Recessing Screen and Screen Angles

**DaveB** · 01-26-2006, 04:43 PM

Hi guys,

It was Christmas at my house today and all my stuff has arrived and I'm going to start building shortly. I bought my epoxy and everything I need, too.

There is another thread in the forum that talks about recessing the screen to keep direct sunlight off of it as much as possible. It also talks about angleing the screen slightly towards the driver.

I did a test today while out driving around. I held my cell phone display flush against the dash while in sunlight and I couldn't read it at all. Whereas, when I tipped the top of the screen back (angled up) and also angled it towards me a little bit, then it was much brighter and much easier to read. It was the best simulation that I could do without having my touchscreen available.

So it does look like getting the angles right will make a big difference. I bought some 1/4 plywood from the hobby shop and I'd like to recess my screen like Altimat has done.

I'm trying to get my head around this and talking out loud here...so please share your thoughts.

If I were just going to recess the Lilli I would build a frame around my 8" Lilli and the plywood would sit tight against the outside of the Lilli's face plate. I would be dealing strictly with 90 degree angles. A square box, if you will.

Now, If I wish to tip the top of the Lilli back, say, an inch and angle it 15 degrees to the left towards the driver -- I am now dealing with compound angles. My question is, do I have to build my wood frame taking into account the slopes and angles? I think it would be a real ****** to figure out the angles in two different planes.

Am I over complicating this?

**gnomad** · 01-26-2006, 06:43 PM

I have the same 8" lilliput and it does seem to have a narrower view angle than most of the other lilliputs. I made the mistake of building my enclosure without taking view angle into account and round up having to re-build from scratch. It really is worth the effort to rig up a temporary mount to get the position right and *then* spend the time fabbing it into place.

-g.

**blacklancer** · 01-26-2006, 07:20 PM

i would make your box and when you go to fasten the screen to it, angle it and tilt it and let the epoxy hold it in place until you finish the install. i wouldn't worry about making the box anything complicated. you could always trim some away after the screens in place.

**DaveB** · 01-31-2006, 01:12 AM

Blacklancer,

That was a good suggestion and is actually what I did! I built a 10 degree slope into the box to tilt the screen upwards. When I epoxied the box in place, I tilted it towards the driver and let the epoxy hold it. I then took a spindle sander and sanded the wood frame down flush with the bezel.

**510SX** · 02-01-2006, 01:27 AM

I have the exact problem you guys are having.

Have you guys thought about buying a anti glare film?

I found this, and I am think about buying one.

http://techplast.com/cart/Scripts/default.asp

**pastypyro** · 02-01-2006, 02:00 AM

Will a film like that hurt brightness?

**DaveB** · 02-01-2006, 03:18 AM

I've used similar films on PDAs. It helps keep the screen clean and free of scratches, too. It does cause a little loss in brightness but probably not enough to be very noticeable. I think its a great idea for a display in a car.