Thread: Compact fluorescent backlight

Originally Posted by Fusion-One

but the fact that the color temperature degrades very quickly was also a major turn off for me.

Agreed!

You're a lot better off with CCFls. If you dont want to mess around with bending longer tubes to fit them, there are smaller raw tubes available which are cheap.

Those are more inexpensive than I thought...hmm.

I'm just being a little adamant because I feel like my whole experiment was for nothing if people are just going to keep trying it.

Understood...and thanks for the good wishes.

Originally Posted by parksgm

In any case, the LCD is already apart, the CFLs are already installed, and I've got a test rig worked up...so we'll see!

I guess we will. You are obviously bound and determined to try this. That's the mark of a good hobbyist. Maybe others have missed something that you haven't or that you may solve. But if you are trying it because it is the cheapest option, well then, maybe you should consider that you are actually exploring a more expensive proposition.

If you try the CFL option and it doesn't work, you are out that cash and time. Now you have to trade up and use the CCFL option, which you could have done in the first place.

I don't think anyone's trying to discourage you from trying a solution but presumably you asked the question so you could gain from someone else's experience and when they offered it, you ignored them.

Originally Posted by parksgm

Right, but that risk is the same no matter what option I try. Also, there is much more risk the first time the LCD comes apart, since that disassembly is usually trial and error. The next, and subsequent, disassemblies are much less risky (or they should be, anyway).

In your picture your MFG backlight is still attached to the LCD. That is the part that seems to bite most people. Also depending on how you choose to do it (removing the backlight completely, or just removing that foil covering) it could potentially make the screen unusable without a new backlight solution.

I agree with BugByte. If you are doing this because you want to try to complete what others didn't, then more power to you, good luck, and keep us informed. If you are instead just trying for the cheap approach, odds are you are going to spend more time and money doing it this way rather than an already proven design.

-dave

using floresent lighting to backlight an lcd is just not a good solution... even if you do get it to work, it will mean that you'll need 3-4 times the ccfm's of airflow... it's not that it can't be done, but it's like trying to tow your boat with your hyndai.... even if it does kinda work, it'll never be a good solution...

again, this is coming from experience.(not the hyndai part)... not to say I'm right & your wrong, just trying to share what has been learned.... you'll need a blower & ductwork & it'll pump more heat than a p4.... ccfl's will be bad enough... & will take measures to control heat disapation... floresents will just make a lot more heat for the same amount of light.... & then another huge issue is what about dimming...

if you don't have the time/money or patience to do it right the first time, how will you ever find the time/money or patience to do it over...

in the end, belive me this is ment as encouragement & help, not as a personal attack... I would love to see more sucessful backlight upgrades... I'm surprised there aren't more.... I'm working on a few different approaches for backlight upgrades.... you should at least invest whatever little time & money you have with something that has a higher chance of sucess all the more so if there limited.....

Originally Posted by turbocad6

this is coming from experience.(not the hyndai part)

Good. I hate seeing those Hyundais with a hole cut into the bumper fascia for the tow hitch. ;-)

Originally Posted by turbocad6

& then another huge issue is what about dimming...

Was planning on using the stock CCFL for that...and yes, even though I've removed the rear reflective piece from the LCD light guide, it still works...I have a 4 sided stock CCFL after all. :-)

Originally Posted by turbocad6

If you don't have the time/money or patience to do it right the first time, how will you ever find the time/money or patience to do it over...

...because most of the advice given on this board is anecdotal, not very rigorously tested, and so it's hard to assume that everything was "done right" to make the rejected ideas work. For that reason, I have to take everything I read here with a grain of salt, and then rethink it for myself to make sure whoever shared the advice thought through what they were doing.

As an example, a previous poster wrote that his box got "uncomfortably hot" when running 6 CFLs. Only after asking about the specifics of his installation did I find out that the box was constructed of MDF (more insulatory than heat conductive!), and there was only an air exchange cooling sytem. I would expect a box like that to get very hot...but that's not how I would design my box or system, and so his assumptions that the idea is "won't work" are based on his experience with a less than optimal set up.

belive me this is ment as encouragement & help, not as a personal attack...

Understood. I never take ANY of this as a personal attack...good lord...if I worried about things people say on this board... Anyway, I'm just after a better backlight on a car computer, after all. There are no lives at stake. This is just an enjoyable pastime for me. If the CFLs don't work out, then I will happily join in the chorus of criticism...but if they do work, perhaps because of something I've added or changed, then we'll all be better off, and you'll see another successful backlight upgrade.

Originally Posted by Bugbyte

That's the mark of a good hobbyist.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Bugbyte

If you try the CFL option and it doesn't work, you are out that cash and time.

That's the secret beauty of it...I'm not out any cash at all. I'm using a non-modified, readily returnable light source. If it doesn't work out, I'll get my money back.

Also, I have a magic time machine that I use to erase my failures and disappointments in life, so that's not really an issue either. ;-)

presumably you asked the question so you could gain from someone else's experience and when they offered it, you ignored them.

I did ask the question to gain from others' experience...and to identify problems that I had not. Unfortunately (and as I wrote above), the issues identified by other posters (heat and bulb discoloration) were not adequately addressed by the people who attempted previous solutions. As you mentioned at the first of your post, persistence can lead to new ideas or innovation. It doesn't look like anyone has really addressed the heat issue. I'm gonna do that. We'll see if it works.

But, thanks for the input.

go for it...good luck... hope it works out for you

hey parksgm, I was wondering how you ever made out with this?