Thinkpads Forum

Does any one here knows where I can find some LED backlight kit to replace the ccfl tubes in my old T40?
Thank you very much.

This kit does not exist for older CCFL Thinkpads.

Harryc wrote:This kit does not exist for older CCFL Thinkpads.

It does exist. I just don't know whether I can find it in US. Probably need to buy from China again.

There are some people specially make these kits for old thinkpads cause in China a lot of people still using those and like to mod them. It looks nice if one can mod the LCD correctly. they claimed they have sold thousands of those kits. Really want to try, but never mod LCD myself before. Anyone like to introduce such product to this side of Pacific?

You can try your Chinese here: http://www.51nb.com/forum/viewthread.ph ... 1%B3%B9%E2
Or using Google Translate:
http://translate.google.com/translate?j ... %25B9%25E2

myoldTPT40 wrote:It does exist. I just don't know whether I can find it in US. Probably need to buy from China again.

There are some people specially make these kits for old thinkpads cause in China a lot of people still using those and like to mod them. It looks nice if one can mod the LCD correctly. they claimed they have sold thousands of those kits. Really want to try, but never mod LCD myself before. Anyone like to introduce such product to this side of Pacific?

Hi.
I'm curious, I have a bunch of older machines, some with FlexView displays that could do with replacement CCFLs. I'd love to be able to use LEDs instead. You say "again" so I'm assuming that you've done this before? Care to share? This sort of mod would be really useful and while I know that there is info out there in Chinese (thanks RBS) and probably in German as they do a lot of ThinkPad mods I'm mono-lingual so would really appreciate any and all info on this mod in English.

ThankYouVeryMuch.

I just added the English (?) translation in my previous post

RealBlackStuff wrote:I just added the English (?) translation in my previous post

Thanks. Yeah, I'd already done that myself but you need to be a member to see the pics of the process and I wasn't about to try signing up to a Chinese forum when the translation's a bit iffy. I might end up signing my life away!

Did you see this thread?
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=83750

RealBlackStuff wrote:Did you see this thread?
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=83750

Awesome, thanks. I hadn't found that one yet.

Part of the reason that I'm thinking about this so much is I love my FlexViews and, from what I read, various of them are prone to yellowing of the plastic (diffuser?) layers that's likely a reaction to UV from the CCFL (as well as inevitable failure of the CCFL after xxx hours use). My evil plan is to replace the CCFLs with white LEDs *before* significant yellowing occurs.

As white LEDs don't output any UV (at least compared to a CCFL) my luverly FlexViews are therefore likely to be gorgeous to use much, much longer. The only flaw in my plan is a lack of funds, which is part of the reason I want to keep the FlexViews in good condition... Errr, I see a problem.

Anyway, thanks for the bunch of extra bookmarks and more reading, it can't hurt to learn as much as I can in case a bunch of money falls into my lap.

You could always lay in a fresh supply of CCFLs at ca. $10.- a piece + shipping.
If your LCD is an IDTech, swapping out the CCFL doesn't take more than 15-20 minutes
(5 min. to remove LCD from lid, 5-10 min. to swap CCFL, 5 min. to put LCD back in lid).
All you need is a Phillips screwdriver, a sharp knife, a soldering iron, a small wire cutter and steady hands.
I have described it here: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=88991

RealBlackStuff wrote:You could always lay in a fresh supply of CCFLs at ca. $10.- a piece + shipping.
If your LCD is an IDTech, swapping out the CCFL doesn't take more than 15-20 minutes
(5 min. to remove LCD from lid, 5-10 min. to swap CCFL, 5 min. to put LCD back in lid).
All you need is a Phillips screwdriver, a sharp knife, a soldering iron, a small wire cutter and steady hands.
I have described it here: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=88991

Thanks Dominic, I have that bookmarked. It will be handy for either CCFL swapping or trying LEDs.

I'm actually not sure who made my FlexViews. I have four, all SXGA+. I'm fairly sure that the two T60s are LG-Philips and that the T43 and R51 aren't, but are different from each other. However that could just be an age thing because, looking at think.wiki's page on TFTs if the two older ones *are* different makes then one must be LG-Philips. (At least that's the way I read it.) It's probably more likely they're both IDTech but the R51 has had more use as it's yellower. (?)

The T43 and R51 displays are far better than the T60s and I'd like to change them around but I believe that it's likely they don't have the EDID that the T60 would need? (I probably need to read more but hardware info like that is quite scattered here. I'm getting there.)

The Lenovo 'parts lookup' page doesn't work for the T43 and R51 and doesn't list the displays for the T60s. I must find a hardware 'sniffer' app that will tell me what's got what.

Cheers,

For pre-made 14.1" LED backlight kits suitable for thinkpads, for $80/ea, go to :

http://www.lcdparts.net/

WARNING : I HAVE NOT TRIED THIS ON A DIFFUSER SO BE CAREFUL !

I restore old bicycles, and one of the secrets I've used for yellowed plastic, i.e. on Raleigh/Carlton brake-lever hoods, is to wipe them briefly with acetone. The yellowed coloration is usually only on the surface of the plastic, and acetone is able to "dissolve away" the outer surface of the plastic. Don't get carried away - I'd suggest NO MORE than 5x wipes TOTAL and make sure not to let any acetone stand on the surface of the plastic. I did get carried away on some of my "Carlton" hoods, and they became "arlto" hoods.

This might solve your yellowing problem so that the laptop looks as good as new. I have a T42p with a yellowed Hydis 14.1" screen and I was thinking of trying it when I replace the backlight, very soon.

That lcdparts.net stuff is overpriced and rather useless.
The dimming function no longer exists with those.

This outfit has better and cheaper LED-stuff: http://www.iccfl.com/product_info.php?products_id=11860

@systemBuilder:
you should stick with repairing bicycles. Acetone on LCD parts?