for the backlight, not a ccfl like more modern laptops. -J
EL backlighting has a fairly short halflife I believe.
Maybe it's possible to get a new sheet of it.
http: //glowhut.com/el-panel/ implies "yes." It hadn't occurred to me that http: laptop screens could be EL-lit, I've only see it on small alphanumeric LCDs.
Still requires a functioning inverter, which I'd guess is the real problem here. Bad caps, probably.
I forgot to mention that page, and Adafruit.com show some seperate inverters. You may be able to cram in a whole new unit along with a new EL sheet.
(Keenly aware of this after my Thinkpad 600E's backlight inverter gave it up two days before VCF East!)
I've got one of those (TP) also boots fine the first time, shows for a minute and then poof gone. No screen (unless you shine a very bright light on it). Dead backlight. That's a project for another day.
Yeah, that's what I said, and I so just hauled an external monitor. Which honestly made a more usable exhibit. I'll tear into it soon and see about fixing it. At first I thought the brightness pot was flaky, but it's pretty clearly the inverter. Mayyyybe the tube but I doubt it. What I really want to fix is the orange plasma display on my PS/2 P70. Some posts on the VCF forums are encouraging in that regard... -- Jameel Akari
participants (6)
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Bill Degnan -
Ethan O'Toole -
jakari -
Jameel Akari
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Jason Perkins -
Neil Cherry