[vcf-midatlantic] Ideas on replacing a backlighting on a laptop

[Jameel Akari]

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