Hello all! I am starting to get things rolling with my projector. I've finally taken my LCD apart and here is how that goes:
This is the animal. Ok, let's take this baby apart!
Here you can see the arrows point to all the screws you need to remove to get the back off. Careful, the bottom is weighted and hurts if you drop it on your foot.
Once you get the back cover off, you get to do A LOT of unscrewing. You'll have a small zip-loc bag full of screws when you're done. Not shown in the picture, but I believe there are four screws on the sides of the metal frame you have to remove as well.
These are the boards to the buttons on the front (power, menu, etc). You'll need to unscrew these too.
Once you get that panel off, these boards are revealed. The long thin one on the left is to power the backlight (you'll have to unplug the four cables attached to it). The other is the main controller board. The cable with three arrows pointing to it has to be unplugged (gently!).
With all the housing taken off, the front looks like this. The metal frame around the LCD is actually usable. I am going to use this frame instead of making a new one out of wood. This one fits perfectly, why not?
Once you get all those screws taken out.... you get to take out MORE screws! The four screws in the corners actually hold the backlight down. Once those are unscrewed, the backlight will pop out (I say pop because there are little tabs all the way around the frame). Remove the backlight VERY CAREFULLY. The board under the metal panel is sitting on top of the backlight. If you just yank out the backlight, the board could crash and crack / scratch the LCD. Also, be mindful of the FFC ribbon. The "middle" screws (arrows pointing) hold down a panel that covers the controller.
Once you pop the backlight out, this is what you are left with. That board is what is underneath the metal panel. Just above the chip (the black square on the board) is a connector. There was a ribbon plugged in there. You'll need to unplug that. Notice the FFC ribbon on the left. That's gonna need an extension. The ribbons on the bottom (ten of them) are the ones you REALLY don't want to break. Those break, your LCD is essentially dead. CAREFUL!
A nice close up of that ribbon. 20 pins on that one.
Like I said, I reused the metal frame. There are two plastic pieces that need to go back in. 1. A black THIN frame (goes around the edge and keeps the LCD in place). The yellow arrow is pointing to it. 2. On top of the black frame is a white frame. The white frame needed to be modified a little. You can see the jagged edges in the picture (pink arrows). There used to be an overhang that goes all the way around the white frame (inside of it). I took a pair of pliers and broke the overhang out (carefully). With the overhang out, the white frame snaps back into place (the tabs) and then screws down (the four corner screws). The LCD is now firmly in place and ready for action!
Here is the LCD taken apart but with the modified frame assembled and ready for the projector.
Here are all the controllers. I don't think I will have to use the backlight power board.
This panel took a good hour or so to rip apart. I actually had to drill out some of the screws because my screwdrivers were stripping them. How to drill out screws? Take a drill with a metal bit that is slightly smaller than the head of the screw. Drill directly down on the head until the head pops off. You'll end up with a ring around the drill bit. Just take it off and move to the next screw.
Overall, I think this monitor will work quite nicely.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
This is the animal. Ok, let's take this baby apart!
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Here you can see the arrows point to all the screws you need to remove to get the back off. Careful, the bottom is weighted and hurts if you drop it on your foot.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Once you get the back cover off, you get to do A LOT of unscrewing. You'll have a small zip-loc bag full of screws when you're done. Not shown in the picture, but I believe there are four screws on the sides of the metal frame you have to remove as well.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
These are the boards to the buttons on the front (power, menu, etc). You'll need to unscrew these too.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Once you get that panel off, these boards are revealed. The long thin one on the left is to power the backlight (you'll have to unplug the four cables attached to it). The other is the main controller board. The cable with three arrows pointing to it has to be unplugged (gently!).
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
With all the housing taken off, the front looks like this. The metal frame around the LCD is actually usable. I am going to use this frame instead of making a new one out of wood. This one fits perfectly, why not?
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Once you get all those screws taken out.... you get to take out MORE screws! The four screws in the corners actually hold the backlight down. Once those are unscrewed, the backlight will pop out (I say pop because there are little tabs all the way around the frame). Remove the backlight VERY CAREFULLY. The board under the metal panel is sitting on top of the backlight. If you just yank out the backlight, the board could crash and crack / scratch the LCD. Also, be mindful of the FFC ribbon. The "middle" screws (arrows pointing) hold down a panel that covers the controller.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Once you pop the backlight out, this is what you are left with. That board is what is underneath the metal panel. Just above the chip (the black square on the board) is a connector. There was a ribbon plugged in there. You'll need to unplug that. Notice the FFC ribbon on the left. That's gonna need an extension. The ribbons on the bottom (ten of them) are the ones you REALLY don't want to break. Those break, your LCD is essentially dead. CAREFUL!
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
A nice close up of that ribbon. 20 pins on that one.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Like I said, I reused the metal frame. There are two plastic pieces that need to go back in. 1. A black THIN frame (goes around the edge and keeps the LCD in place). The yellow arrow is pointing to it. 2. On top of the black frame is a white frame. The white frame needed to be modified a little. You can see the jagged edges in the picture (pink arrows). There used to be an overhang that goes all the way around the white frame (inside of it). I took a pair of pliers and broke the overhang out (carefully). With the overhang out, the white frame snaps back into place (the tabs) and then screws down (the four corner screws). The LCD is now firmly in place and ready for action!
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Here is the LCD taken apart but with the modified frame assembled and ready for the projector.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Here are all the controllers. I don't think I will have to use the backlight power board.
This panel took a good hour or so to rip apart. I actually had to drill out some of the screws because my screwdrivers were stripping them. How to drill out screws? Take a drill with a metal bit that is slightly smaller than the head of the screw. Drill directly down on the head until the head pops off. You'll end up with a ring around the drill bit. Just take it off and move to the next screw.
Overall, I think this monitor will work quite nicely.
Going to use a Dell also
I am going to try stripping a Dell E151FP; thanks for the info...hopefully mine will go as nicely as yours....
I am going to try stripping a Dell E151FP; thanks for the info...hopefully mine will go as nicely as yours....
Dell makes a decent monitor (for the price). They aren't high end, but I also didn't send $500 on this LCD ($130 actually). The blacks are decent and the contrast ratio is good too.
My only advice is to go SLOWLY. Those ribbons are not heavy duty by any means. Only bend them as many times as necessary (ie to get the backlight out and to mount it). It's not hard to do, just need to be careful. Good luck!
Remsham,
How'd it go with that 15" lcd? Found a ton on ebay but wasn't sure how DIY friendly they were.
How'd it go with that 15" lcd? Found a ton on ebay but wasn't sure how DIY friendly they were.
Haven't done it yet...
That's a project for this weekend...when I'm done I'll post some pics and let you know....
That's a project for this weekend...when I'm done I'll post some pics and let you know....
That would be great. Been looking for someone to post results on a 15" dell. Lots of them end up on ebay because of most company's replacment cycles. Look forward to your results. What kind of box are you building for it? LL kit or custom?
Re: Going to use a Dell also
I stripped mine last night. Pretty simple, but I got stuck on the FFC ribbon part... it's too short. Ideas?
remshan said:
I stripped mine last night. Pretty simple, but I got stuck on the FFC ribbon part... it's too short. Ideas?
hey super dave doyou mind if i use these picks for my web site ? as a example of how to strip this monitor
So what kind of replacement FFCs do you have to buy? I checked mouser.com and there are so many different types of FFCs and connectors... flexible flat cables are more popular than I thought 😕
hey super how did you handle the FFC extension? I accidently ripped mine up against the metal frame and had to purchase another one 🙁
I don't wanna do that again 🙁
I don't wanna do that again 🙁
Ok, here is what I did for the extension. I had such a problem with fitting the extension and the existing ffc into the connector.
I bought my extension from Lumen Lab. 20 pin extension. First you have to unclip the existing ffc from the board (by lifting the latch). Now before you slide the extension into the latch on the board, you have to sand down one end of the extension (either one, but only one). I used 150 grit sand paper. Finer is good, but I wouldn't go with anything coarser. So this is the delicate part. You want to sand the end down to make it thinner but you also want to keep enough of the plastic on the end to hold the metal wires in place. So, it's a sand 'til you get it type of thing. Sand the end (evenly) and then try fitting it in the connector (the one that came from LL) with the existing ffc. If you can latch it (it will still take some pushing to get the fcc's in the connector) then you're done! Otherwise, sand a little bit more off.
I would recommend sanding with the flow of the wires.
When you hook it all up, keep an eye on the cable. Make sure it's not getting hot. If it does, some wire is crossed; probably where the extension meets the existing ffc (the connector).
I bought my extension from Lumen Lab. 20 pin extension. First you have to unclip the existing ffc from the board (by lifting the latch). Now before you slide the extension into the latch on the board, you have to sand down one end of the extension (either one, but only one). I used 150 grit sand paper. Finer is good, but I wouldn't go with anything coarser. So this is the delicate part. You want to sand the end down to make it thinner but you also want to keep enough of the plastic on the end to hold the metal wires in place. So, it's a sand 'til you get it type of thing. Sand the end (evenly) and then try fitting it in the connector (the one that came from LL) with the existing ffc. If you can latch it (it will still take some pushing to get the fcc's in the connector) then you're done! Otherwise, sand a little bit more off.
I would recommend sanding with the flow of the wires.
When you hook it all up, keep an eye on the cable. Make sure it's not getting hot. If it does, some wire is crossed; probably where the extension meets the existing ffc (the connector).
I also wanted to point out that the "power" board (the one that had 4 connections to the backlights) IS NECESSARY to run the stripped LCD panel. That was an error in the walkthrough. You don't need to hook the 4 backlights up again, but you do need to hook the "power" board back up to the main board.
Has anyone tried playing games on this monitor yet? I would be very interested in the results....much blur?
Oh, I played games on it all the time. It's great! I don't notice much if any blur. But, if you are hardcore and NEED 8ms response time (the Dell is more like 20ms), then spend more $$$ and get a faster monitor. I've played games like UT2004, Quake4, FEAR, Sims 2, The Movies, etc on it with no problems.
If anyone is interested in my LCD...
Having been a lurker here for some time as I assembled my DIY LCD, it looks like I'm going to need to shelve my plans and sell off the parts due to some financial (and space) issues.
I have stripped a Dell 1703FP, so it's a Samsung LTM170E6-L04 17" LCD panel.
I'll make a separate post for this, but just thought this was a wise place to mention it, since the 1703 is extremely similar. Of course, if you buy mine, you don't need to worry about disassembling the monitor...
Message me if you're interested.
Having been a lurker here for some time as I assembled my DIY LCD, it looks like I'm going to need to shelve my plans and sell off the parts due to some financial (and space) issues.
I have stripped a Dell 1703FP, so it's a Samsung LTM170E6-L04 17" LCD panel.
I'll make a separate post for this, but just thought this was a wise place to mention it, since the 1703 is extremely similar. Of course, if you buy mine, you don't need to worry about disassembling the monitor...
Message me if you're interested.
How to Disassemble 1703FP?
ic32 can you post up instructions/pics on how you disassembled your Dell 1703FP LCD, I can't seem to figure out how to take it apart.
Thanks!
ic32 can you post up instructions/pics on how you disassembled your Dell 1703FP LCD, I can't seem to figure out how to take it apart.
Thanks!
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