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Is it possible to replace the backlight lamp on a T61p?

T60/T61 Series
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jayeye
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Is it possible to replace the backlight lamp on a T61p?

#1 Post by jayeye » Mon Dec 25, 2017 5:59 pm

My 8+ year old T61p (6457, 15'' 1920x1200 screen) has been growing dimmer, or so it seems. Does the CCFL that provides the backlight indeed grow dimmer with age? If so, is it possible to replace it without replacing the entire LCD?

Thanks

/ji
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zoltan87
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Re: Is it possible to replace the backlight lamp on a T61p?

#2 Post by zoltan87 » Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:43 pm

It is possible, and you can buy the ccfl tube on eBay. You can even buy a LED kit kit to make the screen a lot brighter than it was originally.
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fatpolomanjr
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Re: Is it possible to replace the backlight lamp on a T61p?

#3 Post by fatpolomanjr » Mon Dec 25, 2017 8:25 pm

Yep. Ask xiphmont for an LED backlight kit, and specify your display size and aspect ratio. Then follow his guide at:

https://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/think ... ight.shtml

You can pm or email him. Although the guide is for X60/61 tablets and non-tablets, I recently did the mod on my 14.1" T61 frankenpad. The ccfl was getting dim, so I figured I had nothing to lose.

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Re: Is it possible to replace the backlight lamp on a T61p?

#4 Post by wujstefan » Wed Dec 27, 2017 3:35 pm

... or you can replace the whole LCD and put a SHARP display in there. It is generally way better than stock T61 WUXGA.
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fatpolomanjr
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Re: Is it possible to replace the backlight lamp on a T61p?

#5 Post by fatpolomanjr » Fri Dec 29, 2017 4:18 am

wujstefan wrote:
Wed Dec 27, 2017 3:35 pm
... or you can replace the whole LCD and put a SHARP display in there.

Then throw in an LED backlight!
T14s | AUO 14" FHD Low Power 400 nit | Ryzen 7 4750u | Windows 10
T70 | 15" UXGA LED with RealBlackStuff LED-Cable-Mod | i7-7700HQ | Windows 10
X62 | 12.1" SXGA+ Xiphmont LED | i7-5500U | Xubuntu / Windows 10

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Re: Is it possible to replace the backlight lamp on a T61p?

#6 Post by wujstefan » Fri Dec 29, 2017 8:13 am

fatpolomanjr wrote:
Fri Dec 29, 2017 4:18 am
Then throw in an LED backlight!
This is my plan at least :D
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jayeye
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Re: Is it possible to replace the backlight lamp on a T61p?

#7 Post by jayeye » Thu Mar 29, 2018 8:44 am

fatpolomanjr wrote:
Mon Dec 25, 2017 8:25 pm
Yep. Ask xiphmont for an LED backlight kit, and specify your display size and aspect ratio. Then follow his guide at:

https://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/think ... ight.shtml

You can pm or email him. Although the guide is for X60/61 tablets and non-tablets, I recently did the mod on my 14.1" T61 frankenpad. The ccfl was getting dim, so I figured I had nothing to lose.

https://i.imgur.com/g1GMFBu.jpg
I did just that. It took me a couple of months to find the time to do the transplant, but I'm now a VERY happy owner of a bright display. Definitely worth the $50 or so, I'd gladly have paid double that now that I know how well it works.

(for the record: this was on a 6457-7WU, a 15.6'' T61p with the 1920x1200 panel).

Next step: get in touch with the 51nb guys and see if they'll ever make a motherboard that goes into this beast, as I have a spare-parts machine too!

Thanks to all who responded, and in particular Xiphmont for making such a great product.
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wujstefan
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Re: Is it possible to replace the backlight lamp on a T61p?

#8 Post by wujstefan » Wed Apr 04, 2018 2:20 am

Didnt T70 board make a fit into 15,4" as well? I guess someone here on the forum put that one into 15,4" unit.
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Re: Is it possible to replace the backlight lamp on a T61p?

#9 Post by Thinkpad4by3 » Wed Apr 04, 2018 12:52 pm

The 15.4" unit can be made to fit a 14.1" board(like a T70) with a custom made long interposer card.
Thinkpad4by3's Law of the Universe.

The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.

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