12.1" XGA from X41 Tablet on an X31?

[plympton]

Hey all,

I posted this in the X41 thread, but figure anyone with X31 knowledge probably won't read it.

Based on this page:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/TFT_display

The X31 has this LCD:
12.1 1024x768 105,8 150 250:1 LG-Philips LP121X04 X30, X31, X32
With Specs here:
http://www.datasheet4u.com/download.php?id=559967

The X41 has this LCD:
12.1 1024x768 105,8 180 450:1 35ms BOE-Hydis HT12X21-100 X41 Tablet
With Specs here:
http://www.agpartsworldwide.com/lcd_spe ... 21-100.pdf

Is it me, or are the 2 displays plug-compatible? I'd like to get the IPS screen from a tablet and put in in my X32 (or future X32). I had an X61 tablet for a few days, and LOVED the display. I don't NEED SXGA+ (too much work with the BIOS Mods, etc), but swapping an LCD doesn't seem too painful.

Anyone? For $100, it'd be a fun project!
http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-ThinkPad-X41-Ta ... 1|294%3A50

Thanks!
-Dan

[ajkula66]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Hydis LCD won't physically fit in the X3x lid without major modifications...I honestly doubt that it's doable.

Good luck.

[plympton]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Hydis LCD won't physically fit in the X3x lid without major modifications...I honestly doubt that it's doable.

Good luck.

OK, I'll bite. I've manhandled an X31 LCD before - is it the screw mounting points that are different? Does the touch panel make it too thick & have to be removed via surgery?

Sounds like it will electrically work, though? (Meaning: I could plug in the cable and it would flop around like a fish but work) Or even though the pinouts are the same on the cables, the connectors are different as well?

Thanks!
-Dan

[plympton]

Well, I received my panel today, and while the light fires up, the LCD doesn't come on. I suspect that although the connectors are identical, there is a cabling difference.

Here's some photos of the different connectors - they're facing the same way. I'm beginning to suspect that they might be wired in the reverse order. That would be nuts, but I've seen weirder...

http://www.theimagedepot.com/p665750142 ... #h1bf83399

And you're right - there is some major hacking to the panel to get it to fit. We'll see if I can fire it up before I tackle that one!

-Dan

[plympton]

Just to close out this thread -

The cables are reversed - why? Very strange. Who knows. The solution I used was to trim the cable lock-outs on the side of the ribbon cable, and fold it (not crease), plug it in, and secure with tape. This appears to work very nicely.

From there, you trim the panel with a nibbler of all the parallel screw mounts, remove the digitizer (2 screws), and insert into X31 / X32. Since you don't have side screws anymore, you re-use some of the sticky foam from the X41 Tablet's screen, and attach the pack of the panel to the inside of the top lid. The snaps from the screen bezel will hold the panel in quite nicely - the beauty of ThinkPad over-design for your benefit.

The end result isn't a TON better than the BOE-Hydis TN panel that it replaces, but it's noticeably better, warmer too. The TN panel was blueish and cold, the IPS panel is warm. Makes a huge difference in viewing photos due to the contrast improvement, and side viewing (sharing the machine) is greatly improved. Day to day web browsing doesn't change too much. Worth the price of admission ($90 "best offer" on eBay, delivered).

Near final photos here:

http://www.theimagedepot.com/p665750142 ... 0#hf44f5dc

-Dan

[ajkula66]

Congrats on proving me wrong! Good for you!

Enjoy your new custom ThinkPad!

[Kyocera]

Wow plympton! good bit of field expedient engineering there, awesome. I bought my X31 from george our friendly flexview farmer and love it.

I checked out the pics and there is definately an improvement in the view, I might try this someday.

[plympton]

Congrats on proving me wrong! Good for you!

Enjoy your new custom ThinkPad!

Thanks! It was so easy now I'm considering making the SXGA+ version some day if panels get a few bucks cheaper.

-Dan

[plympton]

Wow plympton! good bit of field expedient engineering there, awesome. I bought my X31 from george our friendly flexview farmer and love it.

I checked out the pics and there is definately an improvement in the view, I might try this someday.

It's not mind-blowingly awesome compared to the X32 display (BOE-Hydis), though much better than the X31 display (LG-Philips), but the extended contrast is nice. For $90 and 2 hours of sweat (it was 104 last week), it was worth it. $250 for the SXGA+ is a bit harder to swallow unless you need to swap out the display anyway.

The downside is that my wife can see what I'm doing much easier now with just a glance.

-Dan

[ZaZ]

Nice Pics. 104° in Oregon? It hasn't ventured much above 80° here in Minnesota. It's the summer that never was.