Thoughts on improving LCD "brightness" via backlit modifications

I've been musing how I would go about adding brighter lights or perhaps just adding additional lights to the backlit assembly. I believe it is feasible and I'm doing some research now. I know it would reduce my battery run-time but it might be possible to dim it to what normally might be 50% brightness to address that concern.

 

Lol what?!?! Good luck with all that

 

I don't think adinu gets what owning a toughbook means...

 

Id say probably best of replacing the existing back light with all leds, Hack-a-day had an article where someone did that with a pda IIRC

 

Yeah, Hackaday has this:
http://www.hackaday.com/search/?q=backlight

I've had thoughts about this if my backlight ever goes.

Adinu must be one of those Dell wanna-be's

[No offense intended eyuras -we appreciate helpful advice from all parties, but we've just had a lot blow through here making useless comments and scurrying away - we've got mnementh on watch with a good supply of firestone]

 

I could see replacing the existing backlight with something brighter but not sure how you could pull off adding more than one. It's pretty tight in there already and you'd have to do a lot of rewiring. The inverter isn't meant to handle more than one. That of course means adding another inverter which means making sure it gets enough power as well. Sure there's quite a bit of space around the centers of the edges but the corners are almost form fit.

 

Good one dude, it must be erudite comments like this one that got you 15 rep points

In this forum we actually gotta EARN ours..

 

Probably got most of the rep from the 'Offtopic'/'Random Thread'.

Posts consist of such pithy comments as 'Whoa!!' and 'Dude..' and 'I feel random today.....':wink:

 

Actually, I've spent quite a bit of time experimenting on this very subject - there are a number of hurdles to overcome. Inherent in the design of your LCD is an angled diffraction grate that is designed to be fed light in a specific fashion - if your LCD has a single CCFL tube, it is designed to be fed from only edge - adding lights to other edges does no good, as the light is never funneled to the screen area. (This is the design on most laptop LCDs) If your LCD is designed for muliple tubes, then it will typically have an angled diffraction grating designed for multiple source lighting; these will usually function with only one tube if needed, but obviously very poorly.

Your only realistic solution for adding more brightness is not to add more tubes or sources of light, as the diffraction grating is designed to use light from a specific source, but rather to seek out a brighter source of light to replace the original with. I'm seeing very promising results retrofitting older LCD panels with white LED replacements from companies like the ones mentioned above, but they are still an unproven technology - I suspect time will show that these LED lights have a much shorter useful life than their CCFL counterparts. My recommendation, especially as most of these CF-28s are now 7 or 8 years old, and the 29s are what? 2-5 years old I think - is to try replacing the CCFL with a new modern one & see if it improves enough to suit. It usually will. I've tried illuminating LCDs from other sources of light by stripping the back panel open; what results is poor color quality and contrast as the LCD itself is balanced to provide proper contrast & color scale for a specific amount & color temperature of light.

The best, most realistic solution really would be to replace the older generation panel complete with a newer generation X-Brite or equivalent screen - I know there are a number of hack shops in Japan that specialize in cross-adapting LCDs for "alternative functionality"; I've just never felt a need to pursue it as it costs about $10 for a new CCFL tube, and that usually nets a more than bright enough screen for me.

mnem
Traaltixx needs MORE LIGHT.

 

Ahhh... I see the fu@k-up fairy has visited us again...

mnem<~~~ already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth*

 

Really? In general, LEDs have a VERY, VERY long life. Consider also that an LED backlight would more than likely have dozens (or more) individual LEDs in parallel.. You might lose a few over time, but chances are you'll never have enough of a failure that you'd ever want to replace the panel. Now on the other hand, there must be SOME reason why they're still using CCFL lamps. surely the OEMs would jump on this if it didn't have some fatal flaw. I wonder what it is..

 

*Chuckles*

Well, yes it's true that a REGULAR LED does last a long time... but these replacements are using the newer generations of bright white LEDs, based on the CREE & Luxeon technology. The way they work is this: The LED is composed of a GAAS substrate which oscillates & radiates energy in the visible light spectrum when current flows through it. They then apply a layer of phosphors over that substrate, which is excited by the energy release from the substrate. THIS is where most of your light comes from. The bottom line is, those phosphors have a pretty much fixed amount of light you can get out of them... to get a useful amount of light out of the small patch of phosphors that will fit over an LED emitter means driving it very hard, which burns up the phosphors quickly.

I've been using LED flashlights of all sorts for almost 10 years; the manufacturers of the LEDS CLAIM 100,000 hours or more life from their lamps, but I've got flashlights that are three or four years old whose LEDs have already dimmed to the point of uselessness. (Do the math - If I used those flashlights 8 hours a day, 48 weeks a year - the standard business model - they should last me over 52 years)

Now we have a whole NEW class of tactical LEDs (The Cree & Luxeon Technology being used for these new LCD backlights) being driven to 1000 times the current of a conventional LED; yes they're getting 2,000 times the light (As in 200+ lumens), but there's no way in H#LL they're gonna last 100,000 hours with useful light output.

mnem <~~~Illuminating*

 

mnementh is truly a shining beacon of light (obviously new class LED)
[and pole dances too]

 

Oooooh! Now THAT's an idea!!!

*Strings up a bazillion blue LEDs around the dancepole*

*Puts on shades, then presses a button on his car alarm remote*

*HUMMMMMMMMMMMMM!*

My GOD... it's full of stars....

mnem
*If Edison could see this coming, he'd have disinvented the light bulb*

 

Cost is one. Apple offers them in their MacBook Air's, 15.4" MacBook Pro's, and as a $100 upgrade option in the 17" MacBook Pro. Other than that though, I'm not sure. It's newer technology though, I am sure of that.

Terminus; I like the idea alot, and if you can get some details on how it all works I'll be on board. It has to be possible, but how much are we looking at to do it...

I do agree that we need something to brighten our screens up while outside. I don't care about the colour wash while inside so much, but if that was fixed a little, that'd be a bonus.

And seriously, what is up with the Dell people? Damn!

 

You can "artificially" brighten your LCD by playing around with the Gamma correction in the video program. I've done this many times with great success. Especially on backlights that are starting to go dim. If you boost the Gamma by .2 and the brightness by 2-3 you will have a significantly brighter screen. If you don't like it you can always click on the default setting and it will go back to normal. You should have a picture open or be able to see your wallpaper or something when you make the adjustments or else you are liable to "wash out" the screen and the contrast will look even worse.

Try it out and see.

 

Tb, I love it when you talk dirty. I never tried boosting my Gramma, heh,heh.

 

OK, I got my yuks, boosting Gramma; now how in the heck does one boost his Gamma?

 

If I understood correctly, you get brighter bulbs.. yes?

 

Hey, not all the Dell people. eyuras had a good mention of the Hackaday entry - give him(?) props for that.

[And I only assumed adinu was Dell]

And why are we giving Gramma brighter bulbs??

mnementh - something like this?
http://web.mit.edu/storborg/ddf/index.html

 

Open up your video program that comes with the Toughbook. (The video program you had to install... Remember?) If it isn't still in your system tray go to Start/Control Panel/Intel Graphics Technology/ Then go to "Color" tab and use the slider on the Gamma Tab/Brightness/Contrast until you get the right combination. Usually I just slide them as described in the prior post. But this will boost the brightness.


Ahhhhhh... Boosting my grandma... <Spitting out bad taste>

 

I didn't know that you could do that.

 

As me Pappy used to say.... "Stick with me kid and you'll have diamonds on your ball and chain!"

 

*Sighs, remembering his clubbing daze*

There was a time when the lights would've been follwing ME...

mnem
*Puts on his Escape Club LP & cries into a VO martini*

 

Today I fired up my Toughbook (not a daily occurrence anymore), and after using my new 22" LCD monitor and looking at the LCD I really see a huge need to upgrade the LCD... Maybe it's because they are side by side right now, but ouch.

I need to keep it at least 10 feet away and not use the 22" for an hour before using my toughbook now

LCD technology would be important to upgrade. I wonder if the 29 stuff would switch over without mods?

 

Escape club? hahahahaha.. livin in the WILD WILD WEST! did they actually make enough songs to fill an LP? i thought that was their only one

 

They did, but the rest of the songs weren't that good... Hence, the VO martini - to make you not care.

mnem
She's so mean, but I don't care... I love her eyes and her wild, wild hair...

 

Not without SERIOUS mods... It would be nice though... How about just changing the backlight?

 

I could live with that if I could figure out how

 

It is VERY easy to take apart.... It is getting it all back together and having it work that is the problem.... Go ahead... Ask me how I know!

 

Heh... methinks TB has let the fairy dust out of his CCFL tube...

mnem
Who ya callin' FAIRY, BUB?

 

Anybody who has a bet skill of mod.... the notebook can change the backlight tube of a toughbook. Just how you take it out the tube is the reverse to put it back( is that a right words, I don't know) its pretty easy but extra cautious and remember you must be in a clean room to prevent dust and moisture. Wear a gloove if necessary so that you can't leave finger print on its layer. I done it before and I will do it again if necessary.

 

I just took apart my cracked 12" to see how it all works. Confusing as hell, but it could be done as long as the power input is right.

A few notes incase you do want to try this... there are 6 sheet layers surrounding the backlight. Several of these are very static filled, so you'll suck all the dust in the room right to them, so just like ohlip said, you'll have to be in a clean room (Paint booth?) and wear gloves.

I want to find a cracked LED backlit LCD now though to see how it works. I've now learned how a CCFT backlight operates (it's just like LED optics in say the power light in most computers).

 

Modly -

When you disassemble the LCD, you want to avoid separating the layers of the LCD; this about guarantees you'll get dust between the layers & you really don't need to mess with that in most cases. Just get the metal frame that surrounds everything loose so you can drop it down far enough to get the CCFL tube & reflector out of the frame; then stick EVERYTHING inside a new garbage bag to keep dust out. You're going to have to measure your CCFL tube to order the correct one and the LCD will be laying around for a week or two while that happens. DigiKey has a fair selection as a reasonable price; there are also a number of resellers on eBay. When you measure, remember you can go a little smaller in diameter & length, but you cannot go any larger or longer. Even as much as 10mm shorter will not give issue; but make sure to allow for the length of the solder leads on the ends of the tube.

mnem
Lets go CCFL tubing...

 

So do the LED versions just light up at the top and bottom like the CCFL tubes do, or do they actually have an LED panel?

As for taking mine apart, I knew it'd never go back together, and you don't learn if you don't take it all apart

 

Modly -

The experimental ones I've seen were just an uber-thin strip of PCB with a row of tiny surface mount LEDs on them; otherwise, the LCD construction was the same as any of the X-Brite style LCDs (meaning they DO illuminate from top edge AND bottom edge). They did have to modify the metal frame to allow a little more room, but not much... but one nice thing - NO INVERTER.

mnem
Light me UP!

 

I've been looking into this too... Check this out....

http://www.ergpower.com/sfled/sfled-rails2.asp

 

But I just ordered 5 more CCFLs for my more dim LCDs... I'll give it another shot.

 

I managed to break the CCFL in half when I opened it up. I should be more careful next time

 

the last ccfl i replaced i broke the brand new one! made a $27 job into $54 but, i know what not to do next time, ooh ooh, got to go i think my mobo is done baking in the oven!!!!

 

How do you know which one(s) to order?
Is my 28 back lite?
Have spent so much time under the hood I never really though about the display.
Rick H...

 

Rick -

Do a search in the forum for " mnementh CCFL " I've posted at great length on the subject. This is NOT a project for the faint of heart; there is soldering, high voltage & potential mercury vapor exposure involved, plus you run the risk of ruining your LCD or breaking the brand new CCFL tube you just bought if you slip up. EVERYTHING is uber-fragile where you'll be working.

OKAY - now that the obligatory warnings are over, read on & RUN AMOK!

mnem
BUAAAAHAAAHAAAHAAA!

 

I tried twice. I didn't break either tube but I must have a short somewhere. On one of them I know I forgot to transfer the little silicone o-rings that fit around the tube to keep the proper spacing in the slot. When I get the five I ordered I'll try it again. This time more S L O W L Y and paying more attention.

I'll keep everyone posted!

 

Good luck - remember to be very careful to get the rubber insulators off & back on in one piece... and don't allow the reflector to bend while you're handling it; the tube inside doesn't like to bend. Oh.. and wash your hands before eating anything to prevent mercury poisoning.

mnem
Mercury poisoning does what to your memory? I forget....