CF-18 - Swap Digitizer w/ touch screen?

I have two CF-18s. One's a digitizer the othe's a touch.

The digitizer has some better features - GPS, BT, SD and a slightly faster processor (1.2 vs. 1.1).

I'd like it to be a touch screen though as it'd be easier when using it on the road for navigation.

So the question is, is the motherboard specific to the screen or is all the hardware for the screen integrated in to the screen itself?


If this isn't possible, I guess I could swap the BT and GPS over to the touch screen one. Maybe even trade cases so I can swap the SD reader too.

Where is the blue tooth card on these any way? With them both open I can easily see the GPS daughter board but no obvious board for the BT.

 

I would guess it would be simple enough to swap the screens. I don't think that they are interchangeable as long as the drivers exist. But I've never done it so I am sure someone more knowledgeable than me will give you a certain answer.

 

I don't know for sure either, but with the CF-18 being a tablet, the screen switch might be more complicated than the CF-28 is. looking for and swapping the other parts might be simpler. I think most of the components are accessed from the bottom and are in the front, but I am not sure. Didn't one of the TBTech##s post some pictures? search for threads with their posts and see what comes up.

Good luck...

 

You really don't want to switch entire tops. I don't know about the feasibility of switching components but if it could be done, you would want to take out the guts from the LCD cabinet.

 

I've never seen a CF-18 in person, let alone tear one apart, but if you feel up to the task of tearing it apart, then try for a screen swap first.

Now time for the dumb question from me.. What exactly is the digitiser screen, and what does it do? I'm aware it uses a stylus of some sort, but short of that I've got no clue.

 

Digitizer = a "touch screen" that works only with the stylus.....you can't use your finger or any other implement to operate it like a normal touch screen.

It has its benefits in handwriting and some drawing functions....but I'd rather have a regular touch screen. It also has a right click button on the stylus which is a bit handy sometimes.

 

Sounds nifty. I'll have to try one out some day.

 

This isn't quite accurate but it gives you the idea.

With a touchscreen, there are 2 layers of connected wire mesh encased in a piece of glass or plastic that sits in front of the LCD. When pushed on an intersection connects and completes the circuit and that intersection is where the pointer jumps to.

The digitizer is a giant PCB (the size of the LCD) that sits behind the LCD and detects the presence of another circuit embedded in the stylus using a similar intersection idea. Where it detects it is where the pointer jumps to which is why you don't have to touch the screen for it to work but why nothing but that stylus will work. That's also why the front cover is just a plain piece of glass or plastic.

 

If I didn't give you rep so recently, you would be getting rep for that info!

Learning is fun!

 

The other reason digitizer screens are beloved by some people is the difference in screen "depth" - A touchscreen has 3 layers of glass in the touch panel on top of the LCD; the digitizer has only 1, or in some cases NONE if they make the LCD extra heavy duty to handle people pressing on it. This removes the issues of poor contrast/color we CF-28 touchscreen users often lament; it also gets rid of the parallax issue where it's difficult to gage stylus location because of the screen depth.

mnem
I am a digital soldier in a digital war...

 

You also have to worry about bowing in the touchscreen. As it bows out more you have to press harder and harder and lose some accuracy.

 

while this is possible to take the touchscreen lcd assembly off and put it on the digitizer unit. It pretty much requires a whole disassembly due to the antenna cables being routed under the mainboard its alot easier to just take the features like the BT and the GPS off and install them in the laptop you want them in. i am assuming the digitizer one is a CF-18KD so you wont be able to install the SD reader as how these are only available on the CF-18K and CF-18N. Also the installation of windows might now work any more due to the fact that these have completely different mainboards.

 

My advice to you is to swap the MBO.,gps, bluetooth into the touchscreen one instead of the LCD assembly If they do have the same cable ribbon assembly of LCD. This idea require a minimal headache.